The scenes at the presentation ceremony best captured the farce the 2007 World Cup ended in. ICC CEO Malcolm Speed and president Percy Sonn were roundly and boisterously booed as they were introduced on the dais by Tony Cozier. Everton Weekes and Sir Garfield Sobers were cheered with reverence.
The message to the ICC was clear: 'We love our cricket, our cricketers, but you guys in suits need to smarten up'.
Two finishes on the final day of the showpiece event are about as bad as one can botch it. The farce was precipitated by ignorance and poor communication. Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene refused to blame the defeat on the darkness the game ended in. His gesture, after a discussion with his counterpart Ricky Ponting, to ask his batsmen to come out and face three overs to get it over with was decidedly statesman-like.
That he had the rules figured out and knew the match had ended when his batsmen went off for light after 33 overs because the 20-over mark had been completed, and that the umpires and match referee didn't, says everything.
But, to not salute Australia, to refuse to hail the side as the greatest of all time, to let the bungling of the administration displace this magnificent band of men from their position of prominence would be remiss.
Adam Gilchrist's 149 must go down as one of the best ever. He cranked it up like a few illustrious men - Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards, Aravinda de Silva and Ponting - have in World Cup finals as Australia made a massive 281 for four in its allotted overs.
The match was reduced to 38 overs-a-side after two hours and 45 minutes were lost due to rain, and Gilchrist batted as if to make it up to the Kensington Oval crowd. Not having had the best of World Cups, and to turn it on so readily in its most momentous game said much of the man.
Lanka, to its immense credit, didn't roll over. A stirring chase, led by Sanath Jayasuriya's and Kumar Sangakkara's sparkling half-centuries, ensured the final didn't go the way of the previous two editions. The pair didn't allow Australia to determine the contest early, and it wasn't until the clouds threatened that the innings derailed.
"We were going pretty well with Sanath and Sanga. But, with the second cloud cover, we weren't sure if it would rain. So, we basically had to go for the Duckworth-Lewis (par) score. We were behind a bit, and Sanga got out to Hogg, and we lost wickets. That increased the D/L par score," Jayawardene remarked later.
The scores: Australia 281 for four in 38 overs (Adam Gilchrist 149, Matthew Hayden 38, Ricky Ponting 37) bt Sri Lanka 215 for eight in 36 overs (Sanath Jayasuriya 63, Kumar Sangakkara 54), by 53 runs on D/L method.
Note: Rain before play reduced the match to 38 overs per side. Sri Lanka's innings was also interrupted by rain and the target revised to 269 in 36 overs
Toss: Australia.
Man-of-the-match: Gilchrist.
SUNDRIES
West Indies umpire Steve Bucknor made a record fifth appearance in a World Cup final
It was the first World Cup final decided on Duckworth-Lewis (D/L) method
Ireland figured in its first World Cup
The winner, Australia, took home BP 1.4 million while the total prize-money was BP three million
The player-of-the-tournament, Glenn McGrath, received a diamond-studded cricket ball
-- Compiled by G. Viswanath
QUOTES
We knew the Duckworth-Lewis system can get complicated, especially when you're under pressure, and that proved to be the case. In the days leading up to the final we were saying that every time there is a big game, Adam Gilchrist does something special. He did it again.- Nathan Bracken, left-arm speedster
I am unbelievably proud of what we have achieved. All the guys have done it for eight weeks and everything came together for us in the final. It is a day I'll never forget. - Ricky Ponting, Australia captain
It was simply a brilliant innings from Gilchrist. Unfortunately, I was the opposition captain watching it. This was a lifetime opportunity of winning the World Cup, but it was taken away by a great innings.- Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka skipper
It was really pleasing to do it on an important day. I've been getting a lot of starts but hadn't converted them. Much will be said about Glenn (McGrath) and he deserves all of it, but also (coach) John Buchanan, 'Buck', has been amazing for Australia.- Adam Gilchrist
