JOHANNESBURG, 7 March 2003 — A combination of mathematics and match boycotts is threatening to reduce the Super Sixes of the World Cup into such a farce that little Kenya could find themselves in the semifinals without winning a game.
The African nation have carried forward 10 points into the second stage under a rule that gives teams four points for every win over a fellow qualifier and a point for a win against a non-qualifier.
For Kenya that means eight points for beating Sri Lanka and also for being awarded a forfeit against New Zealand, who boycotted their game in Nairobi, plus two points for wins over non-qualifiers Bangladesh and Canada.
World champions Australia have 12 points and India, in third spot, have eight. If the two giants both win their three Super Six encounters, they would take Kenya with them into the last four because Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Zimbabwe would not be able to score enough points.
In theory Australia too could qualify for the semifinals without winning any of their three Super Six matches. “I think that’s just a result of how well we’ve been playing in the group games and we have to be rewarded for that,” said Australia skipper Ricky Ponting. “But we’ll still be looking to win every game.”
Kenyan coach Sandeep Patil, preparing his team for today’s Super Sixes clash against India at Newlands, was also ready to defend his side’s place in the second round, despite withering criticism from pundits.
“Some commentator has made nasty remarks about us in the World Cup, saying other teams will lick us like candy,” the former Indian batsman said. “Now I am carrying candy that I will give to him to lick.”
Ponting had other concerns on his mind yesterday when big-hitting Andrew Symonds was ruled out of today’s opening Super Six match against Sri Lanka at Centurion with a thigh injury. The news came just a day after the world champions were rocked by the loss of fast bowler Jason Gillespie whose World Cup was cut short by a heel injury.
Symonds’ place in today’s team will be taken by all-rounder Ian Harvey. The system of taking points forward to the second round has come under fire ever since it was introduced after the 1996 tournament when South Africa won all their group matches only to lose their quarterfinal against the West Indies.
World Cup supremo Ali Bacher said that experience had prompted South Africa to press for a change in the rules. “In 1996 our South African team won all their initial matches, they were the outstanding team, but, come the quarterfinal, one bad game, out,” he said.
“We said, and I was a party to that proposal, there must be something in the pool stages that if you do well, you can carry it forward. It was all to make sure that every pool game had meaning. That was the basis of how it started.”
