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The speculation is over and the actual cricket has begun. No longer time for slavering anticipation, now is the time to sink our teeth into juicy fifty-over action.
We must reflect on just what the opening week of the 2015 World Cup – currently scheduled to finish in late 2019 – has taught us.
1. Teams that have never played in the World Cup before are not as powerful as once thought
After South Africa reached the semi-finals in 1992, it seemed that a new strategy to go deep in the tournament had emerged: never having played in the tournament before.
But the received wisdom that a country new to the Cup retains the freshness of ideas and lack of preconceptions necessary for a successful run has been shattered by the match between Afghanistan and Bangladesh, in which the Afghans, despite being completely new to the tournament, lost.
2. Shane Watson is a canny operator
One of the wisest aphorisms of sport is “don’t flirt with form”. Shane Watson is smart enough to know the truth of this, and so ensured that he would not risk falling out of form in the early, meaningless stages, by getting out first ball and thus avoiding the possibility of knowing whether he’s in or out of form in the first place.
3. South Africa is better at cricket than Zimbabwe
Finally, the day has come when we can confidently say this.
4. England invented cricket
This isn’t exactly something we’ve learned this week, but I think it’s probably an important point to remember. As we watch the England team continue its attempts to play one-day cricket, we really should remember that no matter what happens, England invented the game, so show a bit of gratitude, eh?
And a bit of sympathy. They can’t help it.
5. Many members of the cricket media don’t know what the word ‘upset’ means
After Ireland beat the West Indies, there were many reporters and commentators claiming that this result was an “upset”.
I don’t blame them really – they simply lack education – but for future reference, anyone reporting on the World Cup may be able to bear this in mind: an ‘upset’ is what we call it when a weaker team defeats a stronger team.
What happened in the Ireland-West Indies game was not an ‘upset’. The technical term for it is ‘depressing’.
6. The greats of the West Indies are rolling over in their graves
Not all of them are dead, of course, but the ones who aren’t are probably getting into graves just to roll over.
7. 300 is a pretty good score
Some experts say that 300 isn’t a pretty good score, but I think we’ve seen that it is. A team that scores 300 has done pretty well and will probably win unless they make a tactical blunder like being the West Indies.
In fact many of the best scores in one-day cricket are over 300, including 304, 367, and 340. These scores have been proven to be far superior to scores such as 235, 187, and nought.
8. A Mitch-heavy pace attack can be quite useful
Never before has Australia entered a major tournament with an attack so reliant on men called Mitch, but this high-risk strategy seems to be paying off. The pace of Mitch Johnson, the swing of Mitch Starc, and the whatever it is that Mitch Marsh does had great success in the opening game, and hopefully will again.
Shane Watson’s reported plans to change his name to Shane Mitch are to be commended.
9. George Bailey is a vital member of the Australian team or maybe he isn’t
There’s no disputing one fact: George Bailey may or may not be an important factor in Australia’s side.
10. New Zealand has an excellent chance of winning the tournament unless they meet Scotland in the final
New Zealand started the Cup excellently, and it’s no surprise many good judges believe they’ve a big shot at the title.
The only thing that’s standing in their way is their Kiwi Kryptonite: Scotland. After flopping lamely across the line against the Scots, the Black Caps will be praying that their nemesis fails to make the final, so they can confidently face a less troublesome foe like South Africa or India.
11. Pakistan is participating in this tournament
Now this one, I am almost certain of.