World Cup Potentially Greatest Ever

We have surely been treated to a real feast of 50-over cricket with some outstanding games,” Mr. Pawar said in a statement. “Some people have been predicting the demise of 50-over cricket but they have been proven wrong throughout ‘The Cup that Counts’.”

It’s hard to disagree – the group stage produced many more thrilling matches than expected, often involving an England team seemingly hell-bent on putting its supporters through as much suffering and angst as possible.

Despite the occasional upset, the eight teams through to the knock-out stage are the ones that everyone expected to progress: India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand and the West Indies.

And no doubt that is what the ICC was hoping for when it changed the tournament format following the 2007 event in the West Indies, when Pakistan and India were both knocked out early, taking millions of global viewers with them.

It would be fair to say that this has at least been the greatest and most dramatic first round ever, and that’s no easy feat considering the many mismatches that are part and parcel of any world cup, even football.

The associate teams, particularly Ireland, should take credit for their contribution to the tournament, but it’s still tough to argue against the decision to slim the 2015 World Cup down to 10 countries from 14 this year.

It’s been going for a month, but the 2011 Cricket World Cup only now really gets underway.

Will Mr. Pawar’s prediction come true? Well, it’s hardly been a great World Cup for subjective supporters of Kenya – a team that has slumped since surprisingly reaching the semifinals in 2003. But for most viewers and fans it’s certainly provided enough thrills and the tournament is now shaping up nicely with the drool-inducing quarterfinals in store this week: Pakistan vs. West Indies, India vs. Australia, South Africa vs. New Zealand and Sri Lanka vs. England.

The organizers will probably be secretly hoping that India prevails against Australia on Thursday, as tournaments often suffer when a host gets knocked out. Advertisers will also be cheering for India in the hope that television viewership grows as the World Cup progresses.

Mr. Pawar noted that television audience figures for this World Cup have already set new records. “The India vs. England match was the most viewed game in ICC Cricket World Cup history with multi-millions in India alone tuning in,” he said.
That record will surely be broken this week when India takes on reigning champions Australia.

But forget, for a moment, whether or not this could be the greatest and most dramatic World Cup ever, for Thursday alone could very well see the greatest and most dramatic match, ever

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Security Not An Issue

Chief executive of the ICC, is confident that security in Bangladesh is up to the task of policing the country's remaining World Cup matches, despite the stoning of the West Indies team bus on Friday. "I am satisfied that the security is firm enough to withstand that sort of issue," Lorgat said at a press conference in Chennai. "The police that were present there have made certain arrests."

Angry Bangladesh fans, whose team was bowled out for 58, the lowest total by a Full Member at a World Cup, threw stones at both team buses, cracking two of the West Indian team buses windows. None of the players were injured. Lorgat played down the incident, calling it "minor," and explained why it was not as serious as had been originally reported. "It was a few individuals who threw pebbles at the bus, and they were pebbles."

Bangladesh has hosted three matches in the tournament so far, as well as the opening ceremony, and Friday was the first incident of any security breach. Bangladesh lost their tournament opener against India by 87 runs but there was no sign of aggression from the home fans after that. They had since leapfrogged the West Indies into eighth position on the ODI rankings, and the home crowd may have expected their team to beat the West Indies as proof of their loftier position.

 Lorgat thinks that may have caused the chaos. "It was, I guess, disappointed fans at the result of their home team being defeated so convincingly by the visitors."

England, who pulled out of a match in the 2003 World Cup against Zimbabwe because of security concerns, are the next team due to travel to Bangladesh.

 Netherlands and South Africa are also scheduled to play their group stages in Bangladesh and there were some rumours swirling that the teams may not want to go to the country and the matches would have to be moved. Lorgat stamped out any such possibility. "We have a very robust security plan in place and I am convinced that the tournament is going to continue as scheduled."

He did not rule out the possibility of moving games, but said that Friday's incident was not enough to merit doing so. "We would not move a game lightly, but it is not something that we would discount. I don't believe that particular incident justifies moving the game." Bangladesh will host five more World Cup matches, including two quarter-finals.

