Bahnz
Hall of Fame Member
Plenty of great memories over the years, but reading cricinfo's series on great WC matches, it made me think about where the world cup's rank with respect to one another. For me it's (from best to worst):
1992 - the Tournament that made me a cricket fan. Good format, plenty of exciting close games, a thrilling and at times controversial knock-out phase and ATG performances from ATG players.
1996 - the great underdog tale. In 1992 Sri Lanka probably weren't regarded as much above minnow status, and yet in 1996 they won every game they played including a rampant India and a genuinely great Australia. The introduction of the QF's added an extra layer of drama, though unfortunately the first appearance by the associate nations made the round-robin a bit of a slog.
1999 - featured the best WC game of all-time, which goes a long way. Plenty of thrilling cricketers and back and forth action between the tournament front-runners. The tournament was slightly let-down by England's insipid showing and the horrible damp-squib that was the final. Overall though a great tournament.
2015 - A fun tournament, but again, let down by a one-sided final and a shortage of really close games (outside of Eden Park). The continuing improvement of the associate nations, and Bangladesh, helped to make the group phase genuinely interesting for the first time since 1999.
2011 - A big improvement on the '07 edition, but lacking a little in drama (outside of the now pre-requisite South Africa choke against New Zealand and the India v Pakistan semi).
2003 - Upping the number of teams to 14 made the group phase a horrendous slog. The super 6 phase was a snoozer as England and South Africa missed out due to politics (England refusing to play Zim, NZ refusing to play Kenya), as were the knock-out matches. Not one to remember unless you're an India or Kenya fan.
2007 - Undoubtedly the worst. Expanding the number of teams to 16 was just ridiculous. Pakistan and India knocked out due to the punishing tournament format. A hideous super-8 phase played out in front of empty stands where a final 4 of Aus, SRL, NZ and SAF was more or less guaranteed after a handful of games. One-sided semi's, and then a farcical final that finished with Sri Lanka patting bat half volleys from Symonds and Clarke in near total darkness.
1992 - the Tournament that made me a cricket fan. Good format, plenty of exciting close games, a thrilling and at times controversial knock-out phase and ATG performances from ATG players.
1996 - the great underdog tale. In 1992 Sri Lanka probably weren't regarded as much above minnow status, and yet in 1996 they won every game they played including a rampant India and a genuinely great Australia. The introduction of the QF's added an extra layer of drama, though unfortunately the first appearance by the associate nations made the round-robin a bit of a slog.
1999 - featured the best WC game of all-time, which goes a long way. Plenty of thrilling cricketers and back and forth action between the tournament front-runners. The tournament was slightly let-down by England's insipid showing and the horrible damp-squib that was the final. Overall though a great tournament.
2015 - A fun tournament, but again, let down by a one-sided final and a shortage of really close games (outside of Eden Park). The continuing improvement of the associate nations, and Bangladesh, helped to make the group phase genuinely interesting for the first time since 1999.
2011 - A big improvement on the '07 edition, but lacking a little in drama (outside of the now pre-requisite South Africa choke against New Zealand and the India v Pakistan semi).
2003 - Upping the number of teams to 14 made the group phase a horrendous slog. The super 6 phase was a snoozer as England and South Africa missed out due to politics (England refusing to play Zim, NZ refusing to play Kenya), as were the knock-out matches. Not one to remember unless you're an India or Kenya fan.
2007 - Undoubtedly the worst. Expanding the number of teams to 16 was just ridiculous. Pakistan and India knocked out due to the punishing tournament format. A hideous super-8 phase played out in front of empty stands where a final 4 of Aus, SRL, NZ and SAF was more or less guaranteed after a handful of games. One-sided semi's, and then a farcical final that finished with Sri Lanka patting bat half volleys from Symonds and Clarke in near total darkness.
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