With no disrespect meant towards Sri Lanka, who were many people’s dark horses to win a second cricket World Cup before the tournament began, some may ask why it has taken almost seven weeks to decide who will have the privilege of being beaten in the final by Australia.

Wars have been declared and ended in less time than it has taken to stage the 50 matches before today’s final. While the 2003 World Cup had 54 games, they were completed within 43 days, compared with the 47 that have elapsed since the competition began with West Indies beating Pakistan on March 13.

As a result of the long, drawn-out nature of the event, some of the early highlights are hard to recall. Did Herschelle Gibbs really hit six sixes in an over? Didn’t Dwayne Smith threaten for a while to be an all-round hero for West Indies? Have India actually played any matches in the past couple of months?

It would not have been a surprise to have seen a nostalgia programme on television this afternoon called “I Love the 2007 World Cup”, with the likes of Stuart Maconie and Vernon Kay reminiscing about those heady days when we got excited about a 19st Bermudian diving for a catch at slip.

To think that the first two World Cups were done and dusted within a fortnight. It is hard for a tournament to hold interest when it drags on for so long, particularly when the matches have been so predictable. Only four of the 50 games so far have had thrilling conclusions: Ireland’s tie with Zimbabwe, South Africa’s one-wicket win over Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka’s two-run win against England and England’s one-wicket win over West Indies.

Responding to the sound of yawns echoing around the world, Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, said on Thursday that the next tournament, on the sub-continent in 2011, will be slimmer.

“We listen to criticism — and there has been a lot of it from people saying it’s been too long — so we’ll look to make it shorter,” Speed said. “We’ll seek to reduce this 47-day World Cup by seven or ten days.”

If that sounds more palatable, bear in mind that the football World Cup last summer, featuring 32 teams to cricket’s 16, lasted one month and one day. And even that dragged at times.

The last count

In the 47 days since the World Cup began . . .
—The average price of a house in England has risen by £4,415
—A strand of human hair will have grown 1.6cm
—The Earth will have travelled about 75,576,000 miles in its orbit around the Sun