Younus Khan hits 300-and-whatever

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Younus Khan is a sublime batsman, but this innings has little to do with that. All this innings has shown us is that Younus has even more concentration and resolve than we thought he had. A triple hundred’s always impressive, but in a match that’s already had two individual double hundreds, it’s hard to get too excited.

This is a classic example of why batting averages can be misleading. They give a good idea of a player’s quality, but when you get down to deciding arguments on the basis of one or two runs difference, it’s like the difference between this and this (you have to guess what those were).

If Younus Khan makes it to 400, this match will be a draw. If he’d been bowled for 250 it probably would have been a draw too. Those 150 runs go towards his average just the same. We like players to cash in when the going’s good, but this innings has probably gone beyond that.

You’ll notice that ‘Younis’ is now ‘Younus’.

“My name is Younus Khan. I tell people that everywhere, but they don’t listen.”

You’ve got to spell a person’s name right when they put their case forward in such a world-weary way.

7 comments

  1. No, Ged Ladd. Using a “U” to replace a different vowel makes a huge difference to a name. Consider:

    Burt – Sophisticated, moustachioed seventies film star sex symbol

    Bert – None of the above (well, maybe one)

  2. And if you changed a vowel in Ernie – your annoying sidekick – you have a completely different type of sidekick, though equally annoying: Arnie

  3. Just to clear up any confusion, D, I am not actually Bert from Sesame Street. I realise that might come as a disappointment to many here – it’s always nice to have major international superstars on your website. However, I can’t pretend to be that which I am not.

    Ernie.

    Opps, sorry, I mean Bert, yes, Bert.

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