{"id":229092,"date":"2025-01-31T22:38:03","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T22:38:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/31\/its-important-for-me-to-watch-a-lot-of-cricket-because-i-learn-a-lot-from-watching-sherfane-rutherford-cricket-news-the-times-of-india\/"},"modified":"2025-01-31T22:38:04","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T22:38:04","slug":"its-important-for-me-to-watch-a-lot-of-cricket-because-i-learn-a-lot-from-watching-sherfane-rutherford-cricket-news-the-times-of-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/31\/its-important-for-me-to-watch-a-lot-of-cricket-because-i-learn-a-lot-from-watching-sherfane-rutherford-cricket-news-the-times-of-india\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s important for me to watch a lot of cricket because I learn a lot from watching: Sherfane Rutherford | Cricket News – The Times of India"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Exactly seven years ago, on January 30 2018, Shubman Gill<\/a> was hitting an unbeaten century for India Under-19 in a massive victory against Pakistan Under-19 in the semifinals of the World Cup. An India vs Pakistan match attracts viewers from all over, but there was something different about one man who tuned in from the West Indies. He had no subcontinental allegiances, he was just a cricket nerd. With one difference: this cricket nerd had already made his first-class debut for Guyana, and January 30, 2018 was the eve of his List A debut. And yet, Sherfane Rutherford was watching Gill bat. It\u2019s what he does.
Rutherford is the cricket nuffie in all of us who dreamed of playing the sport he loved for a living \u2013 except, he made that dream come true.
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“I always watch cricket. When I\u2019m home, I have my Willow (subscription). When I\u2019m on tour, I have my firestick. I watch every cricket,” Rutherford told TimesofIndia.com from Dubai, where he\u2019s playing for Desert Vipers in the ILT20. “Yesterday, I was watching BPL, I was watching the Sri Lanka vs Australia Test, I was watching the South Africa T20. I\u2019m always into cricket. All formats. It\u2019s important for me to watch a lot of cricket because I learn a lot from watching. I don\u2019t really watch any other sport. As soon as I wake up, I switch on cricket and I\u2019m watching and analysing.”
All that obsessive watching has meant Rutherford has learned more about his own game. It\u2019s led to a remarkable past 12 months. In ODIs in 2024, Rutherford averaged a stunning 106.25 at a strike-rate of over 120 in nine games. And in T20 matches in 2025, he has an average of 53.66 at a strike rate touching 183 from 10 games. He had always shown spark ever since he burst onto the scene barely out of his teens, but he has now found a zone that is formidable.
“I think the most important thing for me was when I got back into the West Indies team (just over a year ago). When I put on my West Indies colours, it makes me feel like a cricketer again,” Rutherford said. “The key for me was \u2018Am I going to play cricket my whole life and be an average person?\u2019 When I asked myself that question, I started to be more consistent in training. My preparation is better now, I have a routine I follow. It was important for me to be more disciplined. I\u2019m not just playing, I\u2019m doing more behind the scenes.”<\/p>\n

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ILT20: Holden stars as Desert Vipers secure top-two finish<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Rutherford\u2019s outlook and preparation have changed drastically now. “I train everyday. Even on game days, I go to the gym and do a few exercises. I go to the ground before the game starts as well and have a net session. Even with my diet, I try to eat better.”
One of the catalysts for that particular change began in 2022, when he was playing for RCB in the IPL, and observing Virat Kohli.
“One thing I learned from Virat is that even when you\u2019re not performing, you have to work hard. Even though he wasn\u2019t having the best time in international cricket then, he still hit the gym hard, he still prepared right, he went to the nets from start to end\u2026 For me earlier, if I was not performing, I was like, \u2018I don\u2019t need to train.\u2019 But I realised it\u2019s not going to just happen, it\u2019s about how bad you want it. And even when it\u2019s not happening, you still have to make sure your process is right, your preparation is right. That was a standout for me.”
That was the last year in which Rutherford played a few games in the IPL. Since then he\u2019s been part of teams, without getting game-time. But given the 12 months he\u2019s had, that\u2019s likely to change come IPL 2025, when he links up with Gujarat Titans. Playing alongside Gill. It\u2019s a moment Rutherford has been waiting for, ever since he first saw Gill seven years ago.
“I\u2019m a big fan of Shubman Gill. I saw when he scored a hundred in the U19 World Cup, and I\u2019ve been following him since then,” he said. “I\u2019m excited to play with him. He\u2019s young, he\u2019s exciting, he takes the world by storm. Definitely looking forward to this year. I\u2019ve been at the IPL for five years but I haven\u2019t played much. I think this year is a good opportunity for me. I\u2019m in a better space now, I have learned a few things about my game and added some things to my repertoire. Cannot wait to get going.”
Rutherford is such an in-demand player worldwide because of how he has cracked batting at, and around, No.6 — one of the toughest positions in T20 cricket. It\u2019s a change that began a year and a bit ago, when he became a West Indies regular.
“When I got into the West Indies team, Daren Sammy (head coach) and Floyd Reifer (assistant coach) always backed me, giving me the confidence to just go and perform, to back my game and just be confident,” Rutherford said. “One thing I learned about my game is that I\u2019m a player who can make up (the run-rate). Even when the situation is tough, I learned I can give myself some time. Even if I don\u2019t get the start I want, I can always make up. I started to look at bowlers as well, and choose the bowlers I can take on. Once I\u2019m set, I can take on any bowler.”<\/p>\n

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Johnson Charles picks his best shot after plundering 28 runs in an over in ILT20<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A practical example of that happened in West Indies\u2019 league game against New Zealand in the T20 World Cup in June 2024. West Indies were 91 for 7 in 15 overs, and 112 for 9 in 18, but the main bowlers had all finished their quotas. Rutherford went from 31* off 27 to 68* off 39, facing the entirety of the last two overs and taking Daryl Mitchell and Mitchell Santner for 37 runs. West Indies eventually won by just 13 runs.
“It\u2019s a tough position,” Rutherford said of batting in the lower middle order. “Either you come in to take the game on or you come in when it\u2019s a tough situation. The key is to adapt. If it\u2019s in the back end I try to give myself a few balls and then go. If it\u2019s early, I try to bat as properly as I can, hit the gaps, run singles. I think for me the more I run, the more I sweat, the more I start to get the momentum, I start to get the flow even better.”
In his latest stint with the Vipers too, Rutherford has been in fine touch. It\u2019s helped that the team itself has been doing spectacularly well, having already sealed a top-two finish and playoff spot. But, as Rutherford points out, it\u2019s not as if the team environment was a harsh place when they didn\u2019t have the same success in previous years.
“It\u2019s not only about performance, it\u2019s about players\u2019 comfort. Last year we didn\u2019t have a good year, but it didn\u2019t feel like I was under pressure. There was always support from coach (James) Foster. Tom Moody<\/a> is always on the side to just make sure everyone is comfortable. They are great cricketing heads, so they understand that there are going to be good days and bad days. Most of the successful teams are about players\u2019 being comfortable and the staff supporting players, whether they perform or not. Even if one player is having a bad time, everyone gets around him. That\u2019s where teams bring the best out of themselves.”
Just like the team, Rutherford is certainly getting the best out of himself for now.
(This story is authored by Saurabh Somani who is a Pondicherry-based freelance cricket writer. In his spare time, he watches the game anyway.)<\/span><\/div>\n