World Cup 2007

How fondly will people remember the world cup 2007. For many reasons off the field activities overshadowed some great performances on the field.
Ireland beating Pakistan was a huge shock and the aftermath is still going on now. Bangladesh beating India and consequently sending them packing. Matthew Hayden's batting throughout the tournament was superb. Who can forget Herschelle Gibbs smacking Van Bunge for six 6's in an over.
The semi finals were a huge let down. The hype going into them suggested two close games. South Africa ranked number 1 in ODI's coming into the tournament were thoroughly hammered. Australia outclassed them in every aspect and roared on to the final.
The second semi final between Sri Lanka and New Zealand looked to be a good contest. Sri Lanka made a solid 289/5 off 50 overs. New Zealand looked good at 105/2 after 22 overs. They completely subsided thanks to the magican that is Murali who took 4/31 off 8 overs. New Zealand 208 all out off 41.4 overs.

It must be said that the organising off the tournament was terrible. The grounds were all completed on time and looked fantastic. The question why on earth did the organisers have ticket prices so high. Obsurd to think that they thought they would sell out the grounds. West Indies played poorly and that dented the size of crowds.
In the final two weeks prices were lowered and in some matches fans got in free. It was a way of repaying the fans and admitting they were wrong.
Overall the atmosphere was non existant up until the last two weeks. Poor crowd attences and the lack of vibrant and loud horns meant the crowds were too quiet. It was meant to be a carnival,celebration but the organisers stopped that.