International Cricket Council chairman Narayanswami Srinivasan said the event's success has proved that the One-Day International format is in good health.
But Smith believes the world champions have a quality squad to bounce back in the series.
Sergeant Rupert Frere, who transferred from a role in bomb disposal to become a photographer in the Royal Logistic Corps, won no fewer than five of the professional categories.
Veteran Luke Ronchi smashed a quick century as New Zealand 'A' recovered from a precarious position to post a respectable 310 against India 'A' on the second day of their three-day match in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.
Virat Kohli, who recently became the fastest batsman in ODIs to score 9,000 runs, is the Most Valuable Player of the ODI series against New Zealand. Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji explain why the Indian skipper is tops.
After four centuries on the trot with a strike rate of nearly 120, Sri Lanka's run machine Kumar Sangakkara (MVPI: 686) has raced to the top of the most valuable player standing at the ICC World Cup.
Images from the fourth One-Day International between Australia and India in Canberra, on Wednesday.
'That was the key to a game where, on paper, there is nothing to separate the two sides: Intensity. From the first ball of the innings to the run out of Southee, the Australian bowlers and fielders buzzed around like predatory yellow-jacketed wasps.' 'Adding teeth to the bowling and relentless fielding is the captaincy of Michael Clarke, leading in his last one day international. His body may require an entire college of medical specialists to maintain, but his mind is scalpel-sharp, cutting through the complexities of the game to hit on simple solutions.'
Images from the Europa League matches played on Thursday
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Australia stunned world champions New Zealand 27-19 to claim a first Rugby Championship title in the fourth year of the competition and a welcome boost ahead of the World Cup on Saturday.
- 'At no point did we back off. If at any stage that we had in mind that we might play for a draw, we would have lost by 150 runs' - 'I was playing positive and going by my instincts'
South Africa were left to rue the loss of cheap wickets after battling to 214 for five on the opening day of the second Test against Australia on Thursday.
As we write this we still await the crucial India-Australia knock-out in Mohali. But India's individual performances in the T20 World Cup so far haven't been truly impressive. A look at the most valuable player index (MVPI) table reveals that there's no Indian player in the top 20. MVPI merges a player's batting + bowling + fielding performance into a single 'run equivalent'. The formula to compute the MVP is devised to reward batsmen who score runs at a high strike rate, bowlers who take wickets at low economy rate and fielders who field the best (take a lot of catches and participate in run-outs). Since this is a relatively low scoring tournament we have assumed a team's par score to be 150, and each wicket to be worth 15 'runs'. It isn't a surprise that players from New Zealand dominate the rankings so far, although Joe Root tops the table after his 83 in 44 balls against South Africa.
Effusive in his praise for Ravinchandran Ashwin, Indian captain Virat Kohli on Monday said the off-spinner is a "priceless" cricketer to have in the team having contributed with both bat and ball in the massive win over New Zealand in the opening Test in Kanpur.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji figure out who are the most valuable players after the league phase of the World Cup intheir latest update.
Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson fell agonisingly short of centuries but New Zealand's imposing total ensured they beat Sri Lanka by 120 runs in the sixth One-day international on Sunday to take an unassailable 4-1 lead in their seven-match series.
Ian Bell and Stuart Broad shared an unbroken century partnership to lift England to 326 for six on a compelling third day of the first Ashes Test against Australia on Friday.
A B de Villiers still heads Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings for the World Cup.
Michael Clarke all but ruled himself out of the remainder of the Test series against India after limping off the field with a hamstring strain on the fifth and final day of the opening match in Adelaide.
The West Indian has blasted his way to the top of Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings for the World Cup with the South African skipper close on his heels.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji are back with Rediff.com's World Cup Most Valuable Players ratings.
Virat Kohli hit a splendid century but Mitchell McClenaghan claimed four wickets to lift New Zealand to a thrilling 24-run victory against India in the first One-Day International in Napier.
The returning Scot also announced his withdrawal from next week's Rogers Cup in Toronto.
Although A B de Villiers is still the front-runner for the MVP crown of the 2015 World Cup, a new and serious challenger has suddenly appeared out of the blue -- New Zealand opener Martin Guptill.
Australia were 221 for 4 at close of play, in response to India's 408, on Day 2 of the second Test at the Gabba, on Thursday. Check out some images from the day's play.
'The man who never knows when he is beaten deserved, on the day he played what will be his last World Cup game, mates who were not beaten in the mind before they were beaten on the field.' Prem Panicker salutes 'India's best one day captain by a long margin who led superbly throughout the tournament.'
India captain Virat Kohli and opener Lokesh Rahul led India to safer shores, scoring centuries as Australia dropped catches -- Joe Burns and captain Steven Smith the culprits -- on Day 3 of the fourth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday. Check out some images from the day's play.
A B de Villiers may have made some big mistakes in the semi-final: Choosing to bat first in spite of the rain threat, batting too low at No 5, not hogging the strike after David Miller departed, fielding badly, asking Dale Steyn to bowl the last over ... but he is still best placed to be adjudged the most valuable player of the 2015 World Cup.
It looks highly unlikely if anyone will catch the South African captain in Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings for the World Cup.
India paid the price for some poor shot selection as New Zealand clinched the fourth cricket ODI by 19 runs to level five-match series 2-2 in Ranchi on Wednesday. - Scorecard: Chasing a target of 281 on a slow track, India were on course at 128 for 2 before a sudden middle-order collapse saw them lose four quick wickets as they were finally all-out for 241 in 48.4 overs. This was India's first loss at skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's home ground in all the international matches that they have played so far.
In the ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, Australia's Ryan Harris has moved up two places to second following his six wickets against India in the fourth Test at MCG.
Australia rode on a dominating all-round display to thrash a lacklustre India by 72 runs in the first cricket One-dayer in Pune.
- 'Always strong at the psychological game, the Aussies put the pressure on the opponents, knew how to handle the pressure themselves and exploited virtually every situation to their advantage' - 'They are firmly and categorically told never to allow success to go to their heads. You don't find Australian cricketers getting even a little complacent'
Rajneesh Gupta surveys the cricketing milestones from the Mohali Test.
Virat Kohli was unquestionably the top player, but the most valuable player index (MVPI) suggests that Shakib Al Hasan had an equally good World T20 even though his team Bangladesh fared poorly.
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