There was an early indicator about the interest level for the final in Centurion — an easy passage on the N1 highway that connects Johannesburg to the venue showed that South Africa wasn’t too excited about a cricket game between two nations they consider their biggest rivals on the rugby field.

Much before the tournament started, it was said that the Champions Trophy would be the big test for the 50-over game, but it seems the findings have been inconclusive. There were empty seats at the final and that can’t be a good sign. In fact, the only time there was a buzz in the stands was for South Africa, Pakistan and India games.

But Australia and New Zealand, the teams that played for the silverware, went out of their way to call the event a success. Though there haven’t been serpentine queues outside the two venues, these players seem to have enjoyed the 15-day affair — and both insisted that it wasn’t just their own success that had made them enjoy the event. “This has certainly been the best and most enjoyable Champions Trophy I’ve played in — to have the best eight teams and a shorter period of time,” said Ponting, who has been part of all the editions of the tournament that was once called the mini World Cup. “This has been a great spectacle for the 50-over game.”

Vettori, who missed the final due to a hamstring injury, had nice things to say as well. “Every game has mattered, and that’s the most important thing. The reason people are probably getting tired of ODIs is there’s a lot of irrelevant games and that hasn’t happened in this tournament at all,” he said.

... contd.