IMPRESSIONS ON THE MUG
CULLING OF THE MINNOWS
Let’s get this out of the way. We lament the ICC’s approach of reducing the World Cup to ten teams. In some ways, it’s an enormous loss, for the fans, for the Associate nations omitted, and for a game that has, since the inaugural World Cup in 1975, somehow managed to give down-and-out or down-at-heel nations cause to celebrate, even despite itself at times.
For World Cup 2015, the ICC reversed a decision to exclude Associate members from participating and confine the tournament to the ten full-member nations. Four Associates were included. They gave us some memorable moments. It was a fascinating, sweeping saga we compared back then to a Michener novel, with heroes and anti-heroes in all shapes, sizes and colours and a hundred little resolves as it swelled toward the greater denouement. In fact, we noted, the climax seemed premature – quarters, semis and final over in an 11-day spurt; a hurried ending to an epic.
“Tomorrow’s zeroes”, we wrote, “produced heroes, each one a joy to behold and a rebuke to the ruling body: Bangladesh’s Mahmudullah, Scotland’s Josh Davey, Ireland’s William Porterfield, Afghanistan’s Samiullah Shenwari, Zimbabwe’s Brendan Taylor. Scotland’s Matthew Cross was a revelation with the ’keeping gloves. There were many more.
“Aussies … turned up or tuned in to watch Bangladesh, affectionately referring to them as the “Bangers”, rejoicing with them as they sealed the coffin on abject England’s chances.
“IRELAND, A NEW TEST-PLAYING MEMBER, WILL MISS OUT IN 2019, AND SO WILL ZIMBABWE.”
“They’d beaten England before in a World Cup match, but who’d have thought they – and Mahmudullah – would do it again? Mahmudullah’s maiden century was an instant passport to Bangladeshi immortality. The fact that he scored another against the Kiwis – well, he’ll soon be running
