CWC19: 5 Things You Must Know About From Week 1

When the great game returns to its roots I was expecting lots of fanfare, fan parks and buzz. Lots of buzz. While much of the cricket in week 1 of Cricket World Cup 2019 has been enthralling, the onshore experience for cricket tragics like you and me has been underwhelming, at best.

Here's why:

Is there a cricket world cup going on in England?

In 2015 I commented to a friend of mine who was responsible for PR for the world cup about how her team had succeeded in creating an amazing atmosphere. The buzz was palpable even outside the grounds, where everyone was talking about cricket.

In the last week, I've seen one CWC19 poster in London and that was inside Lords. There's not a single billboard in the city that let's people know that the big show is in town. In Southampton to watch India demolish South Africa, the first signs we saw that the city might be hosting a world cup match, was 100 meters from outside the stadium gates.

The staff at the Artisan, which does a great smashed avo in case you're ever in Southampton, had no idea that the world cup was in town.

How did the ECB/ICC mess up so badly?

Who thought no reserve days was a good idea?

In a country where the last drought was 16 years ago, why are there no reserve days for the group games?

If you remember the rationale for trimming the minnows from CWC19, we were told it was to increase the number of more even matches. Thereby provided greater spectacles for the fans.

IMHO, there's no point having fewer teams if you're only going to subject them to the whims of the British weather Gods. A great match is one that is actually played, not one that is abandoned.

Just ask the Pakis.

Mitchell Starc is swinging the ball again

I'm not insinuating anything here. I'm not going to dredge the depths of cricket fan sledging by bringing up events of the past. I don't want to besmirch any reputations, especially those that have already been befouled by their owners.

But, I think someone needs to point this out. Two of Australia's finest ball tamperers come back into the team and Mitch Starc, who has been resembling more of a dinghy than a destroyer for the last 12 months, amazingly starts hooping the ball around menacingly again.

Who would've thunk it?

England are no sure bets to win this world cup

Yes, they're playing at home. Yes, they have an amazing batting lineup. Yes, they've lorded over the ODI scene over the last 4 years. But a world cup is a different beast where fortunes change for no logical rhyme or reason.

The Pakis seem to have again saved their unpredictable best for these six weeks. The Aussies have 1 in-form batsman and bowling attack that can finally swing the ball again (see above). And the Indians are probably the most balanced team in the tournament.

You and I already know that it's not mountains of runs or great batting lineups that wins world cups. It's the bowling that brings home the bacon. Do England have the strongest bowling attack of the three main contenders?

My early call is that they don't.

Are India saving Mohammad Shami until July?

Remember how MSD used Piyush Chawla as the X-factor for a one-off final or a finals series? The least talented spinner to ever wear an India cap was used to befuddle the world's best ODI players in major tournaments by the world's greatest captain, ever.

I wonder if Virat Kohli is doing the same by not playing Shami? I mean no harm to Shami's reputation by juxtaposing his selection with that of Chawla's, but it makes sense that Kohli thinks playing Bhuvi Kumar in June in English conditions gets the best out of him. Shami then uses this time to rest and recharge for the big tilt at the pointy end of the tournament.

If this indeed is the plan, I think it's genius!