A mismatch made in ICC
Eight mismatches before you reach the first game with the semblance of a competitive whiff does not do cricket any good, writes Ian Chappell.
THE ICC Champions Trophy indeed; this is a great misnomer that has been perpetrated on the public. Not only did the fans have to sit through eight matches that were no more competitive than me running a lap with Hicham El Guerrouj but the eventual winners will carry home the trophy without having tested themselves against at least four of the Test playing nations.
If Clayton's is the drink you have when you're off the booze, the early stages of this tournament has been one you watch when you don't want to partake of any real cricket.
Eight mismatches before you reach the first game with the semblance of a competitive whiff does not do cricket any good.
As former Indian leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan dryly observed; "Suddenly every international match is being played for practice.”
And if I hear once more that the thrashing Australia administered to the USA will help the American players learn about cricket at the top level I'll explode.
If I believed that the American players actually learned something (and I don't) I would have to ask the question; "Then, when are they going to put this newly acquired knowledge into practice?"
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