It all started with the news that the Former Indian Captain and cricket expert Rahul Dravid found the 2015 World Cup format “too long and predictable”. It thus compelled us to understand what he meant to say. And as crazy cricket fanatics, we all should know what this format holds for us.
In his statement, Dravid mentioned that the 1999 and 2003 editions were the best format for a tournament as big as the World Cup. By this what he meant was the super sixes and super eight format respectively which were almost on the lines of a round robin format.
Let’s start with the most praised format of all times, which was the 1992 World Cup, a true round robin in every sense. A round robin format played off all teams against each other at least once before the top four clashed in the semis. This made sure that the teams had to be on their toes from the start to the end and be the best to win the Champions title.
But due to certain “unknown reasons” this format was gotten rid-off in the subsequent World Cup and Quarter-finals was introduced. The quarter-final format seemed pretty uncalled for but it has been adopted in this year’s tournament as well.
However, 1999 and 2003 saw round-robin again with a little modification and called super sixes and super eights. In super sixes, the top 3 teams (out of 6 teams each in 2 groups) qualified by playing against all other teams in their respective pools and the top 3 teams of the other pool. Very much similar to a round robin, making each team play against (almost) every team, and likewise happened in super eights which had a total of 14 teams.
So what is the current ICC World Cup format, you ask?
Here, 14 teams are divided into 2 groups, where each team is pitted against every other team in their group and the top 4 teams from each group then proceeds to play the quarter finals and that is where the important games begin.
Let’s talk about West Indies for instance. They are ranked 8th in ODIs, which means they are obviously not better than 7 more teams. They come under Pool B which includes South Africa, India, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Ireland and UAE. So, in order to get through the quarter finals, all West Indies needs to do is win matches against the minnows like Zimbabwe, Ireland and UAE. What do you think, how difficult will that be for them? It is only after they are into the top eights, will they have to vie for something.
Similar is the case in Pool A which has Australia, England, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Scotland and you can take for example Bangladesh (if they manage to win against just one more other than Afghanistan and Scotland). Also, there are no points for guessing which team gets into the top 4 from each group. Looking at the pools that have been made, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that the masterminds of the format don’t want the biggies to get knocked out in the early stages of the 6 week long marquee event.
The long and short of it is that it’s completely all right if you don’t wish to or can’t manage to watch any of the match till March 18 because the actual challenge in the series won’t begin during the first month which seems completely pointless for the viewers. As far as teams are concerned, they gain points for winning or topping the table which can prove useful during a tie, abandonment or a no result match in the quarters/semis. They get an advantage to proceed to next stage in such circumstances. Also, the teams playing the last group match have an upper hand in deciding their rivals as they will know the number of points and run rates of their rivals before they step on the field. It is possible for them to play the game accordingly and choose a rival of their choice in the next stage. This can become a crucial topic during mid tournament.
Hence, if I were to comment, Rahul Dravid is, obviously, not at all wrong about his views on the format of a game which is believed to test a team’s potential thoroughly before naming them the World Champions. Needless to say, there is a call for a change in the format, as viewers need more of competition than entertainment from Cricket.