KEY POINTS:
ANTIGUA - West Indies versus Australia at the new Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground - it was a sports marketer's dream.
It featured World Cup host against reigning world champion, and a chance to unveil a venue named after the Master Blaster, the favourite son known as King Viv.
But what seemed an irresistible launch to the Super Eights stage of the World Cup all went sadly wrong, the obvious crowd-puller falling embarrassingly flat.
Admittedly, Antigua's inclement weather did its part to put a dampener on proceedings but even so, the International Cricket Council would have been privately aghast.
Australia batted first, scoring 322 runs, but steady rain, which started at the interval, forced West Indies to postpone their reply until today.
Regardless of the leaden skies and opener Matthew Hayden's 158, there were worrying signs for the ICC before Brian Lara won the toss and asked Australia to bat.
A 9.30am start - not a time the average Antiguan is ready to begin anything - may have explained the sparse crowd when the game started.
However, the fact that the crowd did not swell significantly - there were 10,000 at best - offered yet more evidence that West Indian fans have been priced out of the showpiece in their own backyard.
Once the allocation was exhausted in the "party stand", Antiguans were confronted with an asking price of up to US$100 ($141) - $268 East Caribbean - and that's frivolous spending even in this cricket-mad Third World country.
Locals shrug and smile when asked if they are going to the games.
Kenya against Canada in St Lucia may have been economically feasible, but as the tournament approaches its business end the old boisterous "jammin" throngs - who through the years perpetuated the myth of cricket's carnival atmosphere in the Caribbean - are watching on TV, or have tuned out all together.
Cricket's governing body has also systematically watered down the spectacle. Musical instruments are forbidden, clouds of ganja smoke are nonexistent and fans are slugged with another unwelcome expenditure - they cannot bring their own food.
At St Lucia's Beausejour Stadium - the venue of New Zealand's three group games - crowd numbers were artificially boosted by offering cut-price US$5 ($7) tickets to primary and secondary schools.
It all added up to a sanitised, almost contrived experience, with the atmosphere depending on the input of overseas fans - the ubiquitous Barmy Army and equally repetitive green and gold fanatics.
The early elimination of India and Pakistan has robbed the tournament of a certain flavour - a cruise ship booked out by Indian fans is now on the rocks - while the prohibitive cost of accommodation in price-gouging resorts has also had ramifications for the tourism industry, which bemoans cancelled bookings.
New Zealand's Beige Brigade costed the World Cup at a conservative $1000 a person a day.
Only a few official members have made the investment, which, ironically, could prove wise given there are signs the Black Caps, at least, are value for money.
- NZPA
