I don’t, as a rule, get into politics, because I know the vast majority of you want to talk cricket. But on a night where a respected, if an opposite side of the fence, reporter leaves the Telegraph and burn his bridges with past and future potential employers, you need to reflect on the world we live in. A world dominated by the bottom line, the buying of influence, the protection of the corporate over the individual, the all pervading interference of the business model over the need for fairness and openness. All run by an entitled elite, not willing to countenance those who don’t conform, toe the line or reflect on dissent.

But enough about cricket.

All those charges can be laid at the door of the ICC. I did not take much joy from the Irish victory over the West Indies, because, let’s face it, the ICC doesn’t give a flying one about the West Indies. Those of us of a certain age remember that 1980s juggernaut, the regular flayer of all before them, the complete misrepresentation of that team (calypso cricket my arse – they were professional, brilliant in their fundamentals, and ruthless in their implementation of their considerable ability) to make it seem as this was just a matter of luck. The current team is a joke, a pale shadow of the teams of even 10 years ago. It’s easy to pin it at the door of Chris Gayle and other players, but the mere fact that the IPL plonked their competition in peak West Indies test season said what the power brokers thought of their future. That it was them beaten by Ireland, despite the usual game performance by Darren Sammy and a hundred by Lendl Simmons, saddens me. This needs to happen to India. To Australia. To England again. Even then, no-one gives a stuff.

We live in a rigged world, and we try to get along. We live in a world where people who attack India’s influence on all things cricket are pilloried because we want a return to the old Empire, which is just mad. We don’t. The “Associate” countries are getting a bit closer each World Cup, and they have stirred up each of the last three competitions. This World Cup is designed to make money, the next one as well, and the one after that…. developing the game only matters in major markets, rather than the fairy story of Afghanistan, the Netherlands who are capable of bloodying our nose, and that Kenya have not really come on should be a sense of shame, not a shrug of the shoulders. Ireland are showing an exciting verve, have a pool of players, and are being told to sod off. Business. Money. TV contracts. Tail wags dog. Sport loses its soul.

I don’t feel like I’m watching a Cricket World Cup. I feel like I’m watching a business convention. A profit line rather than a celebration of the sport. A rigged game.

There’s a massive post on this in me, but I’m too worn out this evening.