Done, dusted and

time to eat crow.

Maybe I should stop predicting , given my track record.

Or, maybe I should masquerade as a tarot card reader or astrologer.

Anyone at ESPN Star listening?

WTF

Here is what SL should do- keep harping on the bad light and make the game stretch into tomorrow. Make the ICC look like the asses they are.

This is absolutely ridiculous.

PS:- The Guardian OBO

Bad light stops play; one of the biggest farces you have ever seen ensues What a fittingly absurd end to the tournament: Australia are celebrating winning the World Cup, but Aleem Dar has gone over to tell them that, in fact, the game isn't over. What a farce. Even the scoreboard said 'Congratulations Australia'. Administrators were bringing on the gear for the presentation and Aleem Dar and Bucknor sent them back! Shambolic. And now we hear that the players might have to come back tomorrow for the final three overs! William Goldman was right; nobody knows anything. This is preposterous. What's going to happen now is that they are going to bowl the last three overs tonight, even though it is incredibly dark.

The Cricinfo Ball by Ball Commentary

6.17pm It's what is traditionally known as night. It is so dark but the umpires are now saying the match will continue. Heads should roll for this. The man is out putting the 30-yard circles back out. He needs a torch to do so. The batsmen are heading out to the middle accompanied by a guide dog. 6.15pmThis is a very unfunny joke, almost as if cricket was determined to show the world that it couldn't organise a whatsit in a brewery. The umpires are insisting the game is not over, everyone else thinks it is. Aleem Dar seems to be saying they can all come back tomorrow. Steve Bucknor's looking quite embarrassed in the background, letting Dar lead the process. Jayawardene is now on the pitch to talk to Bucknor and Bowden. 6.12pmAnd the farce continues! Now the stands for the ceremony have been brought on... and are off again, as the umpires shoo them away. My word. Here's a man who can tell you more, it's Martin. Now what's this? Aleem Dar is having a word with Australia, telling them they can't yet celebrate. Officially this match isn't over. You couldn't make it up. You don't have to. In fairness, this doesn't stop Australia celebrating. McGrath's all of a beam and there's a thumbs up and a smile for the tv cameras. The light's been offered and Sri Lanka have taken it - meaning Australia have won the World Cup again. They certainly deserve it and are huddling in celebration. A bit of a damp squib of an ending, which is of course fitting.

32.6

Clarke to Malinga, 2 runs, width outside off and that's worked out off the back foot to gully

and then this

The third umpire takes his time. Go on Rudi, no hurry ... and eventually he gives it out. Boos in the crowd are for the ridiculousness of the situation and not for the players
33.6	Symonds to Malinga, OUT, a big swing and a miss, Gilchrist whips off the bails, Dar calls for the third umpire as he could never have seen that far with any certainty
	SL Malinga st Gilchrist b Symonds 10 (6b 0x4 1x6) SR: 166.66
The post-match entertainers are waiting patiently. You have to feel for them

WICKET! Malinga st Gilchrist b Symonds 10 (Sri Lanka 209-8) Malinga misses a yahoo at Symonds and Gilchrist does the rest, although it took about 944 replays before the third umpire could give it.

This is a joke right?

The finals, that is.

First we get a truncated game, then the players are taken off when the rain is abating ( while playing on when it was pouring), then no one knows what the required score is, and now we are playing in the dark ( with the farcical scene of the umpires offering light).

Thank You ICC - you make the BCCI look like an efficient organization.

Congratulations Australia, although a lot of the sheen will be taken off your win because of the joke that is the ICC.

Its official..

The ICC is conducting a farce

23rd over: Sri Lanka 145-3 (chasing 282 from 38 overs) That was the end of the over. The rain is coming and the D/L par is 168. Australia are closing in on victory.

24th over: Sri Lanka 148-3 (chasing 282 from 38 overs) Here comes McGrath, and the rain is getting much heavier. Silva, trying to play himself in with rain falling and in poor light, is beaten twice by McGrath before driving a single to get off the mark.

24.5 overs: Sri Lanka 149-3 (Jayawardene 17, Silva 1; chasing 282 from 38 overs) It's Tait for Clarke, and it's now absolutely honking it down. But they are going to play on for now, and Australia will be happy with just one coming from the first five balls of that Tait over. It's all over bar some serious clouting. The D/L score par is 784,031.

Rain stops play That is probably that: Australia are ahead on Duckworth/Lewis and it seems unlikely that the players will come back on, although there is a tantalisingly hint of blue sky to the right. It's a sad but fitting way for the tournament to end, if indeed this is the end. I hope it's the end. Can it be the end? Please let it end.

To clarify if there is no more play today, Australia win the World Cup, even though there is actually the provision for a reserve day tomorrow.

