2. India is not cricket crazy, it's just crazy about Indian cricket.

Sanjay Manjrekar said it on air and everyone else has gradually realised
the same. A big tournament like the Champions Trophy allows spectators a
rare chance to see Shane Bond bowling to Ricky Ponting and other such
battles. But hardly anyone's interested unless Indian stars are out in the
middle. A few neutrals have turned up and enjoyed cheering all day - of
course, they'd probably wish the underdog to win but might as well let out
screams anyway - but the response has largely been muted.

3. This is not the great batting age, it's the age of great batting pitches.

Spice up the pitches and you realise how hyped modern-day batsmen actually
are. Now one can only imagine what would happen if someone rules that
batsmen can't make use of guards and helmets. And, in the ideal case
situation, one can reduce bat weight and re-introduce uncovered wickets.
It was bizarre hearing Andrew Flintoff's comment about the low-scoring
nature of this tournament. "People come to watch fours and sixes, hope one
gets to see bigger scores in the future matches." Sigh. Injure a man and
deprive him of bowling, and he switches sides so easily.