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Previous Stories Why Cricketers Are More Sporting Than Golfers A cracking tournament in Dhaka New Zealand cricket is on track Taranaki Ignore the Distractions An Extraordinary Sporting Family Another New Cricketing Experience Dave Eats His Crow - A First Time For Everything Black Caps Are Not Strictly For The Birds Not Beefing, Just Disappointed There Are None So Blind That Will Not See A Matter of A Satisfactory Start Horse Laughs and Crocodile Tears A Slow Over Rate Means A Slow Team
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I've waited a few days to get this World Cup into some sort of perspective, but I'm still spewing. The Lucky Country is now strutting all over the place, with the politicos all getting into the act and ticker tape parades and keys-of-the-city bollix everywhere. When you consider they were handed both of the South African matches by choking jaapies, couldn't there be just a little humility? Steve Waugh's famous innings, and it was a marvellous effort, nevertheless had two distinct blemishes. Gibbs caught him at 56 and then dropped the ball in that stupid showoff, and then Boucher and Klusener stood and watched the ball fall between them when he was 97. Either simple chance would have killed off Australia. However, as they say, you make your own luck. Where I believe the Aussies won it was their refusal to accept defeat and their willingness to change plans. The side that we beat so handsomely carried two lightweights in Dale and Lee so they exchanged them for Reiffel and Moody. See, longer names with two syllables! Also they used Julian and Martyn purely as backups for injury. Yet they had some distinct weaknesses. Only the Waugh twins, Warne, McGrath and Bevan can be regarded as true class. Gilchrist failed until the final, Ponting and Lehmann had only one innings each, and Moody produced great figures by taking advantage of the weak opposition. On the end Steve Waugh came through as a captain that was uncompromising and capable, but heaven help sport when you see rubbish like that go-slow nonsense! If it had been a horse race the perpetrators would have been heavily fined and disqualified for long terms for failing to perform properly. What's the difference? Betting on horses, betting on cricketers, the punter is entitled to a proper run. Which brings us to Pakistan. No one seems able to tell when they are backing themselves or the opposition, unless it is in the way they play. If you went on that then they can't have wanted to win against Bangladesh, India or Australia. It's time their performances were ruthlessly examined and their fixing dealt to. South Africa was a huge disappointment if only for the manner of their choking. Who would have believed the jaapies would blow two games like that? They will surely never forgive themselves, let alone the punters who backed them heavily. We finished a good fourth, in my opinion, but could have won the damned thing. We lacked the flexibility that Australia produced and was enough for them to win the Cup. We have just as many class players - Twose, Fleming, Cairns, Parore, Allott - and the others are just as workmanlike. We left our options on the bench. Regular readers of this column will review the pleading for the return of Doull and later Vettori to give our bowling some variation and balance. The team management failed to grasp this and must take full responsibility. A change to a more flexible administration will be welcomed. The remaining teams failed their supporters in predictable ways. India lacked bowlers to support Srinath and Kumble. England picked a bunch of old bits-and-pieces players, West Indies had only Lara (they thought) and the old fast bowlers. As it turned out they had only Ridley Jacobs. Sri Lanka thought they could win with the same team; that theory soon went out the window. Zimbabwe were the surprise package yet even they felt they had failed to play to their potential. They were dead lucky to beat India then had a marvellous win over South Africa (another choke). Bangaldesh had two welcome wins but one was expected over Scotland and the other was a present from Pakistan. It's a relief to get back to normal routine now after a hectic six weeks in Malta, England and now finally home. My collaborator Martin is in Sardinia at the moment caddying for Marcus Wheelhouse on the European golf tour. He will be back for the tests starting in a week's time and between us we'll feed you more eyewitness reports. Look out for some good results! We must put one foot on England's face and the other on their throat! In other words, do an Aussie! Send Dave your prospects for the test series.
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