Not the best way to go

UMPIRE'S POST

Great cricketers, they were a delight to watch when in form. Sadly, the same can't be said of Lara's and Vaughan's captaincies.

Judged on the parameters of watchability, this World Cup has been insipid. Only the tie between the minnows and Sri Lanka's exhilarating loss to South Africa have been true contests. And after the shock of Ireland and Bangladesh figuring in the Super Eight, order has been restored in the semi-final line-up.

However, the tournament's sideshow is living up to the World Cup billing. The last match of the Super Eight last night marked the end of Lara as an international cricket player and perhaps also of his opposite number, Vaughan.

Lara is the best batsman of his generation "" better than Tendulkar, Dravid and Ponting "" simply because he was the purest joy to watch. When Lara was in the mood "" his batting quality varied with it "" the bowling did not matter. He played at such a high level that the other 21 appeared to be playing in another, separate match.

However, his tactics as captain have caused such heartburn that he may exit to a collective sigh of relief from his team. He has been whimsical and aloof and his selections have baffled.

For much of last year, Ian Bradshaw and Jerome Taylor were the team's best one-day bowlers. But both were dropped repeatedly and Bradshaw was used as first change.

Rookie Lendl Simmons was picked as a batsman and put at number eight. In the crucial match against New Zealand, Lara decided to give 19-year-old Keiron Pollard his first cap, dropping steady performer Marlon Samuels.

Vaughan, after the humiliation by South Africa, admitted it was the first time he had been booed off the field as an England player. That's a far cry from the batsman who earned respect in Australia for his three big hundreds even as England lost the Ashes 4-1 in 2002, and the captain who, basking in the afterglow of an Ashes win three years later, showcased his team on top of an open bus at Trafalgar Square.

As a one-day opening batsman, Vaughan has been a burden and his captaincy, though astute, has not been able to give the team a net advantage.

Against Test playing sides, England's opening stands were worth 1, 1, 10, 7 and 9. Vaughan failed to score off 73 per cent of the balls he faced in the first 15 overs. Against South Africa, England took 14 balls to score the first run. Batting second, South Africa had scored 19 at that stage.

Both Lara and Vaughan reinforce cricket's lack of paradigms; a great player can actually become an albatross around the team's neck, while a very good Test batsman and captain can fail to justify his one-day berth.