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[ganavk]

I am totally for technology, but also empathize with the Indian view.

India should immediately agree for the use of all the technological aids in ODIs and T20s and announce it requests a 6 month period of post-use review in these games where the umpires, players and equipment manufacturers may be called on immediately after game to debate the accuracy and better understand how all this works. All reviews are to be open, and the technology details of the equipment providers also needs to be made open. Following this 6 month review period, each of the full ICC members can vote on the use of the technology in test cricket, with a majority vote being binding for all the countries.

Until then lets not be intimidated by Australian commentators and players.

definitely but I don't think even these views ( if BCCI even has one!) are coming out. Isn't there big secrecy about why and who is against these ?

[dhruvdeepak]

what's so secret? the evidence is out there for everyone to see. hotspot etc are all going to be used to re-judge mostly margin calls and it is inconclusive/wrong many times.

with howlers you dont need hawkeye etc. you just need a quick replay.

i think the appeal system is good but using technology doesn't work for me because it is used for margin calls.

there is no solution to this except to perfect the technology (if that is even possible).

until then i think BCCI needs to build a path towards a final resolution on this issue because currently we are playing by 2-3 sets of rules in terms of the role of the umpire. that moron Lorgat is not able to get anything done.

in addition to Reddy's proposal of a 6 month review, i would say that we need to start tracking how and why reviews are used as a means of building towards a solution, where they are not utilized for margin calls

[dhruvdeepak]

btw. Gambhir edge didnt show on hotspot 

[Blwe_torch]

Great batting by Sehwag, Dravid and Tendulkar!

[dhruvdeepak]

channel 9 commentary team doing their best to jinx sachin - counting down the runs to his 100 literally

[dhruvdeepak]

HOHOHO DRAVID BOWLED OF A NO BALL

what a cheer from the crowd!!

[dhruvdeepak]

beep YOU TONY GREIG YOU BASTARD

"why should India get the benefit of a referral on a no ball?"

[dhruvdeepak]

hahahahahahahaahahaha all the aussie ass licker commentators "dislike this rule" where the umpire can check with the 3rd umpire if it is a no ball.

[Blwe_torch]

Good to see Dravid hanging on through not so good times...

[Blwe_torch]

Hope Dravid can take the Aussie focus away from SRT....if only, for a while

[Blwe_torch]

Why do the Aussies cringe, if the rub of the rule goes against them?

[poondu]

[dhruvdeepak]

the ***** have jinxed Sachin.

great effort at the end of the day by Siddle

and a lovely knock by Sachin!!! pure class and chanceless till the end. agonizingly, 2 overs before stumps.

but that's fine. just get through the next few deliveries and put on a 400+ score tomorrow!!

[dhruvdeepak]

Siddle bowling at 150 kph now. incredible pace. and what a loud crowd behind him!!

[Cover Point]

Why is willow not showing the bowling speeds ?

[poondu]

Oh Sachin..gets out in the last over ?

[ganavk]

Good day overall for India and slightly in front. Hopefully VVS , Dhoni and Kohli get at least 100+ lead in the first inning from now on wards.
SRT was fantastic especially the uppercuts and cover drives were awesome. Dravid is ok ( survived somehow ) where as Sehwag is plain lucky surviving 3 catches.

[WicketView]

The umpires checking with the third umpire for no balls when a wicket falls has been around for a while. Why are people getting upset about this? It makes sense as long as it is done for all batsmen.

[dhruvdeepak]

need a nice 150+ from Dravid here with supporting 50s from two of Laxman/Dhoni/Kohli. and maybe the tail adds 30-40 more.

that will give us a big 100+ lead.

CMON  India! good day of Test cricket for us. we are on top. I thought we did really well despite the fact that Australia's last 4 wickets added 120. Their tail is quite accomplished with the bat in terms of technique and discipline (though Hilfy bats like Bhajji)

We need this win badly...we are a better team than them despite how good their rookie 2nd string pace attack is.

