David Frith, who famously downed with a glass of wine the paper in which he had written off India in 1983, puts his money on the world champs this time
David Frith, who famously downed with a glass of wine the paper in which he had written off India in 1983, puts his money on the world champs this time
England are pretty good at giving things away. They devised most of the major sports played today around the English-speaking world, although they no longer excel at many of them.
Cricket is a case in point. People here feel aggrieved that after all these years of one-
day cricket England have taken none of the trophies.
They came close in the 1987 World Cup, losing to Australia in the final on a memorable night in Calcutta, having been choked at Lord’s by the West Indies in the 1979 final. Pakistan (and some questionable umpiring) saw them lose the 1992 World Cup final at Melbourne.
Now all eyes are on the Twenty20 World Cup, and people here in Britain are hoping for the best. The chances of any underdog winning any match are increased in the shorter version of the game. On this fact hang England’s greatest hopes.
But I don’t expect them to win. Of course, it’s dangerous to predict anything in this volatile game called cricket. In 1983, I was critical of India’s dismal performances in the two previous World Cups and suggested that if they weren’t really interested this time then they might as well not bother to turn up in the future.
They won it, of course, and I’m too modest to claim any credit for having spurred them to victory. It was later pointed out that if I was an honourable man then I would now publicly eat my words. This I duly did, in the Lord’s press-box, in full view of many people.
I was happy to do so. Those words didn’t taste too bad, especially with some good red wine to help them down.
The situation now is that India — in my calculated opinion — should win this World Cup. They adapted it from the early tentative English prototype and turned it into a global sensation. The IPL may well be peopled by cricketers from many lands, but Twenty20 is now being seen by many as an Indian specialty. So they should win. It leaves me with but one option: if India do not win the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup then I shall be obliged to eat my words yet again.
—The writer is a former editor of Wisden
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