Point of no return?

I promised to wait until the Cricket World Cup was over to give a fair assessment of the entire tournament -- from the way it was run, to attendance figures, to the West Indies team's performance. However, with 16 days left, I think I can make conclusions about a few things. Among them:

-- The ICC was overambitious about its ability to pull off a mega event. Some things were not expected, such as the murder of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer. Others should have been diagnosed, such as the fact most Caribbean people can't afford to pay $100 U.S. to attend a cricket match, especially when they have the option of watching it on TV.  In Antigua, some fans showed up at the new Sir Vivian Richards Stadium and did a U turn after they saw long lines for tickets and long lines to go through security. Also, instead of being able to park right outside the stadium, they had to park as far as a mile away and either walk to the stadium or pay a fee for a shuttle. The ICC shot back, saying tickets were available online months before the tournament and fans have no excuse for waiting until game day. Well, ICC members don't seem to understand the region. Caribbean people are renowned procrastinators. Plus, people who pay premium prices don't tolerate inconvenience.

-- West Indies captain Brian Lara criticized the low attendance figures for the first two matches in Antigua. For the West Indies' third match, this time in Guyana, a huge, animated crowd showed up, and the West Indies proceeded to get their butts whipped again, this time by Sir Lanka. Also, if you're relying on attendance to motivate your team, that's not a good thing.

-- The tournament hasn't gotten glowing reviews from visiting players. Some, such as Australia's Matthew Hayden, have complained that the tournament is too long and that for the Super 8s, they could have two matches each day instead of one. Hayden also called the field at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua "marginal" and criticized the sandy outfield, comparing it to being at the beach. Hayden also was taken aback after he couldn't use a bowling machine because there was no electricity at the stadium.

-- The ICC in recent days has tried to relax the restrictions at matches, such as allowing musical instruments. Asked about banning items such as conch shells in earlier matches, World Cup CEO Chris Dehring had the dumb quote of the week: "The conch shell thing was precautionary because we wanted to know who was bringing things," he said. "We wanted to make sure they were reputable people."  And how exactly do you determine that?

-- Oh, by the way, I have to share a great quote. After a small crowd showed up for South Africa's match against Ireland in Guyana, one journalist quipped: "Are spectators among the banned items?"

It is too early to call the event a failure, but it would take a miracle for a reversal of fortune at this point. Stay tuned.

Comments

[exile]

It sounds like the ICC and West Indies officials are starting to point fingers at each other regarding who had more say over ticket prices. Whoever it was, people clearly need to be fired for this.
My question is, why not simply have a locals discount? Show your drivers license or whatever, get a cheap ticket. Such simple steps that could have been taken to avoid all these empty stadiums.
My question is, now that Sri Lanka's got injury problems, New Zealand has had an off match, South Africa still looks so inconsistent and England seems mired in mediocrity, can anybody at all stop the Aussies?