The World Cup runneth over

After seven gruelling weeks, for participants and spectators, the cricket World Cup is over. Perhaps the death of Bob Woolmer cast a shadow over anything that happened thereafter. But the absence of the two biggest crowd-pullers, Pakistan and India, put a different complexion on what followed. Although to many the outcome was never in dispute; Australia showed themselves to be true champions.

What is in dispute in the appalling administrative decision taken by the organisers. It was also obvious to anyone who watched the matches on television that the event had prostrated itself before the mighty advertiser's dollar, as so much time was spent on the interminable advertisements (which eventually became a turn-off for the product), than on the game itself.

The final, with its umpiring fiasco and finish in the dark merely epitomised all that had gone before. Let it be hoped valuable lessons were learnt for the next World Cup.