Bored with the cricket World Cup yet? Yes, thought so.

Talk about an over-blown tournament. It seems to me that six weeks is an awfully long time to determine what we already know.

Australia are still head and shoulders above the rest of the world when it comes to one-day cricket and only over-confidence on their part or an extraordinary effort by either South Africa, New Zealand or Sri Lanka is going to stop them retaining the trophy.

England? I think we should just be grateful that they got through to the Super Eights.

Yes, the tight finish with Sri Lanka was a thriller but it should not hide some of the more deep-rooted problems with this event.

Organisers have come in for stick for their ticketing policy and rightly so. Is it any wonder stadiums in Guyana are not even full for West Indies games when tickets cost the best part of a week's wages for the average Guyanese?

Just imagine what it is going to be like when West Indies get knocked out next week.

The tournament has undoubtedly suffered from the early exit of India and Pakistan. One of the stand-out games of the Super Eights in Barbados next week has now become Ireland v Bangladesh.

I think it is great that cricket is developing in some of the smaller nations but Ireland and Bangladesh have had their day. I would be amazed if they win a game between them in the Super Eights.

Instead, the ICC should have organised a pre-World Cup tournament for the minnows, with the winners going through to the main competition. With Bangladesh, you would then have had ten teams playing each other once with the top four proceeding to the semi-finals. That would have done away with the need for group stages and meant the tournament would only have taken a month to complete.

Unfortunately, when India and Pakistan departed they did not take their home commentators with them and that is another reason why the competition is losing its appeal.

Okay, English is not the mother tongue of Wasim Raja, Ranjit Fernando and that Indian guy with the glasses who seems to get up Brian Lara's nose.

Talk about stating the bleeding obvious. Ball passes harmlessly outside off stump. Commentator: Well, the batsman did not need to play at that one.

Bowler appeals and is turned down. Commentator: The umpire has decided that that one was not going to hit the stumps.

You can always tune into Test Match Special. Unfortunately, the offenders obviously flit between radio and TV boxes because there seems to be no respite from their inane ramblings. And you thought some of our football commentators were bad.