MCG bathed in English blue, but green was colour of the Cup

Icehouse opened a World Cup final night that finished in a blaze of electric blue for England, worthy tournament winners as the best white-ball team of the past five years. Yet it was green that stood as the colour of this tournament. The verdant tinge of La Nina-proof early season Australian pitches became the defining characteristic of a month of lively and unpredictable cricket, even if it was pockmarked by cloudbursts for the same reason. Jos Buttler. Credit:Getty Images T20 had, up to this point, been known largely as a format to be played on flat tracks. Batters were given maximum license and conditional help to attack; bowlers forced to be as resourceful as possible to elude a belting on pitches that offered little help. To get more equitable conditions was, for the most part, an accident. Certainly, bowlers were preconditioned to feel as such on the rare days when they had a little more than usual to work with.

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