Another year, another Cricket World Cup

By Rahul Patil

Cricket is a marketeer’s dream. No other sport in the world has 3 formats of the same game that are played over five days, one day and four hours. No other sport has a break every four minutes i.e. at the end of every over. A break when a wicket falls, a break for drinks every hour, a break for lunch, a break for tea, and a break at the end of an innings. Every break = advertisement slots and every advertisement slot = money.

It was a simple game until the mid-90’s. Bilateral test and ODI tours, maybe a tri series here and there, or a quadrangular series to change it up a bit, and a ODI World Cup once every four years. Cable or Satellite TV was launched in India in 1992 and suddenly a booming Indian economy started consuming copious amount of cricket from all over the world. A certain Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar became the best batter in the world and the popularity of the sport in the subcontinent went through the roof.

The success of the 1996 ODI World Cup jointly hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka was the catalyst for the ICC to come up with the idea of the Champions Trophy. A mini ODI World Cup to be held every couple of years to fill in the gap between the big World Cups. Blackcaps fans still have fond memories of our team winning the second edition in Kenya in 2000, which until the inaugural World Test Championship win was our one and only world title.

Then came high speed internet and the world changed like never before. Dail-Up changed to Broadband, Broadband to G, and currently we are somewhere between 4G and 5G. The younger generation want everything, and they want it now. A lifetime of satisfaction was seduced by instant gratification. But hidden in the need for instant gratification is a component of greed.

A combination of greed and need gave birth to international T20 cricket in 2005. The arguments in favor were “ODI’s are too long, and the phase between 15 to 40 overs is boring. If cricket is to compete with other team sports like football and basketball, we need a shorter format. One that guarantees a result in just over three hours.” (The fact that some IPL games take close to 5 hours to finish is an uncomfortable one that can be conveniently forgotten).

India’s win in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 (they haven’t won it since) led to the birth of the IPL. In less than two decades the IPL has become the second richest sports league in the world in terms of per match value. Its success has prompted T20 franchise leagues to pop up at every cul-de-sac and roundabout.

The ninth edition of the T20 World Cup kicks off in the USA and West Indies on Sunday the 2^nd of June. With 20 teams participating this is the biggest Cricket World Cup ever. Not quite the 48 teams that FIFA plans for the 2026 Football World Cup, but it’s a step in the right direction for sure. So, how will the Blackcaps fare this time?

Let’s start with the team selection. 11 of the 15 (Conway, Allen, Ravindra, Williamson, Mitchell, Phillips, Chapman, Santner, Henry, Boult, Ferguson) select themselves based on the strength of their performances. The last four names (Bracewell, Sodhi, Neesham and Southee) would have enabled a discussion. Sodhi bowled well recently in Pakistan where the Blackcaps drew a series with a second-string side. Neesham always seems to find something special in World Cups. The West Indian pitches nowadays are known to assist spin and therefore Bracewell’s all-round abilities are quite unique. That leaves us with the curious case of Tim Southee who isn’t a certain pick in the playing XI anymore, but his experience and knowledge of the conditions might have worked in his favor.

Lack of quality game time is our biggest issue. Conway is coming back from an injury. Glenn Phillips frustratingly sat on the bench for the Sunrisers Hyderabad for the entire IPL 2024 season. Williamson played just 2 games for the Gujarat Titans. Santner played 3 for Chennai whereas Henry played 4 for Lucknow.

Lockie Ferguson played 7 for RCB. He started poorly but came back strong as the tournament went along. Rachin who featured in 10 matches for CSK started promisingly, then lost his touch, was dropped for a few games but finished with a flourish. His wicket in CSK’s last game versus RCB was the reason CSK didn’t make it to the playoffs.

Daryl Mitchell played 13 out of CSK’s 14 games. 322 runs @ 29 and striking @ 142 is a decent season but on several occasions he threw it away after getting in. Normally when Mitchell gets in, he goes big. Trent Boult had a terrific IPL. 16 wickets at an economy rate of 8.30 is top notch. Remember he bowls in the power play. He is running in hard, the rhythm is back, the wrist position for the release is perfect and he is swinging the new kookaburra once again. Bracewell, Sodhi, Neesham and Chapman had decent outings in Pakistan but one gets the feeling that we are going into a World Cup a bit cold.

New Zealand are in a tricky group with Afghanistan, PNG, Uganda and hosts West Indies. The top two teams in the group will qualify for the super 8’s stage. The T20 format is what Afghanistan and West Indies are best at and with the pitches in the Caribbean currently assisting spin it will be a challenge of the blackcaps. But come World Cup time the Blackcaps always perform beyond expectations, and I am backing them to make the semifinals once again along with England, India, and the West Indies.

Defending champions England are once again looking good. A top order of Jos Buttler, Phil Salt and Will Jacks is arguably the strongest in the world on current form. India always makes it to the semis, but they really need to find solutions to their knockout games freeze. Playing at home in their favorite format will help the hosts. Remember they didn’t even qualify for the ODI World Cup last year so it will be a great opportunity for them to prove a point. Regardless of the outcome though one thing is guaranteed, the cricket will be exciting, and it will be a month-long Caribbean party. Sit back relax and enjoy the ride.

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