da betway： As World Cups go, the South African version of 2003 fell short ofexpectations because of the failure of favoured teams to make the Super Sixsection of the tournament
Lynn McConnell24-Mar-2003As World Cups go, the South African version of 2003 fell short ofexpectations because of the failure of favoured teams to make the Super Sixsection of the tournament.At what should have been the showpiece stage of the event, especially in thebid to retain interest, South Africa, the West Indies, Pakistan and Englandwere all missing.Say what you will about the state of the game in the world, no World Cup canafford to lose their combined fire power.The tournament format was flawed. Hopefully this can be remedied for thegood of the game before the World Cup of 2007.Australia and India, on the form shown in the lead-up to the final, deservedtheir places. It was outstanding to see Sachin Tendulkar back in suchdomineering touch while the Australians demonstrated their undoubted depth,not only in playing ability but in selection choice.It was disappointing to witness the capitulation of the New Zealand side.With or without the Kenyan issue, this side had an outstanding opportunityto do better than any previous New Zealand side but they fell well short oftheir abilities.It was disappointing to hear the team management express the view, when theside’s performance was criticised at home, that everything had been goingwell until the last two games (against the two finalists as it turned out).That was precisely when the team needed to be firing at its maximum!Oh, and one other thing. The tournament theme music, with Nelson Mandelapounding the advertising hoardings, was a superb representation of theAfrican nature of the event.