Warne's cheapskates win

I was flying back from Lucerne last night, where Great Britain had rather modest return of one gold and three other medals in the second rowing World Cup, so I missed the final match in the IPL but understand it was a humdinger. The competition needed a great finale after dragging on a bit too long and like the World Twenty20 final that so grabbed the attention last September, this was a match that lived up to the occasion.

As my plane passed over the French Alps, Shane Warne (who else could it be?) stroked the final ball of Makhaya Ntini's last over through the covers for four to bring the target down to eight off the last six balls and Warne and Sohail Tanvir then pushed and nudged their way over the line with minimal alarm.

The only surprise is that it was not Warne who struck the winning runs, but Tanvir has been as big a part in Rajasthan's success as his captain and deserves his own moment of history. I don't know if there was any hoisting on shoulders going on afterwards (you'd probably need half a dozen fielders to hoist Warney) but Rajasthan deserve full praise, not least for winning the inaugural title on a (relative) shoestring.

Perhaps those IPL owners who are reportedly considering spending $2 million on Kevin Pietersen next year should consider that a little money on the right players goes a long way. Shower $150,000 each on Graeme Hick, Chris Schofield and Darren Stevens and you'll get a better return than $2m on KP.

Because I was reporting and travelling yesterday, I also failed to put up the regular first-of-the-month hero poll. That's coming soon.

Comments

Warnie makes one wonder if there is a god. If one accepts that there is, then we can conclude that it has an impish sense of humour and delights in throwing up examples to prove that cricket has to be different to life: the man who is so flawed in his daily existence seems gifted with 'miracle' endings. Whoever writes his scripts obviously loves a larrikin; it may not seem fair but somehow, in some cosmically inscrutable way, it does seem right.

[Rusty]

Miriam

considering the way this tournament has gone, it seems to me the best investment is in Australian skills.

[Miriam]

Hi Patrick

I agree re sharing out the budget rather than buying a couple of big stars whose skills may not be what makes the difference in Twenty20 anyway. I am also wondering, given the way this tournament has gone, whether the best investment is in captaincy skills.