"I want a defensive partner"

[marc71178]

Posts that make sense are good for everyone. Rubbish like this is not.

It's Ged everyone!

 

[chicane]

If there were a player underperforming yes, but not when someone is doing the job he's been asked well.

True, but when someone could be better then he must be tried out. We have to find out who is better.

 

[marc71178]

I disagree if the one doing the job has done nothing to justify his replacement.

And of all the teams to do it against, I'd say Australia are the worst!

 

[chicane]

It's unfortunate, but that's how cut-throat the competition is. And Australia will be perfect for comparing the two . It's risky but i'm backing Yuvraj's ability.

 

[Craig]

I think it's a shocking move - teams need grafters.

So who is that in the England Test XI?

 

[Arjun]

If they were really serious they would drop Ganguly as he has always been an average test player. I'm sure that Dravid would be just as good a captain as Ganguly. It will never happen though. They will never drop Ganguly.

A good batsman, an freak captain whose ideas always boomerang on his team and a pathetic fielder. Not the worst player, but not indispensable. A sensitive issue, but had it been Australia, he would not last long, given his fielding.

As for Dravid, give him 2 innings, and if he fails in both, critics will say that his batting is affected by captaincy. Like all world class batsmen. His style of captaincy is different from Ganguly's.

So who is that in the England Test XI?

The whole team, except Trescothick and Flintoff.

Will Ganguly make the sacrifice and open giving his middle order spot to Yuvraj.

Why not? Hasn't he opened the innings successfully in ODI's?

Bet they copied the AAAS

I am not aware of the history of either forum, so it's difficult to tell. Besides, I doubt if the SportNetwork posters know of CricketWeb, except that one from Delhi.

 

[Dasa]

The whole team, except Trescothick and Flintoff.

So Vaughan and Jones are grafters, are they?

Why not? Hasn't he opened the innings successfully in ODI's?

ODIs are a very different game to Tests. I think Ganguly would not succeed opening.

 

[Waughney]

I agree with the argonaut, if they are serious they should drop Ganguly. IMO he is the most overrated player in Asia. As for the captaincy I beleive Dravid would do quite well.

 

[tooextracool]

I agree with the argonaut, if they are serious they should drop Ganguly. IMO he is the most overrated player in Asia. As for the captaincy I beleive Dravid would do quite well.

this is ridiculous....give the guy some credit. yes hes taken a very talented team and made them perform to their potential but its something that no other indian captain has been able to do for the past decade. he might not be a 'smart' captain but at least hes the arrogant 'in your face' type captain that commands respect from all the players in the side and from the opposition. india have needed someone like him for a very long time. why you would want to change a winning formula is beyond me and as far as dravid's captaincy goes, from what ive seen its been mediocre to say the very least.

 

[tooextracool]

Sehwag, Laxman, Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Yuvraj

Doesn't that look to be the best balanced order without Chopra.

except that laxman has failed miserably on almost every occasion that hes been put at the top. IMO either ganguly or sachin open the batting because i wouldnt want to sacrifice a young player's career by sending him up to open the batting.

 

[Craig]

I agree with the argonaut, if they are serious they should drop Ganguly. IMO he is the most overrated player in Asia. As for the captaincy I beleive Dravid would do quite well.

Well I would not mind being an average Test player with a test average of over 40...

 

[marc71178]

So who is that in the England Test XI?

Until he went we had Nasser, but Butcher is closer to that.

 

[marc71178]

I agree with the argonaut, if they are serious they should drop Ganguly. IMO he is the most overrated player in Asia. As for the captaincy I beleive Dravid would do quite well.

Ganguly's captaincy is far better than "quite well" though!

That, added to his good career record is why he's in.

 

[Waughney]

this is ridiculous....give the guy some credit. yes hes taken a very talented team and made them perform to their potential but its something that no other indian captain has been able to do for the past decade. he might not be a 'smart' captain but at least hes the arrogant 'in your face' type captain that commands respect from all the players in the side and from the opposition. india have needed someone like him for a very long time. why you would want to change a winning formula is beyond me and as far as dravid's captaincy goes, from what ive seen its been mediocre to say the very least.

