Sorry but no Refunds!

[panesarv]

The IPL journey for the “re-injured” Andrew Flintoff ends with a serious knee injury that sidelines him for around 3 months. The IPL journey for Kevin Pietersen ends on Wednesday as he heads home for the West Indies Series. Both are the two of the most expensive players in the IPL but are frankly two of the most disappointing players.

The situation is worse for Pietersen, whose captaincy has led the Bangalore Challengers to 1 win and 4 losses from their 5 games. To top it off, he has scored 80 runs (including two ducks) from 5 games at an average of 16.00 and a strike rate of 109.58. C’mon KP! You weren’t paid 1.5 million dollars to stand on the field and clap your hands in an attempt to gain momentum. Fans and the team more importantly actually expect you to be making the bulk of the runs, just incase you’ve forgotten that. I hope for Pietersen’s case that he does make a 50 + score or even a century just as a small justification for such a price tag and to give something to the Bangalore fans and owners, considering he has given so little if not nothing. This is what Pietersen had to say after their most recent defeat at the hands of the Delhi DareDevils: “We did ok to get to 150. I’m really chuffed with some of the young players. Appanna did brilliantly to get rid of AB. Pankaj and Vinay executed our plans well and I’m really happy with them as well. They can be really happy and hold their heads up high this evening. I’m upset we lost but not upset about the way we lost.” Honestly… I hope his 1.5 million dollar price tag doesn’t include making optimistic and positive comments after such a loss as part of the deal. How can you not be upset about the way that you guys lost it? One dropped catch and one misfield in two consecutive balls equating to two fours, which in turn became the turning point or momentum shift of the game. How can you not be upset about that? However, the concern lies more with his performances as a captain and a batsman. With one game left for him before he links up with his England squad back in England for the West Indies series, he will feel that he has made little if not no positive impact towards the Bangalore team. No wonder he smashed his bat on the ground after attempting a switch-hit against Vettori and ending up being bowled. He was looking at his best, playing a controlled-aggressive innings and looked certain to reach the elusive half-century. Who knows, he might of reached the big hundred. We all know KP’s capabilities when he gets going. Honestly… I hope his 1.5 million dollar price tag doesn’t include making optimistic and positive comments after such a loss as part of the deal. How can you not be upset about the way that you guys lost it? One dropped catch and one misfield in two consecutive balls equating to two fours, which in turn became the turning point or momentum shift of the game. How can you not be upset about that? However, the concern lies more with his performances as a captain and a batsman. With one game left for him before he links up with his England squad back in England for the West Indies series, he will feel that he has made little if not no positive impact towards the Bangalore team. No wonder he smashed his bat on the ground after attempting a switch-hit against Vettori and ending up being bowled. He was looking at his best, playing a controlled-aggressive innings and looked certain to reach the elusive half-century. Who knows, he might of reached the big hundred. We all know KP’s capabilities when he gets going. Flintoff’s figures are slighly better but are not by any means fantastic. His bowling has been below his usual standards, taking 2 wickets in 3 games at an average of 52.50 and a strike rate of 33.00. However, Flintoff has a more impressive batting average of 31.00 at an average of 116.98. Such performances do not even come close to being worth $500 000, let alone 1.5 mil. With such an injury prone history through Flintoff’s career, one will never know why on Earth Chennai bought him for such a sum… He could even be said as a major contirbuting factor towards their loss against the Delhi Daredevils. He conceded 50 runs in 4 wicketless overs with an economy rate of 12.50! He made a 17 - ball 16 before he (as we’ve seen so many times in his career) got himself out with a poor shot, putting even more pressure on their supposed match finisher in Albie Morkel. However, the knee must of had an impact on his performance - considering his knee injury was announced after the match. His omission from the line-up brings another injury-prone player in the name of Jacob Oram in contention. [uPDATE: For all you Jacob Oram fans, I am pleased to say this he has hit a 29-ball 41 featuring 4 fours and 2 sixes in his most recent match against Deccan since replacing Flntoff.] If there was a phrase to sum up Andrew Flintoff’s IPL experience, it would most certainly be “Cricket can be a Cruel Game.” Let’s hope Flintoff’s returns next year fully fit and with a BANG! Bangalore and Chennai’s faith in their england couterparts have been severely let down. Bangalore will probably be feeling it most as they are in exactly the same predicament as last year, and finished the first season of the IPL second-last. Both clubs will probably feel that their 1.5 milllion dollars have “gone down the drain.” Just some popular questions with regards to the IPL 1. Will the Decan Chargers go the whole way? 2. Will Glen McGrath and Dave Warner get a game? 3. Will the Bangalore Challengers ever win another game? 4. Will Brendon McCullum be stripped of captaincy/dropped if he makes another failure? (He is currently averaging 6.5 with 26 runs in 4 games) © CricFire.com Posted by David Cloke on http://cricfire.com/blog/2009-04-28/sorry-but-no-refunds

[The Outsider]

I can understand to an extent a particular team being obsessed to get a particular player, but remember this was an auction so if some moron did pay $1.55 million for Flintoff or $1.5 million for Pietersen or $650,000 for Mortaza then there was a bigger idiot who was willing to pay $1.5 million for Flintoff, $1.45 million for Pietersen, and $600,000 for Mortaza.