Cricket: Guide to the World Cup

MEDIA MONITOR

Bravo Bengal Tigers

A sea of cricket lovers from street urchins to officials, students to housewives, children to the elderly lined the streets and took to front balconies and building roofs. Girls and boys, wearing masks of the Royal Bengal Tiger and painting their cheeks with the national flag joined the long lines of the procession. Euphoria coupled with patriotic zeal gripped the participants, passers-by and onlookers battling to see the national heroes from standing buses, moving auto-rickshaws and rickshaws as band groups played patriotic songs. The cricketers, visibly overwhelmed by the tumultuous ovation of scrums of masses, waved back to people whose unshakable support has taken the sporting discipline to this height.

Bangladesh's Nation on a glorious homecoming for their cricketers in Dhaka yesterday.

England has lost a wonderful chance. This World Cup was seen here as an opportunity to put cricket back at the forefront of the English consciousness. For while Steve Waugh would speak warmly about returning to "the home of cricket", it is a tenuous claim nowadays. The Cup has attracted massive attention in various parts of the world... But throughout this tournament it has been far from back-page news in England.

The Melbourne Age mulls over the consequences of the home nation's early exit.

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEKEND

LANCE KLUSENER

SOUTH AFRICA

HIS EXCEPTIONAL contribution to South Africa's World Cup challenge officially entered the record books on Saturday, when his 46 not out, hammered out in unlikely circumstances from just 41 balls, simultaneously won his side their Super Six fixture against Pakistan and took Klusener past Javed Miandad's record of 394 runs without being dismissed in one-day internationals. Not bad for a man who is generally asked to bat at No 8.

New Zealand's bowlers will not be looking forward to Thursday, when it will be their turn to devise a way of dismissing the man nicknamed "The Zulu".

QUOTES

"Wow, that's quite good."

Lance Klusener, thrilling to the news that he had passed Javed Miandad's record.

"I don't feel anything for the batsmen. I don't see them as people; they're just a wicket, three stumps in the ground that I want to rip out."

Australia's in-form pace bowler, Glenn McGrath, reveals to Total Sport the formula which has delivered him 232 Test wickets throughout his career.

WEBSITE

http://www.barmy-army.com/

Everything you ever wanted to know about England's Barmy Army but were afraid to ask, such as the the contents of their online shop and the words to their World Cup song, released on the day after Engand were knocked out.