FOR all in South Africa and across other parts of the cricketing globe, the World Cup so far has been gripping.

We've had it all - great performances, dramatic games and upsets, political sagas and off-the-field controversies. Surprisingly, Kenya and Zimbabwe are through whilst some big names like Pakistan, England and South Africa are out. Unsurprisingly, the likes of Namibia, Holland and Canada are on their way home, but they have royally entertained and clearly made the most of the whole experience. The tournament has been all the better for them. But whether the rest of the World Cup will be of similar interest will be intriguing to see. For a start, with two of the biggest attractions, the main host nation and the best supported other team, England, going out, there is a fear amongst the locals here that what remains will be a procession behind the all-conquering Australians. Seeing England exit was perhaps not as surprising as South Africa, but it is nevertheless a serious blow to cricket in our country. After the disappointment of the World Cup in 1999, plans were laid to ensure a repeat in 2003 could be averted, but we have not come too far. Yes, the Zimbabwe issue and the choice not to go has ultimately made all the difference, but England are far from the finished article. As an aside, it must be said that it would be a tragedy if England's boycott of the match in Harare remains a sole token stance against Mugabe's regime. They have abandoned a great opportunity to reach the Super Six stage as a result, and furthermore were drained by shouldering the burden of the decision-making process. The leadership of the Government and ECB so far on this issue has been abysmal, but it would be criminal not to follow it up with some more effective and wide-ranging sanctions. The irony of the whole Zimbabwe saga is that they are the ones to have profited. They now find themselves in the second stage without having beaten any team bar Holland and Namibia - seemingly a crazy situation. That they are through is great for Zimbabwean cricket and good luck to them. But any failure of the Government to capitalise on the seeds sown by the cricketers' decision will mean that nothing has changed, Mugabe will carry on as normal and the England team will have made a worthless sacrifice. The strain of this burden prompted Nasser Hussain to threaten to resign as captain three weeks ago, so it can now be of little surprise that he has chosen to step down from one-day internationals. It is a shame in that he and Duncan Fletcher have been a good team, but they will continue to do a good job in Test cricket and it now gives Hussain's successor (Michael Vaughan I would suggest) a chance to develop a similar relationship and build to the World Cup in 2007. THE HOSTS, too, have much to work on before 2007. There is a feeling in the local press here in Cape Town that the World Cup is something of a jinx to their national heroes. They have now gone out of three of the four tournaments that they have competed in due to controversial circumstances. Rain and run-rates have done for them again, after a Durban deluge destroyed what was likely to be a monumental end to their game against Sri Lanka. They still had a chance to go through by the Duckworth-Lewis method, but due to some apparent misreading of the formula sheet by the South African dressing room, Mark Boucher blocked the final ball of the 45th over rather than pushing it for the needed single. It seems extraordinary that such an error could be made, but it should be said that the South Africans have not been themselves during the competition. Rumours are rife of disquiet in the South African camp, and of big changes to be made in the very near future regarding the personnel. Many players are at the end of their careers - Gary Kirsten, Allan Donald and Lance Klusener for starters - and there are others who, it is believed, will be leaving international cricket for the greener and more lucrative pastures in English county cricket, most notably Jacques Kallis. Beneath the surface of the relative success of South African cricket at an international level, a number of serious problems have been brewing. No doubt, much will come out in the debrief from this World Cup but the squad that gets on the plane to England this summer is likely to have a very different look to it.