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The Twenty20 World Cup in England has been as successful a cricket tournament as there has been for some time. Except for another disappointing performance by the hosts including a humiliating defeat to Holland the whole event has passed by at a good pace and left most onlookers wanting more.
This is a far cry from the torturous One Day World Cup in the West Indies that went on for an age and most fans had lost the will to live let alone watch by the time the final came around. The desire to bleed every last drop of money out of the event by the cricket authorities led to a stale and disjointed tournament.
This one, though, whilst I am sure trying to make the most out of the commercial opportunities, still managed to keep a structure intact and the double headers were a welcome introduction.
Steve Elworthy, the tournament director, should be congratulated on understanding what the public want as well as the cricket boards and finding a balance that met both needs - it is difficult to imagine how he could have set it up any differently. The only thing left was the main characters on the pitch to play their part.
England against Holland was the first match and despite England's frailties in this form of the game no one expected them to lose ... but lose they did. Even more humiliating was when the Holland captain was interviewed after the match he said the run chase was pretty much straight forward and it was never in doubt they would reach the target.
England, who invented this form of the game, have been eclipsed by almost every Test-playing nation and most of it is down to the selection policy. Although they did improve and get through to the Super Eights they never ever looked liked winning the tournament and Kevin Pietersen is their only match winner along, maybe, with Bopara.
Compare this to Sri Lanka and Pakistan, not to mention India or South Africa, who have several potential outstanding performers, and you can see the problem.
Australia also suffered from a slow start, were trounced by a fantastic knock by West Indies skipper Chris Gayle and never recovered. Their early exit left captain Ricky Ponting seething and it is likely the humiliation will see his side come out blazing when the Ashes start in July.
The two favourites going into the World Cup were India and South Africa but both succumbed to their customary weaknesses - in-fighting and an inability to perform in the biggest games respectively.
South Africa, in particular, looked like likely winners but in the semi-final against Pakistan they just did not turn up and never threatened to overhaul a fairly modest total. The tag hanging around their neck of 'bottlers' gets heavier each time they fail and unless Graeme Smith drags his team to victory soon in one of these games then the burden might get so big they will never win a big event.
In some ways the Sri Lanka and Pakistan final was fitting given what happened in Lahore when just three months ago the tourist's team bus was attacked by terrorists.
It is an amazing achievement that both teams have managed to get back to playing cricket of the highest standard on such a stage.
Both sets of cricketers, their boards and fans have been put through circumstances way beyond the usual and so to reach the final was well deserved.
The final itself was a little one-sided thanks to a fantastic spell of bowling from Razzaq who helped reduce Sri Lanka to 70 for 5 and only a wonderful 64 by captain Sangakkara dragged them up to a respectable total. However, this was never going to be enough, especially when Shahid Afridi decided to play his hand.
Not only has he been fantastic with the bat he has bowled magnificently and can rightly take his place as the most talented all-rounder at this World Cup. This form of the game suits him perfectly and with him in the side Pakistan will always have a chance of glory.
The Pakistan team dedicated their victory to former coach Bob Woolmer who tragically died during the World Cup in the West Indies and this was another reminder of the struggles members of this team have had to face. Along with the banning of matches in their home country as a result of the Lahore incident, it is a surprise these players are even able to turn up let alone win the World Cup.
It was a fantastic two weeks with a gifted side winning out and we can only hope future events are staged in the same exciting manner ... but as we know, this is a big if, given the ICC record ... but we can only hope they have learned their lesson.
