New Zealand cricket team captain Brendon McCullum has said that the upcoming Cricket World Cup, which starts in Christchurch on Saturday, is the most open it has been in a long time.The World Cup, which starts on February 14 in Australia and New Zealand, has a sudden death knockout nature this season. In some recent World Cups, points from group games against fellow qualifiers were carried through to a Super Six stage with the top qualifiers all playing each other.This time, however, at the 14-team tournament split into two pools of seven, a six-match winning streak from pool play counts for nothing at the knockout quarterfinal stage, Stuff.co.nz reported.In recent times now-retired cricket legends Rahul Dravid and Graeme Smith have queried the merits of such a cutthroat format. Inevitably knockout play is required for the semifinals and final but the aim should be to have the best-performed teams reach that stage.Obviously winning consistently is still on top and an unbeaten record earns the top qualifier the better draw against the fourth-placed team in the crossover quarterfinals.However, as McCullum pointed out any one of eight teams could win the title. He said that it's the most open it has been in a long time, adding that with the nature of the wickets being quite pure it brings the batting match-winners into play who can turn a game in a 15-20 over period.Teams like West Indies, Pakistan, India, and England, while perhaps sitting in the second line of favouritism behind Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, are still studded with game-changers, especially with the bat, the report added.

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING