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Rank the test sides

tooextracool

International Coach
Kumble's height got him a lot of wickets, though obviously he was unorthodox. And Mishra is really short - much shorter than someone like Warne for example.
Kumble was a different kettle of fish, he rarely used flight in his bowling, he bowled flatter and quicker and got wickets with his top spinner.

Mishra, I would think is taller than Mushtaq Ahmed who forged a pretty successful test match career for a while despite his height. Macgill wasn't very tall either. Warne got most of his wickets by using expertly using flight and drift rather than bounce.
 

aussie

Hall of Fame Member
Like Hussey has been, and Hayden a couple of years ago?

You really need to stop passing off opinions as facts, almost becoming as bad as Richard in that regard.
The situations with Hayden & Hussey are different from Dravid. They where out of form for less than & year, while Dravid was out of from since IND where in here 2007. Only in NZ recent & 2009 IPL has he began to show back SOME signs of his old self.

If he was Australian he would have been dropped, because AUS always has someone pushing for place. A better comparison with Dravid's situation is Mark Waugh during 2002.

honestbharani said:
yep.. and the real fact is Dravid has been in great form recently...
Exactly. If he was Australia he wont have been dropped before he got the chance to regain form in tests again, given his age. IND really

honestbharani said:
You ignore form like that (AND the bad form of blokes like Rohit Sharma) at your own peril..

And reg. bench strength, guys like Rohit and Raina are NOT (at least for now) being looked upon as serious contenders for test berths..
Which is the problem with INDs bench strenght, one of those guys really should be stepping up at this stage, as the era of Big 4 is coming to and end.

honestbharani said:
This selection panel seems to have made it clear that blokes like Vijay and Badrinath are ahead in contention for test berths than these guys... And there are the technically more proficient ( at least based on what I have seen) guys like Rahane and Pujara and even Kaif...
Kaif wasn't test quality. I don't know about Rahane & Pujara so wont comment. I have seen Tiwary & Pandey though.

Isn't Vijay an opener though?. I like what i saw of him in that test vs AUS, but it would be hard for him to get a test place with Sehwag/Gambhir around. Unless you reckon he has the versatility in his game to bat in the middle-order.

On Badrinath, i have been hearing calls for him to be selected since about when IND where here in 2007. But IND have avoided picking him & has gone back to Yuvraj. So thats a clear indication, that the selectors don't have 100% have faith him, despite his domestic performances.
 

marc71178

Eyes not spreadsheets
The situations with Hayden & Hussey are different from Dravid. They where out of form for less than & year, while Dravid was out of from since IND where in here 2007.
Right - so Hayden's year included 16 Tests, 30 innings without a century (5 fifties) and 841 runs @ 30.04

Hussey's year is 15 Tests, 26 innings without a century (7 fifties, 3 of which came in the first 4 innings of the run) and 694 runs @ 27.76 (and that ignores his first innings duck last week)

Dravid's has only played 15 Tests since he has been so "out of form" and has 2 centuries & 6 fifties in his 903 runs @ 33.44.

Pray tell how these are so different (apart of course from the nationalities)
 

tooextracool

International Coach
Which is the problem with INDs bench strenght......
Isn't Vijay an opener though?. I like what i saw of him in that test vs AUS, but it would be hard for him to get a test place with Sehwag/Gambhir around.

Maybe Im just stupid, but aren't these 2 statements counterintuitive? First you claim that India don't have any bench strength, then you claim that some of the players dont have a chance of getting in because of the strength of the top 6.
 

aussie

Hall of Fame Member
Right - so Hayden's year included 16 Tests, 30 innings without a century (5 fifties) and 841 runs @ 30.04

Hussey's year is 15 Tests, 26 innings without a century (7 fifties, 3 of which came in the first 4 innings of the run) and 694 runs @ 27.76 (and that ignores his first innings duck last week)
Your stats picking. Between IND 04 to NZ 05, their was no reason for Hayden to be dropped although he was not in form. During the Ashes when he was technically exposed, thats when he his position was in serious threat. So even if he didn't save his career with the Oval hundred - AUS had an immediate replacement in M Hussey or Jaques to replace him.

Same thing with Hussey. He really didn't start to look bad until this Ashes. They where no reason to drop him between the 2nd test vs IND 08 to in SA 08. If Hussey scored that hundred as, AUS currently have options to replace him for the upcoming home summer.

Dravid's has only played 15 Tests since he has been so "out of form" and has 2 centuries & 6 fifties in his 903 runs @ 33.44.
I dont know where you got this from. As i said Dravid was out of form from ENG 07 to AUS 08. That like 23 tests, after his woeful performance vs AUS 08, he really should have been dropped - if he where AUS he would have been. But given IND next generation aint stepping up ATM, IND have been forced to contiously back the great man.

