Australia and New Zealand lead way in return to World Cup power game

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/28/australia-new-zealand-return-world-cup-power

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This has been a World Cup of pace, power and aggression. At the Auckland semi-final Clive Lloyd, who presented the man of the match award to Grant Elliott, must have looked on and marvelled at how the game had changed since he first held the trophy aloft at Lord’s in 1975.

Yet in a way this tournament was a reversion to those early years. Back in 1975 and 1979 there was pace and power in abundance as the mighty West Indies side prevailed. In the first final Lloyd hit 102 from 85 balls; in the second Collis King, à la Glenn Maxwell, cracked 86 from 66 balls as Viv Richards looked on admiringly. On both occasions Lloyd went on to unleash his battery of fast bowlers, which, in those two campaigns, included Roberts, Boyce, Julien, Holder, Holding, Garner and Croft.

Meanwhile, Ian Chappell, Australia’s captain in 1975, was recalling how he tossed the ball to Lillee, Thomson, Walker or Gilmour in that first World Cup and all the while he was hunting for wickets rather than containment. “Taking wickets has always been the best way to slow the run rate.” The Test bowlers, most of them fast, ruled the roost. The best batsmen bashed away at the end.

Since then theories for 50-over cricket have abounded: of taking pace off the ball, of strike rotation, of field manipulation via paddles and scoops, of slower-ball bouncers, of finding the right areas (but where the devil are they now?) and adroit skill execution, of multi-dimensional one-day specialists. Remember with a grimace how, in 1999, England put their faith in Ian Austin, Vince Wells and Mark Ealham; Australia rather more successfully had Nathan Bracken, New Zealand their Gavin Larsen.

But now it is back to the power game. In Australia and New Zealand it has been a tournament of sixes and bouncers. There have never been as many of either. Anyone can clear the boundary now. In that final of 1975 there were three sixes, (two from Lloyd and one, more surprisingly, from Deryck Murray). But on the trustworthy pitches of Australia and New Zealand a six-hit has been as commonplace as a selfie at the Sydney Opera House.

Fast bowlers have grown fearful of bowling yorkers because their margin for error is so small. It is too risky and difficult for most of them; instead they turn to the bouncer. However, there are only a handful of bowlers fast enough to make this option work. It makes for a high-octane game lacking much subtlety: the edges are more likely to carry to the boundary than the slip cordon. Amid the barrage only the very best of spinners have been able to survive on the true, firm surfaces.

The old criticism about the dull middle overs of a 50-over match has seldom applied. In any case, in today’s game a bit of breathing space is welcome. Moreover, captains realise that they have to strive for wickets during this period. Sitting back and containing no longer works since batsmen with freedom can be so lethal in the final 10-15 overs of an innings – especially when batting first. Attacking, wicket-taking bowlers are essential. Venom is often more desirable than accuracy.

The best captains, Brendon McCullum and Michael Clarke, admittedly in possession of the best attacks, have realised this quicker than their peers, so it was no surprise to see them at the toss in Melbourne where, glory be, the tournament was finally coming to an end. It was beginning to feel like an election campaign, a constant backdrop to life on earth; throughout the first five weeks it scarcely mattered a jot if you missed a few days – or weeks.

It is not just the old hacks who think that the World Cup goes on too long. The players have been stranded with as many as nine days between games. Two matches per day is the obvious solution to reduce the length of the tournament, but try convincing the commercial departments of the sense of that. Not a single dollar can possibly be denied.

The ICC’s chief executive, David Richardson, has said that 2019 is still scheduled to be a 10-team tournament. This scarcely seems credible. It means the tournament will revert to being a bloated version of the resuscitated Champions Trophy, which comprises eight teams. The associates are up in arms, with Ireland as their standard bearers. It seems absurd after their three victories here that Ireland should have such a slim chance of competing in 2019.

But by the end three of the four associate teams were punch-drunk. On their last legs they were battered in the final pool games as the big boys sharpened their tools for the knock-out stages. There is a danger of zealotry among those championing the associates’ cause. Yes, they should be involved but the tournament has to avoid too many lop-sided games. It remains a delicate balancing act.

England enhanced the associates’ cause by playing like one. They were well and truly beaten by every Test nation they encountered in their worst World Cup campaign in history – and there have been some dodgy ones in recent times.

The most perplexing aspect, beyond the details of selection, was the lack of passion and ambition. Just about every side seemed to be energised and excited by the prospect of playing in the World Cup. Obviously, this applied to New Zealand and Australia, but also to South Africa, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ireland and Afghanistan. England seemed to be terrified by the onset of the tournament, fearful of mistakes and ridicule, which they duly made and received in abundance in a ghastly circle of self-fulfilling prophecy.

The rest of the world enjoyed themselves and there was much to enjoy: the preposterous hitting of McCullum at the top of the order; the fervour of Auckland when New Zealand were playing Australia and South Africa; the serene beauty of Nelson, where Ireland humbled West Indies; the majesty of twilight at the SCG; AB de Villiers rewriting the textbooks; Mitchell Starc and Trent Boult checking the assaults of marauding batsmen when most of their bowling colleagues were no more effective than Canute on the sea shore; Maxwell living up to expectations; Elliott exceeding them and Shapoor Zadran nonchalantly clipping the winning runs against Scotland with the poise of Graeme Pollock before being engulfed by his jubilant Afghan team-mates.

As for England, well, their umpires stayed on.