And in case one dose of “iconic competitiveness” isn’t enough for you, the new format features a Super Seven stage and the tantalising prospect of another India vs Pakistan fixture. We can, of course, only speculate about the reasons why, but the Light Roller suspects someone at the ICC may have mixed up the fable about the goose that laid the golden eggs with the recipe for making foie gras.
Anyway, back to the comfortingly familiar and India have been slotted for the both the final game of the main group stage and, assuming they get through (wibble!), the final game of the Super 7. They’re also in action on a “blockbuster opening weekend” – despite a) the Super Series (sic) preceding it and b) Thursday not being the weekend – against Australia. Because what are we here for, after all?
As an aside, the 2027 World Cup structure is a thing of beauty: 14 teams to start with, three of which get to play a little pre-tournament round-robin; squished down to 12 in two groups of six; followed by a single group of seven; and then finally, more than six weeks later, the last four reaching the semi-finals. And to think some people have the front to suggest the ODI World Cup has become a bloated waste of time!
Bloated it may be, but ICC comps still tickle the bean counters in ways that bilaterals increasingly don’t. And if there’s one thing that cricket knows for sure, it’s who pays the bills.
