Praise the Cricket Gods

Written by Sanjay Kewlani

Friday, 23 February 2007

Just when things start looking predictable, those good old cricket Gods intervene and shake things up.

At the end of the Ashes series and after India and Pakistan’s battering in South Africa, it looked like this was going to be one of the most predictable World Cups. Australia looked like they were on course to an unprecedented third World Cup added to their trophy cabinet with some token resistance from South Africa. Of course, any fan of the game knows that it is utterly silly to make these kinds of predictions in cricket because the Gods who guide the destiny of the game are notoriously capricious.

The events of the last couple of weeks bear this out unequivocally.

First, an utterly demoralized England touched the nadir of their fate and start experiencing the joys of the upward curve. They bounced back to trounce Australia in the CB cup. The best part about their victory is that they did it without Michael Vaughan at the helm and realized that they do not need talismans to get back their mojo.

Secondly, India won back to back series against West Indies and Sri Lanka. Being a typically pessimistic Indian fan I will point out that the victories were at home where the Indian tiger roars loudest. But still these victories were without relying too heavily on one or two players. Various individuals chipped in at different times and Ganguly continued his remarkable comeback.

Thirdly, wonder of wonders, New Zealand completed a whitewash of Australia! And they did this by recording three amazing milestones. They beat Australia by 10 wickets in the first match and recorded the second and third highest successful run chases ever against an Aussie attack that included one of the most miserly pace bowlers ever, Glenn McGrath. One prediction here, I will not be surprised at all if Shane Warne comes out of retirement for the World Cup.
The contests seem more evenly poised.

Australia has lost some of their sheen of invincibility.

South Africa is at the top of the heap.

England is on an upswing.

India is showing a promising balance and has a couple of comeback kids who have a lot to prove.

New Zealand is on a high and has shown that they can chase huge totals on small grounds.

Sri Lanka is an outstanding one day unit and will be fortified by the return of Vaas and Muralitharan

West Indies have the home ground advantage.

And finally Pakistan can never be written off, especially when Inzamam is in the team.

So I’m not laying any bets yet. This World Cup is wide open

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