Disappointment is an understatement : On rain winning this year's world cup!

As millions of fans geared themselves  for what seemed to be a very open world cup for a long time, no one saw the preparation of Cricket's apex body , The International Cricket Council. To say that the first two weeks have been catastrophic would be apt. It's been a rain marred world cup and the ICC have been found wanting when it came to solutions. They have had the weather predictions for months leading up to the World Cup and yet, they never bothered to pay heed to the shifting of the venues. There have been 4 abandoned matches till now with the Marquee India- Pakistan match also in grave danger of being washed out. I can't begin to remember the last time I once saw a World Cup match without worrying a bit about the weather (Yes, there was such a time). The questions to ponder are many and I will delve into two of the most frequent ones.

Height of mismanagement?

I can't recall the last time an ICC event was so unprofessionally managed. Is it a Cricket World Cup or a World Cup full of Rains? The ICC never had any plans in place. From the drainage system of the grounds to the covering of only 3/4th's of the ground, the writing seemed to be on the wall every single time there was even a hint of a drizzle. Wet outfields, the hesitancy to curtail the match to a T-20 just for the fans who came all the way from different parts of the world was mind boggling. 1 match in 4 days is a poor showing and it is expected to rain on the 16th of June as well (for cricket lovers, another mood dampener). The decision not to have reserve days is starting to look worse and worse with each passing day. Imagine your favourite team missing out on the Semi-Finals of a Cricket World Cup just because of two washed out games. The teams are not here to chance their luck but to display their wide range of skills. To see a tournament come in once every 4 years and get flushed down the drain is disheartening for everyone.

Love for the broadcasters?

Coming to the India-New Zealand match, the ECB and the ICC officials knew it had been pelting for the last three days and the likelihood of the match even beginning was as good as USA featuring in a Cricket World Cup. Yet, they kept holding the inevitable announcement to assist the broadcasters generate their Ad Revenue. Keeping the fans waiting for what was not a possibility defied logic, tested the fan's patience and left them discontented. After a mind numbing 6 hours of delay, finally, the match was called off. To a certain extent, a part of me was gratified to know that the officials in the ICC must be livid to watch the tournament go out of the window, but then we all wanted to see a bit of action on the Cricket Field. I have been following this game for a good 15 years now and I have never seen a tournament as mismanaged and heartbreaking as this one.  The players, the fans, the commentators and the umpires, every single one of them deserved the best version of the World Cup. As ICC's negligence would have it, the winner of the tournament would be less remembered than the spoil sport rain and the inability of the ECB to conduct an error free 7 weeks for the ardent fans of this great game.