England's cricketers have had a wonderful year, prompting speculation in some quarters that Michael Vaughan's men might at last give Australia a run for their money in the Ashes series next summer.
But now is surely a time to pay tribute to West Indies, who did a wonderful bit of party-pooping at The Oval as they won an exciting Champions Trophy final. Brian Lara must sometimes feel like a punchbag because he surely is one of the most criticised national captains of all time. Perhaps it is his misfortune to be following in the shadow of some of the best teams, led by Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards, that the game has ever known. But credit should be given when due and he captained his team with commitment and no little imagination throughout the event to give Caribbean cricket a badly needed boost.
"We wanted to win this for the people of the Caribbean because of the stress they have been under as a result of the hurri canes. We have been lying comfortably in our beds in England while people at home have had to cope for themselves. I feel very sad for them," said Lara in a manner which will surely go a long way towards getting the critics off his back.
But the shame of the matter was that a supposedly significant tournament should have been played at a time when just about every village team in the country has turned it in for the summer. The cricket turned out to be very much more entertaining than might have been anticipated, but how much more enjoyable would it have been had it been played in less farcical conditions.
The end of September in England is not a great time to be playing and far too much importance revolves around the toss of the coin. Only Pakistan's captain Inzamam-ul-Haq seemingly failed to grasp the importance of winning the toss and putting the opposition in. What could have been going through his mind when he chose to bat first in the semi-final, a decision that made it just about certain Lara's Windies had the most comfortable passage imaginable into the final when Pakistan had been favourites to win.
·Exactly why formula one continues to have a hold over seemingly intelligent and rational people is, frankly, beyond me. The sport long since lost its mystique as it subsided into endless weekends of all too predictable races culminating in inevitable Ferrari domination. Now it seems highly likely that several teams will go to the wall, with the survivors being asked to put three cars instead of two into each race. Bernie Ecclestone says he would rather see top teams fighting for the championship than see "guys struggling at the back".
But the truth is that formula one has become a noncompetitive bore and three cars from each team will only serve to underline the fact.