So the first ball will be bowled in anger tomorrow in the Cricket World Cup. A sub-continental world cup, what can we expect? One must admit that the subcontinent is not quite the daunting place it used to be for many of the worlds cricketers. This summer we witnessed an Indian side that was much more capable of handling South African conditions than in the past and I fear that the IPL and Champions League being staged here had a little something to do with unravelling the stigma usually attached to Indian touring teams. It could also have something to do with the amount of Afrikaans spoken in the Indian change room nowadays but that topic is best left for another day. The reason why I mention all of this is because the IPL has perhaps levelled playing fields when it comes to dealing with a low, slow, turning Indian wicket. No longer are these conditions completely foreign to cricketers from the other major test playing nations and Canada, considering the amount of Indian born cricketers in their squad. Perhaps the IPL is a poisoned chalice for the BCCI and their neighbours as the once unfathomable sub-continental pitches have become a little bit more playable for certain cricketers who have not only become richer in US Dollars but also in knowledge. And as we all know, knowledge is power.
Just for a moment I’d like to speak about Pakistan. They have had their well documented problems, of that there is no doubt, but just remember that after the first six weeks snooze fest coupled with their “shocking” loss to Canada the tournament moves into knockout phase. And once we reach that phase, anything can happen. One can compare Pakistan to the enigma that is Mike Tyson. Both were world champions in the respective sports in the early nineties. Both have had their run ins with the authorities, inside and outside of their sports. And both of them possess tigers. That’s not really relevant to my point but it doesn’t make it any less true. Getting to that aforementioned point, you would not want to run into Mike Tyson in a dark alleyway or the set of a Hollywood movie because he still has the ability to knock you the hell out. The same can be said for Pakistan, even with all their spot-fixing and Shoaib Akhtar problems. You would not want to run into them in a knockout game on a dusty sub-continental wicket, because come the end of 100 over’s of cricket you may just be hearing Freddie Mercury singing vocals, and the song is not going to be “We are the champions” but rather “Another one bites the dust”.
Having a look at the tournament as a whole, expect many mismatches in the group stages and the major test playing nations to qualify for the quarter-finals, this includes co-hosts Bangladesh. I do feel, however, that the tournament will be won by sub-continental side. And what of South Africa’s chances? We’ll need to win our group to stand a chance of putting our hands on that elusive ICC trophy. If not, expect a loss to Pakistan or India somewhere along the line. It also all depends on the flexibility of our coaches and our use of our ace in the sleeve, Imran Tahir. I’ve had too much heartbreak at the hands of the Proteas to put my confidence in them again, let alone my money. I hope they go all the way, but I wouldn’t bet on it. Long live the World Cup.
Vegas out
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