|
|
|
|
|
  |
|
Eleven teams, five divisions Wisden CricInfo staff - October 15, 2001
Monday, October 15, 2001 When a cliché ceases to be uttered, you know things have changed. A few years ago it was commonplace to say that one-day internationals were a bit of a lottery - any team, on their day, could beat any other team. It's a long time since even the thickest commentator came out with that one. There are 11 teams in one-dayers these days, and they occupy at least five different planes. Or should that be planets? England and Zimbabwe's recent history paints the picture -- starkly, in a series of whitewashes. England beat West Indies and Zimbabwe easily, but lost 0-3 to Sri Lanka, 0-6 to Australia and Pakistan, before winning 5-0 in Zimbabwe. The only non-whitewash was in Pakistan a year ago, when an unlikely alliance between some very small creatures (a plague of midges) and a very large one (Andrew Flintoff) made it 1-2. Meanwhile Zimbabwe have been whitewashed by South Africa, and have themselves whitewashed Bangladesh. Every sports fan knows that if A beats B, there is no saying that A will beat C. But it's different if A keeps on beating B and B keeps on beating C. Conclusions can be drawn. England aren't fit to carry Australia's drinks. Zimbabwe aren't fit to carry England's. Bangladesh aren't fit to carry Zimbabwe's. A table of results since the 1999 World Cup makes all this plain. Rather than using a conventional points system, we have divided wins by losses to cover the fact that some teams don't play very much (yes, England, that means you).
One-day internationals
Australian supporters may even deduce that their team are in a league of their own. But since South Africa have beaten the Aussies in a home series, and tied an away one, we will overrule them. Not that England can draw any satisfaction from the table. Of their 16 victories, 12 have come against Zimbabwe and one against Bangladesh. England's record against non-traumatised, non-hopeless opposition in the past 28 months is won 3, lost 16. Meanwhile Sri Lanka, who like England failed to make it into the Super Six stage of the World Cup, have gone most of the way back up the ladder and emerged as clearly the third-best team in the world. The striking thing about the table is the big gaps. Only three pairs of countries are at all close together - India and England (another reason to hope they meet soon), West Indies and New Zealand (bet you didn't expect them to be where they are), and the two Cinderellas, who, by ICC decree, must be invited to the ball. A game which used to be a great leveller has become a ruthless divider of the sheep and the goats. Personally, I blame Steve Waugh.
More from the Editor
© Wisden CricInfo Ltd |
|
|
| |||
|
| |||
| |||
| |||
| |||
| |||
| |||
|
