Australlia, deservedly, won the World Cup. Regardless of our number one ranking, we never really deserved it, neither did we ever feel comfortable saying that we were the number one team in the world. And, with respect to the world cup, we can't say that we are the number two team in the world - Sri Lank, were deserving runners up, and gave Australlia their closest match.
The fact is, the organising and the format of the World Cup has been a farce. A 7 week tournament? Cricket tours are sometimes shorter than that! How many people have the time to watch all the matches? And then there was the number of mismatches. In fact, it would be fair to say, that there were only a few really close or exciting matches - a small percentage. In hindsight, it all started with the "super" stage nonsense ... bring back the format of 1996! And if you want less of a knockout, then use the 2003 format without the super stage.
It is sad that some of the best players had to end their careers in this farce. Excet for Glen McGrath off course. He took the most wickets, didn't have to bat, and walked off with the player of the tournament. He went off with a high, and deservedly so. But, to see Brian Lara's last game ended with a run out, or Flemming's last match in a thrashing by Sri Lanka? They deserved better; and the cricketing supporters deserved better.
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