The Surfer

The Wankhede area seems back to normal. The sun sets beautifully just half a block over on Marine Drive. Delivery lorries come and go at the stadium. World Cup signs remain pasted on the gates, instructing about proper credentials. Two Indian passers-by ask if Sachin is in. A security guard tells you basically to get lost and notes the Indians' first home match will occur on April 15.

A World Cup closes down, and a league revs right up, hungry sponsors at the ready. Really? Really amazing.

My first encounter with Chesters was in 2007, when I visited Sri Lanka on a research trip for my impending book. It wasn't quite a pre-planned appointment with him, but as I started meeting several legends of Ceylon cricket - the likes of the late Channa Gunasekara, Abdul Lafir and the likes, it became evident that Chesters was going to be an important source in understanding the finer details about the game in that country from a neutral perspective, the unique premise and perspective he brought as a New Zealander, who lived in South Africa for many years, before settling down in Sri Lanka and importantly, as someone whose seen the game from the sort of adjacency, many would dream of.

Dhoni and Ranatunga both had moderate attacks, which makes their achievement in winning a World Cup even more meritorious … Neither Dhoni nor Ranatunga were ones to lament their lack of attacking options; they just devised plans to beat the opposition with the bowlers they had in hand. Dhoni even admitted after the semi-final he’d misread the Mohali pitch but that still didn’t stop him from finding a way to win with the attack he had…

Dhoni gradually brought his team to a peak during the tournament and they were at their best in the final. And, as good as they were, not even Imran, Taylor or Ranatunga put on such a commanding personal performance as Dhoni did in a World Cup final.

The reality is that the game desperately needs to expand its horizons, and Ireland and the Netherlands are frontiers, and the ICC has abandoned them.

The ICC says the door remains ajar for minnows in the 2019 tournament. That is a sop. One-day cricket will be dead by then.

Of the nine personality types, Type 3 and Type 1 dominate with two cricketers respectively falling into the category. While none of the cricketers fell in the Type 4, 5 and 6 categories, some had overlaps of Type 7 and 8 together; 3 and 8 together and 2 and 8 together. Since little information was available on Munaf Patel, his personality type could not be ascertained. Read on for the details.

TYPE 3 | M S DHONI & VIRAT KOHLI: Optimistic, adaptable, success-oriented, self-assured, and charming. They can also be status-conscious and highly driven for advancement. They are diplomatic and poised, but can also be overly concerned with their image and what others think of them. Consequently, they can be impatient and image-driven. They seek to be loved for performance and achievement. Masters at appearances-they are able to recover quickly from setbacks and charge ahead to the next challenge, staying informed, knowing what's going on, competent and able to get things to work efficiently and motivate others.

It is true that India has won the World Cup before, in 1983. But that was an underdog victory that did not reflect the real cricketing balance of power. In 1983, England still shaped and administered the game.

Now, 28 years on, India hasn't just won the World Cup, it leads the world in every department of the game. India has the most lucrative and influential tournament, the Indian Premier League, that dictates terms to the rest of the world. It has the biggest market and the most iconic players. It has now hosted a superb World Cup and dominated on the pitch.

As long as he's [Sachin Tendulkar] physically feeling alright he could have a couple more years left, and I think he has a few milestones in the back of his head that he wants to reach before he does give it away. Is he the best cricketer of all time? Don Bradman is one of those guys you can never compare to as he's out there on his own but Tendulkar is certainly the best player of the modern game. His record and his consistency has been unbelievable.

There surely were players in this World Cup who will shape the next 10 years, but it takes a degree more foresight to pick them out than it would have in 1996. Virat Kohli is one, though he is yet to make his Test debut, Suresh Raina another. Stuart Broad and Eoin Morgan. New Zealand could build their batting around Kane Williamson. Umar Akmal and Angelo Mathews are two more. Mohammad Amir would surely have joined them, if his career had not run off the rails. These seem like slim pickings, at least in comparison to the riches we have enjoyed for the last 15 years.

It [signing overseas players] is just not worth the money or effort any more … Gone are the days of ‘Proctershire’ when Mike Procter became as much a part of Gloucestershire folklore as the Severn Bore, of Viv Richards and Joel Garner at Somerset, of Clive Lloyd at Lancashire, of Malcolm Marshall at Hampshire, of Richard Hadlee and Clive Rice at Nottinghamshire and so many more legends who made various counties their second homes.

There were, of course, slip-ups and misses. So it was unfortunate, but unavoidable in the circumstances, that Pakistan lost its status as a co-host long before the tournament began. In every other way, the purported “snooze-fest” of February ended as the delight of spring, to which ICC associate members like Ireland contributed every bit.

Not for nothing does the world now look as this country as the story of the future, and the self-belief that will be derived from seeing their team beat every world champion team of the past — the West Indies, Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka — on their way to the pinnacle will serve to underline aspirations and self-confidence still further. India now knows that it can take on — and best the best.