The Surfer

... If only Sourav (Ganguly) had heeded the warnings (about not hiring Chappell as coach) of several Australian players, including the highly-respected Steve Waugh, Indian cricket would have been saved of this 'tamasha'," he added with obvious bitterness at the nasty turn that Indian cricket has taken in the aftermath of the World Cup flop.

The ridiculous schedule has been highlighted by Australia's justifiable decision to allow its players to leave camp for three days this week before they return for the England game on Sunday. This tournament is as much about which team can stop itself from going stir crazy in the never-ending wait for matches as it is about firing up for the big occasion.

Ground security makes Checkpoint Charlie look like a farm gate and is a constant irritant for those who take advantage of park-and-ride that leaves cars several miles away from a greenfield site with huge unused parking space. Once in, spectators are stuck: exit passes are not issued, another rankle when they are forced to wait five hours for play to start. Others, largely from abroad, have been forced to purchase blocks of tickets for extraneous matches which they are unable to attend if they want to attend the final. So the ICC has the revenue in the kitty and issues "sold out" statements while viewing the empty spaces.

The nightmare seems to get worse every day for organisers, sponsors and hosts. Crowds are not turning up to matches, viewers are tuning out by the millions and sponsors are running as far from the event - and the game - as possible.

There was only one match of adult cricket taking place as well. That was on an ill-kept field less than a mile outside the village of Swetes, where Ambrose grew up and where his mother used to ring a bell every time she heard on the radio that her son had taken another Test wicket. Even from the boundary the pitch looked rough - and it certainly played rough. Balls flew through at varying heights, making it difficult for batsmen to play shots with any confidence. They took a few blows on the body.

The physical toll on fast bowlers is enormous. There are freaks of nature like Glenn McGrath and Courtney Walsh who, team-mates joke, could bowl in gum boots on snow and not leave footprints, so light is their tread. But Watson is not one of these.

Television helps to disguise some of the flaws of the tournament. In between overs we can watch the tourist trailers of sun, white sand and azure seas, which are more pleasing to the eye than some of the building sites outside the grounds. More important, the cameras can be turned away from row upon row of empty seats in brand new stands.

The runs have dried up. The man with more one-day international runs than any other … found himself impotent to prevent his team's demise. He seemed a peripheral figure, scoring seven and nought in the two defeats that condemned his team to early departure. In truth, Tendulkar's decline has been in evidence for a while, even to his normally adoring public. His dismissal in his last Test match in Mumbai against England provoked a round of boos, and recently in a Times of India poll 92 per cent of respondents felt Tendulkar should quit.