The battlelines have been drawn

To say that the preliminary league stage of the under-19 World Cup was eventful would be an understatement. Unfortunately, the general discontent over the conduct of the championship and the complaints galore about the sub standard nature of the pitches, the absence of reserve days, the inadequate condition of the covers and the perception of double standards involving Test and non Test nations have overshadowed the events on the field, which have been hampered by the rainy weather.

The controversy over the implementation of the Duckworth/Lewis method to spot the winner has also led to ill feeling and protests following the elimination of South Africa and Kenya, which in turn led to outsiders Nepal qualifying for the super league. But there have also been some good individual performances and keenly contested games - enough to suggest that should the weather improve, the focus during the remaining ten days of the championship will be on events on the field.

Anyway, the battlelines have been drawn. From group A, West Indies (6 points) and England (4) have qualified for the Super League. From group B, the qualifiers are India (5) and New Zealand (3). Bangladesh, also with three points, were probably a bit unlucky to be edged out. From group C, Pakistan and Nepal with four points each, moved into the Super League. In group D, Sri Lanka (6) and Australia (4) were far ahead of the competition and moved into the next stage comfortably.

In the initial matches of the Super League on Tuesday, West Indies play New Zealand, India meet Nepal, Australia play Pakistan and Sri Lanka meet England. But there is no reason for the losers in the preliminary league to be despondent. They can participate in the Plate League and so they have something to play for.