How do you feel about Shane Warne?

[sledger]

You do? Wow. I don't know anyone else who thinks that.

yeah agreed, Cruise - Dire.

And it seems to be an unwritten law that at some point in his movies he has to run somewhere/away from something.

 

[_Ed_]

That's a very good point.

 

[weldone]

So how effective were the RSA pace battery in the last test at Kanpur again?????????????????????????

AWTA.... I can't imagine a spinner-less Indian attack bowling in the 4th inning of a test in sub-continent on deadly spinning pitch 20 years hence ... Unless our best spinner becomes someone like Ashley Giles ... Spinners will stay as long as these pitches do, or even more... At least I won't love test cricket without spinners as much as I do now...

 

[GotSpin]

AWTA.... I can't imagine a spinner-less Indian attack bowling in the 4th inning of a test in sub-continent on deadly spinning pitch 20 years hence ... Unless our best spinner becomes someone like Ashley Giles ... Spinners will stay as long as these pitches do, or even more... At least I won't love test cricket without spinners as much as I do now...

So true. The subtle variation that spinners provide in the game will always keep me glued to the tv more so than any other form of bowling.

 

[weldone]

So true. The subtle variation that spinners provide in the game will always keep me glued to the tv more so than any other form of bowling.

Although I didn't mean exactly that... ...I compared spin with 'absence of spin' , but not with the other forms of bowling...

 

[Richard]

AWTA.... I can't imagine a spinner-less Indian attack bowling in the 4th inning of a test in sub-continent on deadly spinning pitch 20 years hence ... Unless our best spinner becomes someone like Ashley Giles ... Spinners will stay as long as these pitches do, or even more... At least I won't love test cricket without spinners as much as I do now...

Ashley Giles is a damn sight better spinner on a turning pitch than several bowlers who've represented India recently - Murali Kartik, for instance.

 

[weldone]

Ashley Giles is a damn sight better spinner on a turning pitch than several bowlers who've represented India recently - Murali Kartik, for instance.

Murali Kartik was never our best spinner... And will never be [And I'm in no mood to compare those 2 either]... I repeat, if our best spinner is someone like Ashley Giles, either turning pitches won't be made in India, or we'll play without any spinner in our playing eleven... This is not to diminish Giles, but just a bit of astrology from my part...

 

[social]

Kandy, UIMM, rarely sees such flying temperatures as it's at sufficient altitude to escape them.

Obviously, there's very rare circumstances where such things as heat will disrupt seam-bowlers. However, no, you'll never see a circumstance where Marshall, Donald, Hadlee and Imran are begging for a declaration having been whammed for 500+. Never.

Nonetheless, why not? It'll be interesting to see who's got a clue and who hasn't. But I won't be accepting that Warne or Murali are even close to these bowlers, under all but the very rarest circumstances.

If you tour around this planet, playing on 10 cricket grounds per country, Marshall-Donald-Hadlee-Imran will outperform a four-man attack containing a spinner or spinners on all bar a tiny number of occasions.

Sorry Richard, but you claim that such a team wouldnt require a spinner on an uncovered wicket.

That is quite simply nonsense as there are grounds and conditions in several countries TODAY where not playing a spinner (especially one of the quality of Warne and Murali) would leave a side at a considerable disadvantage before a ball is even bowled

 

[Richard]

Murali Kartik was never our best spinner... And will never be... I repeat, if our best spinner is someone like Ashley Giles, either turning pitches won't be made in India, or we'll play without any spinner in our playing eleven... This is not to diminish Giles, but just a bit of astrology from my part...

Giles would make a pretty decent front-line spinner if he played for India and turning pitches were prepared for him with regularity. Not as good as Kumble probably, but pretty good.

 

[weldone]

Giles would make a pretty decent front-line spinner if he played for India and turning pitches were prepared for him with regularity. Not as good as Kumble probably, but pretty good.

I don't agree... Probably you are not too informed about our domestic cricket and the quality of spinners there [not only now, but in the past 15 years, though before that the quality was better I presume] ...

And.... probably? ...What does that stand for?

 

[Richard]

Sorry Richard, but you claim that such a team wouldnt require a spinner on an uncovered wicket.

