Fitness was never our forte, as the binary string of medals in the last 50 years of Summer Olympics is quick to attest. Yet our 2006 schedule was the most cramped of all teams, except possibly for Sri Lanka. India played 12 tests and 30 ODIs last year, compared to, say, New Zealand who played 8 tests and 14 ODIs. New Zealand is yet to lose a match in this world cup, and I am not at all surprised. The driving force in their country is rugby, and cricket administrators know their place.

I am not saying anything against our team. Our team, whenever they play like a team, is as good as any. But if there is justice in the world, we had to lose to Bangladesh and lose as badly as we did. The wise men in our cricket board have been sidelining Bangladesh for as long as anyone can remember. They broke ranks with ICC over the Future Tours Programme and scrapped the 2005 Bangladesh tour to accommodate plans of their own, presumably because those young twerps weren't good enough to play our national treasures. So much for our legendary hospitality.

The lesson to be learned from the Caribbean trip and fall is one of humility. Flamboyant strokeplay (particularly against Bermuda) notwithstanding, our team has been humbled early enough and often enough to have any delusions of grandeur. Maybe we're just not cut out to play too much cricket. The time has come for all the ventriloquists to wake up and smell the coffee, or even better, some good Ceylon tea. The Lankans are from south Asia too, but for all their resilience, team dynamics and grace under pressure, they might as well be from another planet. None of the arguments about culture, tradition and perspectives hold water in the face of our neighbours across the pool holding up the last vestiges of subcontinental pride in what has become a rather dull championship. If we can't put together a team like that for whatever reason, let's just go Kiwi and play fewer matches. Television and cash cows be damned.