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The Importance Of Cricket World Cup

The World Cup brings into sharp focus what cricket means to the countries or nations participating in the tournament.

These are two different entities. A country is a geographic reality which becomes a nation when all its population believes in it. The reaction of different peoples on or off television supports this view. Of course education and economics contribute significantly to countries becoming nations and their reactions in winning or losing.

As we get towards the business end of the World Cup, I thought it would interest the readers to examine this view point. All participating teams play the game to their utmost and play to win.

They tend at times to go over the top in their competitiveness but having lost, accept the result with some equanimity.

In the cases of England, Australia and say New Zealand their nations do not go into long periods of mourning nor do their governments come close to falling if their team loses. This does not imply that winning is not important nor that losing does not hurt. It only suggests that these people understand that in a game only one can win. Their press does go to town and criticism is scathing. Their Cricket Boards get duly chastised to ensure they do better next time. The sub continent how

ever only goes some way towards this behaviour. Please do read on, this does have some positives for Pakistan. Sri Lanka has a very high level of literacy which contributes towards their sensible reactions.

Bangladesh, a developing team, responds in proportion to its realistic chances. Importantly it has become a Nation that loves cricket which has come to terms with the past.

Runa Laila singing a mystic Sindhi song and the crowd reactions exhibited this and their unbiased admiration for our cricketers. India of course has a lot going for it and cricket has become a high interest, high earning sport. This tempers its behaviour but by and large it is still rabid in matches against Pakistan and nearly so in other cases. It is on a road to becoming a Nation.

Pakistan the Country I love is sadly not yet a Nation. It once did behave like one when truly confronted with an enemy and threatened with annihilation. Would this still hold true? It does however truly become a Nation, united, praying and wishing for success when its cricket team plays internationally. It saddens me that our Governments have never appreciated the unifying value of cricket for our Country. I opine that our people would forgive our rulers all their sins if they were only to manage cricket honestly and promote the God gifted talents that our players possess.

As to the World Cup, I join the entire Country in wishing that we win. It would be a miracle if this happens. History does not ignore this possibility. Realistically I see the first glimmers of Pakistan featuring in the semifinals. I look forward to watching Pakistan spectators with worried, stressful faces praying to the All Mighty for help in winning. Let us remember that other teams also have a God and that God is just.

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4000 Tickets sold for Cricket World Cup 2011 Final

Ratnakar Shetty, the World Cup's tournament director, has said that there will be only 4,000 tickets available for general public in the Cricket World Cup 2011 final.On the subject of tickets, Shetty said that the association is limited to offering only 4000 tickets for the final to the general public because it is contractually obligated to offer tickets to the ICC (8500), as well as its member clubs (roughly 20,000).

The limited number of tickets was further exacerbated by the renovation, which reduced the capacity of the stadium from 38,000 to 33,000.

One thousand tickets for the final will be available online at Kyazoonga from February 21 and the remaining 3000 tickets would be sold through the association.
When asked whether it was unfair that only 4000 tickets would be sold for a game as important as the World Cup final, Shetty said the members of the clubs are also part of the "public" and so he disagrees with that assertion, but at the same time he also pointed out that the association's hands are tied because it has to honour its contracts.

While the pitch is ready for play, Shetty was noncommittal on the subject of a practice match, saying only that there are plenty of "cricket experts on the committee" who are monitoring the pitch and that the curator has always managed to produce a good wicket.

They are also monitoring the shadow created by the new roof that creeps across the pitch as the sun sets, but Shetty said it was "not an immediate problem".

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The Mystery Of Missing Tickets For World Cup 2011

The mystery about India's missing World Cup tickets is solved: most of the tickets are still lying with the host associations who have spent the months in the run-up to the World Cup trying to perfect their balancing act due to their varied means of ticket distribution. 

Of eight Indian venues, the first few games have finally been put out for sale but elsewhere, there is a lack of order. Chennai, venue for the first of the Cup matches in India, New Zealand v Kenya on Sunday, began selling tickets early while Motera began selling tickets for Monday's Australia v Zimbabwe game on February 15. Officials in Delhi said tickets for the South Africa v West Indies game on Thursday would go up for sale "in a day or two." 

