5 things 2014 will be remembered for in cricket

2014 – the penultimate year before the World Cup gave enough opportunities to teams to test and develop future world champions. We witnessed some of the most engaging and riveting tournaments in 2014 including the World T20, the Ashes and India and Sri Lanka’s tours of England among others.There were moments during the year which brought out the spirit of the game and made us value and respect what is good in cricket (worldwide collaborative tribute on Phillip Hughes’s death, Alastair Cook’s reception at Lord’s, Sri Lanka finally winning a big world tournament before Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene’s retirement).However, there were some moments in 2014 which would go on to define the year as the most controversial (the Mudgal report, Kevin Pietersen’s sacking, Andrew Strauss’s controversial comments on-air and Ian Botham's naked tweet).It was a year where Sangakkara broke the record of Ricky Pointing for most runs in calendar year in International cricket, Mitchell Johnson came back from the abyss to lead the Australian attack, two books by former players raked up controversies and India finally won a Test at Lord’s after a long time. It could be said that this year was a statistician's delight, a year of strong comebacks and a year which would bring out the human aspect of the game.Here’s a look at the 5 cricketing moments which will define 2014:

#5 The West Indies walkout and Narine refusing national duty

Ever heard the song, “It was the heat of the moment, telling me what my heart wanted”?

West Indies’ walkout in the middle of the series was a decision made in haste and Dwyane Bravo was misguided into committing an act which could set back WICB by $42 million. It eluded all sense and was observed as a decision taken after random alignment of thoughts after two shots of tequila. That is so, because if remuneration and its terms in the contract were the prominent reasons for abandoning the series then the players should have thought about the opportunity cost if they were banned for IPL 2015 as a consequence of their actions. Didn’t think it through, did they?

Also, Narine’s daring act to choose and play the IPL final instead of attending a camp organized before the Test series against New Zeland stirred up the hornet’s nest. Narine’s decision was audacious to say the least, even after WICB’s repeated warning. KKR won the IPL and WI missed him badly in the Test series, losing 2-1.

He didn’t regret making this choice and was quite satisfied with his performance in the IPL. However, his decision leads us to question whether a player’s responsibility of playing for his country should anyhow stop him from securing his future financially, especially since there are unresolved disputes related to contract terms and playing in a format which suits his style? And should we judge a player by the format he plays or by his performance in that format/tournament?

Whatever the case, we can safely say that West Indian cricket has tied itself in knots and should resolve their impending issues without airing their dirty laundry in public domain.

#4 Australia whitwashing England in the Ashes

Australia humiliated England in the 2013-14 Ashes by sweeping the series 5-0, which was only the third such instance in Ashes history. Also, Australia regained the Ashes on its own soil for the first time since 2006-07. England were outclassed in the batting department, with Kevin Pietersen being the highest scorer for them with 294 runs and in contrast Chris Rogers who was the third best scorer for Australia in the series scored 463 runs. David Warner was a delight to watch, scoring a staggering 523 runs in the series.

But the real story of the series was Mitchell Johnson’s comeback. No other sport has produced a comeback so strong in the recent past such as this. His career started with a bang when he took 41 wickets in 8 games at an average of 21 before his wretched tour of England. He was written off and told that he would never play another Test for Australia. But strong will and the desire to prove his capability led him to Dennis Lillee who worked to fine tune his run up and fitness.

What happened next is the stuff of legends. Mitchell Johnson with his trademark moustache took 37 wickets in the 5 Ashes Test matches at an average of just about 17. He was the man of the series and turned out to be one of the most inspirational story-makers of 2014.

#3 Kevin Pietersen\'s autobiography and unceremonious sacking

They say that even a fish wouldn’t get into trouble if it didn’t open its mouth and the same is true for Kevin Pietersen. He is controversy’s favourite child, a stylish batsman who pioneered the concept of switch hits and got in a lot of trouble because of his alleged interference in the way things were run in the dressing room in the summer of 2012. After his reintegration later in October that year, England toured India and Pietersen equaled the record for most centuries for England.

Even though he didn’t actually set the IPL on fire in 2014, he did create waves with his autobiography which evoked mixed emotions from English cricket and its administrators. What the autobiography tells us is that he wasn’t the best of mates with Matt Prior, James Anderson and Stuart Broad. He called Prior a bully, hinted at some sort of an ego clash with the coach and conceded to calling Strauss a ‘doos’ which is monkey in Afrikaans. Strauss replied in kind by abusing him on-air, accidently (or was it deliberate, we’ll never know).

