Four days in, it's safe to say that it's been a slow start to the World Cup. All the 10 participating teams have taken a shot at putting their skills on display, but not to much interest from the crowds. The attention instead has been hogged by issues surrounding cricket and not cricket itself. Less than 9,000 people turned up for Hyderabad's opening game, and it's unlikely that New Zealand and Netherlands could help much with the swell of the crowd on Monday afternoon.
ICC WORLD CUP 2023
In-form New Zealand out to get Netherlands in Hyderabad
Will fit-again Tim Southee join Matt Henry and Trent Boult? © AFP
If affable underdogs could pull crowds, there could be some interest. But that's not the case. New Zealand, for once without the inescapable "underdog" tag, have stamped their cricketing significance in the tournament already. New Zealand, despite the absence of Kane Williamson and Tim Southee and even Lockie Ferguson, breezed past England's challenge in the tournament opener. It wasn't a one-off show of dominance. They had cruised to a comfortable win in the 346-run chase only a week earlier against Pakistan in the first warm-up game in Hyderabad.
With their low-risk game, one that's natural to their blueprint, they have reaped greater rewards on flat tracks that even teams like England and Pakistan didn't with a slightly higher-risk approach. If the success continues, it could prompt other teams to follow this model sooner than later.
Netherlands, on the other hand, may have lost their opening game by a margin of 81 runs, but they provided a