Mumbai's first match, Canada v New Zealand, will be held on March 13, with Mumbai Cricket Association's honorary secretary Lalchand Rajput saying that public sale of tickets would begin a week before the game.

In Kolkata, the focus at the moment is on accepting the fact that the India v England match has actually been shifted out of the Eden Gardens. Ticket distribution is now focussed on handing out the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB)'s large share of their quota tickets amongst members and affiliate clubs, a practice which is also common in Mumbai. "There is no panic now," said an official in Kolkata, "because there aren't going to be fist-fights at the counter." And Punjab Cricket Association said tickets for matches in Mohali would go on sale from February 21, "including for the semi-final."

Vindarbha Cricket Assocation officials said that the only match of significance that will be held in Nagpur is India v South Africa, and the ticket counters will open on March 5. "There is hardly any takers for the first match between England and Netherlands on February 22 except probably for the Barmy Army," a VCA official said. According to him the contest between Australia and New Zealand has found more attention.

This lopsidedness in ticket sales had been caused, an ICC event organiser said, "because the World Cup has been treated like a bilateral series with the local associations controlling everything." He said there was "no single central leadership" or organisation in the World Cup ticketing. "It is why there are so many complaints about tickets not being distributed, not enough information given about when they are up for sale or where."

The ICC's own quota for tickets per match is specific: it receives 1270 free tickets of which 1000 are given to sponsors, with the remaining 270 divided between the two teams (125 each) and match officials. The ICC said it could then also avail of an additional 250 hospitality seats but pay for its own catering and then had access to 2450 tickets that it could purchase for distribution amongst sponsors (2000) and member boards (450). The ICC's maximum quota per match equalls just under 4000 tickets. 

A certain percentage of tickets have also gone on sale online at the Kyazoonga website. The website had access to tickets that ranged from the minimum of five percent of ground capacity to 50 percent of ground capacity, as in Bangalore. The 'ground capacity' also includes all the quotas by the state associations and not just those up for public sale. 

Of these, tickets booked online for games in Delhi, Mohali and Mumbai have not yet been received by the website, which has therefore been unable to ship them out. A Kyazoonga spokesperson said they are now waiting for a green signal from the ICC to put the tickets for the knock out round for sale online.

The demands for tickets, Kyazoonga says, has centred around India's three main matches - versus England, South Africa and the West Indies - and the knock-out matches. The rest of the ticket sales have been poor with Gujarat Cricket Association treasurer Dhiraj Jogani saying that only 2000-3000 tickets had been sold for its first two group matches - Australia v Zimbabwe and New Zealand v Zimbabwe. 

"We are optimistic that on match day morning, people will buy tickets at the gate and walk in because that's what usually happens in Motera," he said. For the first two games, he said there would be as many as 25,000 tickets sold in the cheaper denominations between Rs 100, Rs 150 and Rs 800. 

In complete contrast to the lack of order of India's World Cup ticketing, is the Bangladesh example. Tickets for every single game in Bangladesh, which were available online, are already sold out.

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Pakistan Battle Distractions Before World Cup

Shahid Afridi has said that the victory in the one-day series over New Zealand has filled Pakistan with confidence, especially since the win was not due to individual genius but through teamwork. The 3-2 triumph was Pakistan's first series success since 2008.

"What has given us the confidence to do well in the World Cup is that nearly every player contributed towards our series win in New Zealand," Afridi told reporters at Karachi airport on Monday. "You can never expect to win depending on just one or two players. Every player has to contribute in some way."

Pakistan will be without the three players who were banned on charges of spot-fixing - Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir - but Afridi said that the team was focused on the cricket, and not off-field events. "The team has become mentally tougher and is hungry for success."

All three players received lengthy bans earlier this month, and Pakistan coach Waqar Younis said it was time to move on from the controversy. He also said the hearings in Doha hadn't distracted his players during the New Zealand series. "It is important that it's finished now and we can start afresh," said Waqar, who had been coach during the England series last year when the spot-fixing scandal erupted. "A lot of controversies affected Pakistan cricket, I am happy that it's over now.

