Dumb Slog Millionaires
Aidan April 22, 2009
Kevin Pietersen, brash, arrogant and put-it-all-out there. Maybe what he said to Yuvraj Singh, "You are not God, you are a cricketer, and I am a better one," sums him up. He thinks he's better than the rest. In my opinion, he is an airheaded, overpaid, over-rated slogger. And i'm saying that in the new world of T20, the world's full of them.
Yeah sure, if it's a small ground (or a ground in New Zealand), go for it! But slogging just seems to be a part of the game these days. Pietersen's game is a prime example of this. But when you think of it, Suresh Raina and Ross Taylor are too.
All good players, have thrown their wickets away in the present and the past. As one boring arse kiwi opening batsman nicknamed Rigor once said, "I always put a high value on my wicket, and that's why I was so boring I could bat for 8 hours and score 43." Ok I made the second passage of text up, but he is currently the second best batsman (In terms of averages) to play for New Zealand. This is the problem. Not enough value put on wickets, that's why you are seeing teams starting to score 200 in tests, not only NZ are guilty of that.
But slogging also works in the one day game now, well since the 1996 World Cup. Sanath Jayasuriya and the 'lankans revolutionised the game of cricket by blasting from ball one. This is one of the contributing factors of why the idea of Twenty20 became an instant sucess. Players can go from ball one, but does it always work? I'd say no, you're still seeing teams in the IPL blasted out for 70-80.
Sure, Twenty20 seems to have come a long way since the first international in 2005, when the NZ and Australian teams dressed up in retro kits and sported huge handlebar moustaches and head and wrist sweatbands, but there seems to be one thing that won't change. The fashion that batsmen get themselves out in.
Yeah sure, if it's a small ground (or a ground in New Zealand), go for it! But slogging just seems to be a part of the game these days. Pietersen's game is a prime example of this. But when you think of it, Suresh Raina and Ross Taylor are too.
All good players, have thrown their wickets away in the present and the past. As one boring arse kiwi opening batsman nicknamed Rigor once said, "I always put a high value on my wicket, and that's why I was so boring I could bat for 8 hours and score 43." Ok I made the second passage of text up, but he is currently the second best batsman (In terms of averages) to play for New Zealand. This is the problem. Not enough value put on wickets, that's why you are seeing teams starting to score 200 in tests, not only NZ are guilty of that.
But slogging also works in the one day game now, well since the 1996 World Cup. Sanath Jayasuriya and the 'lankans revolutionised the game of cricket by blasting from ball one. This is one of the contributing factors of why the idea of Twenty20 became an instant sucess. Players can go from ball one, but does it always work? I'd say no, you're still seeing teams in the IPL blasted out for 70-80.
Sure, Twenty20 seems to have come a long way since the first international in 2005, when the NZ and Australian teams dressed up in retro kits and sported huge handlebar moustaches and head and wrist sweatbands, but there seems to be one thing that won't change. The fashion that batsmen get themselves out in.
