Old Cricket Thread ...

[Sandeep]

Here's an article in times of india on who is better for team cause, Sachintendulkar or brian lara for their respective countries , or is it players like dravid and strauss. Now after reading these articles, I get a doubt if it is a genuine article or is is just written to open up a debate or argument. I wonder how can they say that a player like strauss is more valuable to team than sachin. Utter nonsense. Their reasoning is that player like strauss is more consistent than sachin. Now how on blue hell did they say that. Sachin is one of the most consistent one day player ever. Man his record speaks for him. Playing 342 odd matches and still being at an average of 44.84 is not some thing inconsistent players do. He scored 37 centuries and 69 half centuries a total of 106.that means he scoring either a fifty or hundred every third match. Thats something. Agreed that strauss is a good player, but comparing to sachin and lara is nonsense.

Coming to tests, strauss has an impressive record, but no way close to sachind and lara. Sachin and lara played more than 100 tests and it is very very unfair to compare them with player like strauss who played just 12 tests. These articles just piss me off. It is tendency of newspapers to compare an upcoming talent with some one like sachin and lara. Very very bad. Here is the link: -

http://cricket.indiatimes.com/arts/1003451.cms

[vkd_1717]

Sachin/Lara is assumed to be incosistant because most indians expect something big from him all the time .... we see a couple of bad games and start critising him

Dravid/Strauss is more cautious than Tendulkar/Lara, he would rather get 30 in 10 innings than a couple of 100s a 50 a mid 20 and 6 ducks

They have very different roles, one holds the team and the other takes the risks ... i say the tendulkar/lara type is more valueable to the team because without taking a risk you cant achieve the full potential

[Sandeep]

when it comes to value I say that both are equal. Because everyone has their own role. But as an individual I would go for tendulkar in my team rather than dravid or strauss. Excelling as oneday opener is completely different story. Not many opened innnings and scored huge runs. Many say that tendulkar scores more than dravid or so because he opens and has an oppurtunity to score. But not many openers scored as heavily as tendulkar did. Very few openers like Jayasuriya, Sachin, Ganguly( when he opened ), other than these most of the tems have their top scorers in middle order. Tendulkar is a rare gem and no one in near future can replace him as worlds best batsmen.

[vkd_1717]

Tendulkar is a rare gem and no one in near future can replace him as worlds best batsmen.

The South African opener and captain, G Smith, has had a good year adn if he continues like that i would put him at no.2, ahead of Sachin in the worlds best batsmen lineup

[Sandeep]

Who is number 1 accoeding to you? And by the by what stabdards is smith having a good year. When I told sachin as worlds best, I mean as a whole career record not a particular year.

[Kumar]

I am probably going to cause a furore here... In hindsight, i feel Sachin actually lost in the long run becoz he came to world stage at such an young age.. If Sachin had played domestic cricket for a longer duration, I am sure he would done much greater things (in terms of leading the team)...

Dravid/Strauss is more cautious than Tendulkar/Lara, he would rather get 30 in 10 innings than a couple of 100s a 50 a mid 20 and 6 ducks

I can tell you, Tendulkar would definitely not want six ducks.. And Tendulkar nowadays is going into Dravid's mode (playing slowly) which is actually making lot of fans edgy..

[Sandeep]

Kumar, the thing is sachin is not playing slowly. Please check out the strike rate of sachin. It is still very good and much better than dravid. Sachin is not taking risks as he used to. But definitely he is not playing slowly. In world cup 2003 he was agression personified.

[PKBasu]

The South African opener and captain, G Smith, has had a good year adn if he continues like that i would put him at no.2, ahead of Sachin in the worlds best batsmen lineup

Graeme Smith, in my view, is one of the more over-rated cricketers of modern times. A fine batsman, but clearly surpassed in his own team by Jacques Kallis and Herschelle Gibbs. Smith finished with a batting average of 29.88 in the last series against England, and did precious little in the India series either. If there is a South African whose recent record can qualify him for the (contested) status of the world's best batsman, that would be Jacques Kallis. He averaged 69.44 in the latest series against England, and just over 80 in the series against India (versus Smith's average of 38.75). With a batting average of 55.55 in 87 tests (including 20 centuries), Kallis is among the all-time great batsmen. In fact, with 170 wickets at 31.74 apiece (a better average than Venkat's for instance), Kallis is one of the greatest all-rounders to have ever played the game. I'd put him just behind Garry Sobers -- and marginally ahead of Vinoo Mankad and Wally Hammond -- in the rankings of all-time great batting all-rounders.