Pray tell how these are so different (apart of course from the nationalities)
Haa..lame, you can't play that bias card with me. The facts are in your face..
 

aussie

Hall of Fame Member
Maybe Im just stupid, but aren't these 2 statements counterintuitive? First you claim that India don't have any bench strength, then you claim that some of the players dont have a chance of getting in because of the strength of the top 6.
Well i wont call you stupid, cause your not. All i was saying there is that i like what i saw of Vijay in the 4th test vs AUS. But it was only one test, if history is guide with Indian openers, it would be wise to take a very conservative view when judging them as test quality as not.
 

tooextracool

International Coach
Well i wont call you stupid, cause your not. All i was saying there is that i like what i saw of Vijay in the 4th test vs AUS. But it was only one test, if history is guide with Indian openers, it would be wise to take a very conservative view when judging them as test quality as not.
Err its impossible to know whether the players on the bench are test class or not if they dont get an opportunity to play. It doesn't mean that you dont have good bench strength though. India has a whole bunch of batters and bowlers in domestic cricket who are setting the domestic scene on fire and are ready to replace the fab 4 when they leave.
 

Uppercut

Request Your Custom Title Now!
Err its impossible to know whether the players on the bench are test class or not if they dont get an opportunity to play. It doesn't mean that you dont have good bench strength though. India has a whole bunch of batters and bowlers in domestic cricket who are setting the domestic scene on fire and are ready to replace the fab 4 when they leave.
The fact that Yuvraj was the best they could find to fill in for Ganguly doesn't fill me with confidence though tbh.
 

tooextracool

International Coach
The fact that Yuvraj was the best they could find to fill in for Ganguly doesn't fill me with confidence though tbh.
Yuvraj was picked not because of a lack of options, he was picked because of the pressure from the public as a result of his limited overs success as well as his FC runs. Of course, that doesn't mean that it was the right move, it was clearly a product of poor selection, especially when players like Badrinath, Rahane, Pujara, Tiwary, heck even Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been floating around domestic cricket. Badrinath has almost certainly been unfortunate given that he is far more experienced and older than some of the others mentioned.
 

marc71178

Eyes not spreadsheets
I dont know where you got this from. As i said Dravid was out of form from ENG 07 to AUS 08. That like 23 tests, after his woeful performance vs AUS 08, he really should have been dropped - if he where AUS he would have been. But given IND next generation aint stepping up ATM, IND have been forced to contiously back the great man.
Oh right, I assumed your touring related to touring Aus, not England - can't decide who you support, seems to change with each series.

However, Eng 07 to Aus 08 is a whole 10 matches (which is considerably less than the numbers played by the 2 Aussies who you claim weren't "out of form")

In those 10 matches he batted 20 times and scored a ton and 4 fifties in his 554 runs @ 32.59

So overall, better figures than either of the 2 Aussies in their spell when they weren't "out of form" yet you say he was out of form and they weren't.




Haa..lame, you can't play that bias card with me. The facts are in your face..
Indeed the facts are in my face, but they don't paint the story you claim they do. If Dravid was out of form, then how can Hayden or Hussey not have been?
 

silentstriker

The Wheel is Forever
The fact that Yuvraj was the best they could find to fill in for Ganguly doesn't fill me with confidence though tbh.
Yuvraj isn't in the top five of the best people to fill in. Selectors are morons. Yuvraj is not a Test cricketer. But apparently, they still have not figured this out.

Which is the problem with INDs bench strenght,
The Indian batting bench strength is perfectly acceptable actually. I'm not worried about the batting.
 

aussie

Hall of Fame Member
Oh right, I assumed your touring related to touring Aus, not England - can't decide who you support, seems to change with each series.
WTF haaa. Oh i now see what this is, this is not a cricket debate, this is personal. I keep telling you stop studying who i support & why i support them. You got a problem complain
to james.

i.e "James, aussie is supporting England & Australia & i dont like it. Please ban him"

However, Eng 07 to Aus 08 is a whole 10 matches (which is considerably less than the numbers played by the 2 Aussies who you claim weren't "out of form")
In those 10 matches he batted 20 times and scored a ton and 4 fifties in his 554 runs @ 32.59

So overall, better figures than either of the 2 Aussies in their spell when they weren't "out of form" yet you say he was out of form and they weren't.

Utter crap. As i said you are just stats picking. Its clear you didn't watch either Hayden or Hussey over the period suggested to guage a clear idea of how match by match their form regressed. Nor did you see much of Dravid since 2007.



Indeed the facts are in my face, but they don't paint the story you claim they do. If Dravid was out of form, then how can Hayden or Hussey not have been?
Hayden & Hussey where indeed out of form. But neither up until they reach the respective Ashes series of 05 or 09, where in such horrific form that it was evident that they really should have been dropped.

