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 Everyone loves a controversy. And in 2009 some things got people riled on this site. Let's find out what caused the rumpus in cricket coaching, tactics and fitness.
Each article is still open for comment, so if you have something to say, follow the links and leave your thoughts on the page.
1. The rise of number 11
Back in June we wrote about a suggestion I had been mulling over for a while: Should the worst batsman be at number 11? I thought perhaps not, but AD called the suggestion 'ridiculous' and Ando said it was a negative tactic. Head over to the article and leave a comment letting us know what you think.
2. What's fitness got to do with it?
March saw England take the controversial step of dropping Samit Patel for not reaching fitness standards and we wrote about how to avoid that fate. The article stirred up the old debate of how important non-cricketing measures are to a player. Peter thought the issue was about PR not performance while John Hurley defended the need for peak fitness to get more runs and wickets.
3. Deathmatch: KP verses Sir Viv
Gary Palmer compared the techniques of Kevin Pietersen and Viv Richards in March. Alongside the comparison Gary suggested some technical changes KP should make. A commenter and KP fan leapt to his defence and said "Pietersen has the technically most correct straight drive in the English team." Whereas John Steele thought KP's problem was that he was unable to balance innovation with orthodoxy like Richards could.
4. Wicketkeeping is easy, isn't it?
This article was all about the headline. The point was that of all specialist skills wicketkeeping was least difficult (although still pretty tricky). Wicketkeepers disagreed, including Liam who said the argument was "simplistic and ignorant". What do you think?
5. Throwing down the stumps. Or not.
In August we discussed the idea of returning the ball to the keeper every time, or just when needed. We firmly came down on the old fashioned view this time. However, the article prompted an interesting discussion in the comments section about throwing technique and tactics. You can still join in if you have a view.
6. Dura-band
Duraband cricket was launched in September and we looked it over, giving an opinion on the effectiveness of the tool for fitness. We were sceptical, but promised to delve into it further. The article prompted a long response from one of the men involved in the development of Duraband, Dr. Brian Hagen. We posted his arguments without further comment as we felt he had a right to reply.
I wasn't convinced by Dr Hagen's comments at the time but we are nothing if not fair and open minded and so are still testing the product. The proof of any training tool is how well it works on improving performance and reducing injury in the real world. That's what we aim to find out in 2010.
7. Crunch off!
In October we attacked some common exercises that cricketers could do without. Crunches caused the biggest argument with Vishii saying the exercise made him stronger and faster. John told us that gravity doesn't push you down and called the article 'ridiculous'. Craig also tried to defend the BOSU ball. Where do you stand?
That's all the controversy for 2009. What will the coming year bring? Stay tuned to find out.
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This is a guest post by Laurie Ward from The Complete Cricketer Academy in Cape Town, South Africa.