[dhruvdeepak]

Good day overall for India and slightly in front. Hopefully VVS , Dhoni and Kohli get at least 100+ lead in the first inning from now on wards.
SRT was fantastic especially the uppercuts and cover drives were awesome. Dravid is ok ( survived somehow ) where as Sehwag is plain lucky surviving 3 catches.

only one of those could have been taken by a human being. Sehwag was being Sehwag. surprising he didnt go on to make a big one

[ganavk]

Good day overall for India and slightly in front. Hopefully VVS , Dhoni and Kohli get at least 100+ lead in the first inning from now on wards.
SRT was fantastic especially the uppercuts and cover drives were awesome. Dravid is ok ( survived somehow ) where as Sehwag is plain lucky surviving 3 catches.

only one of those could have been taken by a human being. Sehwag was being Sehwag. surprising he didnt go on to make a big one

those kinds of catches have been taken multiple times and tougher than that but well it is good anyway!

[dhruvdeepak]

BCCI's hegemony over world cricket is almost worth it just to hear these Channel 9 retards whine and moan and demonstrate their patented, perfected model of hypocrisy

[Blwe_torch]

Good day overall for India and slightly in front. Hopefully VVS , Dhoni and Kohli get at least 100+ lead in the first inning from now on wards.
SRT was fantastic especially the uppercuts and cover drives were awesome. Dravid is ok ( survived somehow ) where as Sehwag is plain lucky surviving 3 catches.

only one of those could have been taken by a human being. Sehwag was being Sehwag. surprising he didnt go on to make a big one

those kinds of catches have been taken multiple times and tougher than that but well it is good anyway!

that's the way Sehwag plays.....so no complains.

[dhruvdeepak]

exactly...

most people (not singling you out ganavk) act like they've never seen Sehwag bat before.

there is always chance. there is almost always chaos (have you ever seen him score a quiet accumulating 100). but at the end of the day there are always runs.

so attributing qualities like "lucky" to his batting is inaccurate. because he is the one that creates that chaos, uncertainty and probably fear out there in the middle

hat tip to Sehwag for being the most destructive opener in the game (probably ever). and to reaching 8000 Test runs today.

[dhruvdeepak]

we will only know Sehwag's value once he is gone.

and he may well retire before Sachin.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Cricket/CricketNews/Virender-Sehwag-mulls-retirement-after-100-Tests/Article1-510733.aspx

http://cricket.rediff.com/report/2010/feb/19/i-may-retire-after-playing-100-tests-says-virender-sehwag.htm

(he is currently playing his 92nd Test)

[jks61]

need a nice 150+ from Dravid here with supporting 50s from two of Laxman/Dhoni/Kohli. and maybe the tail adds 30-40 more.

that will give us a big 100+ lead.

CMON  India! good day of Test cricket for us. we are on top. I thought we did really well despite the fact that Australia's last 4 wickets added 120. Their tail is quite accomplished with the bat in terms of technique and discipline (though Hilfy bats like Bhajji)

We need this win badly...we are a better team than them despite how good their rookie 2nd string pace attack is.

New ball is about 15 overs away. I think Clarke will open with Pattinson and Siddle but take off Pattinson after some 3-4 overs, so as to reserve him for new ball with Hilfy. If Ishant can hang around till 5 overs into the new ball (20 overs in all), then he has done his job but off late, he has been a bunny of the climbing ball into his body. I remember the recent 2nd test against WI, when he came in as night watchman and did not last a ball. Roach bowled a bouncer and it was outside the off stump but IS got scared and you could sense his fear, right from your seat. Pattinson and Siddle will test him for sure.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/india-v-west-indies-2011/engine/match/535998.html
India must bat at the minimum till tea and that can bring in 200 runs, inspite of Dravid. If the they can somehow bat till end of day, then they would have out batted Aussies. The key is to keep scoring runs. MCG is a vast ground and there are 2s for the taking. VVS should not miss out the 3s with his usual, lazy running.
I think VK,MSD have to gut it out and grind a partnership that can take the game away from the Aussies. It does not matter if it is not pretty but the result is all that matters. VK will make it count but others need to stand with him and this is where MSD has to a better test bat than what he has been in recent times. ZK must pack up his ego and must be prepared to hang in there for at least 20 and so must be Ashwin.