Dravid on the other hand after the AUS series 08 was looking awful. IND has stuck with him because none of those talented youngsters have made that step up as yet. Plus he is even back in the ODI set-up. The bench strenght clearly isn't ready.
 

silentstriker

The Wheel is Forever
Dravid on the other hand after the AUS series 08 was looking awful. IND has stuck with him because none of those talented youngsters have made that step up as yet. Plus he is even back in the ODI set-up. The bench strenght clearly isn't ready.
That's the weirdest logic of all time.

The bench strength wasn't ready because they didn't prove themselves. They didn't get a chance to prove themselves because the bench strength wasn't ready. Poster child for my avatar.

Maybe it had nothing to do with bench strength, but his 10,000 Test cricket runs that gave him a few more chances than someone else might have gotten? Just a thought.
 
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aussie

Hall of Fame Member
Err its impossible to know whether the players on the bench are test class or not if they dont get an opportunity to play. It doesn't mean that you dont have good bench strength though. India has a whole bunch of batters and bowlers in domestic cricket who are setting the dom India estic scene on fire and are ready to replace the fab 4 when they leave.

silentstriker said:
The Indian batting bench strength is perfectly acceptable actually. I'm not worried about the batting
Its clear India's bench strenght is extremely talented, that clear. But are they ready for test cricket ATM to replace the Big 4 - no. We have seen that pretty clear in recent years as Ganguly & Dravid have had various trotts.

But lets not forget the Big 4, plus Azharruddin have been the rocks of IND middle-order over the past 15+ years. In the past when these guys missed tests, the players who have replaced them due to injury who where always very talented like the current set youngster - but didn't look test quality. Most notably Kambli, plus i remember when IND toured AUS in 99, when Bhardwaj & Kanitkar came with such BIG reps, but just faded away.

So using history as a guide, im taking a VERY conservative approach when judging INDs next generation of batsmen.



tooextracool said:
Yuvraj was picked not because of a lack of options, he was picked because of the pressure from the public as a result of his limited overs success as well as his FC runs.
Of course, that doesn't mean that it was the right move, it was clearly a product of poor selection, especially when players like Badrinath, Rahane, Pujara, Tiwary, heck even Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been floating around domestic cricket. Badrinath has almost certainly been unfortunate given that he is far more experienced and older than some of the others mentioned.
I'm not sure when i agree with this. When Yuvi debuted in 2003 it was because of ODI form & FC runs, not lack of options. In the early 2000s he was being talked up, just like how Sharma is being now.

Of course as the years have gone by he has blown hot & cold in tests in the oppurtunities he has gotten. But i can see why the selectors would be consistently backing Yurvaj, the man has so much natural ability, its like damnn - he really has to come good.

Badrinath definately has a very legitimate claim to have been selected over the past 2 years. But maybe the selectors aren't 100% sure he can translate his FC form to test success.


silentstriker said:
Aside from Yuvraj, who we all know isn't Test class, who are these people who've played Tests and not stepped up?
Well firstly, i am still willing to reserve my judgement on Yuvraj. Since he could do a Hooper & come good one day in tests.

By stepping up i mean being ready for test cricket as a position becomes vacant. IND very talented group of batmsen clearly aren't as yet.
 

aussie

Hall of Fame Member
That's the weirdest logic of all time.

The bench strength wasn't ready because they didn't prove themselves. They didn't get a chance to prove themselves because the bench strength wasn't ready. Poster child for my avatar.
Didn't they have domestic form behind them?. The example i gave before with AUS & Mark Waugh in 2002, he had a similar bad trott & AUS dropped him immediately for the 02/03 Ashes for a ready made replacement in Lehmann.

silentstriker said:
Maybe it had nothing to do with bench strength, but his 10,000 Test cricket runs that gave him a few more chances than someone else might have gotten? Just a thought.
Yes IND where in their right to back the Dravid given his record. But clearly after his form vs AUS/ENG 08 had reached a low point. Especially that AUS bowling attack which was awful, the selectors could have picked Badrianth who has been talked up for a good two years now as a test player.
 

aussie

Hall of Fame Member
Aussie accusing someone of stats picking. A bit like King Alfred criticizing someone for leaving the cakes in the oven too long.
There is big difference between stats picking & using stats to show facts. I do the latter. Some people on CW like yourself unfortunately, just philosophically dont believe in using stats as a guide to judging any cricketer. Which is disappointing approach that i can't help you with.
 

Lillian Thomson

Hall of Fame Member
There is big difference between stats picking & using stats to show facts. I do the latter. Some people on CW like yourself unfortunately, just philosophically dont believe in using stats as a guide to judging any cricketer. Which is disappointing approach that i can't help you with.
I'm not asking for help, but if you need help understanding why your brand of "facts" are ridiculed from all four corners of the Globe I'll see what I can do.
 

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