Taking a reality check

There's been a lot of myth-busting during the course of the Champions Trophy. Three stand out.

1. Asia is not cricket's power centre, it's just a power centre for driving cricket.

For the first time since the 1975 World Cup, no Asian team made it to the semi-final of a major event. Curiously they played a part in each others demise. Sri Lanka walloped West Indies, topped the qualifier leg and entered Group B. That left West Indies in Group A and having got India's number in five out of their past seven meetings, they duly pushed them to the brink of elimination.

In Group B, Pakistan beat Sri Lanka and left them in a tight situation. They hurt themselves as well - as coach Bob Woolmer himself realised later - by getting complacent and sleeping through the rest of the tournament. Had they lost to Sri Lanka, Pakistan might have been far more determined and who knows, both teams might have gone through.

2. India is not cricket crazy, it's just crazy about Indian cricket.

Sanjay Manjrekar said it on air and everyone else has gradually realised the same. A big tournament like the Champions Trophy allows spectators a rare chance to see Shane Bond bowling to Ricky Ponting and other such battles. But hardly anyone's interested unless Indian stars are out in the middle. A few neutrals have turned up and enjoyed cheering all day - of course, they'd probably wish the underdog to win but might as well let out screams anyway - but the response has largely been muted.

3. This is not the great batting age, it's the age of great batting pitches.

Spice up the pitches and you realise how hyped modern-day batsmen actually are. Now one can only imagine what would happen if someone rules that batsmen can't make use of guards and helmets. And, in the ideal case situation, one can reduce bat weight and re-introduce uncovered wickets. It was bizarre hearing Andrew Flintoff's comment about the low-scoring nature of this tournament. "People come to watch fours and sixes, hope one gets to see bigger scores in the future matches." Sigh. Injure a man and deprive him of bowling, and he switches sides so easily.