Every tournament has its ups and downs, or delights and disappointments rather. It isn’t different for ICC cricket world cup 2019 either. There are some positives like Sri Lanka beating England to make things interesting, Bangladesh showing a fight, and West Indies putting up strong performances. However, it has its disappointments too. Here are some of the biggest disappointments, and I would leave it up to you to decide the biggest of them.
Washed Out World Cup
CWC 2019 would be remembered more for the games washed out due to rain than any other record. Till now, four games were washed out by the rain, which is 8% of the total world cup games. Three of them were completely washed out, and one after just 7 overs in the game.
ICC must take the blame here. Scheduling a world cup in England in the month of June is nothing less than a crime. In spite of the knowledge about English weather, ICC chose the June for the showpiece event. This has done more damage to the game of cricket than advertising it. You cannot have the games washed out in the event as big as this. Rain is the ultimate villain for the game of cricket after all.
South Africa
Every cricket loving fan – including me – wants to see South Africa lifting the world cup at least once. They had their bad luck in the 1992 and 1999 editions, but things have spiraled down for the proteas thereon. Closest they came to win the world cup was in 2015 edition, where they lost in the semi-final to New Zealand.
Even though AB DeVilliers retired in 2018, Proteas still have Amla, Duplessis, Duminy, and Steyn who all have played the major role in the 2015 edition. They have a rich experience at their disposal, which makes them familiar proteas at the world cup 2019. In addition, they have a strong bowling unit with Rabada and Ngidi. What more do you need to win a world cup?
But look at their body language. From this edition’s opening game against England, the intent is missing. Batsmen are struggling to make runs. They’ve failed to go past 300 more than once, and even that instance came in a losing cause against Bangladesh.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s rise in the world cricket is rapid, and not many are surprised at that. During the 2015 edition, Atalans’ displayed a lot of promise and a couple of results as well. However, they have failed to win the matches in 2019. Yes, they’ve won the hearts, but they need more wins than hearts now. Afghanistan’s further rise in the world cricket is an important facet for world cricket.
The factor behind Afghanistan’s disappointment could be the last minute decision to change the guard. Fact is acknowledged that Ashgar Afghan is struggling even to keep his place in the side, but time to rob off the captaincy wasn’t right. Gulbaden Naib is visibly struggling to show the captain’s confidence.
The south Asian side had a good chance to register their first win against the tournament favorites India, with a target of just 225. However, the lack of experience to chase such totals took the chance away.
In all, washed out matches, South Africa and Afghanistan are the major disappointments of the world cup 2019 till now. What do you think is the biggest one of this? Share your comments in the comments section below.