[vkd_1717]

thats because people were critisizing him for not playing cautiously ..... and now we critisize him for not hitting enough 6s

[PKBasu]

Yes, on this I agree (for a change) that Sachin is being buffeted with way too much criticism/advice. Gavaskar (being Gavaskar) strongly advised Sachin to curb his strokeplay in order to play longer innings (especially in tests; effectively he was exhorting him to achieve really large scores like Lara, Hayden, Dravid, Laxman, etc. achieve). Sachin took this (perhaps too much) to heart. Now along comes Sanjay Manjrekar, and advises him to be play like the young Sachin he knew -- because it is more important to remembered (like Viv Richards) as being a batsman who dominated the opposition, rather than (like Boycott) one who was simply difficult to dismiss.

[Kumar]

I think Sachin needed to curb his stroke play in past, when we had nobody beyond Sachin.. Now that Dravid is there, I think Sachin should revert to old style...

Winning at any cost (slowing and making it dull/dreary to watch) has become the mantra in sports nowadays.. And most of the sportsperson have forgotten that sports is an entertainment business and the fast paced action is important for any sports to be a viable entertainment option.. So Sachin with his extraordinary talent to provide entertainment to spectators, should shed the shackles and revert to his old style ..

[Sandeep]

It is not important how sachin plays, it is important that Sachin scores. I fhe is coring well playing slowly I think he should continue that. But that is not the case these days, he is not scoring as much as he used to. In onedays ofcourse he is genius and he playing great, but test performance has taken a beating.

Now if a person is not in form he won't play well in both form of games. Many feel that Sachin is not in form. But he is playing wonderfully well in onedays. probably the best so far in his career. Then why is he failing in tests? The answer is simple, he is going into too much of defensive mode. In one days he doesn't have the freedom to play slow or defense, in onedays along with defense he is also playing an aggressive game. Hence he is performing well. The same thing should be applied to tests also. Sachin curbing his natural play is not good.

By the way, why is there no live telecast of challenger trophy. What a shame. As there is no live telecast there is no third umpire ruling in challenger trophy. Is BCCI serious in conducting challenger trophy. This makes no sense in not having third umpire. BCCI is not at all doing well in conducting cricket at domestic level. It is absurd at the way they are treating the most popular game in India. Look at england, though they don't have much money they started 20-20 cup and are trying to make cricket interesting. What the heck is BCCI doing? Our domestic competetion is so bad. No one has interest on it at all. I thought champions trophy is good one, but this year there is no live telecast. Absolute nonsense.

Anyway it is a good oppurtunity for youngsters to showcause there talent.

[Kumar]

I think it is ridiculous than Sachin is out playing in the Duleep trophy.. He already made a big mistake playin in the bangladesh series, when he should have rested..(Okay here is some controversy, which Sandeep would like) Did he play there, becoz He wanted to Get to Gavaskar's record and there is no better place than Bangladesh to do it? Right from the start of career, he seems to place more importance on his career numbers..

Okay guys, ready for brickbacks and

[Sandeep]

Man, controversies against anyone is good, against sachin? Noway. To get a century Sachin went to Bangladesh? What nonsense . After elbow injury he played against assuies, south africans before touring to bangladesh. He place more importance for numbers right from start of the career? What is the proof or how are you saying that? I am sure worst of worst critics like sachin. Ask Jay, even he says Sachin is awesome. Man if Indian team performed well in 90's it is becasue of sachin. Otherwise we would have hit alltime low at that period. What a bad team we had. Only genuine world class batsman other than sachin at that time was Azhar. There was a periiod when we opened with Prabhakar and sidhu. That was the period when we didn't have stable opening pair with sachin even in onedays. Forget tests. Sacin tried out with, sidhu, Raman, Sujith somasundar, what not. And still sachin carried the team on his soulders. Even in tests if anyone performed well in 90's it is only Sachin and Dravid. Never understimate sachin's commitment.

The most unfortunate thing ever can happen for Indian team is to win a world cup with out Sachin( Dravid and Ganguly too). These 3 laid foundation for the glorious age of Indian cricket. I can't take anything against these 3 especially Sachin( God of Indian Cricket). Even in this cricket crzy country, If some one stood above the game then it is only Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar(The legend). He is genius. Kumar, sachin redefined craze, sachin redefined how cricket should be played, sachin redefined everything. Sachin is the man. Most of the memebers in this forum are here because they are not like everyone who says Sachin is god(except me). Otherwise they would have been in some cricket forum. And Probably i get lot of opposing statements for what I told above. But I am ready to answer everything. Any discussion invovling sachin is amazing and fun.

