**Official** Australia in India Thread

[JustTool]

Codswallop, the incorrect decisions were not at a crucial stage and did not take the initiative away from India because they have been getting thrashed for most of the match. Why are you so hell bent on using personal attacks when you're badly losing an argument?

(yes you've guessed it - the last one is a rhetorical question)

Well at least you are learning by copying my posts. If you keep up this pace pretty soon you will be able to understand all the cogent observations all the cricket experts, from around the world, are making regarding the shockingly bad umpiring at crucial junctures by Bowden and Bucknor. But, in the mean time, don't lose hope or get frustrated. Be patient.

 

[JustTool]

Here is some good news (no more Bucknor!). Hopefully we will get more good news that they have dropped Yuvraj (and maybe Laxman & Ganguly as well)

Second Test: Chennai (October 14-18): Koertzen and Shepherd

Third Test: Nagpur (October 26-30): Dar and Shepherd

Fourth Test: Mumbai (November 3-7): Dar and Koertzen

 

[JustTool]

Here is the entire article. By the way, no one is arguing that Australia is not the best team in this Test Match. Of course, winning the toss helped as their low score in their 2nd innings showed.

Harsha Bhogle: Error prone umpires – the big players of the day
Sunday October 10 2004 00:00 IST

This Test match has been about the delightful, the inexplicable and the forgettable; and as the days wore on, it moved sadly in that order.

Australia's cricket was outstanding but their field placements were unusual; McGrath opened with a slip and a gully and Warne had fielders ringing the boundary for Dravid when India were 100-6.

But the people at the centre of it all on Day 4 were the umpires and that is bad for the game. For all Harbhajan's guile - he bowled as well as any Indian off-spinner has - and Warne's approach to the world record, it was Billy Bowden and Steve Bucknor who played the lead role.

They had a terrible day. Bowden is an affable man but twice in this game he has cost India the initiative; first when he sent off Pathan before lunch on Day 3 and then when he somehow missed Sehwag's big inside edge onto pad when India came out to save the game. It was difficult to tell which was poorer.

And I'm afraid the time has come for Steve Bucknor to look inward. When he made his reputation, he was a quiet, dignified man, someone whose presence on the field you felt reassured by.

Increasingly he has grown intrusive and bossy and while he got two wrong as well, his gesture to Zaheer Khan when he ran onto the pitch on his follow through was offensive. Good umpires are firm and friendly but if you saw Bucknor you would have thought Zaheer had pinched his wallet.

A judge cannot have the demeanour of a lawyer. Sadly the umpires also gave the impression they were being influenced by the intensity of the appeal and you have to wonder about this whole sportsman spirit thing when fielders and bowlers jump up and down in front of umpires fully aware that the batsman is not out.

Australia have often argued for a fielder to be trusted when the validity of a catch is in question. But I'm afraid their case has grown terribly weak after their appeals against Pathan and Sehwag when they knew the batsmen weren't out.

You can't ask for honesty if you don't exhibit it and I thought the traditional Aussie approach was more forthright: I do my job and the umpire does his.

Everyone appeals when batsmen are not out these days, and no team can claim exception to it, but to cheat with one hand and ask for morality with the other is to pray in the morning and sin in the afternoon. It cannot happen.

But India focus on the umpiring at their own peril. The top order needs to pull its weight and I am afraid the reliance on a strong opening partnership is becoming too acute. When the openers play well, India bat well but when they don't India crumble. It is happening too often and as India head to Chennai, they need to ensure that their performance is better than that of their administration.

Australia have been the better team and by some distance in this Test match.

 

[JustTool]

OK. 'Nuff about umpires. Time to find the real culprits. From The Deccan Chronicle:

Hyderabad, Oct. 9: As the cricket team crumbles yet again, something they have perfected since their winning performance in Pakistan and Australia, one cry rises in our throats: Things would have been different with Sachin. The Little Master may not have been among the runs, but he was the peg on which the team, and the nation, rested their hopes. How many of us haven’t said every so often: “We still have Sachin.”

India has lost eight ODIs and won four since the Asia Cup without Sachin. The one Test we have seen since Pakistan, against Australia in Ban-galore, defeat is certain.

