It’s Friday morning, and I get a text message from a friend of mine. “Gentle reminder. We are World Fucking Champions. Still can’t quite believe it”. My heart races again. A tear forms in my ear. There’s a clenched fist somewhere and my heart races. And the thought is repeated over and over again: We were there. We were there. We were there. We were at the Home of Cricket, cheering every ball to the boundary like we would a horse at the Grand National. We tried to act rationally, but failed to...
A Cynic’s Review Of The World Cup
Ramiz Raja has lost it. He’s frozen mid-pitch, stuttering through a sentence he’s destined never to complete while his eyes plead with the strip for any clue on what to say next. Call it green, Ramiz, dry, a camel, swear on live television – anything – just get the hell out of there. But he doesn’t. He just stares into the camera. Silent. Organisers want you to believe that this is the biggest tournament in cricket – “make it large” they cry over and over – but one of its most memorable moments...
10 Things We Liked Most About The World Cup
So it’s all over. The stadiums have emptied, the clear up has begun, and the trophy has been safely tucked away at Lord’s – until it’s stolen by rapscallions and subsequently found under a bush by a dog. It was a pretty memorable World Cup on the whole, and here are the ten things we liked most … 1. The Favourites Won – normally we’re an island that disdains favourites. After all, ‘favourites’ normally means Barcelona, Germany, Saracens, or (until recently) the...
How They Should’ve Settled The World Cup Final
Here’s new writer Mojo Wellington with an irreverent take on the World Cup final controversy. With the result hinging on something more obscure than GATT 24 Paragraph 5B, how else might the match have been decided? Feel free to add your own ideas in the comments. What is it with obscure regulations and cricket world cups? The rain rule in 1992, the super six points carry over in 1999, and Sunday’s super over boundaries ridiculousness. (The ICC obviously likes the word “super”). Sporting...
The Boundaries Scored Controversy: The Greatest Game, But Not The Greatest Rules
James Wilson, New Zealand supporter and author of Court and Bowled: Tales of Cricket and the Law, is back. Here’s his take on that controversial 2019 Cricket World Cup final in which boundaries scored decided the outcome. Twenty years ago, Australia and South Africa played what was then widely acclaimed as the greatest one day international of all time, when they tied in the semi-final of the 1999 World Cup. There were several reasons for the match being given that accolade: the...
The 2019 Cricket World Cup Final: The Greatest Game
Immediately before yesterday’s cricket world cup final, Channel 4 showed highlights of the 2005 Ashes – a tussle frequently dubbed as The Greatest Series. Afterwards they went on to broadcast probably the greatest white ball game of all time. The 2019 world cup final will live long in the memory as the game that finished in a tie twice: the main 50 overs per side, and then the subsequent super over. It was a stunning match in every way. And ultimately an outrageous fluke and a random...
