The Cricket World Cup 2011

The waiting is almost over as the Cricket World Cup is about to get underway. But is there really the anticipation out there that there should be? The tournament is being played in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and goes on for about 2 months, with the prospect of plenty of “dead rubbers”. It is going to be the dullest competition in living memory, which is a real shame because it could be a fantastic spectacle.

So why is it going to be awful? Here are just a few of the reasons:

·           It’s going on for an eternity. There really is no need for a competition to last 2 months, especially as cricket isn’t the most strenuous activity in many opinions. Is anyone going to be bothered to watch all the games? No is the simple answer.

·           The grounds aren’t ready and are essentially sub-standard. Not all of them, obviously, but some games have had to be moved already due to problems with the grounds being ready which ahs infuriated fans who had made travel plans and are now desperately trying to alter them.

·           The pitches are very batsman friendly, so most games are not going to be a contest. Endless overs of medium dob and spin aren’t going to excite anyone.

·           The crowds are going to be pathetic in most cases, unless India, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka are playing in their own country. Although the Indians are reputedly passionate about cricket, they are only really interested in their own team, so Holland and Ireland can expect to be playing in front of empty stands.

The whole debacle is down to a greedy ICC who are trying to eek as much money out of the tournament as possible, cramming outfields with sponsors and getting as much advertising in during games so that they can charge TV companies enormous sums to show the footage. It will backfire in the end, as the sponsors will pull out when they realise nobody can be bothered to watch. The 50 over game is already under threat from Twenty20 cricket and this will only add fuel to the flames about to envelop the game.

I have to admit that I will not be watching, I can’t justify spending that much time watching games I really have no interest in. I imagine I won’t be the only one.