Marshall law imposed over run-feast

British writer Neville Cardus, in one of his essays, makes mention of an interesting episode involving WG Grace. Once when Grace was given out leg before by the umpire, the legendary batsman went up to the umpire and remarked, "The people here have come to see me bat and not you."
Cricket, ever since its inception, has been a batsman���s game. The spectators throng the stadium in hope of seeing the cherry being whacked to the fence time and again.Hence, T20 cricket has been the perfect antidote to waning spectator interest in the game. Like a fish takes to water, the fans have been lapping up this high octane format.
The ICLs 20s Indian Championship has provided the fans some very electrifying batsmenship in the month-long tournament, which has reached its final leg. Runs have been plundered at will and records have been set to the utter dismay of the bowlers.
Leading the run feast is none other than Royal Bengal Tigers opener Hamish Marshall. The Kiwi has been the most consistent player of the tournament and is the one factor for the Tigers dominating performance. The right-hander has amassed 340 runs from eight innings with the highest being 80 not out against Timesjobs.com Chennai Superstars. In all, he has scored four half-centuries with an average of 56.66 and a strike rate of 145.29.
The Dhaka Warriors, who missed out on a semifinal berth, have two players in the top 10. It is an amazing performance from Alok Kapali and Shahriar Nafees as the Bangladeshi players haven���t had much of Twenty20 experience. "We haven���t played much of T20 cricket but the players are really keen on proving themselves. They are a talented lot and I am sure they will be able to make a mark in the tournament,������ Warriors skipper Habibul Bashar had said before the championship began.
The skipper was bang on target as Kapali went on to notch up the first century in the ICL Championships with a stroke-filled 100 off 60 balls against defending champions Hyderabad Heroes. Kapali had hammered 11 fours and five sixes (74 runs) to become the top player to get most runs in an innings from boundaries. Kapali has 324 runs to his credit at an average of 54 and a strike rate of 152.83.
Opener Nafees helped himself to 239 with an unbeaten 73 as the highest and occupies the sixth spot. It is a tragedy that the fans will not be get to see more of Kapali and Nafees in the championship. But the real surprise package has been Ahmedabad Rockets Murray Goodwin. The former Zimbabwean player was a complete washout in the first four matches and skipper Damien Martyn was at a loss to explain Goodwin���s poor performance. "He is a quality player but somehow runs are hard to come by for him. He is stroking the ball well and I am sure he will fire soon," Martyn had remarked.
Goodwin, who pulled up some spectacular catches in the tournament, had scores of 12, 14, did not bat, and 4 in his first four matches. From the middle-order, he was then promoted to open the innings with Ryan Campbell against Bengal Tigers and that did the trick. Goodwin seized the opportunity with both hands and went on to make an unbeaten 61.
Thereafter, it was no looking back for the right-handed bat as he scored 59, 59 and 61 in the next three matches to finish with 270 runs at an average of 45. Lahore Badshahs, who came woke up only after losing their opening two games, too have rewritten the record books. Imran Nazir and Imran Farhat notched up the fastest 50-run partnership in T20 with a 15-ball blitzkrieg against Magicbricks.com Mumbai Champs. It rained fours and sixes as the bowlers, of the calibre of Michael Kasprowicz and Johannes van der Wath, were treated with utter disdain. The right-handed Nazir, who made an unbeaten 83 in that match, has the distinction of getting the most sixes (9) in an innings.