Cricket's summit meeting gets underway on Saturday and for the next six weeks there will be little work done in offices while discussions at homes and clubs, bus stops and railway stations will centre round the teams and their prospects as well as particular matches and players. Wherever one goes the talk will only be about the World Cup as people from eight to 80 analyze where which team went wrong and how the match was won and lost even as they discuss with considerable passion the merits and demerits of the players.
The World Cup in the Indian sub-continent has the sort of effect on the population that nothing else can have. Triumphs and setbacks in other seemingly more important global events are shrugged aside and what matters is only what happens on the field of play. And the frenzied following and the post mortems will go on for an extended period for there are as many as 48 matches before the final at Mumbai on April 2.
Some of us have a feeling of deja vu having traversed this road twice before. In 1987 India and Pakistan jointly hosted the World Cup – the first time it was being held outside England. In a region where cricket is a religion it was a success organizationally though the millions of fans would have preferred an India – Pakistan final. And though the co-hosts were knocked out in the semi-finals a near capacity crowd at the Eden Gardens big enough to accommodate 100,000 watched the final between England and Australia. Nine years later when the World Cup returned to the sub continent – with Sri Lanka being the third host – it was a whopping success again. And this time at least it was one of the co-hosts Sri Lanka that won the trophy to give a storybook finish to the classic Cinderella story.
This time around Bangladesh joins in as co-host with Pakistan unable to stage the matches for reasons that are well known. The frenzied following will again reverberate around the various grounds in the three countries and from the terrific build up it is clear that organizationally the tenth edition of the World Cup will be a roaring success. It already has a few things going for it. The fact that this is being acknowledged as a most open tournament augurs well for the World Cup.
With no clear favourite almost every match will be important in the ultimate analysis and should be keenly fought. And going by the many upsets that have marked the various editions of the competition over the years it would be a folly to take any team for granted – even those who are being dismissed as just making up the numbers like the four associate members. The format too is an assurance that almost every team has a chance of progressing into the knock out stage with each participant getting to play as many as six matches in the preliminaries.
Except for injuries to a few players the teams are at full strength and this should see to it that the very high standards associated with the mega event will be maintained. The World Cup over the years has seen some of the greatest matches and finest performances in the history of ODIs and it is on the cards that the tenth edition will live up to its lofty reputation. Sentiment too will play a part for this could be the final World Cup for many outstanding cricketers and they would like to go out on a high – preferably with the winner's medal round their necks.
The World Cup is also being staged at a crucial time as far as ODIs are concerned. There has been much talk of late as to how the runaway success of Twenty20 cricket has endangered the existence of both Test cricket and ODIs. In fact more than the former it is the latter that has come under the scanner. At times like this my mind goes back to similar fears expressed at the height of the popularity of the one day game in the 80s and 90s. The cynics at the time predicated the death of cricket's longest and traditional format which has now lasted for over 130 years. Now ironically the so-called experts are saying that it is time for Fifty50 to be phased out!
Actually such talk should cease for we have had a number of games in recent times that have been the perfect advertisement for ODIs. The contests between India and South Africa, New Zealand and Pakistan and Australia and England have produced much enjoyable cricket. On the evidence of what was seen during these matches there is no chance of Fifty50 being phased out. I have always believed that the three formats of the game can co-exist side by side and under the circumstances it was heartening to see sizeable crowds present at almost all the venues. I am confident the World Cup will do much to enhance the popularity of ODIs.
So which team will lift the trophy on April 2? Will Australia make it four in a row? Will England inscribe their names on it for the first time? Will South Africa finally shrug off the chocker tag? Will India repeat the feat of 'Kapil's Devil's' 28 years ago? Will Pakistan repeat the magic of 1992 or Sri Lanka that of 1996? Or will West Indies or New Zealand spring a surprise? To the fair and knowledgeable cricket follower it really should not matter. Just sit back and enjoy the sublime cricketing skills laced with entertainment that is in store for us. Let the action begin!
