SRI LANKA stormed to a comprehensive victory over England thereby setting up semi-finals to be played between the three top local sides and an intruder from New Zealand, convinced that its time has come. All four semi-finalists deserve their places. If an India and Sri Lanka final appears likeliest it is only by a small margin.
That these sides progressed means that the dreams of three admirable cricketers remain intact. Sachin Tendulkar might yet secure a World Cup, Murali might mark his retirement with one glorious last performance and Daniel Vettori could lead his country to its greatest cricketing triumph before withdrawing his services.
Despite dropping umpteen catches, the Lankans were able to hold a wary England order to 6-229 whereupon the local opening pair nonchalantly knocked off the runs with a glorious array of bold and brilliant strokes. Reputation insists that the Lankans rely a little too heavily on their first and second drops. Evidently no one told the openers as they toyed with an impotent attack.
It was an audacious partnership deliriously cheered by another packed house - one of the delights of the region is that joy comes without alcohol. Long before the end England was a beaten side. Despite the size of the defeat, though, the losers had no reason to hang their heads. They did not give up. Sooner or later the limitations of an injury-ridden team that has been too long on the road were bound to emerge. Still they provided rich entertainment, not least by turning every match except the last into a nail-biter.
England erred by batting too cautiously for too long. Taking its cue from the Kiwis the previous day, it pushed the ball around for 40 overs and then tried to accelerate. But the pitch was friendlier than Mirpur, the boundaries were shorter and the Lankans were not so easily daunted.
As far as batting is concerned, it has been an old fashioned World Cup, with teams building their innings slowly, keeping wickets intact and charging towards the end. Apart from the occasional premeditated sweep, batsmen have relied on orthodox strokes and avoided the trick shots produced in T20. The pitches have given the bowlers a chance. Scores have mostly hovered around 250 and batsmen have been forced to work for their runs.
Unsurprisingly, the winning coaches are men of common sense and high calibre. Gary Kirsten, John Wright, Waqar Younis and Trevor Bayliss are straightforward characters determined to instill a strong ethic and eager also to release the talents of their players. None of them takes much notice of fads and fashions.
Meanwhile the vanquished depart the scene. Defeat can be instructive. Any lingering doubts that cricket is a game primarily played between the ears were removed in these quarter-finals. As the great basketball player Bill Russell pointed out: "The main difference between great teams and good teams is not physical skill but mental toughness. That is how well a team can keep its collective wits under pressure." (From noted psychologist Rudi Webster).
It's the same in cricket. South Africa and West Indies cracked. The Proteas' disintegration was painful and sudden. In the space of a few minutes they lurched from roses to ruin. It was an extraordinary decline and no one was able to stop it except Faf Du Plessis, a novice blessed with a cool and calculating brain, and the courage of his convictions.
Before the collapse the Proteas seemed to have overcome their fears. The team is young and diverse and supposedly unscarred. But the strut was an illusion. Not that it was entirely a matter of mental disintegration. Johan Botha batted at seven, a position occupied in other sides by Suresh Raina, David Hussey, Jacob Oram and Angelo Matthews. The West Indies' innings was a procession of inadequate batsmen unable to impose themselves. In an hour the match was over. Chris Gayle was the worst offender. Omitting to carry out his duties as a senior player, unwilling to adjust his game to a slow pitch, he drove without care or attention.
Whereas in the 1970s and '80s the Windies were driven by black consciousness and a desire to confront their caricature, their successors are a loose collection of players representing a loose confederation. They fracture as soon as things begin to go wrong.
Cricket awaits semi-finals to be played between four fine teams.
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