ICC chief concedes World Cup was overshadowed
By Simon Evans
Guyana Chronicle
April 30, 2007
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (Reuters) - Cricket chief Malcolm Speed conceded yesterday that the 2007 World Cup would be chiefly remembered for the death of coach Bob Woolmer and the chaotic finish of the final.
"It's too early to predict how history will view the tournament but certainly Bob Woolmer's tragic death and the finish of the final are two things that will be uppermost in the minds of people who followed the event," International Cricket Council chief executive Speed told reporters.
"It was disappointing there were not a great number of matches that stayed in the minds."
The seven-week tournament, the showpiece of the one-day game, has been criticised for being too long, too expensive for fans and full of mis-matches.
It was overshadowed in any case by the death of Pakistan coach Woolmer on March 18. His death is being treated as murder by the Jamaican police.
To round off a troubled tournament, Saturday's final in Bridgetown was marred by bad weather and a chaotic climax when umpires mistakenly ordered the Australian and Sri Lanka players to play the final three overs in virtual darkness.
Australia won by 53 runs.
"It was a fundamental error which should not have happened," Speed said.
He added that the ICC were looking at cutting the schedule by a week for the next edition in 2011 in the Indian sub-continent but defended the inclusion of 16 teams in the event including Bermuda, the Netherlands and Canada who were heavily defeated.