I do respect him and think that he is a good player, but I beleive that people do overrate him and his batting style. Changing a winning formula was what this thread was about (Yuvraj for Chopra). It seems that either way a winning formula will be broken.
Dravid has the temperament and potential to be a good captain. Steve Waugh was grilled for his early captaincy performances and now he is widely considered as the greatest captain ever. I don't beleive you should rate Dravid on 2 performances.

 

[Craig]

Until he went we had Nasser, but Butcher is closer to that.

Even then he is a lot more aggressive of a batsman.

 

[marc71178]

He's a grafter though - much more so than any of the others!

 

[deeps]

india's batting has always had loads of talent..it's nothing new, they've always had brilliant batsman throughout their middle order...they've lacked good openers... Chopra was a godsend to them

The reason that india batted so well against australia recently had alot to do with chopra... i play 1st and 2nd grade cricket,and i usually bat at 4... and i know the difference between facing a brand new ball..and a ball that is 15-20 overs old...it is HUGE...I find it very difficult to bat against a brand new ball,but once it's 15-20 overs old, it's perfect

Chopra has been providing this for laxman and dravid... a perfect ball...not too hard,not too soft... So laxman and dravid suddenly make huge scores... Previous to chopra coming around, dravid laxman tendulkar have all had to face a brand new ball,or one that is 2-3 overs old... and as i said before,it's alot harder

looking at the line up
Sehwag:-Dashing shotplayer
Yuvraj:-Dashing shotplayer
Dravid:-Very good temperament and technique..a rock
Tendulkar:-Attacking strokemaker
VVS:-Attackingstrokemake
Ganguly:-Useless

One defensive player amongst 5 strokemakers... If the ball is moving around and doing things,the shot players will still go for their shots and probably get out doing that...Chopra was not afraid to leave a ball outside off stump,or to drop it at his feet...

 

[Arjun]

Dravid:-Very good temperament and technique..a rock
Others:-Dashing strokeplayers/Attacking strokemakers

When Dravid decides to step on the gas, he makes all those dashing strokeplayers and attacking strokemakers look slow! There was his 50 in 22 balls, then 90 in 65 balls, and even that 99 in the Karachi ODI.

 

[Arjun]

One defensive player amongst 5 strokemakers... If the ball is moving around and doing things,the shot players will still go for their shots and probably get out doing that...Chopra was not afraid to leave a ball outside off stump,or to drop it at his feet...

One good example is last year's Test at Headingley. The South Africans have attacking strokeplayers in their side, but they failed to get too many. It was Gary Kirsten who rescued them.

 

[chicane]

india's batting has always had loads of talent..it's nothing new, they've always had brilliant batsman throughout their middle order...they've lacked good openers... Chopra was a godsend to them

The reason that india batted so well against australia recently had alot to do with chopra... i play 1st and 2nd grade cricket,and i usually bat at 4... and i know the difference between facing a brand new ball..and a ball that is 15-20 overs old...it is HUGE...I find it very difficult to bat against a brand new ball,but once it's 15-20 overs old, it's perfect

Chopra has been providing this for laxman and dravid... a perfect ball...not too hard,not too soft... So laxman and dravid suddenly make huge scores... Previous to chopra coming around, dravid laxman tendulkar have all had to face a brand new ball,or one that is 2-3 overs old... and as i said before,it's alot harder

looking at the line up
Sehwag:-Dashing shotplayer
Yuvraj:-Dashing shotplayer
Dravid:-Very good temperament and technique..a rock
Tendulkar:-Attacking strokemaker
VVS:-Attackingstrokemake
Ganguly:-Useless

One defensive player amongst 5 strokemakers... If the ball is moving around and doing things,the shot players will still go for their shots and probably get out doing that...Chopra was not afraid to leave a ball outside off stump,or to drop it at his feet...

Chopra has been a godsend for us. He's rock-solid and gutsy, but was getting boogged down after starts, somewhat like Sanjay Bangar. Yuvraj may well have the ability to open the innings, they obviously won't try out such an experiment at international level in such a crucial series if it were so pointless. They obviously feel Yuvraj can do it, and he is very very talented.
And you may not like Ganguly's attitude, but he definitely ain't useless, he's among the top batsmen in the world, and certainly our best ever captain.