[poondu]

Nice..

http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/sadisthour/archives/2011/12/just_the_way_sehwag_bats.php


An Indian journalist standing in front of me in the buffet said that Sehwag was arrogant for chasing wide ones before lunch. It seemed ridiculous.

When Brad Haddin, after playing a big shot, says it’s just the way he bats, it’s a hard pill to swallow, considering his ever-diminishing batting average, currently at 36. When Sehwag says it’s just the way he bats, even if by that he meant naked with only a helmet of whipped cream on his head, his way of batting means an average of 52.

So the fact that he waved (and by waved I mean practically threw himself off his feet) in the last over before lunch, that is just the way he plays. There aren’t many pauses when Sehwag bats; he’s more MTV than Jim Jarmusch.

But there was one when Nathan Lyon bowled to Rahul Dravid.

As far as prey goes, a person who was an unknown groundsman 12 months ago is the sort Sehwag would swat away with his tail rather than eat. Lyon is clearly misnamed when in any sentence with Sehwag. Luckily for Lyon, in his first three overs, Sehwag only came on strike for two balls. Lyon was allowed to start against the equally skilled, but less homicidal, Dravid. Bowling to Dravid is not easy. His footwork against spinners is so precise it’s almost scalpel-like. But he lets you breathe a while longer.

At the start of Lyon’s fourth over he was facing Sehwag, and even though that’s backwards in traditional cricket terms, that is what it was. The first ball Sehwag easily cut away to point. Two runs. It was about as soft as Sehwag was going to get on Lyon.

Next ball, Sehwag got a little more elaborate and twirled through a cover drive. Two. It wasn’t middled but it was one of the few boundaries free to him. Michael Clarke was protecting his young spinner with a long-on, deep midwicket and deep backward square, all locked up.

The next ball wasn’t elaborate; it was brutal. Four runs. It was the sort of drive Sehwag plays when he has had to watch his team-mate place the ball instead of outright smacking it. Also, he picked long-off, because, like with the ball before, he was thinking about his batting. He’s not a slogger; he’s a batsman in a hurry. Sometimes in a massive hurry.

On Lyon’s fourth ball Sehwag came after him again. Four. It was hit with more vicious power and was straighter than the previous shot. He had started at point, moved to cover, gone to mid-off and was now straight.

Sehwag’s bottom hand was drooling over Lyon.

The next ball was never going to be pretty.

Sehwag launched at Lyon like a vicious predator down the wicket. But Lyon has guile and character, so he deceived Sehwag for a moment. Most batsmen would have pushed or dropped their hands at the ball. Sehwag did what can only be called a Dhoni, and his right hand whipped the ball flat and hard, straight to the long-on fielder. It was ugly, and unnecessary, but you had to like the way he went for it, even if it wasn’t smart. David Warner tried to get under it, but either dropped a tough chance or was just beaten by the turf.

Either way, it was only one run. And Lyon was now bowling to Dravid.

Five consecutive balls from Lyon had gone for 13 runs and had him very nearly out. The next over would be epic. Man v beast. The destroyer v the green-thumbed spinner. Sehwag and the fresh meat he desperately wanted to taste again.

Lyon’s next over was actually a maiden, which means to all cricket fans that Dravid was facing. By the time Lyon bowled another over, more than an hour later, Sehwag had lost his much more evenly balanced battle with James Pattinson.

It was, of course, still the red-mist lust for a boundary that did him in. Maybe it makes him arrogant or selfish, but I think it makes him Sehwag, and I doubt I’ll ever get sick of just the way he bats.

[Cover Point]

exactly...

most people (not singling you out ganavk) act like they've never seen Sehwag bat before.

there is always chance. there is almost always chaos (have you ever seen him score a quiet accumulating 100). but at the end of the day there are always runs.

so attributing qualities like "lucky" to his batting is inaccurate. because he is the one that creates that chaos, uncertainty and probably fear out there in the middle

hat tip to Sehwag for being the most destructive opener in the game (probably ever). and to reaching 8000 Test runs today.

Fair enough that She-wag does that BUT his shots against Lyon were weird even by his standard. Lyon had a deep square, deep Mid wicket, deep midon and deep midoff and She-wag decides to still hit him down the ground. He got 2 boundaries and then was dropped by Warner. That catch Warner would take more often than not. We have seen him take better ones for the DareDevils! Those shots were stupid even for She-wag.

