The duration of the World Cup, which spanned 47 days, has been questioned by Aleem Dar, the Pakistani umpire who stood in the final of the tournament. His comments come after the umpires and the match-referee were severely criticised for failing to apply the rules correctly in the rain-affected final at the Kensington Oval.
Dar felt that the World Cup was well-organised, but was too long and it was not only the players who got tired but the duration also took its toll on the umpires.
"It was a bit too long and in the end tired out the players and umpires. I think
the World Cup should be of shorter duration,"
he told reporters.
Dar, however, defended himself when asked what went wrong as heavy rain and bad light interrupted the final, by saying the confusion did not occur because of the on-field officials (Dar and Steve Bucknor).
"I think there was a communication breakdown and we acted on instructions from
outside. But the feeling was that the match had to be completed on the reserve
day but the captains told us this is the rule,"
he clarified.
"At times mistakes do happen. The International Cricket Council (ICC) and match
officials have done the right thing by apologising for the mistake made in the
final."
Dar, who has supervised 37 Tests and 88 ODIs, was standing in his first World Cup final while Bucknor was officiating his fifth successive final.
