The pitches in the Caribbean will help the teams from the sub-continent in the World Cup.
By invitation
Javed Miandad
Last year was the year of the football World Cup. It may have been the biggest sporting event in the world but for us die-hard cricket buffs — especially of the subcontinent — there is nothing bigger than the 2007 cricket World Cup.
I am really looking forward to the event since it is being played in the West Indies. It’s a wonderful place to play the game — the atmosphere, the music and the people, all of it makes you enjoy the game, even though you might not get packed stands like in India and Pakistan.
Australia, because of their dominance, will be the favourites. But then again, the wickets in the West Indies are a lot like the ones we get here in the subcontinent. So, I believe India, Pakistan and even Sri Lanka, have a very good chance of doing well.
The West Indies have the home advantage and they have been playing some good ODI cricket over the last one year. And they have a man named Brian Lara in their ranks.
They could be a force to reckon with. But as we have seen in the past, ODI cricket is about the given day. So, expect a lot of surprises during the tournament.
Today (Friday) Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Justin Langer bid adieu to cricket. It is going to be a big loss to Australian and world cricket. Shane Warne was the best the world has ever seen and it would be very difficult to replace him.
But, then again, we know how strong a development structure Australia have. They always find new players who gel into the team so well. They seem to find one match winner after another with so much ease.
It is high time teams and administrations elsewhere, especially in the subcontinent, looked into their youth programmes.
We find it so difficult to fill in the gaps once a senior member of the team retires. Our domestic cricket is not structured enough. 2007 should be the year to bring about these changes.
We saw Twenty20 cricket catching up around the world. Because it is so fast paced and attractive, people are flocking to the grounds. Hence, financially it is very viable for the organisers.
But it need not be good for the game. Skill is sacrificed for slam-bam kind of batting. It is very easy for bowlers to lose their confidence, getting hit all over the park.
But, I think the promoters will do enough to make sure that we see more of this kind of cricket in the year to come. In all, 2007 looks a very exciting year for cricket. I am ready for the ride, hope you all are too.
As told to Ankita Pandey
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