Clearly he IS the most important batsman we have in our team. The way he destroys the opposition just sets the tone for the game. BUT there is a fine line between playing bravely and playing stupidly. If it was India, those shots would be fine with the small grounds he can easily clear them. In Aussie-land with the larger boundaries, that is just plain stupid. I personally heaved a sigh of relief when Lyon was taken off (ofcourse She-wag got out soon after anyway). I would have kept Lyon on and kept bowling full to Shewag.

I dont want Shewag to change much BUT there are a couple of stupid things that need to be taken out of his game. One is this game against the spinners and second is his trying to hit the ball in the air to third man even with a man there. He has gotten out before in SA caught at third man deliberately playing the ball in the air. They had figured out that they need to keep a third man out there to start the innings. Thats pretty much what Aussies did too ... they had a third man out there for a while but then inexplicably moved him.

[RicePlateReddy]

we will only know Sehwag's value once he is gone.

and he may well retire before Sachin.

Sehwag, if he follows through with that, will have 4 tests after this series.

I think SRT will retire from test cricket at the conclusion of the series in which he gets his 100th century. As much as he may seem cavalier about it, I think it is a major career goal for him and he will disclose that once he passes the threshold. I remember Gavaskar harping on it when Tendulkar got his 35th century to go past Gavaskar - he said something equivalent to "i would consider it a failure on his part if he can't reach 100 centuries", and knowing how he deifies Gavaskar, that must have caused Tendulkar to make this a milestone he simply had to achieve before wrapping it up.

So in all likelihood it is this Australian series (there are at least 6 ODIs after the test series, in case he can't get it during the tests). I feel he is avoiding even more pressure by suggesting that retirement from tests hasn't crossed his mind.

[Cover Point]

we will only know Sehwag's value once he is gone.

and he may well retire before Sachin.

Sehwag, if he follows through with that, will have 4 tests after this series.

I think SRT will retire from test cricket at the conclusion of the series in which he gets his 100th century. As much as he may seem cavalier about it, I think it is a major career goal for him and he will disclose that once he passes the threshold. I remember Gavaskar harping on it when Tendulkar got his 35th century to go past Gavaskar - he said something equivalent to "i would consider it a failure on his part if he can't reach 100 centuries", and knowing how he deifies Gavaskar, that must have caused Tendulkar to make this a milestone he simply had to achieve before wrapping it up.

So in all likelihood it is this Australian series (there are at least 6 ODIs after the test series, in case he can't get it during the tests). I feel he is avoiding even more pressure by suggesting that retirement from tests hasn't crossed his mind.

Question is, why would sachin want to retire? He still is playing as well as he has played in recent years. His body seems to be holding up. He seems to have all the flexibility to pick and choose what games he wants to play and clearly the IPL money will be higher while he is still an active player.

I would say he could be one guy who can continue on for another couple of years (heck may even be there in the 2015 World Cup). I think him and Dravid can and should keep playing tests atleast for the next 2 years and by then we can have Kohli/Pujara/Rohit sorted out ...

anyway i dont think he is retiring until Punter is completely out of the picture. Cant afford to have him steal any of his records

[ganavk]

exactly...

most people (not singling you out ganavk) act like they've never seen Sehwag bat before.

there is always chance. there is almost always chaos (have you ever seen him score a quiet accumulating 100). but at the end of the day there are always runs.

so attributing qualities like "lucky" to his batting is inaccurate. because he is the one that creates that chaos, uncertainty and probably fear out there in the middle

hat tip to Sehwag for being the most destructive opener in the game (probably ever). and to reaching 8000 Test runs today.

not singling you out DD but accepting 'he always bats like that" is a cop out. Just imagine how much better he could have been if he found a way to be more consistent...even better than SRT.
By the way, this is not devaluing his contribution but sometime it feels like there is no control , no throttling back once he start attacking.

[Cernunnos]

we will only know Sehwag's value once he is gone.

and he may well retire before Sachin.

Sehwag, if he follows through with that, will have 4 tests after this series.

