Also, the premature exit of India and Pakistan further dampened the interest in the World Cup. It led to a huge loss of revenues by way of reduced following that in turn lower television viewership in the sub-continent. Perhaps, the worst sufferers were the betting mafia considering the projected pre-tournament betting amount of some Rs. 30,000 Crores! Mind-boggling certainly, but one might speculate that the bookies would have made up a lot on the result of one match – Pakistan vs Ireland.

If one were to point out one aspect that really turned the World Cup on its head, then it was the absolute domination of Australia. The team was like a Derby thoroughbred, setting the pace early and sustaining the gallop through the 11 matches to emerge worthy winners. No team, including Sri Lanka, looked anywhere close to the Aussies who were not only the best prepared but also the fittest, both mentally and physically.

It spoke a lot for the Aussies that they maintained a high standard through the long tournament, not once easing off the throttle. On the contrary, they seemed to improve even more and in the end, it was obvious to even a novice that the Aussies had descended from Planet Oz. The offshoot of their intimidating domination was that their Cup triumph was taken for granted and few cared to really watch the monotonous slaying of the opponents by this Hercules from Down Under.

SETTING HIGH STANDARDS

Is the Aussie domination good for cricket? The answer should be an emphatic “yes” if you are an optimist. They set a benchmark for the rest and only the losers would grumble about their seeming invincibility. The onus is on the other team to roll up their sleeves, pick up the gauntlet and challenge the Australians. That would be a wiser course to follow rather than complain that the Aussies are cricketing version of Michael Schumacher.

Having said that, the Aussies would be chaffing that their campaign ended on a farcical note, thanks in the main to a set of blundering officials, not the least, the umpires. The ICC cannot gloss over the sorry incidents on Saturday night at the Kensington Oval for it was a total breakdown of a system that is bound by ropes of its own bureaucracy.

If Speed and his cohorts have even an ounce of self-respect, then they should resign en masse. The ICC sold its soul for a few dollars more and in the process, allowed the sport they are said to be governing, to drift down the drain.

Sri Lankan coach Tom Moody made a valid point when he said that a World Cup final should be played over its full course of 100 overs giving both the teams an even chance to win. In this context, the Duckworth-Lewis method is rather archaic as the numbers it throws up defies logic, like South Africa were asked to score 22 runs in one ball in the 1992 World Cup semifinal against England! It is time the ICC revisited the rain rule that is simple enough to understand and more importantly, is based on logic and commonsense.

If anything, the ICC would have to reinvent the World Cup wheel so that their showpiece event would showcase the best of cricket and not the worst. For cricket to go global, it needs to first set its house in order so that the new members of the “family” would feel at home and welcome.