2011 world cup format is the one of the worst ever!

not just worst out of all cricket WCs but sports in general.

It's probably designed to give Pakistan more of a chance to progress to the KO stage of the competition - so I wouldn't complain too loudly if I were you!

no one knows how Pakistan will play

Not even the Pakistanis!

I know how Pakistan will play...

what is the format?

The worst ever, apparently.

The format is 14 teams broken up into two pools of 7. Each pool plays a single round-robin and the top four from each pool qualify for knockout quarter-finals.

It is an absolute turkey of a format.

We are going to play 42 matches over four weeks to narrow the tournament down to eight teams. I wonder who those eight teams are going to be?

We then have a situation where the first-placed team in one pool will play the fourth-placed team in another. All that hard work will count for nought (just like what happened to South Africa in 1996 - an absolute sporting travesty if ever I've seen one).

This takes the worst of the 1996 tournament (quarter finals that are all but certain to render the pool games meaningless) and mixes it with the worst of the 2003 tournament (an extra minnow in each pool - making the meaningless group stage even longer. 30 of the 42 games in the group stage will involve at least one minnow).

I will predict it now. The first four weeks of the tournament will be extremely tedious. We'll then have one week of excitement which will throw up a couple of good matches.

The only good thing about it is that it will be over in 38 days, making it shorter than the 2007 debacle.

They should have just gone with the same format as 2007 (four pools) but played 2 games per day...the prelim stage would have been over in less than 2 weeks.

Hass wrote:The format is 14 teams broken up into two pools of 7. Each pool plays a single round-robin and the top four from each pool qualify for knockout quarter-finals.

It is an absolute turkey of a format.

We are going to play 42 matches over four weeks to narrow the tournament down to eight teams. I wonder who those eight teams are going to be?

We then have a situation where the first-placed team in one pool will play the fourth-placed team in another. All that hard work will count for nought (just like what happened to South Africa in 1996 - an absolute sporting travesty if ever I've seen one).

This takes the worst of the 1996 tournament (quarter finals that are all but certain to render the pool games meaningless) and mixes it with the worst of the 2003 tournament (an extra minnow in each pool - making the meaningless group stage even longer. 30 of the 42 games in the group stage will involve at least one minnow).

I will predict it now. The first four weeks of the tournament will be extremely tedious. We'll then have one week of excitement which will throw up a couple of good matches.

The only good thing about it is that it will be over in 38 days, making it shorter than the 2007 debacle.

there you have it!

well said Hass

PlanetPakistan wrote:no one knows how Pakistan will play

Except the bookies

Marlon Samuels is due to play, isn't he?

People are starting to complain and its only day 3...

I've just printed out the schedule and highlighted the games worth watching. Apart from the England games (i'll watch all of them), the next one is South Africa v West Indies on Thursday. But does it really matter if either of them win or lose? Will it really affect their progress in the tournament?

PlanetPakistan wrote:no one knows how Pakistan will play

The bookies?

Note to self. Read entire thread before posting

Henry wrote:I've just printed out the schedule and highlighted the games worth watching. Apart from the England games (i'll watch all of them), the next one is South Africa v West Indies on Thursday. But does it really matter if either of them win or lose? Will it really affect their progress in the tournament?

I CBA to watch any of it until the knockout stage, as you say it's pretty meaningless right now.

And further makes the T20wc look a stellar tournament.

Bishbashbosh, all over in 14 days.

Seriously there should be 2 games a farking day minimum in the early stages

taipan wrote:

PlanetPakistan wrote:no one knows how Pakistan will play

The bookies?

Note to self. Read entire thread before posting

And the original post was made almost a year before no-ball-gate, which just shows how unsurprising last summer's events were.

Well we're still waiting for a close and competetive match. Let's be honest- England should thrash the Netherlands tonight.

Over a month still to go. Anyone excited yet?

Could end up the dullest WC ever. Then again, perhaps you don't want it too interesting too soon as in 2007, with India and Pakistan knocked out early, Ireland and the Bangers going through, and a suspected murder thrown in as well.

Let's be honest- The last half decent World Cup was in 1999. And that was merely ok.