Mid-way glance on World Cup (7 June 1999)

7 June 1999

Mid-way glance on World Cup

Saleem Ahmed Khan

At the conclusion of the first Round Robin matches of both groups following unique features of the World Cup 1999 have emerged.

There has been an amazing increase in the number of wide balls bowled by practically every team. In their match against Zimbabwe, India bowled 30 wides conceding 50 extras out of their total score of 203. Australians also did poorly against Pakistan and West Indies. England on their home grounds has not done any better. Only 300 wide balls were sent down in the last World Cup. This year it has already exceeded 600 at the mid point. Reasons?

The Umpires seem to be much more strict than in the previous World Cup contests.

The new white ball designed for all-day matches seems to have different characteristics than the red ball used so far. The bowlers have not yet got the hang of handling its extra hardness.

The team bowling first seems to enjoy considerable advantage as the atmosphere helps swing and seam bowling. The dew-soaked pitch does not allow the ball to come up to the bat during the first 8-10 overs. Therefore winning of toss leading the looser to be put in to bat has played a major role in deciding fate of a match. Of course there have been notable exceptions - Pakistan batted first yet beat both Australia and New Zealand.

What better example of glorious uncertainties of 'One dayers' than victory of Bangladesh over Pakistan! Thus Pakistan have achieved parity with South Africa whose defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe was equally surprising.

England's loss to India was perhaps brought about by miscalculation on the part of Alec Stewart. He was aware of the impending rain during the later part of the day and when he won the toss bright sunshine was prevailing. Yet he put India to bat. Then he got out very early to an indiscreet shot. What irony of fate that the English weather only hurt England!

Opening batsmen of none of the teams have produced a solid start with the sole exception of Ganguly - Dravid stand against Sri Lanka. But in the very next match Ganguly went for a duck. Even Alec Stewart on his own home ground only once performed creditably. But we must not forget Bangladesh's opening stand of 72 runs against Pakistan.

The team who wins the toss and puts opponents to bat runs the risk of being penalized for 'Slow bowling" if it does not complete 50 overs in the allocated 31/2 hours. India lost to Zimbabwe by 3 runs because their batting span was reduced to 46 overs. Pakistan bowlers in the second innings were penalized 20% of their match fee because they took extra time to complete their 50 overs against Australia.

Even slight misbehaviour on the field e.g. Shoaib's Akhtar's staring at Steve Waugh is dealt with severely and could result in suspension of a player during forthcoming matches.

Their performance - barring the defeat against Bangladesh - so far has been sterling both against West Indies and Australia. It is the only team to enter Super Six league with 4 points in their pocket. If they win even one match against the three opponents they can hope to reach semi-finals. Whilst their bowlers have dominated their top order batsmen have been erratic. They seem to lose their nerve if one or two key players get out. Luckily lower order players have proved more dependable. The opening pair has not yet clicked and this is a major weakness.

McGrath now seems to have come back in to form and this is a danger signal for their opponents. However, the loss to New Zealand must have shaken them up.

A team with highly competitive spirit capable of causing upsets.

Have gone down as Lara has hopelessly failed them. What a fall my Lord! From being Masters of the game to being excluded from the Super Six!

South Africa was sailing like a duck on calm water until Zimbabwe proved that even professionals like S. Africa are prone to sudden loss of concentration.

India has finally woken up from slumber. Although their top order has scored well but the lower order has flopped making it difficult to chase a big score. The bowlers are now performing better but have, yet to face a strong batting,

Have already proved their fighting spirit by defeating South Africa and India.

Except for the first two competitions when West Indies reigned supreme. World Cup has been won by a dark horse. See below: 1984 - India 1988 - Australia 1992 - Pakistan 1996 - Sri Lanka 1999 - ?

On the basis of performance so far either South Africa or Pakistan should be the winner. South Africa has been particularly unlucky so far - they should have won either of the last two Cups.

Let us see if they can break the jinx on the third attempt. If it is going to be a 'dark-horse' once again then who better than Zimbabwe?

Source :: The Dawn (www.dawn.com)