{"id":41218,"date":"2024-06-13T14:51:40","date_gmt":"2024-06-13T14:51:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kyrosports.com\/?p=41218"},"modified":"2024-06-13T14:51:44","modified_gmt":"2024-06-13T14:51:44","slug":"remember-the-name-sherfane-rutherford","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kyrosports.com\/remember-the-name-sherfane-rutherford\/","title":{"rendered":"Remember the name: Sherfane Rutherford"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Sherfane Rutherford might be the main talking point in the world of the T20 batting at the moment, but that was hardly the case if you think about what happened a little over a month ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Sherfane Rutherford was picked in the 2024 season of the Indian Premier League, he\u2019d have certainly hoped to create some impact in the beating heart of the sub-continent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For no cricketer merely desires being picked; he wishes to feature in a playing eleven and leave an exciting mark behind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And yet, here was Sherfane Rutherford, warming the benches wherever his Kolkata Knight Riders went and played. The left hander wasn\u2019t played a single game. Not even one in the recent IPL season! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a matter of fact, so rare was the public sighting of the impactful left hander that maybe one can\u2019t recall a proper camera shot with him occupying the central frame. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But true to the changing vagaries of this format of cricket, things changed for the better (for Rutherford) soon after the IPL ended. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A few hours ago, it was very the man who had got limited batting time in T20\u2019s prior to this World Cup who single handedly saved a team that was nearly done and dusted against the BlackCaps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Playing a lone hand, it was none other than the understated Sherfane Rutherford himself who dragged his body through the drudge, rather importantly at a time when the Kiwis were inflicting body blows on his West Indies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A loss here to New Zealand would\u2019ve neared the West Indies to the edge of paranoia and closer to hinges of permutations and combinations in a bid to contest for the Super 8\u2019s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s precisely when Rutherford stood between a staggering batting collapse and a near certain BlackCaps win to turn the tide in the West Indies\u2019s favour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He did that in an emphatic fashion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While it is often remarked that no man can alone steady a troubled ship to the shores of safety in the great game of cricket, it seemed that Sherfane Rutherford was determined to prove just the opposite. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He used sheer will power and mental toughness to achieve a positive result for Windies, but against the odds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But then a key question must be asked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the light of the thoughtless batting demonstrated by the West Indian top and middle order against the Kiwis, did Sherfane Rutherford have any other choice? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eight in ten would concur maybe not!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They say, you understand the true worth of an inning once you examine the circumstances in which it is stroked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To that end, there\u2019s no end to the importance of the knock played by the Guyanese batter for the Windies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lest it is forgotten, Sherfane Rutherford arrived at the crease with the scoreboard tottering at 22 runs for the loss of 4 wickets. At best, the West Indian innings was crumbing. The collapse was evident. The defeat, but a matter of time unless someone broke through with a magic spell! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just how much difference would a number 6 with an experience of no more than 14 T20I\u2019s bring about, one wondered? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that is when Rutherford changed the complexion of the game amid much complexity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It surely must not have been easy to see his captain depart for a single digit score seconds before his own arrival into the middle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While he saw a brief moment of recovery when Andre Russell exploded in a single over mounting an assault on Lockie Ferguson, the bulwark of the repair-work still had to be carried out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Someone still had to step up. And Sherfane Rutherford didn\u2019t disappoint. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taking his chances by stepping down to the spinners and attacking the short ball, whether bowled towards the off side or strapped towards the legs, Rutherford seemed ready for the challenge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n