Cricket Round Table: What's Been Your Champagne Moment?

The second instalment of the cricket round table is here, and with it a new glut of cricketing opinion. The query put to our writers this week was:

What's been your champagne moment of this year?

The "champagne moment" is a term frequently used by the radio commentators on Test Match Special in England and refers to a particular point of cricketing excellence, be it a fantastic example of individual skill or a significant piece of action that contributed to a special win. Here's what they had to say.

Anon Payn

Ah, where do I begin? The year’s been grand for cricket. I suppose my “Champagne Moment” of the year will have to be the catch Irfan Pathan took to bring home the CB Series trophy. Having lost the Border-Gavaskar trophy to a less than deserving Australian team, it felt good to get one back on them.

The fact that Tendulkar, their biggest nemesis since the day he set foot on Aussie soil, scored more than 200 runs in the two finals was just the icing on the cake!

The fact that Bracken was made player of the series still doesn’t go down well with me. Gambhir played much better throughout.

Anyways, the team spirit shown by the guys, Dhoni’s leadership, Ishant Sharma’s taming of the ultra egoistic Symonds and monster mayhem, Haydos, and Tendulkar’s timely return to form all combined to make a classic win. What a dream!

Thomas Kelly

For any Irishman that loves the game of cricket, there is only one champagne moment.

With the scores level, Ireland needed a safe single from 34 balls to beat Pakistan and show them the way out of the 2007 World Cup. With Ireland at 127-7 one suspected a quick single, but Trent Johnston thought otherwise.

As Azhar Mahmood runs in, a look of steely determination appears on the face of Johnston, who stays firmly rooted to the spot as he smashes the ball far beyond deep mid-wicket and scores a six.

With the match won, and with it being St. Patrick's Day, the "Blarney Army" went suitably crazy.

Shyam Parthasarathi

My champagne moment for this year, as far as cricket is concerned, has to be India's tri-series win in Australia. With Australia having won the test match series rather acrimoniously, a young Indian team led by MS Dhoni showed some grit and qualified for the final in a tournament that also featured Sri Lanka.

In the three-match final, a Sachin Tendulkar inspired India beat Australia in the first two matches to clinch the tri-series and became only the second foreign team to win the tri-series in Australia.

Something which would come close, though, would be watching the first Indian Premier League match which has without a doubt revolutionized cricket—I might even add in the whole tournament as a champagne moment!

Steve White

The moment that stands out the most for me is Dale Steyn bowling Rahul Dravid in Ahmadabad.
 
India were reeling at 52 for four, Dravid was not out on three from 25 balls, and the vital man if India were going to recover.
 
Dale Steyn was recalled to the South African attack. His first ball went miles wide down the leg side, Mark Boucher did excellently to stop it going for four wides.

The following delivery pitched on middle stump but swung outwards, evaded Dravid’s bat and clipped top of off. It was an absolutely unplayable delivery, all the more impressive for the fact it was "The Wall" Rahul Dravid whom he had befuddled. 

Having got up at 4.00 am to watch, this dismissal certainly made it worth my while!

Jon Naylor

For me, it has to be Monty's third ball against Brendon McCullum that turned the tide firmly in England's favour in the second Test at Old Trafford.

With England posting a poor 202 in reply to the Kiwis' 381, all eyes turned to the bowlers in an effort to limit the Black Caps' lead and any subsequent run chase. Lucky for the Barmy Army, the deteriorating Manchester pitch was perfect for a man of Monty's talents.

Bamboozling the New Zealand batsmen, he cleaned up their prized asset after only three balls, tempting the wicket-keeper into a mis-timed sweep that trapped him plumb.

Panesar's performance and personal-best figures of 6-37 ensured a much more feasible target that England duly knocked off with time, and wickets, to spare.

What's been your champagne moment? Please comment below.

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