The covers are coming off Sri Lanka will have a revised target if they get back on, but they already need over 10 an over. They need power-hitters but all they have are a load of wristy strokeplayers.

25th over: Sri Lanka 150-3 (chasing some random, secret, if-I-tell-ya-I'll-have-to-kill-ya target invented by two English mathematicians armed with some dice, a pencil, a bottle of Um Bongo and a vivid imagination) Tait finishes his over, and there's no news on whether the target has been revised. That sums up this whole effing tournament: the game is going on and the consumers don't even know what the rules of engagement are. Nor do the players. Not unreasonably, Jayawardene wants to know WHAT BLOODY TOTAL HIS SIDE SHOULD BE CHASING, so there's a delay in play while the umpires decide what on earth is going on. It is said that tournaments get the final they deserve, and this absolutely fiasco is entirely fitting. Apparently Sri Lanka need 269 from an unspecified number of overs. And according to the scoreboard, the D/L par score is 0! You couldn't make this nonsense up!

Overplaying his hand?

Michael Clarke into bowl. Wonder what the logic behind that move is?

Master stroke

The move to get Michael Clarke on to bowl.

In terms of a carrot, none was bigger than a part time slow bowler.

Given that Sri Lanka are behind in the D/L and the required run rate is 8.8, odds are that the Lankans would go hard at him.

Also, with the rain clouds in the horizon,the Lankans had their hands forced - to go hard and take risks against the left arm spinner.

Miss the opportunity and rue it for the next four years, take it and it still doesn't make a substantial dent on the runs required.

And now the bonus - Jayasuriya loses his rag and is bowled.

I would venture that Ponting will get his faster bowlers on now. Pace bowlers take a longer time to get through their overs and with impending rain and the D/L stacked against the Lankans, the pressure is all on them.

And now Tait.

And the Aussies slowing down the game :).. Nice

PS:- This is the "X" factor good captains bring to the game. There are captains who will go with the flow and there are others that are on the lookout for an opportunity, any opportunity and exploit it to the max.

Good job Ricky.

A 10 minute break

Chasing 282 in 38 overs, Sri Lanka gets a measly 10 minutes between innings.

I think this should actually help the Lankans - not too much time to mull over proceedings; just go out there and do it.

On the flip side, being pummeled the way they were, will the Lankans carry the baggage over the 10 minute break in to their batting?

Time will tell.

Adam Gilchrist - Centurion

20.3 Malinga to Gilchrist, FOUR, What a way to bring it up! Full ball outside off and it's slapped ferociously over mid-offf for a four. A century off 72 balls in a World Cup final. Adam Gilchrist take a bow! This has been a sensational effort and Kensington salutes him in admiration. Eight fours and six sixes. Take that

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Brilliant brilliant knock that.. Take a bow Churchy!!!

95/0 in 15

with Gilchrist (67/51) going ballistic.. How much is Dilhara Fernando going to regret dropping that half chance off his own bowling?

Sri Lanka need to re group and quickly too. Mahela's captaincy skills are going to be tested!

Partab ramachand calls it..

In the final analysis the disaster came about because of a failure of the leadership. It’s as simple as that.

A mess..

or why the BCCI is a dirty four letter acronym.

Today..

You play against a mindset, a system. You have to counter a process and while, occasionally, a burst of individual passion can prevail, an excellent process invariably wins over a period of time.

Harsha Bhogle makes some telling points.

Restrained aggression is easy to suggest, but almost impossible to implement. It’s something the winners always possess while the rest are chokers.

Sandeep Dwiwedi on the Australia- South Africa match.

• Why did you prefer Tom Moody over Chappell the last time?

Moody was hungry, he was young and he wanted to prove something. He is also excellent in man-management. It was a good choice in my opinion. I think a coach as a person has to look to improve the game and be passionate in what he does.

Thanks Stephan, but here in India we do things differently.

The head says Australia will prevail, but Sri Lanka has played beautifully throughout, and has the ammunition to cause the unimaginable upset.

The wicket will be a good one to bat on, so take your pick. And whatever the head says, the game of cricket and this tournament need a fairytale ending.

Barry Richards.

Sreesanth sparkles in Muthoot ECC B's win.

I like this kid's attitude. He goes to the MRF Pace Foundation on his own initiative, speaks his mind about things, plays club cricket in his off time.Whats not to like?

Against Mumbai, he scored a fast, hard-hitting 210 on a batting beauty (at Eden Gardens). Again, in the semi-final against Karnataka (at Eden), he gave a lesson in grinding and playing out the bowling just as we needed it.

64000 $ question is - can he adapt to different surfaces and different pressures in the International circuit? I think he will do just fine.

"The cricket world did not stick their nose into the fact that half the Australian team didn't tour New Zealand for the Chappell-Hadlee series."

Tom Moody says it the way he sees it.

