in recent times there has have lots of debate regarding whether KP is a team player, is he good when England have been in trouble etc.
So I have come up with those knocks which he has scored when England were in trouble to see whether he is a team player or not.
In his first test at Lords in 2005 against Australia he comes into bat with England in all sorts of trouble as England are down in dumps with the score reading 21 for 5 in reply to Australia's 190 but in his first test itself he plays sensibly against McGrath and co and scores 57 as England get bowled out for just 155! In the second innings he fights hard amidst the ruins surrounding him as he scores 64 not out and he is the only one to reach the half century mark as England get bowled out for just 180 to lose the match.
In the famous test at Edgbaston England did start well as Tresco just hammered the opposition bowlers but as soon as he got out England lost quick wickets and the score suddenly read 187 for 4, but KP along with Freddie came up with a crucial century partnership to get England to 400. KP scored 71 in this innings.
Of course I do not have to say much about his 158 at Oval. England were looking to draw the match but before the lunch session itself England had lost few wickets, but KP plays all types of unorthodox shots which annoys the purists and gets 158 to save the match for England.
KP scored a fine hundred at Faisalabad too. It was a slow track with the ball not coming on to the bat. In reply to Pakistan's 462 England were 107 for 3 and on a slow track taking a bit of spin it was KP who scored a hundred. He took the attack to the opposition bowlers like Kaneria and Akthar and took the team to 446. Of course Bell also has to get the credit for making a fine century.
His 87 at Nagpur in 2006 against India also was a good knock. England had taken the lead in the first innings, but after a good start from Strauss and Cook England suddenly lost both of them as Kumble with his googly and Harbie start troubling England, but KP was still there as he took charge of the proceedings and started hammering the bowlers and the way he left almost all his 3 stumps and smacked Kumble bowling from the rough was amazing. He made sure that England would have enough time to declare. Another point to note is that he could have taken singles and slowly got to yet another hundred if he was THAT SELFISH!
142 at Edgabston against Lanka in 2006 was another fine knock which came under pressure. England had bowled out Lanka for just 141, but Malinga and Murali did well to help Lanka make a come back, but KP took on Murali and co and scored 142 out of 293 runs which was almost half of the runs England scored in that match as England went onto win the match! Of course most of the cricket fans remember that switch hit of Murali from that match.
I do rate his 92 at Brisbane very highly too. England were 445 runs behind after the first innings, but Australia bat again for the second time around and score some more runs to make sure that England are down and out. In the second innings too England lost a few early wickets but enter kp who starts his knock by playing with a straighter but shorter back lift against Clark and McGrath as both were looking to bowl full to him and looked to come forward to both of them, though he did stay a bit more in the crease to the quicker Lee. In this knock he mixed caution with aggression to make 92 and maybe he should look at this innings as it may give him a clue regarding how to play Hilfy and Siddle. Anyhow coming back to the innings he tried his best only to see England getting all out for 370 and as expected lost the match.
Against the Caribbean team in 2007 England needed quick runs to declare so, who comes good? of course it is KP as he scores 109 out of 138 balls. If he was not a team player he could have again slowed down when nearing his century!
Against India he scored a fine 134. In this match though England took the lead in the first innings, but the second time around they lost 4 or 5 wickets early, but KP with his 134 took England to a winning position but only for rain to save India from a certain defeat. Actually this knock came on a pitch that was helping the quicker bowlers and the so called selfish KP was the 9TH MAN OUT.
His knock of 101 at Oval helped England to save the match against India.
His knock of 115 at Napier helped England to make a come back from 5 for 86 to win the match.
At Oval against SA his hundred came at a crucial time what with England in trouble as he again took the team to a position of strength as England won the match.
At Mohali he came in at 1 for 2 and scored 144 to take England to a draw.
At Trinidad he scored a quickfire 102 to help England declare.
I have not included his curial knocks in one day cricket as the list can get long! He plays a few silly shots but everytime he does that he gets criticised like anything.
In this series he has been in decent touch with an average of 38 but if I listen to some it looks like he has scored about 10 runs!
I hope he gets fully fit and returns back to the side very soon. Good luck KP!
1 comment:
Was there any doubt about his contribution to England cricket? :)
Take him away and England is a far lesser threat even on paper.
He amplifies the threat only because he scores when it is inconvenient for the opposition.
Another reason why I like to watch him play - after Gower and Botham, he is the first player from England who makes you feel like watching England play. His game possesses strong traits which are quite unique like Gower and Botham's games respectively were identified.
It is unfortunate that technology was lagging whn Gower and Botham were at their peak and one couldn't view all live international cricket as we do these days.
Players like KP are treasure in the team's chest.
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