Jonathan Agnew - BBC cricket correspondent
When the Jamaican Police spokesman revealed with such a matter-of-fact tone that Bob Woolmer had died through manual strangulation, everything meaningful about this World Cup perished too.
Everybody involved, be they players and coaches, journalists, administrators and spectators have been struck by the same wave of absolute horror that makes playing or, indeed, commentating on cricket seem completely pointless.
Whatever happens on the field will forever be overshadowed by Bob’s murder, and for as long as it takes the police to find the killer – or killers – the game will continue to be ripped apart by rumours of match fixing and organised crime. We must hope – for Bob’s family in particular, but also for the future of the sport – that the investigation is both rapid and successful.
The Woolmer family was quick to insist that the tournament continues and, frankly, there seemed little point in aborting it. Bob’s passion for the game has been well documented, and since the purpose of this World Cup is to reignite the spark of enthusiasm for cricket in the Caribbean, we can be sure that he would not have wanted cricket’s finest showpiece to be abandoned, whatever the circumstances.
So it is under that cloud that the tournament completed its first round, and who could possibly have forecast that both Pakistan and India would be blown out? I can’t say that I really believe it is for the good of the sport that one of its finest and most passionate contests – India against Pakistan – has now been replaced by Ireland against Bangladesh.
It is a risk you run when you have lesser teams playing amongst the best that upsets will happen. Create a mix of unpredictable pitches, white balls and only 50 overs per side and it is inevitable that a sleeping giant or two will be ambushed.
While it is always a tremendous day for the ‘minnow’, the lasting consequences for the tournament are seriously damaging, as was illustrated by Kenya’s progression to the semi-finals in South Africa last time. Those teams are simply not good enough to compete against test-class nations with the consistency required to make the World Cup the spectacle it has to be to showcase the game at its best.
The Super 8’s will be the duller and more predicable as a result of the presence of Ireland and Bangladesh, rather than India and Pakistan. Australia have strengthened their position as tournament favourites, not least because South Africa will now have to work hard to reach the semi-finals.
We will get a better indication of the West Indies’ credentials after their clash with Australia on Tuesday, while – at this stage at least – England are the longest of long shots to reach the semi-finals.
