Whose World Cup is it anyway?

UMPIRE's POST

At least in the cricket-crazy Indian sub-continent, this World Cup "" yes, it's on and entering the crucial semi-final stage "" is perhaps the least watched in three decades.

A murder and the exit of the two most widely followed teams at the beginning can break the back of any tournament. When the tournament structure was first drawn up, Barbados could look forward to clashes that would draw packed houses nearly anywhere in the world, such as India versus Pakistan. Naturally, the entire public ticket allocation was sold out in December. The early surprises have left Ireland and Bangladesh playing five matches there.

Yet, the first big blow to this tournament was dealt by the hands that were supposed to nurture it: International Cricket Council (ICC), the game's governing body, and the organisers.

The first half of the tournament has been played before empty rows. Reports talk of a grave concern about filling the stadium for the final and semi-finals. A four-person "intelligence team" set up in Barbados is contacting tour operators and sponsors who may not be using their ticket allocation so seats can be redistributed to local spectators.

In large part, this has happened because the ICC has failed to appreciate the local flavour of watching cricket in the West Indies. In a land where the Calypso in the stands stays in beat with the game, fans need written permission to bring musical instruments into the stadium.

Viv Richards, whose name is attached to the new stadium in Antigua, attributes the poor attendance to the high ticket prices "" between $25 and $100. He wrote in a column: "Local people have been priced out and I find that totally ridiculous. I have been very sad to see the magnificent new stadium that bears my name in Antigua less than full."

The organisers and ICC perhaps forgot that there were nine host countries, each with its own level of prosperity, and some with only a fraction of the income of a rich country. Prices could have been lower and staggered.

Then, the duration of the seven-week tournament is too long. Australia battled Ireland on Friday, five days after its last Super Eight game against England and with 15 days to go before the final. West Indies had a nine-day gap between two of its games, during which players took vacations. What happens to good old momentum?

This World Cup was meant to revive interest in the game in the Caribbean, where the young have increasingly been drawn to what their counterparts love in the US: baseball and basketball. It may well achieve the contrary.