pitch forks
88 OutlOOk 29 July 2019
by Qaiser Mohammad Alir
iding on luck that comes but
rarely, England broke a 44-year
World Cup jinx. Yet their tri-
umph in the final against new
Zealand cannot be quantified in
runs or wickets. Consider the
languid, ambivalent plea sure of seeing
a match peter out to a draw in the
gloaming, then appraise England’s vic-
tory—won on the basis of having hit
more boundaries (26 to 17). And the
two ties that preceded it: sco res equal
at 241 after 100 overs; a super over
being resorted to; that too tied at 15
runs each. Even a photo finish couldn’t
separate the two. Then there was the
umpires’ ‘error’ of awarding Eng land
six runs, including four freak over-
throws, as Ben Stokes led the chase.
“It’s a clear mistake.... They should have
been awarded five runs, not six,” opined
Aussie umpire Simon Taufel, quoting
Law 19.8, pertaining to ‘overthrow or
wilful act of fielder’. The scorecard shows
Stokes as the star of the final—a 98-ball
84 not out and eight in the super over.
Most notably, England’s glory was ‘bor-
rowed’. While Morgan is from, and
played for, Ireland, Stokes’s roots are in
New Zealand. Jason Roy was born in
South Africa, Jofra Archer is from Bar b-
ados, and Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid have
Pakistani roots. While England rejoiced,
New Zealand’s phlegmatic captain Kane
Wiliamson and his teammates presented
remarkable composure despite being
done in by an illogical rule. Thou-
ghts of revenge, if harboured, will
have to be postponed till 2023,
when New Zealand are scheduled
to play England next. That’s when
India will host the World Cup. Ofresh Dew on
Good Length
Rohit Sharma, 32
inDia
Right-handed bat
World Cup show
Matches 9 | Runs 648 |
Avg 81.00 | 100s/50s 5/1Ravindra Jadeja, 30
inDia
Left-handed bat, left-arm spin
World Cup show
Matches 2 | Runs 77 | Avg 77 |
50s 1 | Wkts 2In the limited opportunity he got, Jad
eja proved two things: that he is one
of India’s best spinning allrounders,
and that the team management erred
in not picking him earlier than just
the two matches. As a substitute
fielder, his fielding was touched by
unearthly precision and energy. His
finest hour came in the semis against
New Zealand: that 59ball 77, which
took India to the brink of bliss from
a sixwicketdown edge of a precipice,
was a masterclass of spirit, guts and
calculated bloodymindedness. It was
a revelation. Earlier, with the ball, he
throttled NZ in the midovers with an
economy rate of 3.40. Openmouthed
at the exalted level of his performa
nce, fans and experts wonder why he
wasn’t a permanent fixture in the XI.Nicholas Pooran, 23
west inDies
Left-handed bat
World Cup show
Matches 9 | Runs 367 |
Avg 52.42 | 100s/50s 1/2Talent is often forged in adversity. His
ankle was fractured and a tendon ruptured
in a car accident four years ago. After two
surgeries, he was able to resume playing.
He made his T20 international debut in
September 2016 and ODI debut this Feb r
uary. Pooran, the fluent strokemaker from
Trinidad and Tobago, caressed and cre amed
to a 103ball 118 that nearly took the Win
dies past Sri Lanka’s 338. Helped by two
other halfcenturies, batting flexibly from
No. 3 to No. 5, he ended up as the Wind ies’s
top rungetter. Tagged as a T20 specialist,
Kings XI Punjab coach Mike Hes son named
him the ‘young Chris Gayle’. The wide arc
of his unhurried, carpethugging strokes
suggests a richer vein of possibility.done, not dusted. The astral light
from the World Cup exploits of
these cricketers will play on.