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4th Test at the Gabba, Brisbane, 15 - 19 Jan 2021

Aritro

International Regular
Thakur should be the exact sort of medium pacer I love, bowling with a strong wrist snap and getting shape. But he can't seem to put two consecutive balls in the same spot.
 

Spark

Global Moderator
They can be both. That's not to say that populations might not have average differences, which you probably see most obviously in sports like sprinting or in the NBA. As someone mentioned earlier athletes with West African ancestry are overrepresented. Jon Entine and David Epstein (The Sports Gene) have written about this.

I doubt that is the problem with their test side though. The Windies obviously used to dominate test cricket. In the 90's, NZ was competitive in ODI's but terrible in tests.
Oh yeah but the stereotype absolutely exists and it makes the way black athletes are often praised based on their physical capabilities rather than their skill disproportionately stand out. It's particularly the case in soccer where someone like Yaya Toure was constantly talked about as being powerful and athletic and much less about him being one of the most skilful, creative players in the game.

A stereotype can be built on a grain of truth, and it can even be positive on its face, and still be harmful if it's used to pigeonhole players. Brad Hodge went beyond that into being just plain weird by constantly talking about genetics though.
 

artvandalay

State Vice-Captain
This isn't the sort of pitch and conditions where thakur will come alive. On those ranji bunsens where dinda and v kumar made their careers or english pitches perhaps.
 

TheJediBrah

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They can be both. That's not to say that populations might not have average differences, which you probably see most obviously in sports like sprinting or in the NBA. As someone mentioned earlier athletes with West African ancestry are overrepresented. Jon Entine and David Epstein (The Sports Gene) have written about this.

I doubt that is the problem with their test side though. The Windies obviously used to dominate test cricket. In the 90's, NZ was competitive in ODI's but terrible in tests.
I'm sure there have been studies about varying percentages of fast-twitch/slow-twitch fibres between races, with the hypothesis that higher fast-twitch content = more speed/power/explosiveness. That's only a small part of overall athleticism though
 

TheJediBrah

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Always good to to see Lyon giving credit to noted Canadian legend John Davison for his help over the years
<3 him

If Davo was around 10 years later he may have had a legit Aus career, in limited-overs at least

was he the guy who smashed a rapid ton in some odi world cup
67 ball ton v West Indies, also made a 75 against NZ. And he was actually more of a bowler
 

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