I must confess that the wife and I are still pissed in the aftermath of the CWC 2007 final. I do not blame the local organizers for the farcical end. I lay the blame squarely at the feet of the match referee Jeff Crowe who in his infinite wisdom decreed that a 38 over per inning game could have been satisfactorily completed between 12.15PM and 5.30PM, with a 10 minute break between innings tossed in. Don’t you think that such a flawed decision should have been challenged by someone at the ground? Perhaps a Steve Bucknor, a product of the region, who was standing in his fifth consecutive final and who knew the conditions quite well. He might have suggested to Jeff Crowe the folly in his decision to play seventy six overs in five hours and 15 minutes; after all the Australians had three fast bowlers and could not reasonably be expected to bowl more than 13 overs per hour. The flawed decision is exposed even further when one considers that the game was played under overcast skies, fading light should have been anticipated by any official willing to exercise some basic cognitive skill level. After the game Jeff Crowe with the benefit of hindsight it seems declared that he was to blame. What is interesting is that he accepted blame but offered the following caveat:
The match referee Jeff Crowe took the blame for the farcical finish to the World Cup final which saw Australia celebrate victory twice and forced Sri Lanka to bat in pitch-black darkness. But he suggested the third umpire Rudi Koertzen may have initiated the process leading to chaotic scenes at the climax of the game.
Source: Cricinfo
As if to rub salt in the wounds of a worried public which has seen their respective governments spend over 1 billion dollars to build stadia and other infrastructure, the body which has oversight for the bizzare end to CWC 2007 had this to say:
CRICKET’S governing body has apologised for the bizarre ending to the World Cup final that was brought about
by an elementary error from match officials.
International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive officer Malcolm Speed described the finish as the most farcical conclusion he had seen in a cricket match, but said the officials responsible still had a future at the highest level.
Source: Nation
It seems that even Crowe was uncertain as to what is fate should be, but after reading Speed’s response Crowe should not worry:
Asked if it was a resigning issue, Crowe said: “I’ll have to talk with my superiors on that. But I hope not.”
Source: Cricinfo
I guess by know that you get the thrust of my thoughts around who is to blame for the fiasco on Saturday evening. A lot has been written and said and no doubt history will have to allocate volumes to record events around CWC 2007. One thing is sure Jeff Crowe should not referee another major cricket game again given his poor judgement. My conclusion about Crowe’s match refereeing skills is that he was incredibly stupid or …. The other supporting ICC cast who officiated should have to suffer a price as well though not as draconian. It seems unjust that the ICC should walk away from CWC after pocketing millions from TV rights and they are only obligated to throw a few dollars at the island nations which have mortgage their souls for eternity to host CWC 2007.
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