A tournament sponsored by an oil supplier and beset by bad weather may struggle to build on excitement of early upsets
It must be difficult organising a major International Cricket Council event. You are tasked with bringing together the disparate corners of the cricket world in a festival of joyous inclusiveness, in a way that financially benefits Australia, England and India, the three most influential nations in the sport. You need a tense competitive format that makes sure that the most lucrative teams play lots of games before any risk of being eliminated.
You have to promote your message of saving the environment by filling the stadiums with recycling stations labelled with the oil sponsor that pumps out 12.3m barrels a day. In between times you advertise your charity partnership to support women and girls playing cricket, while the same oil company funds the Saudi monarchy and one of your top-ranked teams represents a nation ruled by the Taliban.
