Aussies prove mettle once again

You can’t beat the Australians at cricket. This was reaffirmed amidst the chaos and darkness of Bridgetown, Barbados, when the best team in the world clinched its third successive World Cup title.

The Sri Lankans were worthy finalists but the Australians were a class apart. Adam Gilchrist’s blitzkrieg at the start of the innings demoralised and later destroyed the Lankans.
Gilchrist had a fairly quiet tournament till then. His opening partner Matthew Hayden had hogged the limelight with 659 runs in the tournament. But cometh the hour, cometh the man.
After gauging the pace and bounce of the wicket for six balls, Gilchrist went after Lankan veteran Chaminda Vaas, hitting him for two fours and a six.
He scored 24 off the first 24 balls he faced and 125 off the next 80. It probably was the most destructive innings in a World Cup final.
Destructive aptly describes Australia’s World Cup campaign. Except for a few jitters while playing South Africa in the early stages of the tournament, Australia swamped all before them.
The victory against South Africa was all the more significant as the latter had taken over the top one-day ranking.
Australia’s approach was clinical and precise. They had done their homework and it showed. Nothing illustrated this better than the way they targeted South African batsman Jacques Kallis. They had him in their grip both mentally and technically.
Though Hayden scored tons of runs, the real hero was pace ace Glenn McGrath. His swan song on the world stage could not have been scripted better.
Rightly named the Player of the Tournament, McGrath gave the performance of his life. Before the start of the World Cup, the critics had dug into McGrath, asking him to save the blushes by quitting before the event.
At the start of the tournament, McGrath was not even assured of a place in the final eleven. The veteran proved his class and mettle with some of the most crucial spells of his career.
Though he was sometimes attacked in his early spell, he came back to take wickets in the latter part of the innings.
Captain Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke had a good tournament with the bat while Shaun Tate and Brad Hogg shone with the ball. Tate’s speed and the deadly yorkers he delivered gave Australia the extra edge. Hogg had one of his best tournaments in a long time.
The Lankans were the second best team in the tournament without a doubt. Despite a few hiccups on the way to the final, they played exciting cricket.
Veteran Sanath Jayasuriya was in vintage form while captain Mahela Jayawardene played one of the innings of the World Cup in the semifinal against New Zealand.
Muthiah Muralitharan picked up a lot of wickets while Vaas utilised his experience admirably. The bowling hero, however, was Lasith Malinga. With his slinging action and extreme pace, Malinga made crucial breakthroughs.
The South Africans disappointed as they had done in the previous World Cups. Their performances were inconsistent and they had the ultimate humiliation of
losing to Bangladesh in the Super 8s.
New Zealand looked good till the last few days to the semifinal. Then they lost their way and the demons of the old resurfaced.
The depth in batting was tested in the latter stages and it did not come up with the goods. The bowling, with the exception of Shane Bond and Daniel Vettori, was disappointing.
There was much expected from the hosts West Indies. But as usual, they crumbled in the key stages. Captain Brian Lara quit international cricket and this is certain to bring more chaos to a weak side.
Bangladesh can afford a few pats on the back for their performance in the tournament. Though, they remained unpredictable, they at least beat two major teams – South Africa and India – and also managed to enter the Super 8s.
The shock exit of both India and Pakistan took some of the gloss away from the tournament. But both those teams paid the price for poor selections and lack of application.
Kenya were disappointing in this World Cup and the lack of exposure to big time cricket showed. The Netherlands, Canada and Scotland earned some valuable experience but they need to do a lot before they can compete at the highest level.
Ireland were one of the teams of the tournament. They were the classic example of a team playing well above themselves when it mattered. Their enthusiasm made up for their lack of experience. Ably led by Trent Johnston, the Irish team brought back the joys of cricket and proved to the world that cricket is only a game.
The other minnows must take a leaf out of Ireland’s book and think positively so that in four years time, they will be ready to perform well in the next edition of the World Cup.
That would be a true boost for the globalisation of cricket.

By BABU KALYANPUR
babu.kallianpur@tradearabia.net