Cricket World Cup Is Too Long 13/04/2007 |
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Australia captain Ricky Ponting said the seven-week Cricket World Cup is too long and challenged organizers to come up with a better format in 2011.
Australia meets Ireland in Barbados tomorrow, five days after its last Super Eight game against England and still 15 days before the final at the same ground. Host West Indies had a nine-day gap between two of their games, during which players took vacation and spent time with their families.
``It is a long event,'' Ponting told reporters in Barbados. ``In the future I think it can be condensed a little bit. We'll learn lessons from this time around and hopefully make it a better World Cup next time.''
Ponting is the latest critic of a competition where grounds in the Caribbean have frequently been less than half full amid claims from former players such as ex-West Indies captain Viv Richards that the ticketing structure priced out local fans.
Tournament Chief Executive Chris Dehring said the length of the tournament was dictated by the decision to allow a reserve day for every match in case it was washed out, after weather disruptions at the 2003 tournament in South Africa. In the event, only the March 27 match between Australia and the Windies was pushed into a second day by adverse weather.
``It is a difficult balancing act,'' Dehring told the Courier-Mail. ``It is difficult to maintain momentum in an event over such a long period. We would have preferred a shorter event had it been possible, but to do that there would not have been rain days. I think they may change it next time.''
The 2011 World Cup will be held across India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
``Trying to program a World Cup and make it as short as possible must be a logistical nightmare for the organizers,'' Ponting said. ``I wouldn't like to be in their shoes.''
(Source: Bloomberg.com)
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