The World Cup: one-day cricket's hour in the sun

I recently came to the conclusion that whenever there isn't an impending World Cup, many of us (cricket writers and most committed fans) don't care much about ODIs. These days the things that occupy our minds are the slow death/active murder of Test cricket and the fast-exploding/apocalyptic rise of the T20 format. Like the quintessential middle child, the ODI isn't as much loved or hated as it is ignored. Yet when we come to think of it, it is increasingly true of the modern game that winning the World Cup is the pinnacle of the sport. There is no higher achievement - not just in terms of the prizes but also in the eyes of the majority of the fans (though perhaps not of the most knowledgeable ones). Test matches might be the biggest test and T20s might make you wealthy, but winning the World Cup is what unites critical and commercial acclaim.