Sporting An Opinion

It’s the end of the road for Pakistan and cricket fans will certainly rue the fact that this enormously talented team could not stick around for the next stage of the tournament. For the moment, though, all attention is on the events surrounding the death of their coach Bob Woolmer. Latest reports suggest that there was evidence of foul play and strangulation and/or poisoning have been cited as one of the methods. The events, whatever they may turn out to be have once again brought to the fore the underbelly of cricket.

If we though the cricketing world had risen above the events of the match fixing imbroglio, Woolmer’s death may once again point to the strong connection between betting and international cricket. And rumours that it may have been the betting underworld that could have killed Woolmer makes this even more murkier.

Once again, off-field events have highlighted that no amount of measures are enough to keep all unwanted elements away from the game. And if Woolmer was killed because he was reportedly going to expose the betting syndicate involved, things start to look even more grim. For now, they even have access to the players and officials at such close quarters.

While off-field events may well be dominating the World Cup related headlines at the moment, the on-field action is heating up as well. Pakistan’s going home and as are most of the minnows. Ireland, though, will be around for another month battling it out with the big boys and another upset may not be entirely out of question. Bangladesh is the other minnow who is giving sleepless nights to the big boys, especially India and while this augurs well for the game, it’s something to think about for the broadcasters and other sponsors of the World Cup.

If India gets knocked out, there is more than just pride that is lost. Big monies are riding on the Indian team and everyone from the TV channels to the various sponsors of the team and the tournament stand to lose a lot. For the moment, though, India needs to focus on beating Sri Lanka and not worry about all the external factors.

Groups A and D are already decided with South Africa, Australia, West Indies and Ireland going through. Group B is in turmoil that is well documented! But it’s Group C that no one seems to be talking about. There is a possibility here that England may be knocked out and Kenya goes through. Sure England are a better team but they are currently in flux and unsure of their combination. Kenya has nothing to lose and an all-out performance by them could well see the English gasping to catch up. It’s an outside chance, but it’s possible! The two play on March 24 and it will definitely be interesting to watch how that pans out!

The old hands are going to make a difference this time, says Kumara Sangakkara. He has recently gone on record pitting Jayasuriya, Tendulkar and Lara as the three batsmen to watch out for. Prophetic as these words may turn out, one can’t help but feel that the list he has is too small. There are far too many players who will be “looking to go down in a blaze of glory” as he put it!

For one, there is Saurav Ganguly, revitalised and with newfound confidence after winning the man-of-the-series award in the recent series against Sri Lanka. Then there’s Pakistan captain Inzamam ul-Haq who despite all the pressure on him and his recent run of poor form can make a big difference in all the matches he plays. Rahul Dravid of India may be an underrated ODI player, but the man has over 10,000 runs to his credit in the shorter form of the game.

Then there’s Shivnarine Chanderpaul who would also in all probability retire after the World Cup. Adam Gilchrist is in the same mode as is Matthew Hayden. This tournament could well prove to be Stephen Fleming’s swansong! Jacques Kallis, Herschelle Gibbs and Mark Boucher will certainly not play in India in 2011. And then there are the bowlers…

Anil Kumble recently announced his intention of retiring from one-day cricket. His replacement issue apart, India needs to find another quality leg-spinner first! Glenn McGrath will be seen on the international stage for the last time over the next two months and it could well be the end of the road for Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan and Shaun Pollock.

What Sangakkara has said is that the three gentlemen he is referring to are legends and each would want to say their goodbyes to World Cup cricket with the winners’ trophy for company. Jayasuriya has experienced this once, Tendulkar was oh-so-close last time around but Lara has never been close enough. But this time, all three have a chance and it will be absolutely riveting to watch the three (and the others on the list) have a go in their last chance.

The list is big, the names bigger and the games promise much. Let’s hope the pitches are good and the weather stays fair. Then these gentlemen can really show the world a thing or two about playing cricket!

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Here is a link which is definitely going to delight you. Yahoo! India Sports presents Sunil Gavaskar’s Corner, where he not just writes on India matches but also records podcasts and uploads them.

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