Talk:2003 Cricket World Cup
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What does "enigmatic" mean? -- Zoe
- Inexplicably inconsistent, basically. On their day, they can thrash the best teams in the world, and for no apparent reason go out the next day and lose to a very weak team and play like they don't care whether they lose or not. Some in other parts of the cricket world privately suspect that the Pakistanis have occasionally thrown matches to collect payoffs from bookmakers. Additionally, the administration of their cricket team, like the administration of the entire country, is chaotic in the extreme, with decisions on team selection, captaincy, and tactics, made for no reason obvious to outsiders.
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If you've got a more appropriate word to use, please edit. --Robert Merkel
"England refused to play in Zimbabwe on political grounds"
I thought the official story was that the British government wished to cancel the game on political grounds, but the MCC refused to cooperate, then ended up cancelling anyway on the grounds the team might not be safe. Andy G 00:27, 31 Oct 2003 (UTC)
- Correct. Fixed.
- I'm not sure that's quite correct - the British Government wanted the team to refuse to play, but offered little in the way of backup (if I remember correctly, the Government said it was the ECB's decision to make, while the ECB said they weren't prepared to boycott unless the Government underwrote any potential claim for compensation from the Zimbabwe Cricket Board. Basically a Mexican standoff -
December 2002
The British government gradually increases pressure on English cricket authorities to pull out of the match, fearing that it will be seen as a message of support for Mugabe.
However, Prime Minister Tony Blair stresses that the government has no power to force a boycott.
January 2002
The British government confirms that no compensation will be paid to the ECB if they withdraw from the game in Harare.
--Dave. 21:22, 8 April 2007 (UTC)