Rotation; Why Not?

When I was a lad, plying my trade in the Jersey Under 15's football league, I was a reliable left back for my home Parish, Grouville. In the spring of 1995, we went on a cup run that took us to a prestigious final at Jersey's answer to Wembley; Springfield Stadium.
 
I was as excited as an England fast bowler, marking out his run up against a West Indies middle order batsman, but my cup final dream was to turn into a nightmare. Martin Roberts, a nippy left winger, nippier than me anyway, had forced his way into the reckoning and Robbo, our coach, looking for more attacking flare in the final, delivered the news I dreaded just an hour before kick-off:
 
"Marty' starts, sorry Tom!"
 
This of course was before terms like "rotation" and "managing your resources" we're part of sporting vernacular, this was simply a question of who was the best player, and I lost out. Boo Hoo!

Every Bunny Has Its Day

The normal distribution is something that's scarily applicable to a host of real world scenarios, and our humble sport of cricket is not exempt from it. Take batting averages for example, there are a few great batsmen, many who sit somewhere in the middle, and those that belong firmly at the bottom of the scrap heap. But every now and then lightning does strike twice, rivers are parted, the book of logic is tossed out the window.

These are the days dear reader, when a bunny rises above the rest.

Tino Best - The Bunny No More
The inspiration of this article, the enigmatic Best was aptly described as a 'Ferrari without a steering wheel'. Andrew Flintoff many years ago told him to "mind the windows" during his turn at the crease and poor old Tino took the bait and went looking to smash the ball into the Indian Ocean. Needless to say he missed it completely and that's all she wrote.

However fast forward a few years and Best returned with a vengeance, he just recently completed the highest Test score by a #11 batsman, ever. His 95 came against the supposed best Test team in the world, in conditions that typically favour bowling, and with surprisingly crisp stroke play with all the charming exuberance of a tail ender. A pleasure to watch, and the West Indians might finally be mustering a comeback.

Also a part time relay runner. © Getty

Who can replace KP?

Kevin Pietersen announced his retirement from limited overs cricket on Thursday and inevitably England fans and observers alike went into meltdown, with a divide between those who felt KP had been mugged off by the ECB for failing to accommodate his wishes to remain in the T20 setup on one side, others claiming he was in breach of his contract sitting on the other. KP always did divide opinion, didn’t he?

KP has been an artist with the bat as much as anything else over the years – an innovator, making strokes such as the Switch Hit and the Flamingo shot his own, not to mention scoring with a strike rate that had opposing bowlers quaking in his boots before a ball was even bowled. KP will be missed, whether you love him or despise him to your very core.

Pietersen, the best T20 batsman in the world, will now miss the World Cup later this year. England selectors and captain Stuart Broad therefore have the unenviable task of having to replace their match winner with only months to go before the tournament begins.

MS Dhoni vs the World

Don’t give up at half time. Concentrate on winning the second half. -Paul “Bear” Bryant

I wonder what is going on in the mind of the usually inscrutable MS Dhoni these days. The last 12 months have been disastrous for the Indian skipper – whitewashed on the England and Australia tours, losing ODI series to both those teams  abroad, failing to qualify for the Asia Cup final, and even domestically, a loss in the final of the recently concluded IPL. As someone pointed out on Twitter recently, the last year has seen Dhoni conceding the number 1 ranking in Tests and failing to retain the CB series, Asia Cup, IPL and the Champions League trophy. In an age where memory spans are getting shorter, it is easy to forget that this was the same man who led India to their first ODI World Cup win in 28 years with a majestic innings in Mumbai, not too long ago.

For a while now, there has been scattered talk of replacing Dhoni as skipper with someone else; but in the absence of a viable alternative, those arguments quickly died down. Suddenly, with the triumph of Gautam Gambhir’s KKR against the Dhoni-led CSK in the IPL-5 final, the momentum to replace Dhoni has gathered steam again. Former skipper Saurav Ganguly has been one of the more prominent voices who has called for Gambhir to be appointed Test skipper, with Gambhir himself proclaiming that he is ready for the responsibility. To make it interesting, Dhoni has publicly stated that his choice for skipper would still be himself. This is hardly the ideal run-up to some important series which are coming up, including the T20 World Cup.

The Plunder Games – Final Week Recap

1st Qualifier: KKR vs DD

Kolkata Knight Riders 162 for 4 (Yusuf 40*) beat Delhi Daredevils 144 for 8 (Jayawardene 40, Kallis 2-24, Narine 2-24) by 18 runs

Match in 140 characters: Pathan and Shukla blitz in last four overs to power KKR to a stiff 162; poor shot selection, umpiring blunder and bizarre tactics cost DD

#TrottsFault: In a tournament which has seen captains struggling over when to send their best hitters to the middle, one more ridiculous instance can be added. When Jayawardene got out, the required run rate was well above 10 an over and the situation required a barnstorming knock like the one Yusuf Pathan played earlier in the game; instead Sehwag sent Negi, known more for his bowling ahead of Taylor. Rao and Negi pottered around as the innings stagnated, and when Ross Taylor finally came out to bat, he had to face Narine with 3 overs left and a RRR touching 14. It was eerily similar to the IPL-3 final, where Tendulkar kept Pollard for too late, costing Mumbai Indians the title.

Charlie Sheen Winning moment: If there was one batsman who could make light weight of the target of 163, it was Sehwag. So when Balaji had him nicking behind in the 3rd over, KKR had put one foot in the final already.

Viagra Performer of the day: Yusuf Pathan has been getting a lot of grief over his non-performance in this year’s IPL, but the KKR management stuck to their guns believing that he would come good eventually. He repaid that ironclad faith with the type of innings, he has built his reputation on. At the end of 16 overs, it looked like KKR would be happy with a total of 140; instead, they got an additional 20 runs which proved to be the difference in the end.

Best tweet of the game: Viru claims he never looks at the pitch before a game. Looking at the bowlers he picked today, I am starting to believe him now. #getlostpls (by @fakeiplplayer)

Eliminator: CSK vs MI

Chennai Super Kings 187 for 5 (Dhoni 51, Hussey 49) v Mumbai Indians 149 for 9 (Smith 38, Bravo 2-10, Morkel 2-31)

Match in 140 characters: Despite early hiccups, Badri and Mussey stabilize as Dhoni and Bravo provide explosive finish to innings…MI fall short by 38 runs

Charlie Sheen Winning Moment: Ironically, it was the fall of Jadeja at the start of the 15th over which turned out to be the exact situation CSK would have wanted to be in. With Dhoni and Bravo at the crease, and Morkel to come, CSK had the license to go after the bowling. MSD and Bravo did it in style as they exploded to add 73 runs in 29 balls to post a total that was beyond even MI’s powerful line-up.

The story of IPL 5 through Gambhir’s Facebook update