Burgey
Request Your Custom Title Now!
He'd have needed 381Why didnt Clarke get 5 more runs...he doesn't care about getting the highest score for an Australian?
He'd have needed 381Why didnt Clarke get 5 more runs...he doesn't care about getting the highest score for an Australian?
matt hayden isn't my favourite person either but he is an australian, for better or worse
Oops sorry.. I forgot about thatHe'd have needed 381
Its really disappointing to see their decline.. They have always been below average overseas but last year's 1-1 in South Africa suggested that they were a different side now..but looks like its the same story now.This has 4-0 all over it. India are a shambles. hard to believe they were number 1 for a while looking at that team.
Well played Clarke, superb knock. As for Bad Handling
This has 4-0 all over it. India are a shambles. hard to believe they were number 1 for a while looking at that team.
Well played Clarke, superb knock. As for Bad Handling [/QUOTE]
Yep, Haddit should become Haddout.
Wade for Perth!
He'd have needed 381
The saddest part is that there are certain players who look like they don't care. That must be so frustrating for the fans. You can accept being beaten by a better team but when you feel the side isn't putting it all in then it really grates.Its really disappointing to see their decline.. They have always been below average overseas but last year's 1-1 in South Africa suggested that they were a different side now..but looks like its the same story now.
Great knock and 2-0 far more important to him than any records. Shows he has head on properly at present. In times gone by with the old attack he may have been urged to go on knowing that warne and mcgrath would do the business anyway. The timing of his declaration was clearly a tactical masterstroke giving them 2 bites with new ball either side of tea and I bet the Indians thought he would go on to try and get the record too so maybe caught them by surprise.Would definitetly rate Clarke's innings in this Test as in the Top Ten I have witnessed and the unselfish declaration when he could have kept going, was first class
Yea that's annoying. Australia are a better team certainly but the lackluster body language and pretty much giving up is crazy.The saddest part is that there are certain players who look like they don't care. That must be so frustrating for the fans. You can accept being beaten by a better team but when you feel the side isn't putting it all in then it really grates.
The worst bit is as soon as they get back home they will click into caring mode again and all in the garden will be rosy once more. I am loath to criticise the captain as he has done so much for India since he took over but he has to take some responsibility for what has gone on as he sets the tone and some of his test cricket of late has been a joke.Yea that's annoying. Australia are a better team certainly but the lackluster body language and pretty much giving up is crazy.
In England it was 0-4 but many Tests were close. The batting was in shambles, and England were much much superior in all three departments, but I never felt people just 'gave up'. It feels like that now.
Yeah I get that impression too..especially from people like Gambhir, Kohli and even to an extent Sehwag. I can't believe these players chose to play the IPL after a grueling World Cup when they knew an important 4 match series was coming up in England. This is where I respect people like Ponting, Clarke who skipped the IPL to focus on the Ashes. You get the feeling that for Australian and English cricketers, test cricket is the most important...can't say the same for some subcontinent players sadly.The saddest part is that there are certain players who look like they don't care. That must be so frustrating for the fans. You can accept being beaten by a better team but when you feel the side isn't putting it all in then it really grates.
As they say, being a captain is never easy. Given that he is one of the most unpopular Australian captains..I fully understand his decision...If India somehow manage to draw this, everyone would have blamed Clarke for wasting time going for the record. That's how the world works unfortunately, nothing succeeds like success.. When you are successful, all is forgiven, when you are not successful, you are guilty period..........and he's have probably got them too.
But, if by some unlikely fluke, India had managed to survive the last day and then had won the next test, he would have undone everything he had done in terms of proving to all of Australia that he was not the selfish, immature, little so and so, that some suspected he might be. Difficult position when you're a new captain.
At worst now, he'll be able to look manfully at the camera and state that as captain he puts team first - what a great guy.
Actually, in my opinion, some things transcend these considerations. If you are fortunate enough to be in a position where you can re-write the history of the game you have a duty to that history to make the attempt.
He might never get the chance again. Tough.
Not a bad call tbh.Bet ya Clarke doesn't go for either of those ones you mentioned.
I think a factor he took into account is that it was him batting. He might not have declared if he was out and it was Ponting chasing it. I think a captain is more likely to sacrifice his own milestone.Have seen heaps of people praising the declaration, but yet to see one serious or valid reason for why it had to be then and not two hours later. If tomorrow is washed out then sure right call, but the forecast is for minimal to no time lost. If that's the info Clarke has then time just isn't an issue.
For the pretty dubious benefit of having 220 overs to bowl them out instead of 190 overs he has paid for it by giving India time to bat on the pitch whilst it was still flat, 120 runs or so, having the ball 30 or so overs older tomorrow when the cloud cover comes in and encourages the swing, and opened up the tiny chance of losing the game. The sizzle wasn't worth the sausage in terms of the match position.
In just terms of the match and the series another session in the field would have hurt India real bad. It was pretty obvious that if you asked Dhoni if he'd like to go off and have a bat now or stay out for another two hours of humiliation what his answer would be. When you're on top like that you don't give the opposition what they want unless it's giving you a pretty big advantage. I ain't seeing the advantage.
But even bigger than that would have been the 400. It wouldn't have been just a personal milestone. With the side rebuilding and our propensity to collapse, putting a world record score on the board, especially from the new captain would have been huger than huge. As big as a great triple is, it won't mean much next week. The record though would have been just massive. Hayden's didn't mean jack because we were no.1 and it was Zimbabwe, but it really would have been a giant boost to how the the team sees itself and how the country sees the team. He did say he was getting tired, so he probably wouldn't have made it, but I think he should have had a red hot go at it whilst still giving the bowlers a decent 10-15 over crack in the evening. He's sweated the small stuff by worrying about ensuring he had 220 overs to bowl instead of 190. If he'd converted that chance into a 400 he would have achieved something truly transformative (without in any way endangering the win). He's a real good captain, but he missed an opportunity to be a great leader I reckon.