Cricket may well be a batsman's game, but here at Wisden.comwe believe that the sterling work of all those No. 11s is rarely given the attention it deserves. With this in mind, we are proud to present Battle of the Bunnies, a year-long search for a team of the greatest rabbits – or worst batsmen, if you really must – currently playing Test cricket. The rules are simple: statistical incompetence alone will decide places in the side, and each month an updated World Bunny XI will be published here. Catherine Hanley has a hotline to the selectors ...

Thursday, June 6, 2002

It's been a busy month for the selectors of the World Bunny XI. Keen as they are to see all the contenders for the crown of Test cricket's greatest rabbit – or worst batsman, if you really must – they've been flitting between England, the West Indies and (briefly) Pakistan. They are pleased to report that the updated side demonstrates the truly international nature of bunniness, with a formidable top seven all hailing from different countries.

The big news concerns a change of captaincy. New Zealand weren't in Pakistan very long, but long enough for überbunny Chris Martin to show his quality by bagging a pair in the only Test. Hopes are high that he will maintain his lofty standards in the months to come.

The competition for the captaincy is fierce, however, and joining Martin on his perfect average – although having recorded fewer ducks – are Mohammad Sami of Pakistan and Muttiah Muralitharan, whose recent 0 not out against England gave him a second Test innings and qualified him for the bunny stakes. There are no easy rides here, though, and this incompetent triumvirate will have to avoid the slightest mistake if they are to stay at the top of the tree.

One or two of our bunnies have slipped up in the past month, some more spectacularly than others. Ashish Nehra lost his cool and scored four runs in his five innings during May. He drops to fifth, while Cameron Cuffy, who didn't manage to get himself dismissed in his last three outings, slides down to tenth.

Biggest losers of the month were erstwhile candidates Marvan Atapattu, who played himself completely out of contention with his expected century at Lord's, and Ajay Ratra, who did the same with his rather more unexpected ton against West Indies. But as one door closes another opens: the departure of one wicketkeeper allowed another to stake his claim - New Zealand's Robbie Hart leaps in at number 8. And Atapattu's exit provided the opportunity for Glenn McGrath to manoeuvre himself ominously into the side at number 11. Game on.

The Bunny XI (as at 03/06/02)

1 Chris Martin (NZ) (capt) 0*, 0, 0 av: 0.00
2 Mohammad Sami (Pak) 0*, 0 av: 0.00
3 Muttiah Muralitharan (SL) 0, 0* av: 0.00
4 Junior Murray (WI) 0, 0, 1 av: 0.33
5 Ashish Nehra (Ind) 0, 0, 0*, 3, 1*, 0, 0* av: 1.00
6 Jason Gillespie (Aus) 0, 1, 3 av: 1.33
7 Ray Price (Zim) 0, 3 av: 1.50
8 Robbie Hart (NZ) 4, 0 av: 2.00
9 Chris Drum (NZ) 2*, 0, 2, 2* av: 3.00
10 Cameron Cuffy (WI) 0, 1*, 4, 1, 0*, 0*, 3* av: 3.00
11 Glenn McGrath (Aus) 2, 4*, 0 av: 3.00

This month's Guest Twelfth Man is the one and only Sachin Tendulkar. Well look, a run of scores like 0, 0, 8, 0 is hardly likely to happen again during his career, so we'd better make the most of it now, hadn't we?

Catherine Hanley is a university lecturer, a keen cricketer and a regular contributor to Wisden.com. She was born in Tasmania and now lives in Sheffield, England.

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