[snaronikar]

@ raftaar: If this the case, then why of BCCI do not pull out of this series. If they are caring for the money they may get from this series, then the same or more than double this money can be earned with the tours in India.

No point in playing cricket like this. It was a gentleman's game.

[HappyWheels]

Originally Posted by snaronikar

@ raftaar: If this the case, then why of BCCI do not pull out of this series. If they are caring for the money they may get from this series, then the same or more than double this money can be earned with the tours in India.

No point in playing cricket like this. It was a gentleman's game.

check the transcript of the judgment for the 'racial' thing; the whole 'racial' issue at Sydney was started because Symond's didn't like Harbajan appreciating the bowler for a beautiful delivery.

Symond's went on record saying that cricket is not a place to make friends and his problem was Harbajan trying to be friendly, for which the judge has made a remark that he (the Judge) hoped this was not the attitude of anyone else playing cricket!

[pmbabu]

Eggs and abuse hurled at Murali and officials
Cricinfo - Eggs and abuse hurled at Murali and officials

[snaronikar]

94/5. Well, the youngsters have done it (again??). Last recognised pair playing. Lets wait and see.

[rkg]

it is Six wickets now.Uthappa gone

[snaronikar]

Well, Gavaskar is now discussing to have some experienced players now. Even I feel so. There is nobody in middle order to stand up and face the bowling. Dravid would have been better a better choice in 2nd/3rd down.

[rks]

Bring back Yuvraj and Kaif. Not the old men who are on the verge of retirement. And note that Gambhir and Rohit Sharma played well after the failure of the exprerienced Sehwag and Tendulkar. Youngsters with potential need to be persisted with. If one doesn't give them a sustained opportunity, then we will continue to fall short. It will take time for a team of youngsters to establish themselves.

And one should not unsettle the youngsters the way Irfan Pathan was unsettled (by being pitch-forked into the opening slot) after an outstanding man-of-the match performance in the Perth Test. Root out such petty thinking and we will flourish. The country has plenty of talent. We need sincere people to help such talent flourish; that is what is missing.

[rks]

I said Gambhir and Rohit Sharma played well, but actually Gambhir was put down twice in the slips (by Hussey and Ponting). That is only to be expected on a fast Brisbane pitch with plenty of bounce and movement, given Gambhir's shaky technique. But according to Shastri, Rohit Sharma looked really good and he should be persisted with.

[snaronikar]

Originally Posted by rks

Root out such petty thinking and we will flourish. The country has plenty of talent. We need sincere people to help such talent flourish; that is what is missing.

Our selectors are like selecting the players from a particular region. When searching for talent, then need to look beyond their circle. This is what is required and the leader of selectors (at present) may not be doing this. Kaif should have been a automatic choice when they had included Raina. But they think otherwise which is disgusting.

[MC Mayank]

Originally Posted by rks

Bring back Yuvraj and Kaif. Not the old men who are on the verge of retirement. And note that Gambhir and Rohit Sharma played well after the failure of the exprerienced Sehwag and Tendulkar. Youngsters with potential need to be persisted with.

It was the inexperience of Rohit Sharma that got him out playing to a lose shot. If it was an experienced player on the other end, Sharma would have been told to put his head down for a couple of overs after India had lost a third wicket. And then came Tiwary, whose talent was apparent in the time he seemed to have while playing on the backfoot against Lee. But inexperience struck again with him being suckered into the yorker. 2 shot ***** and then the yorker. Oldest trick in the book isn't it?

Originally Posted by rks

If one doesn't give them a sustained opportunity, then we will continue to fall short. It will take time for a team of youngsters to establish themselves.

I agree with giving them opportunity. But you can't have a team full of them. Who are you kidding? Or is this a practice series or a reality show to figure out the next middle order?

Originally Posted by rks

And one should not unsettle the youngsters the way Irfan Pathan was unsettled (by being pitch-forked into the opening slot) after an outstanding man-of-the match performance in the Perth Test.

The only reason that was done was to play five bowlers in Adelaide. It was a temporary arrangement which did Irfan no harm I'm sure.
We are against a team that is only one up against you in international cricket. Trying to send a message on the field when all the drama has happened when Au visited last yr followed by what happened in the tests. 5 batsmen in your middle order who have never played in Australia before. And that too when you had a stalwart in Ganguly at the peak of his form. Sorry, not the best approach in my opinion.

[rks]

Originally Posted by MC Mayank

I agree with giving them opportunity. But you can't have a team full of them. Who are you kidding? Or is this a practice series or a reality show to figure out the next middle order?

What I am saying is that you have to back youngsters with the talent and the correct technique to succeed at the international level (not necessarily those who score tons of runs in the domestic level or take dozens of wickets on spinner-friendly home tracks). An example of such thinking can be seen in the Australian team selection policy. After Kim Hughes left as captain in the 1980's, Allan Border took over and at that time, Australia repeatedly lost to their rivals. But Allan Border backed his young team to succeed and eventually he moulded them into a world-beating combination. What happened after that is history, with unparalleled Australian dominance that is only now showing signs of ending.

[snaronikar]

Originally Posted by rks

But Allan Border backed his young team to succeed and eventually he moulded them into a world-beating combination. What happened after that is history, with unparalleled Australian dominance that is only now showing signs of ending.

Aussies prefer to experience than the young blood. The average age in their current team is 30+ unlike India who harp on the youngsters and get beaten by every tom dick and harry.

[MC Mayank]

@rks: I agree with what you are saying but you have to remember it wasn't just the backing of Alan Border that has made Aus the unit they are today. They have a very sound domestic structure with quality facilities and wickets that churn out a bench strength year after year.
And India with all the money BCCI has is unable to do anything about facilities for young kids coming up. There is a lot more retrospection that is required at the board and state level cricket before one starts talking about blooding youngsters and making world class squads

[rks]

Originally Posted by snaronikar

Aussies prefer to experience than the young blood. The average age in their current team is 30+ unlike India who harp on the youngsters and get beaten by every tom dick and harry.

No, that is not true. Most of the Australian players get to play at the Test level at a very young age. Right now, a bunch of outstanding players have retired after playing a long time at the international level (Warne, McGrath, Martyn, Langer, Gilchrist). The players like Symonds, Hussey, Haddin, Hogg, etc. have waited for a long time to get into the Australian team and that is why the average age at this point may be a bit high. But this is only a temporary phase. The Aussies will generally not hesitate to dump old men who do not measure up (although I believe they were extremely reluctant to drop Mark Taylor when he was captain, despite repeated failures towards the end of his career). At the moment Hayden and Ponting will also go soon and you will see young men take over in their places. And the fitness levels of even 35+ year-old Australians like Hayden are easily much higher than those of most Indian players, so a direct comparison to India would be misleading.

[snaronikar]

Originally Posted by rks

No, that is not true. Most of the Australian players get to play at the Test level at a very young age. Right now, a bunch of outstanding players have retired after playing a long time at the international level (Warne, McGrath, Martyn, Langer, Gilchrist). The players like Symonds, Hussey, Haddin, Hogg, etc. have waited for a long time to get into the Australian team and that is why the average age at this point may be a bit high.

You are right. These players have played their first class matches and then they have graduated to international cricket. But in our side, it does not appear so. With the players of a 1~2 yers of exposure to the first class cricket will get picked up. That is really bad. The inexperience adds to these woos. And today we have seen how inexperience pays (Sharma, Ghambir etc)