Those who long for a genuine revival of English cricket at all levels were hoping, rather against hope, that Alec Stewart and his team would make it at least to the last six, possibly the last four. The reality of their performance was like a cold shower: further chastening proof of England's reduced standing in world cricket.

Administratively, the competition ran smoothly. Crowd invasions were the only problem. The players behaved themselves so well, despite the high stakes, that not a single disciplinary action was required. The umpiring was variable but generally reliable, even under the intense scrutiny of television replays from all angles; and the investment in fixed cameras at square leg succeeded in avoiding the occasional embarrassment.

Other investments by the organisers were less necessary. The most recent official estimate is that the overall profit will have been some £47 million, but expenditure of £18 million reduced that to an unacceptable degree. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) sub-contracted most of the administration of the tournament - from selling sponsorship and broadcasting to accrediting journalists and accommodating sponsors. It is hard to believe that it could not have made better use of its own experience of running important matches.

No sooner has the tournament ceased, however, than the muddle of the county fixture list is underlined. Having had nine sets of matches already in the PPP county championship, there is not another until the end of next week. Had England got to the final yesterday, those selected for the first Test against New Zealand on July 1 would not have had a chance to play first-class cricket since May 1. This was a ludicrous lack of planning and it is the heads of those responsible at the ECB that should really be rolling.

The immediate consequences of England's failure to qualify will be the appointments of a new coach and captain, due to be announced from Lord's later this week. Duncan Fletcher is considering an offer to be the new coach. If he accepts and has no objections, Nasser Hussain will be the new captain.

Hussain, Madras-born, Essex-educated and finished at Durham University, will be a timely choice for one special reason, namely his Indian father. Here, indeed, is the role model required to inspire the many thousands of young British Asians already hooked on cricket. It is not true to claim, as many frequently do, that they have been deliberately excluded from the mainstream of the English game. As if Hussain and many other recent Test cricketers whose origins are not Anglo-Saxon do not prove it, a look at club colts teams and county junior XIs soon would.

Nor is Hussain exactly unusual in senior county cricket. A quick flip through Playfair reveals that only Derbyshire, Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire and Yorkshire do not have at least one cricketer of Asian lineage on their books, although in Lancashire's case he is the overseas player, not a home-bred talent. It is in the two great northern counties either side of the Pennines that cricket stands especially accused of failing to absorb recent immigrants into established leagues.

A new submission to the ECB by the Hit Racism For Six group points out rightly that it is no good accusing players of West Indian and Asian origin of being unwilling to integrate when the initiative needs to come from the established majority. It calls for research, for "dialogue and enfranchisement" and, by far the most important, surely, a specific development plan for cricket in the inner cities.

The challenge for the ECB is to invest as much as possible as soon as possible in the lower reaches of the game to catch all those youngsters who have been inspired by the glamour of the World Cup and the excitement of its closing stages. Without doubt, the supporters of the sub-continental teams have contributed greatly to the fun of this World Cup.

Their exuberance, occasionally a little too unbridled, has underlined the need to do more, especially in the provision of facilities, to encourage the abundant south Asian enthusiasm for cricket. Before play started yesterday, Deryck Murray, a veteran of the invincible West Indies team of 1975, presented a cup to Lambeth Enterprise, the first winners of a competition for nomadic clubs in London. The London Community Cricket Association claims that of 1,500 clubs in London, 1,300 do not own their ground. That truly is a challenge: for the ECB, for local and education authorities and for the Government.

There has been some nonsense talked about crowds. One broadsheet columnist claimed on the Internet last Thursday that the World Cup had had a "lucky escape" from Australia and South Africa meeting each other in the final. His reason was that there was no "serious noise" during the game at Edgbaston until there had been some "heavy drinking". It is dangerous rubbish to believe that the crowds are more important than the players, vital though each may be to the other.

Noise is no more necessary for excitement than coloured shirts are essential for television. They may make vast profits from replica shirts and this in turn may be valuable for the game, but that is another matter. Noise and colour are fine on the right occasions - and I much prefer the genuine enthusiasm of the Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi crowds to the repetitious chanting of the Barmy Army and their ilk - but those who say that subdued tones and gentle applause do not, like white clothes, still have their place do not understand that it is the skill of the players, the pleasantness of the environment, the traditions of chivalry and dignity and the sudden shifts of fortune that still make cricket a sport apart.

June 21, 1999