**Official Cricket World Cup Thread**

[skp]

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I hope Sri Lanka will be subjected to a lot of flak after this farcical match against Australia. This should have been the best match of the Cup so far, instead Sri Lanka effectively conceded it before it even began. Totally unsportsmanlike and shameful

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I disagree.

Ian Chappel was going on and on about how SL's decision to rest key players should be questioned by the ICC; heck, he even made the ridiculous suggestion that the anti-corruption unit should get involved.

But when OZ played the Kiwis in a 3 game series just prior to the WC, they rested about 6 of their key players and we didn't hear boo from Chappel about that.

Frankly, I see nothing wrong with SL's decision. It was a nothing match - why risk injury to the quickies Vaas and Malinga? As for Murali, it's less likely he gets injured but why expose him to the Oz batsmen in a nothing match?

If I were a SL fan, I would have been pissed if Jayawardene played these guys.

The argument about the fans getting screwed has some merit but that happens all the time in dead matches. Besides, it's not like SL used rank rookies to play the match instead of the rested players. The guys that played were among the 15 best players in all of Sri Lanka and I am sure the 3 replacements appreciated the opportunity to play in a WC game.