I think SRT will retire from test cricket at the conclusion of the series in which he gets his 100th century. As much as he may seem cavalier about it, I think it is a major career goal for him and he will disclose that once he passes the threshold. I remember Gavaskar harping on it when Tendulkar got his 35th century to go past Gavaskar - he said something equivalent to "i would consider it a failure on his part if he can't reach 100 centuries", and knowing how he deifies Gavaskar, that must have caused Tendulkar to make this a milestone he simply had to achieve before wrapping it up.

So in all likelihood it is this Australian series (there are at least 6 ODIs after the test series, in case he can't get it during the tests). I feel he is avoiding even more pressure by suggesting that retirement from tests hasn't crossed his mind.

100 hundreds is just a hype. It will pass. SRT will go on.

If a 52 year old Vijay Hazare can take on Hall & Griffith in his final first class match and still score a fifty, SRT in comparison has just started his career. I don't even see him acting as if this is his last tour in Australia, as the thought probably wouldn't have crossed his mind.

[dhruvdeepak]

well i dont have a satisfactory answer for you except to say that - doesnt it apply to everyone? if people got out of their own way they could probably be a lot better. but that's what makes these guys who they are and we will never know otherwise 

no one would have pegged him to make 309, 319 and 294 and 219 but he did it (of course in hindsight it makes perfect sense that he was the chosen one)

there's only 24 hours in a day and you have to do in that time what you think will make you succeed the most. sehwag has a philosophy and he sticks to it and probably no one is in a position to truly judge 'what could have been'. he's had enough ups and downs in his career to know what has worked and what hasn't

and its a bit much to claim that he hasnt tried to be more consistent. i think over the last few years he has proven it many times over. off the top of my head i can think of at least 3 ways he used to get out earlier in his career, which he doesn't anymore

[dhruvdeepak]

and sachin will never retire. you retire.

[RicePlateReddy]

and sachin will never retire. you retire.

Aila! Check. (and there is a pretty good chance I will make it to the Adelaide test match)

[dhruvdeepak]

and sachin will never retire. you retire.

Aila! Check. (and there is a pretty good chance I will make it to the Adelaide test match)

jan 24th-28th....i may plan to make the same trip  (work permitting)

[WicketView]

what's so secret? the evidence is out there for everyone to see. hotspot etc are all going to be used to re-judge mostly margin calls and it is inconclusive/wrong many times.

with howlers you dont need hawkeye etc. you just need a quick replay.

i think the appeal system is good but using technology doesn't work for me because it is used for margin calls.
...

I think it is exactly that simple. Either you decide DRS is to eliminate howlers, in which case TV replays do the job.
If you want to go from 95 % (?) to 98 % (?), you had better make have all the rules thought out carefully. What has been happening in cricket with DRS is simply confusing.

[WicketView]

....
not singling you out DD but accepting 'he always bats like that" is a cop out. Just imagine how much better he could have been if he found a way to be more consistent...even better than SRT.

But, would even you not be better than SRT if you found a way to consistently score more and faster? I think what has been said in this page is correct. Sehwag is no Dravid, to expect him to play differently will not necessarily work. It could be the worst of both worlds if he lasts fewer balls than Sehwag, and has the strike rate of Dravid.

By the way, this is not devaluing his contribution but sometime it feels like there is no control , no throttling back once he start attacking.

I know what you mean, just wondering if there is a solution.

[RicePlateReddy]

and sachin will never retire. you retire.

Aila! Check. (and there is a pretty good chance I will make it to the Adelaide test match)

jan 24th-28th....i may plan to make the same trip  (work permitting)

If you and me meet Aila in Adelaide, I guarantee you, two of the three of us will be retirees on the 28th. I am not heading there for the cricket per se - will be in Sydney. Adelaide is *far* away and there is nothing else to do there, afaik. I assumed the final test was in Sydney - duh! May be I should make the call to fly to Adelaide based on how India is faring going into the final test and who is still playing, catching the T20 game in Sydney on the 1st 

[Cernunnos]

Leadfoot off the mark in 20 balls! I thought he was aiming for Geoff Allott's record of a 77 ball duck..

And he's gone