The Worst World Cup Ever?

My seven year old nephew, Aman, a cricket fanatic said, "this is the worst World Cup ever!". While this may be the first World Cup he has watched, I couldn't agree more. The tournament has been about as exciting as a root canal.

We are eighteen matches in and the story so far is a cure for insomnia. 

Twenty-two percent of the matches have been washed out. Out of the fourteen that had results, only two matches were worth watching till the end. The rest were more or less one sided. You know the tournament is in trouble when Australia beat Pakistan by 41 runs and a headline reads- It was Closer than You Think.

Really? 41 runs was closer than I think? I want to meet the salesperson who can sell that story. 

Zzzzzz....

There hasn't been a match that fans are going to remember in the near future. The only memorable moment has been the Indian Captain Virat Kohli asking fans to clap for Steve Smith. Sure, that is heartwarming and good sportsmanship, but what about the cricket? 

People are blaming the weather and it has definitely played spoiler but the matches themselves have been insipid. The lack of competitiveness should be disturbing for the higher ups in the ICC considering it is an event called the "World Cup" and has only 10 countries participating. Despite this small number how is it that the level of competition is so low?

There are 24 countries expected to participate in the football Euro 2020 competition and 32 countries participated in the 2018 football World Cup. I'm not foolish enough to compare Cricket to Football but if you have only 10 countries playing shouldn't we expect better contests?

Going ahead there isn’t much to be optimistic about.

Sri Lanka- A country that usually does well in tournaments has struggled to rebuild itself after the legends from their country, Sangakkara and Jayawardene, retired a few years ago. The draw doesn’t favour them either. Their matches against Bangladesh and the mercurial Pakistan were washed out. The rest of their contests are against the top contenders.

Afghanistan- They have exciting players and may cause an upset or two but they have no real shot at consistently winning.

Bangladesh- A talented team that usually plays spoiler, they need to pull of something special to make it to the top four. 

South Africa- Struggling to find their identity and confidence they are uncharacteristically mediocre. While the Proteas may surprise us in the coming weeks, at the moment they look as lost as anyone who plays against Nadal in Paris.    

Pakistan is consistently inconsistent and their Jekyll and Hyde routine can be mesmerisingly exciting and excruciatingly frustrating at the same time. Who knows with these fellows?

And then there were five- Windies, Kiwis, Pommies and Aussies and let's not forget our beloved Desis.

As the league stage winds down the importance of each match and net run rate will come in to play but that is expected with this format. More importantly, when will the cricket get exciting? In a tournament of ten teams when you have three or four that are playing the game at a lower level than the rest, it looks unlikely that nails will be bitten. 

I hope it turns around and we get an exciting month ahead. So when you pray for good weather also pray for good competitive cricket, because if things don’t change, I’d invest in coffee futures. 

Photo Credit https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket-world-cup/batsmanship-to-sportsmanship-virat-kohlis-smith-gesture-elevates-status-5774315/