Unpredictability may keep things interesting

Though the 2011 World Cup may have a bloated look with its two-month long schedule, the fact that anyone could win it may keep spectators gripped, says Stephen Brenkley in the Independent

The obvious home advantage to be gleaned on slow, low pitches may dissipate as the tournament progresses. The World Cup has been played twice before on the subcontinent and in neither did India or Pakistan reach the final. In 1987, they both astonishingly went out in the semi-finals, to England and Australia respectively. In 1996, after India beat Pakistan in the quarter-finals they themselves were eliminated by a Sri Lankan side who changed the face of the game with their unfettered willingness to attack.

Dileep Premachandran, however, writes in Tehelka the length of the tournament means one can skip watching the entire group phase.

By 2007, there had been another change of heart. This time, there were 16 teams in four groups of four, with the top two from each making it to the Super Eight. The idea was clearly to make the top teams lay as many golden eggs as possible. Instead, with India and Pakistan making their exit in the first round, the ICC ended up with a gigantic omelette on its face. The ‘dream’ match-up in Barbados between India and Pakistan became Bangladesh against Ireland, and thousands of hotel-room cancellations made it a disaster for everyone concerned. That experience has so scarred the ICC that the format for 2011 more or less ensures that none of the fancied teams can miss out on the quarter-finals.

In the Guardian, Mike Selvey says he understands the decision to skew the format so India quailfy for the latter stages, as he believes their progress in the tournament could define the future of 50-over cricket.

There is more at stake than India's place as cricket's powerhouse, though, for the very format is under ever-increasing threat from the instant spark of Twenty20. The 2015 World Cup, to be held in Australia and New Zealand, has long since been sold to broadcasters as a 50-over tournament but, particularly since the inception of the IPL, there has been increasing clamour to deem this outmoded, so that in the not-to-distant future, international cricket will consist only of the two extremes of Tests and T20.