But if England were to cook (pun intended) their all-time best XI, he would make the cut without an iota of doubt. But nonetheless, Pietersen by his own admission was made a scapegoat, not for his performance (in Australia he was the highest scorer for England in Ashes 2013-14), but for allegedly creating an atmosphere in the dressing room which affected other player’s spirits and performance.

He was a maverick who ruffled some feathers along the way and had to pay a heavy price for it. But if his presence in the dressing room shifted focus on the task at hand then how would one explain England’s loss against the Sri Lankan side in the Test series and Annus-horribilis of their most revered captain, Alastair Cook.

#2 The crackdown on chucking

Throwing or chucking evolved from a no tolerance state to its tiered approach in the 1990s and finally settled to the current 15-degree rule based on a verdict in Dubai in 2003. In the meantime, a generation of cricketers played under the scrutiny of experts and constant vigilance with fogged definitions of a correct bowling action.

It seems ironic that the International Cricket Council (ICC) which governs and enforces the laws of the game suddenly woke up to administer a heavy dose of tonic to errant bowlers when its own elected chief is facing serious charges and breaches the ICC’s Ethics Charter.

But the crackdown on chucking or bowling illegally was a welcome change from ICC’s dove-like stance on critical issues (like DRS). It started with Sachithra Senanayake being banned in July and then Kane Williamson. After Saeed Ajmal was banned in September, all hell broke loose. We all wondered how can the number one spin bowler in the world be charged with chucking, is there any truth to it? If so, then could it be termed as cheating? Or is it just a technical fault which the bowlers are unaware of?

After his test results came out it was verified that he indeed was chucking by a staggering 25+ degrees. The world took notice and after that, the ICC went on rampage, banning one player after the other.

When it comes to this issue, no other player has faced the ire of the cricketing world more than Muttiah Muralitharan. He was called for throwing by Darrell Hair who termed his action as 'diabolical' and was later reprimanded for speaking out of turn and disbanded from officiating in games involving Sri Lanka. Muralitharan had a deformity due to which he could not straighten his arm and a select committee of experts cleared his action after due diligence.

Also, it begs us to question the criteria on which the bowlers are tested, is there a clear and precise process to identify whether the bowler is not changing or trying to cover his original action and distorting it somehow to clear the lab tests. Can experts really find a pattern through biomechanics from videos of the games in which the bowler is suspected of chucking by comparing them to results in the tests?

Muralitharan proved his critics wrong and so did Harbhajan and many others, but you can’t fool anyone if you ‘bend it like Ajmal’ (40 degrees).

#1 Phillip Hughes\'s death

Call it a freak accident, one-off incident or just simply bad luck, Phillip Hughes’s death due to a catastrophic injury from a bouncer on the top of his neck, snatched a son from his parents and a talented young player from the game, which he loved so dearly. He died doing what he loved and we all stood in solidarity to this heartbreaking news. Only once has this kind of injury been reported in the entire history of cricket and this tragedy reminded us of the frailty of life and how we sometimes fail to see the human and fragile side of our cricketing stars.

Hughes was a humble, kind, talented sportsperson who took on the responsibility of travelling to Sydney and working on the technique of one child every year, to groom the young one’s cricketing skills. Such was the impact of death that it conjured reactions from cricketing community all over the world. #putyourbatsout and #63notout tributes poured in from all over the world and his demise was not mourned, but instead, his legacy was celebrated. It brought out the best in cricket.

Also, his death stirred the issue of the use of bouncers by bowlers and whether or not it should be allowed. However, it was put to rest before it snowballed into a debate because his family appealed for some privacy during this emotional time and gave a statement which said that no one was to be blamed for this tragedy. They also wanted Sean Abbott to know that everything would be fine and that it was not his fault. Hughes would not have wanted to change the way cricket is played because it was an unfortunate accident and nothing else.

Hughes will always be remembered as the guy who wore 408 on his baggy green with pride and enjoyed his cricket, inspiring youngsters to chase their dreams in Macksville, Australia.

You will be missed ‘Boofa’ - Rest in Peace.