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.