In one of my earlier columns at the start of the 2019 Cricket World Cup (CWC) I expressed the wish for seven weeks of unadulterated cricket enjoyment.  From Imran Tahir’s first over at the Oval to the Lord’s final’s manic ending, that wish came true (mostly). What was good about the 2019 CWC? The International Cricket Council (ICC) has nailed it with the 10-team format. There were no easy matches and the tournament stayed alive until the last few games of the group stages.  The two teams that had to qualify to get to the CWC, the West Indies and Afghanistan, ended 9 & 10.  Coincidence or not? The contest between bat and ball was far fairer than we’ve come to see in most ODI’s since the 2015 CWC. The high-scoring England-Pakistan series before the World Cup made 350 to 400 seem like the par scores, but scores around 250 … Continue reading