That is quite simply nonsense as there are grounds and conditions in several countries TODAY where not playing a spinner (especially one of the quality of Warne and Murali) would leave a side at a considerable disadvantage before a ball is even bowled

There are grounds (no more than a handful) where to play a spinner of the very highest class like Warne or Murali would not be much of a disadvantage. There are far, far more grounds where to pick even one of these very best spinners would be a disadvantage, and to pick a spinner other than one of these very best would be utter stupidity.

At ANY ground in the world today, an attack of Marshall, Donald, Hadlee and Imran Khan would outperform ANY other attack on all bar a tiny number of occasions.

I find that anyone who suggests otherwise has little clue what they're on about.

 

[Richard]

I don't agree... Probably you are not too informed about our domestic cricket and the quality of spinners there [not only now, but in the past 15 years, though before that the quality was better I presume] ...

I'm not massively informed, no. But nor are a large number of people even remotely informed about just how good Giles generally was on a turning pitch.

And.... probably? ...What does that stand for?

It means probably. I doubt Giles would be as good as Kumble has been on a pitch receptive to spin, but it's not completely 100% impossible.

 

[burr]

Cannot underestimate the impact he has had on the modern game of test cricket. Cannot underestimate what he has done to revitalise test cricket and the game in general. Anyone who does is a fool.

 

[weldone]

But nor are a large number of people even remotely informed about just how good Giles generally was on a turning pitch.

In all probability not as good as someone called Utpal Chatterjee who never played test cricket for India (because he was 'too old' to start an international career according to selectors, though that's a different story)...

 

[Richard]

Maybe not. Having never read so much as one word about him, I wouldn't know.

What I do know, though, is that for most of his his career Giles was a damn sight better than Harbhajan Singh has mostly been of late. Yet Harbhajan has continued to play.

 

[weldone]

Maybe not. Having never read so much as one word about him, I wouldn't know.

What I do know, though, is that for most of his his career Giles was a damn sight better than Harbhajan Singh has mostly been of late. Yet Harbhajan has continued to play.

I don't want to compare Giles with 'the-Harbhajan-of-late'. According to me, Harbhajan has been very lucky to play international cricket 'of late' ... Mainly because of three reasons - (i) Selectors have too much faith on him based on some of his past performances, (ii) Veterans like Utpal have retired (although I doubt they wouldn't give him a chance if he played and took almost all the wickets now because he was, as always 'too old to start an international career'), (iii) They weren't ready to throw someone like Chawla to international circuit until they are 100% ready to give their best (i.e. they reach their pick)- mainly because they saw what happened with Maninder and Hirwani.

As you don't know, let me tell you, Chatterjee was a damn good bowler with average of 21 and e.r. of 2.1 in domestic circuit taking more than 500 wickets... And I'm quite sure that he averaged less than 15 with much less e.r. in deadly turning tracks bowling against some very decent batsmen of spin bowling (though most of them were waste against genuine pace)... You had to see him demolish line-ups to believe how good he was in those tracks...

 

[GotSpin]

Although I didn't mean exactly that... ...I compared spin with 'absence of spin' , but not with the other forms of bowling...

Oh sorry. My mistake.

 

[bond21]

Harbhajan is lucky not to be facing the ICC with racism charges

 

[honestbharani]

I couldn't care less if some people think Lillee-Warne-Ambrose-Muralitharan would outdo Marshall-Donald-Hadlee-Imran on a (normal) covered wicket against an identical batting-line-up. They wouldn't, and anyone who thinks they would just doesn't really have a clue.

lol... tats an amazingly arrogant and honestly slightly stupid statement. I expected better from you, Richard. There are no cast iron blah blah blah s in cricket. There is probability to an extent but when comparing all time great players, that is just about it. There honestly CANNOT be any certainty whatsoever over which bowling attack will be better where and again, the RSA's 4 pronged men were pretty good for the time they were playing a few years ago... Remind me how much they managed get people out on turners. Even they needed a Nicky Boje.......

 

[silentstriker]

So how effective were the RSA pace battery in the last test at Kanpur again?????????????????????????

We're talking about all time bowlers. Ntini and Steyn, good they might be, but Malcolm Marshall they are not. Marshall, and bowlers of that calibre, were exceptional at bowling on spin friendly pitches.