Sign up to The Irish Times Archive (1859 - 2008)My Account »

Mon 04 Apr 2007Final act descends into farceCRICKET:The World Cup, the final of which began in spectacular fashion before descending into the unseemly realms of the bizarre, was awarded eventually to Australia in such farcical circumstances that it would have been no surprise to see Steve Bucknor drop his trousers to reveal polka-dot underpants and inquire if there was anyone for tennis.After more than seven weeks of cricket, the game's showpiece, contested by indisputably the two best one-day sides and witnessed by 28,000 in the Kensington Oval and millions more around the world, was decided first by the weather and then by Messrs Duckworth and Lewis.