The official motto of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 was It Takes One Day. If this sounded grudging – less eight hours of sustained sporting thrills, more parental persuasion before a rain-sodden trip to a stately home – then the reality was more exhausting.
But after 46 days, 48 matches, 10 cities, and endless, endless air miles, the tournament had delivered a fitting stage for the cream of the sport and a dramatic plot twist at the end: Australia broke the hearts of an expectant India with victory in the final, the underdogs triumphant on the day even if it was also their sixth men’s title.