"I am sure this one-day series win will give us a good build-up for the World Cup," he said. "We have good momentum, having played South Africa recently and now this hard-fought win in New Zealand gives us good momentum for the World Cup."

Pakistan have warm-up matches against Bangladesh in Mirpur on February 15th and against England in Fatullah to finetune their World Cup strategies. 

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Confident Of No Corruption In World Cup

Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, has said that he is confident about having a corruption-free World Cup, especially after the anti-corruption tribunal's verdict that banned three Pakistan players on charges of spot-fixing.

"I am confident for two reasons," Lorgat told the National. "The main one is that the vast majority of players are honest players. They do play the game in the spirit that it should be played. They are not seeking to make gains out of untoward means.

"Secondly, we are alive to what could come to the fore in terms of corruption. We have measures in place, and people forget we had been tracking this long before the News of the World had broken the story.

Lorgat said the ICC was having discussions at appropriate levels about whether gambling could be legalised on the sub-continent, where cricket has long been under the spectre of illegal bookies and betting. "I agree with the notion that if it is regulated, it is a lot better than if it is not regulated. We have made inquiries, and these are the things we are working towards."

Since the spot-fixing scandal broke last year, Lorgat said that the ICC had increased its anti-corruption staff, and were now "more vigilant around leads we pick up."

Lorgat has said that the punishments handed out were severe enough, and felt that it would deter players in future. "I think it would take someone very brave not to take heed of what has happened.

"In legal terms, you have to be proportionate when you mete out punishment. We must distinguish between match-fixing and spot-fixing. This is a very experienced group of judges. They have enormous experience and expertise, and they are independent. They have applied their minds and decided on what is a proportionate sanction."

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Sreesanth Replaces Injured Praveen Kumar

  

Praveen Kumar  The India fast bowler, has been ruled out of the World Cup due to an injured elbow and will be replaced by Sreesanth. 

The decision comes a day after Praveen underwent a fitness test at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore to gauge whether he had recovered from the injury sustained before the start of the one-day series in South Africa last month. 

 

Praveen, 24 had been sent back immediately from South Africa as a precautionary measure to recuperate at the NCA. The recovery did not go as planned, however, and he consulted Dr Andrew Wallace, a London-based surgeon who has treated many Indian players including Sachin Tendulkar. Praveen has been a regular with the Indian one-day side for the past couple of years and was set to be a certain starter in the World Cup, but his injury healed too slowly to allow him to participate in the global tournament. 

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Hussey, Hauritz out of World Cup 2011

  

Australia's World Cup campaign has been dealt a blow even before the squad leaves Australia, with Michael Hussey and Nathan Hauritz ruled out due to injuries.

Callum Ferguson and Jason Krejza will replace the pair in the 15-man squad, which flies out to India on Wednesday to defend the title under Ricky Ponting. 

And if losing a key middle-order batsman and the first-choice spinner was not bad enough, Australia could not even opt for their second choices in each discipline, with Shaun Marsh and Xavier Doherty not considered due to injuries of their own. It has meant a rapid promotion for the aggressive offspinner Krejza, who made his ODI debut on Sunday, while the inclusion of Ferguson was less of a surprise given his solid performances at international level over the past couple of years. 

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Sohail Tanvir Out of World Cup 2011

   

Sohail Tanvir  the left-arm seamer, has been ruled out of Pakistan's World Cup campaign after failing to complete a full rehabilitation from surgery for a knee problem that has dogged him for two years. He will be replaced by the promising young left-arm fast bowler Junaid Khan. 

A PCB medical panel, after looking into a management report, said that though "the recovery from a knee operation was good, during the [New Zealand] tour it was observed that quick movements and pickup with weight particularly on the operated knee is hindering his mobility and requires him to take a few extra steps to balance himself before throwing. The medical team and team management have opined that Sohail Tanvir still requires time to attain 100% fitness before he can compete at international level." 

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