Bacher becomes an over-spinner

The man in charge says everything is fantastic. Stephen Brenkley disagrees

To listen to Dr Ali Bacher is to hear a man whose glass is never empty and is usually brimming over the sides. In describing the eighth World Cup so far last week he used the "f" word around 20 times and threw in a couple of "e" words for good measure.

If every aspect (and that is every aspect) of this tournament was not fantastic it was, according to the Bacher lexicon, at least exemplary and excellent. To the ears of the International Cricket Council it must have been music – if they had also been going about with their eyes shut.

As executive director of this tournament Bacher has a vested interest in its success. It has been his style for 30 years; he did not keep cricket in South Africa going during isolation by being a pessimist. But it could also be levelled at him that he mislaid a sense of realism.

The first issue he addressed was the exit of South Africa from a competition that most of the population appeared convinced that it was their destiny to win. The whole marketing of the World Cup had been geared to South African success. Witness a typical advertisement for South Africa Airlines, featuring a portrait of the captain, Shaun Pollock, with the caption: "We'll get them there Polly, it's your job to send them back."

Well, Polly and his boys singularly failed with their part of the bargain. And what did Bacher say when confronted with this gaping hole in the tournament? "We are all very disappointed and we share the disappointment of the players and the nation. But we have been able to show that this country can stage a global event of this nature and we need South Africa to continue to buy into its importance."

Disappointed? The country was in shock, and the failure of the team to do anywhere near what was planned for them could yet have profound repercussions for the side, the way it is run and the sport's place in a changing society. The first of those ramifications was felt yesterday when Allan Donald announced his retirement from international cricket. It was heartening to hear that the affable fast bowler will become part of the coaching hierarchy, but it remains to be seen whether he can teach as well as he could perform. Inspiration, however, is everything.

After that start, Bacher went on to mention everybody, from the rest of the teams (for turning up), the attendances, the gate receipts, the security, the look of the stadiums, the pitches, the ticketing system, the spectators, the volunteers, the marketing, public relations, communications and television coverage. It was breathtaking in its sweep. Bacher, tournament delegates and ICC representatives managed to keep a straight face. There was something in what he said.

The volunteers have indeed been exemplary (sensational, actually) and the stadiums, on which 60 million rand (£5m) were spent, have been the better for a uniform livery. But there has been the occasional woeful pitch, some peculiar match scheduling, not to mention attendances and the lack of a sense of occasion which have not always seemed to match Bacher's estimation.

This still leaves a competition with two teams in the second stage who are probably there because matches were forfeited to them. The lack of reserve days for rain also affected who went through, and although they have been restored, the insistence on starting a new game may still influence events. The spats with teams who threaten to renege on agreements show no signs of disappearing.

Jagmohan Dalmiya, president of the Indian board, was the latest to become embroiled, seeking a change in status of the Durban semi-final from day-night to day game. He has been told that is not possible, but in view of his team's struggle to beat Kenya in Cape Town on Friday night he may not be fobbed off easily.

"You have to accept that any major sporting event is going to have trials and tribulations these days," said ICC communications consultant Mark Harrison. "There is so much at stake and people's expectations are so high. It would be impossible to have an event where everything went smoothly again."

No doubt, however, the ICC would have liked some quieter moments. They must also know that the tournament has a defective format. Even Bacher recognised that it is too long – it took 23 days to complete the first stage – and that a way round that might be to increase the number of teams to 16. Such an increase would mean fewer matches, but also more weaker teams. Every ball that Kenya bowled on Friday night was making the case.

"There will be a review of the World Cup as an entire event," said Harrison. "Every aspect of staging and planning will be looked at and no doubt the ICC's cricket committee will look at the cricket operation. But there won't be a knee-jerk reaction, it will be considered."

In many ways, Bacher's analysis overemphasised the good points. There is still time for things to go wrong yet. But, as Harrison said: "There have been some indifferent matches but there have been many good matches. The game between India and Pakistan was watched in 180 countries. It was almost certainly the most watched cricket match of all time." Which, of course, both makes any World Cup feel good about itself and reminds us where the cricketing power lies.