Australia appoints its coaches with its captains and its anticipated teams in mind. Simpson inaugurated the position 21 years ago as a tough-talking taskmaster, as the taciturn Allan Border struggled beneath his unwanted captaincy burden.

Simpson was not so happy a fit with Border's more confident successor Mark Taylor and was replaced by the low-profile Geoff Marsh. Taylor was happy enough to rely on the cumulative cricket wisdom of Steve Waugh, Warne, Ian Healy and Glenn McGrath and had no use for an éminence grise.

Buchanan took over as coach for Waugh's first home series as captain. In his diary of that series Waugh recalls that Buchanan instantly made him "very confident about the future" because "many of his ideas and goals are similar to mine": in other words, he enhanced Waugh's sensations of control over his own side.

Giden Haigh on the Peter Moores appointment.

Signing off with a whimper

Bowl it one last time, Glenn

South Africa choke.. Today

The same old story - Australia crush South Africa to enter final.

Wisden Verdict here. Graeme Smith's Tour Diary here.
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Brian Lara tribute here, an appreciation here.
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Rohit Brijnath discusses The problem with Australian cricket. Supposedly a tongue in cheek article, it is more caustic and biting than anything else from the Brijnath stable. Good on him!!!
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There are so many people in India who follow the game but a large percentage of that need to concentrate on understanding the game and try and figure out who actually has changed the momentum of the game, it could even be one boundary you know, it could be one boundary at a crucial moment and the batsman might have got out after that but that four might have changed the game's momentum.

Anil Kumble speaks
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I've really enjoyed having a go at Brian Lara from around the wickets, which is another option I've while bowling at the left-handers," he once said. "That creates a new angle, offers more options. I hit the deck hard and get the seam movement that goes away for the left-handers, may be that's the reason. They make wrong adjustments and they nick it."

Vijay Parthasarathy profiles Oooh Aaah.
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"Playing the game is one thing and teaching the nuances of the game is another. "

India's new bowling coach on the task ahead.

Hate to say this

but is Ricky Ponting a good captain or what?

I never rated his captaincy credentials- a feeling that was reinforced during the 2005 Ashes. But I must admit, he has been impressive this World Cup.

The thing that most impressed me is how he is in total control of the situation. And when it looks like the situation is slipping away, he has made the right changes - either with the bowling or in the field.

A captain comfortable in his own skin - take a bow.

Shot selection

or lack of it - the bane of the Proteas thus far. Vide this

2.3	Bracken to Smith, OUT, Smith again walks down the pitch to meet the ball, shapes to hit over the top and a sniff of swing takes the ball past the bat and into the off stump
	GC Smith b Bracken 2 (10m 5b 0x4 0x6) SR: 40.00
South Africa 7/1 AB de Villiers 4* (10b 1x4) NW Bracken 1.3-0-5-1
5.3	McGrath to Kallis, OUT, Kallis again gives himself room and advances to meet the ball, but McGrath fires in a yorker which clatters into the off stump
	JH Kallis b McGrath 5 (12m 9b 1x4 0x6) SR: 55.55
South Africa 12/2 AB de Villiers 4* (19b 1x4) GD McGrath 2.3-1-6-1
8.5	Tait to de Villiers, OUT, full, de Villiers drives with no foot movement, and a thick kick carries straight to Gilchrist. A fourth delivery over 90mph, a good mixture of length, and now South Africa are up against it
	AB de Villiers c Gilchrist b Tait 15 (39m 34b 3x4 0x6) SR: 44.11
South Africa 26/3 HH Gibbs 3* (5b) SW Tait 0.5-0-4-1
9.4	McGrath to Prince, OUT, And that might be it ... about the worst ball McGrath has bowled, wide and angled away from the left-hander, but Prince slashes, gets a thin edge, and Gilchrist does the rest
	AG Prince c Gilchrist b McGrath 0 (4m 2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
South Africa 27/4 HH Gibbs 4* (8b) GD McGrath 4.4-1-13-2
9.5	McGrath to Boucher, OUT, McGrath on a hat-trick ... much better ball, a stock McGrath delivery, Boucher plays a nothing prod and the ball is held low down by Matthew Hayden at first slip
	MV Boucher c Hayden b McGrath 0 (1m 1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
South Africa 27/5 HH Gibbs 4* (8b) GD McGrath 4.5-1-13-3
22.5	Tait to Gibbs, OUT, got him this time! A very, very thin edge - much thinner than the one which wasn't given earlier, also to Tait - looking for the short-pitched delivery. His feet were just rooted in the crease there as he chased the ball away from his body
	HH Gibbs c Gilchrist b Tait 39 (77m 49b 6x4 0x6) SR: 79.59

As well as the Australians have bowled, the Proteas seem to be batting with some kind of a death wish.