The Hindu : The best and worst encounters

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 22, 2003

Sport

Sport - World Cup

The best and worst encounters

By Our Special Correspondent

DURBAN MARCH 21. The India skipper was vehement. "It's been a high quality World Cup," Sourav Ganguly argued. Has it been so? It can be debatable. The teams now head for The Wanderers, a majestic arena, quite an inspiration for the actors to give an impeccable performance. It is said that the occasion brings the best out of you and the The Wanderers should act as the

catalyst for the teams to give the ICC Cricket World Cup a fitting finale.

The general consensus is that the World Cup did not produce the kind of contests the audience would have envisaged. Of course, few had expected South Africa to make an early exit, and fewer a late Kenyan departure, but the overall disappointment at the quality of matches has been genuine, and widespread.

Too many controversies and a long-drawn schedule has not really meant good advertisement for the game. The dwindling attendance at matches not featuring South Africa was an eyesore and an embarrassment for the organisers right through, especially Bloemfontein, which responded poorly in terms of spectator presence.

The tournament witnessed a grand start with South Africa brought alive in all its splendour at the Newlands in Cape Town. The essence of the opening ceremony obviously was the new South Africa with a place for everyone — the blacks, whites and the coloured.

The opening match of this World Cup promised so much when the West Indies scored a stunning victory over South Africa. A century by Brian Lara, which carried all the grandeur of a command show, triggered off the high expectations of a people who were convinced that South Africa was the team endowed with all the qualities to win the tournament. But that match stood out in terms of competitive flavour and the flair that one associated with big players.

Lara's innings was one of the finest in the history of the game, the flourish of his bat transforming purists back into time when champions like Garry Sobers and Graeme Pollock lent class to the art of batsmanship. Sadly, Lara failed to achieve the heights one expected him to. That match in Group `B' set the trend for the weaker teams to entertain hopes.

The tournament, however, was scarred by the petulance of the New Zealanders, who decided not to travel to Kenya, and the ill-advised move by the English to bring politics into sport by boycotting the match against Zimbabwe in Harare. These two eyesores showed New Zealand and England in

poor light.

The standard of competition was lifted at The Wanderers, and ironically, through another South African debacle, this time at the hands of New Zealand. Having set a target of 307, the South Africans looked at a convincing finish but rain, Duckworth-Lewis and Stephen Fleming combined to thwart the home team. Fleming produced an outstanding innings, which enhanced the stature of the venue as one which motivates the players.

In a stunning assault, Fleming snatched the game away from South Africa. The tournament came alive that evening. And then a new twist was given when Kenya shocked Sri Lanka on home turf. It

was the kind of result that makes one-day cricket such a great spectacle.

The minnows flattened the giants with rookie leg-spinner Collins Obuya announcing his potential in a big way with a five-wicket haul. It was one of the most fascinating results and Kenya drew enormous strength from that triumph.

In terms of quality, the Sri Lanka-West Indies clash at the Newlands was a thriller. If Sri Lanka won by a close margin it had to thank Chaminda Vaas, one of the three-best bowlers at the tournament. His incisive bowling highlighted his temperament. And before the league concluded, Sri Lanka tied with South Africa in its last match to shatter the host nation. It was knocked out in the first phase, leading to the sacking of captain Shaun Pollock. He did not deserve this ill-treatment when the others too were to blame.

In comparison, the group `A' matches produced a few close encounters with the India-Pakistan match an outstanding example of top quality cricket. In a titanic clash, Sachin Tendulkar batted India to a great victory. It was a win that brought cheers to an entire nation. We were told it was just another match but we knew it was not true. It was more than a match.

The Newlands witnessed another classic encounter when England gave Pakistan an unforgettable pasting and then was at the receiving end when India turned the heat at the Kingsmead with Ashish Nehra produced a dream spell. Another encounter that stood out was Australia's two-wicket win over England at Port Elizabeth. The match reconfirmed the Aussie resilience as England made its

exit.

Surprisngly, the tournament never rose to any heights in the Super Six stage, which did not produce a single memorable encounter. The one-sided nature of the contests took the sheen out of the tournament really with teams progressing on predictable lines, Kenya included. Steve Tikolo and his men did not allow Zimbabwe to spoil their party and took their place in the semifinals.

The penultimate round of the tournament too lacked quality and spirit. Australia dismissed a disjointed Sri Lanka and India was far too superior to Kenya.

Once again, the standards of cricket seemed poor and the audience could hardly claim to have witnessed a performance befitting the occasion. The general trend of the tournament continued with cricket suffering on account of indifferent form of the players and the imbalance of the

contests.

There were a few glowing moments in the tournament though. Lara's sterling knock against South Africa at the Newlands; Andrew Symond's sensational destruction of the Pakistan pace attack at The Wanderers; Fleming's inspiring knock against South Africa at The Wanderers; Marvan Attapattu's classic innings against South Africa and Sachin Tendulkar's masterly essay against Pakistan at Centurion not to forget the magical spell by Collins Obuya in taming the Sri Lankans at the Nairobi Gymkhana and the incredible catch by Vasbert Drakes to dismiss John Davison. These were moments worth preserving for eternity.

Ganguly may have his point in claiming that it has been a quality World Cup. After all his team figures in the final now but amidst all the euphoria of victories and individual distinctions, there was one grand act which, to me, stood out for its spirit — Adam Gilchrist `walking' against Sri Lanka in a crucial encounter.

In that one moment, Gilchrist gave a new image to the Australian resilience and lifted the World Cup to great heights. Cricket, indeed, was enriched by his sporting act, which may have won his team some friends in a country, which would do anything to see Australia lose at The Wanderers on Sunday.

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