Email Us Forum Mail Article Print Article

The Other Four

Thursday, March 6 2003

South Africa

Rain betrayed a nation. Not true. South Africa did not play good cricket and that is the single reason for their no- show. Right from the first day of the World Cup, they were chasing the game rather than setting standards. Bowling was below par and fielding was downright mediocre. Batting should have been much better if they had the target of winning the World Cup. Only the openers and the sloggers at the bottom were convincing and played according to the situations. Herschelle Gibbs was their best player and unfortunately, none of the bowlers created an impact and it turned out to be a pedestrian bunch.

NEW CAPTAIN: Jaques Kallis -best player in the team and has the experience

England

Nasser Hussain once again defied logic. His final few decisions in this World Cup were atrocious and disappointing from one of the best captains in this era. Why blame Nasser alone? The first decision set out by his employer was as mind boggling as his judgment of Anderson’s guile and repertoire of slower deliveries. The Zimbabwe crux should have been handled earlier and not on the eve of the match. Their wins against Namibia and the Netherlands were scratchy and only had one convincing win against Pakistan. It was another World Cup to forget for England.

NEW CAPTAIN: Marcus Trescothick- deputy to Nasser for a while and is no stranger to the new management.

Pakistan

Inherent bickering and poor form has been associated with Pakistan cricket for a long time. They won the 1992 World Cup amidst such detriments but now they do not have the leadership of an Imran Khan. Waqar Younis simply gave up. His team’s batting looked out of sorts for a long time (barring the Zimbabwean tour in December) and the bowling was average. The waning W’s of Pakistan gave the team nothing but hope in the tournament. The scuffle between Younis Khan and Inzamam was ample proof that the team never ever had harmony.

NEW CAPTAIN: Saqlain Mushtaq- He has the experience and is smart enough to know what goes and comes around in a Pakistan management. But the main problem is that he is settled in Port Elizabeth and is reluctant to have the job.

West Indies

Wrong strategy from the outset simply killed the game for them. The tactics were such that they had little room to attack with the new ball and could not afford to lose too many wickets in the first 15 overs. Containment was the order of the day for Hooper’s team and in the end there was just too much to chase everyday. Their loss to New Zealand and Sri Lanka was down to the basic strategy being wrong. Luckily, they had Lara in the first game or else that game too could have slipped away.

NEW CAPTAIN: Vasbert Drakes- highly experienced in all conditions and can be a source of great inspiration for the younger players. But he is on the wrong side of thirty and must retire after a year or two. Until then, instead of appointing Hinds so early, they must groom him a little more. Even giving him the One Day job could come in handy.

Posted by Isam