Top teams jostle for glory in wide open World Cup

(Reuters) - After 42 matches, including a tie, the wheat has been separated from the chaff and the organisers are already hailing what they claim is “potentially the greatest World Cup ever”.

There were upsets here and there and England often suffered every time a giant-killing act was pulled off in the sub-continent.

But as the tournament heads into the knockout phase after more than a month of group-stage sparring, there is actually no surprise as the top eight teams, including two of the three co-hosts, made it to the business end of what is turning out to be the most open World Cup since 1999.

With every quarter-finalist having lost at least once over the past month, the International Cricket Council (ICC) believes the event has produced enough drama and has all the potentials to be the best World Cup on record.

“We have surely been treated to a real feast of 50-over cricket with some outstanding games,” ICC President Sharad Pawar said on Monday.

“Few who were in Bangalore will forget the tied match between India and England or Ireland’s record-breaking triumph against England while the passion shown by the home supporters for the hosts Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka has been spectacular.”

Pawar cited overwhelming television ratings to prove his point.

“The television audience figures have set new records and the India v England match was the most viewed game in ICC Cricket World Cup history with multi-millions in India alone tuning in,” Pawar said in a statement.

Much of the drama was in Group B where England’s amazing inconsistency prolonged the suspense till the end before Andrew Strauss and his men joined South Africa, India and West Indies in the quarter-finals.

Comparatively, Group A was a dull affair with Pakistan, Sri Lanka. Australia and New Zealand never really losing sleep over their quarter-final prospects.

In Group B, England tied a run-feast with India, went down sensationally to an Ireland powered by Kevin O’Brien who smashed the fastest ever World Cup century, taking just 50 balls to reach the 100-mark.West Indies paceman Kemar Roach recorded the first hat-trick of the tournament against the Netherlands, a feat Sri Lankan pace bowler Lasith Malinga replicated just 24 hours later in a Group A match against Kenya.

Injuries to players such as Dwayne Bravo (knee), Kevin Pietersen (hernia) and Stuart Broad (side strain) did rob the tournament of some sheen but their absence, by and large, has not really been felt either by the fans or their teams.

Going into the knockout stage, there is no single overwhelmingly favourite team unlike in the late 1970s when Clive Lloyd’s West Indies dominated the game or the first decade of this century when Australia were virtually invincible.

Many expected India to beat every opponent in front of their demanding home crowd but Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men look pretty vulnerable, especially with their batting line-up’s tendency to collapse in a heap that undid several of their strong foundations.

South Africa seemed to have struck just the right blend of spin and pace in their attack and their batting looks good but the defeat by England sowed new seeds of doubt in the fans’ minds if the team has actually learnt to cope with pressure.

Australia’s aura of invincibility is a thing of the past and their 34-match unbeaten run in the tournament dating back to 1999 was snapped by Pakistan on Saturday.

Their bowling looks too pace-heavy in the sub-continent’s slow and turning tracks and skipper Ricky Ponting’s personal form would be a major reason for concern.

Pakistan seemed to have shed the inconsistency they were notorious for and have adjusted to life without pace duo of Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, who are serving bans for corruption.

Their opening pair, however, has not clicked as a pair yet and skipper Shahid Afridi’s bad patch with the bat showed no signs of ending soon.

In contrast, co-hosts Sri Lanka look in good shape.

Their top order batsmen have been among the runs and the bowling looks good enough to restrict or bowl out any opponents on slow wickets.

England returned from the brink of elimination to reach the quarter-finals but their inconsistency would not convince even the most ardent fan that they can lift the elusive trophy.