Mali reflects on job well done

24 September 2007

Mahendra Singh Dhoni shows off the ICC World Twenty20 trophy © Getty Images

ICC President Ray Mali has thanked his homeland of South Africa for hosting a magnificent inaugural ICC World Twenty20.

Speaking after India’s nerve-shredding five-run victory over Pakistan in the final at The Wanderers on Monday, Mali said: “Thank you South Africa for doing such a superb job of staging this event. You have done yourselves, Cricket South Africa and the ICC proud.

“This tournament was something of a journey into the unknown for all concerned given the newness of the Twenty20 format but I can say without a shadow of a doubt that it is has been a huge success.

“To have it finish in the way it did, in the final over of the match in front of a packed and excited crowd, was completely in keeping with all that has gone before in the previous 26 matches.

“We can now move forward to plot the next staging of this event, in England in 2009, the ICC’s centenary year, safe in the knowledge that Twenty20 International cricket has taken its place at the game’s top table.

“Its success here, shown clearly by attendances and interest in the matches, puts us in the fortunate position to now have three credible and high-quality formats of the game, formats that can cater for everyone’s taste and help broaden cricket’s appeal.

Pakistan fans show their support of Twenty20

Buy this photo

“And by managing the balance between those formats as we move forward, something we have already done by limiting the number of Twenty20 Internationals that can be played in any year above and beyond an ICC event, we will ensure our strong sport grows even stronger,” he added.

There were plenty of skeptics in the run-up to the tournament and not just because the format was new. The weather in Cape Town was unkind with an exceptionally wet winter and doubts were raised about whether or not the venue would be fit for play.

Thankfully the weather changed for the better just in time, a stroke of fortune that was fully deserved according to Mali, given all the hard work so many people – both paid and unpaid – put in to the event.

“The weather gods smiled on us and people packed into the three venues that hosted the matches, Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg, to see cricket that has produced a lifetime of memories,” he said.

“The first-ever Twenty20 hundred by Chris Gayle in the opening game, a hat-trick by Brett Lee, six sixes in an over by Yuvraj Singh, Zimbabwe’s win over Australia, the amazing final between India and Pakistan and numerous other thrilling matches - the list of highlights goes on and on.

“For that I must thank the players and officials for embracing the format so readily, applying themselves to the contests and also supporting the spirit of cricket so well both on and off the field.”