ICC RANKINGS
Cricket’s hierarchy
With the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 done and dusted, it would be prudent to evaluate and ascertain the logistical inputs, and their success, during the tournament. At the outset, one has to concede that this championship in England and Wales involved the most number of games with each team playing as many as nine matches in the first round.
Logistically it must have been a nightmare; and therefore, it should be hailed as an achievement if the hiccups were minimal. In theory, with all the planning and expertise in place, the best the organisers could have hoped for was to minimise any shortcomings rather than try to eradicate them. Which is why an appraisal is necessary.
It would be futile to review a checklist for a World Cup as it could entail hundreds of responsibilities stemming from those at the core with a large number of volunteers involved. To any organiser, the real challenge starts with ensuring that all the volunteers are on the same page when the event kicks off and that’s easier said than done. Most shortfalls and issues take root at the volunteer level despite all the training and briefings they may have received.
“The ICC could have anticipated the weather and allocated an extra day to compensate for a rainy day since teams had plenty of off-days
The International Cricket Council (ICC) should consider itself rather fortunate that the event played out was in England and Wales rather than possibly India, the West Indies, Australia or New Zealand where logistics can be a nightmare. Whether it’s the organisers or teams, travelling from venue to venue can be challenging considering the security implications.
Thankfully in England and Wales, the transport system isn’t totally dependent on airlines – whereas in most other countries, almost all travel between locations is by air. And in a country like India where there is fever pitch madness amongst fans, security can be daunting for organisers.
A World Cup would generally ensure that the best facilities are afforded to the teams and the organising committee. These would include hotels, coaches, practice locations etc. However, Sri Lanka’s manager Ashantha de Mel lodged an official complaint with the ICC about what he said were below par facilities afforded to the Sri Lanka team.
His complaint referred to the size of the coach and quality of the pitches that the Sri Lankans were given – they were considered below par and unlike those afforded to the other teams. This wasn’t due to a deliberate ploy by the ICC but a genuine logistical issue that crops up from time to time.
While the hard work that went into organising the 2019 World Cup was noteworthy, one felt that the ICC failed to consider the impact of rain – and this reflected rather poorly on the technical committee and tournament director.
The ICC could have anticipated the weather and allocated an extra day to compensate for a rainy day since teams had plenty of off-days between games. Also, with possibly two or three TV crews in use, this could have been done quite easily.
But the organisers opted to do otherwise and this caused grief not only among the paying public and their patrons on TV but the teams too since they had to be content with shared points. In the case of Sri Lanka, there were some 11 days of inactivity without a game, which is a serious factor in the final analysis of a World Cup.
Closer scrutiny may unearth a few more chinks but overall, the 2019 World Cup was a roaring success.