GOOD WEEK, BAD WEEK: Another ton for Pujara, a blackout for O'Keeffe and Buttler's reverse slap

It's been quite a start to 2019 and The Cricketer has picked a couple of those who have brought in the New Year with a bang, and those who will want to move on as quickly as possible...

Good Week

Cheteshwar Pujara

Forget just this week, December was probably the best month of Cheteshwar Pujara’s career, and January has started in a similar, if not better, vein.

Having already scored two centuries in India’s ongoing Test series against Australia, he will have felt pretty good going into this week, and he will exit the week feeling even better having scored a magnificent 193 in the fourth Test.

Personal milestones are great, but the fact that it will almost certainly contribute to India winning their first ever Test series in Australia will make it all the sweeter for a man who seemingly couldn’t score a run outside the subcontinent not too long ago.

^{Cheteshwar Pujara now has four centuries for India in their current series against Australia}

Jimmy Neesham

The New Zealand allrounder scored five sixes against Sri Lanka this week, which is a pretty remarkable achievement, and all in all he must be thinking this was a pretty good week.

Scoring a six is a really, really good feeling. Just think about it, think about that one six you scored. It was so great. Some of us have never even scored a six. Some people don’t even know what a six is. What a shame.

Now think about scoring two sixes. Even better. Three sixes? Don’t mind if I do. What about four sixes? Getting a bit hot under the collar. Five sixes? Wow, I’ll have what Jimmy Neesham is having.

James Neesham cracked five sixes in an over and took three wickets, while Martin Guptill scored 138 as New Zealand beat Sri Lanka in first ODI.

Report 👉 https://t.co/kVey7qjqos

Watch 2nd #NZvSL ODI from 12.55am, Saturday, Sky Sports Cricket! https://t.co/pAfI0vVX6d

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) January 3, 2019

Jos Buttler

For a man who managed to get out hitting his own stumps with his bat, Jos Buttler has managed to have a pretty good week. Mainly because he scored another fifty for the Sydney Thunder (his third), and also hit a ridiculous reverse slap shot while doing it.

He is currently sat second in the Big Bash run-scoring charts behind the dastardly D’Arcy Short, who has also had a pretty good week.

We went with Jos though because of the shot and the really sweet thing he said about it after: “Cricket is great because you can be so creative, and how I see the game, I love that side of it.”

What a sweetheart.

Jos Buttler, STOP IT! 🤩 #BBL08 pic.twitter.com/WFLqqcAIyx

— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 2, 2019

Bad Week

Tim Paine

Tim Paine is a ruddy good bloke. Let’s not get away from it, he is an elite good bloke. However, he has been dealt a rather hard hand with being the current Australia captain, and his side are facing their first ever home Test series defeat at the hands of India.

Losing is one thing, but the way in which India have put it utterly out of the hosts reach in the fourth Test has been painful for Australians to watch. The Sydney crowd are not used to sides turning up ahead in the series, and then scoring 600 runs.

The last side to do that was… England in 2011.

^{Tim Paine's Australia are very much on the brink of defeat at Sydney}

Channel 7 Director

There was an almighty mistake during Channel Seven’s coverage of the Big Bash when they included in Cameron Bancroft’s bio that he had “recently return to band ‘Tame Impala’ as the Kazoo player”.

The information was taken from a story on the satirical Australian website the Betoota Advocate which had been posted back in April. They added insult to injury by even including the mocked-up image the site had made for the story.

Bancroft is a man with many strings to his bows – he loves his yoga and is a dab hand with a bit of sandpaper (haha!!) – but sadly he is not a kazoo player.

^{Cameron Bancroft supposedly during his time with Tame Impala}

Kerry O’Keeffe

Cricket commentary is something that a lot of people think they can do, but so few seem actually capable of doing it well. It is certainly not an easy thing to, but some make it more difficult for themselves than they need it to be – Kerry O’Keeffe is one of them.

Something of a larrikin, O’Keeffe made some comments about Indian names and the quality of Indian first-class cricket which did not go down too well in India. As a result, Indian broadcaster Sony are reportedly blacking out his commentary whenever they take Fox’s feed.

It is unlikely we will be hearing Kerry’s dulcet tones calling the IPL anytime soon.