I haven't brought out much of sachin's passion out in this forum as I thought it was unnecessary. But thanks kumar for making my passion for sachin come out. I don't know what you people call it, we fans call it Sachin fever.

Indian team is as ineffective as a kettle with out their heating element called Sachin.

This living legend has attracted accolades in abundance. This is a man whose grace and grandeur of shot selection have had perfectionists and traditionalists delight in applause. This is a person, who despite his immensely laudable achievements and records still remains modesty personified. He remains so affable and likeable that I dare anyone to be overawed or offended with his demeanour if you were to meet him in person. He is the kind of guy you could sip chai or coffee with at your local beverage shop. He is also the man who educated us, through our searches on Google, on a condition called the tennis elbow. There probably have been more words written on his tennis elbow injury and his return to cricket than the cricket India played in past few months.

There is something within me about this man that coerces me to preclude from you statistics reflecting his greatness and sheer brilliance. His greatness is intertwined into his name. Fellow writers have statistically and in an excellent manner showcased Tendulkar’s feat, achievements and revered greatness. Allow me to refrain from statistics for the simple reason that this great maestro does not require the assistance of statistics as his greatness is entrenched in the minds of millions of his fans. It would be a gratifying experience to witness this batting artistry without an end in sight.

What would the Indian cricket team do when Sachin retires or through some unfortunate stroke of luck his career were suddenly curtailed with an injury? How can India cope without this genius that is Sachin Tendulkar? If events of the first two tests against Australia were anything to go by, his absence as a batsman, as an occasional bowler, as an inspiration, as a motivator, as a genius, would be sorely missed.

Can such genius be replaced or substituted? Does India just bide their time and hope that by my some magical or divine intervention, another Tendulkar would resurface from within the millions of aspiring young cricketers in India to take his mantle? Or does India just hope that this great man continues playing cricket until such time as every time he walks into bat, a bye runner escorts him to the pitch? How does one deal with an indispensable player bidding adieu to cricket for good? All good things in life must come to an end, they say. How I wish the end were never in sight for Sachin Tendulkar.

[Souce: www.cricbuzz.com].

I can only say that he is the king of cricketing world and no one can match him. As a cricketer Sachin is what Michelangelo is to Art. Also remember Michael Jordan was described the same way by Phil Jackson. Sachin's mental stamina and the insatiable urge to excel are what put him much ahead of the rest.

Sachin is not verbal in proving himself, rather he does it with his bat and if he can't he does it with the ball. He is simply a genius and the dictionaries should replace the word genius with Sachin.

We see Sachin first as a cricketer and it is very difficult to see him as anything else. Sachin as a human being is a difficult dimension to comment upon because the only facet of Sachin we know is on the field.

Unless you are in his close proximity with him in non-cricketing scenario any judgment passed is not worthy of consideration. But if I were to make a comment from what other great players said and the innumerable man of the match presentations and interviews seen, he comes of as a humble human being well in control of his success with a stable head.

That itself is a great achievement comparable to some of the mythological giants of our Indian culture. Forget those fictitious characters of Ramayana and Mahabharatha, Sachin is the practical example of a human endeavour to achieve the humility of those ideal characters that every Indian has grown up listening about.

Sachin is adorable because he is a modern reality and may be a myth for the posterity. A sportsman to the very core... a performer-par-excellence... India can learn a lot from this most level-headed young man... rather India needs to..World knows this great miracle. What views can I post about him because whole world including great Sir Don Bradman has appreciated him in front of whole world.

If I say anything, it will be like "Suraj ko deepak dikhane wali bat hogi".

Only I can say that this great 10+dulkar is the miracle of the cricket. He cannot be compared with anyone. He is only a masterpiece that cannot be made again.

His politeness, humble nature and devotion to the game are the great qualities he has. His removal from captaincy was a bad decision. He was a good captain. And he deserved to lead India.

He is really ninth Wonder of the world. If I continue I think I will never end.


SACHIN SACHIN SACIHIN SACHIN SACHIN SACHIN SACHIN SACHIN SACHIN

[Kumar]

I don't disagree that he is one of the top test batsman in the world..

But Tell me one reason why Sachin had to play the worst Tesst playing country in the world especially when he is coming from elbow injury, which made him miss some of australian series..Is india so bad, that they couldn't win without Sachin? If Sachin had requested that he not be considered for Bangla tour, do you think BCCI would have banned him..


And don't tell me he does not have records in his mind, while playing..