AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

        Early days yet but the World Cup fever has already hotted up. As if to prove the cricketing greats that six sixes in an over is attainable, Herschelle Gibbs walked his way to instant fame at the expense of the innocuous offering of Daan van Bunge. Getting into the record books (different reason though) must have been all too simple for the World Cup debutant.

        An eventual day it turned out yesterday with the third tie in the Cup history standing on equal footing with the record number of sixes (18) in a World Cup innings.

        Of the sixes first. The feat has to be seen in the perspective of being only the third time in the cricketing history, two of those in first class matches. When the peerless Gary Sobers did it the first time in Swansea, the bowler Malcolm Nash was as much pleased to be part of history. Still it took nearly two decades before our very own Ravi Shastri emulated Gary taking on the hapless Tilak Raj at Baroda in a Ranji tie.

        Dream debut for Ireland

        What a dream debut for Ireland in the big stage on one of their biggest days in world cricket! It looked a tall order when Zimbabwe needed just 12 runs with four overs and similar number of wickets intact.

        When the twist came, the Ireland bunch had plenty of reasons to partake the joy of a historic tie. In a sense, the contest could be billed as the two fresh teams - Zimbabwean top scorer Stuart Matsikenyeri being the only one to have played in a World Cup. The run out of last man Rainsford at the non-striker's end was akin to the one of Allan Donald signalling the first tie in favour of Australia.

        There is already the talk of a New Zealand-South Africa final from the pundits. Proving them wrong is the business of cricketers. But then you have to wait till the business end.