The World in 2011: Cassandra

THE Cassandra of myth was an accurate prophetess—her curse was not to be believed. The Cassandra of this blog has no illusions of infallibility (all too many of his predictions may turn out to be false, though with luck too late to be embarrassing…). However, today I do feel a sense of smug triumph: Cassandra’s prediction of November 24th that the English cricket team would retain the Ashes (the prize in England’s contest with Australia) has indeed been proven correct. With one test match to go in the five-test series, England have just humiliated Australia’s best and so hold a 2-1 lead, with one match drawn. Even if the shell-shocked Aussies bounce back (mixed metaphors come easily in sports reporting) in the final test, beginning in Sydney on January 3rd, the Ashes will stay with England.

So will the English cricketers (two of whose stars actually began their careers in South Africa) now be able to relax, savouring the prospect of a boozy reception back in London hosted by the prime minister, David Cameron? Sadly no. Such is the commercial merry-go-round of the cricketing world that a week after the final test they will play two matches against Australia limited to a mere 20 overs for each side, followed by seven one-day internationals featuring 50 overs an innings (an over, for those unfortunates yet to be captured by the glory of the sport consists of six balls bowled at the batsman). Cassandra is a bit of a cricket snob, believing that players should be judged by the long form of the sport—a test match can last five days. Still, it would be good if the English could win the short-form series, too. Unhappily, Cassandra reckons the Aussies will get their revenge…