Bring the Little Master back.Because our batsmen are batting with the local kirana me-rchant’s mindset: Maximum profit for mininum quality. A thought strikes us. The stars, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, V V S Laxman, Virendra Sehwag are paid Rs 2 lakh per Test at home, apart from a Rs 50 lakh retainer as part of their Grade A contract.

What have they done to earn their keep?
Sehwag made 39 and 0: Each of his runs cost India Rs 5,128.2
Ganguly’s 50 in two innings cost India Rs 4,000 apiece. Laxman’s 34 runs cost 5882.35, easily the most expensive.
Dravid, a duck in the first innings, is still at the crease.
But the figures for the one-dayers are whopping:
Sehwag received Rs. 11,555 per run since the Asia Cup, Yuvraj Singh Rs 12,149, Laxman Rs 11,981. The others were ‘better’ Rahul Dravid got Rs 7008, Ganguly picked up Rs 5,416 for each run scored.

No one disputes the millions that our cricketers make. But what hurts the legion of fans is their attitude. With the exception of Rahul Dravid, the other top-order batsmen have failed to rise to the occasion.

One expected that there would be a change in attitude and temperament of the players after the contract system had come into vogue. More so, after Sunil Gavaskar was inducted as a batting consultant. But neither seems to have made any difference. The start has indeed been disappointing.

The performances of the key players since the Asia Cup? Well, Virender Sehwag has just got one fifty after his 300 in Pakistan. He went on record saying that he would like to score a double century in a one-dayer. Sadly, he has aggregated 225 in the last 13 matches. All brag and no action! But with Saurav persisting with him, the opener has become even more ****y.

Laxman is yet to strike the purple patch. With the exception of that glorious week in Australia where he scored three centuries and then the one in Pakistan, he has struggled to find form. There have been sparks of brilliance, but not the conflagration.

Saurav and Yuvraj too have not done anything exceptional in particular. Parthiv Patel failed miserably behind the stumps, but has managed to ensure his place by scoring 46 in the first innings.

 

[Scallywag]

For those people who are obviously UNAWARE of the rule:

The BENEFIT of DOUBT MUST got to the batsman.

This rule was rewritten:

The BENEFIT of DOUBT MUST got to the Aussies and no one shall be allowed to complain about this.

For those that are AWARE of the rules know that this ONLY applies to HIT WICKET, RUN OUT and STUMPED and does not apply to LBW's.

I suggest justtool actually read the rules before making false claims.

 

[marc71178]

However, the incorrect decisions were at a crucial stage and took the initiative away from India.

Yes, that one to not dismiss Patel 1st ball in the 1st innings was a crucial one that stopped India.

As, by all accounts, was Langer's 2nd Innings dismissal.

 

[marc71178]

Here is some good news (no more Bucknor!). Hopefully we will get more good news that they have dropped Yuvraj (and maybe Laxman & Ganguly as well)

Second Test: Chennai (October 14-18): Koertzen and Shepherd

Third Test: Nagpur (October 26-30): Dar and Shepherd

Fourth Test: Mumbai (November 3-7): Dar and Koertzen

So it'll be Shepherd, Koertzen and Dar that get the blame if the series ends 4-0 then, since they're all obviously going to be biased against India

 

[JBH001]

Jeez some of you Indian supporters are whingers, moaners and backstabbers.

Turn on your team at the smallest opportunity and then start calling on Sachin to save you!
(he's not going to fix your problems in a hurry with his lack of matchplay. I feel sorry for him already)

Give credit where its due. Outplayed by a very fine Aussie team and perhaps the best Aussie batting line up to visit Indian shores.

Besides its not lost yet...

 

[Dydl]

Well, it is nearly lost for india cause they need 300odd with 4 wickets in hand. Their only hope is Dravid and he could only win the match for india with a triple century. I think that the Aussies have won the 1st test.

 

[maxpower]

no it ain't over yet, sadly how much more whopping can 1 team take ? a lot

 

[telsor]

Barring a miracle, the test is lost to India ( or I would prefer to say, won by Australia ).

From what I've seen and read ( and I haven't had the opportunity to watch nearly as much as I'd like ), the umpiring hasn't been good, but the game was won by some very good play ( and planning) by the Australians.

If the Indian team ( as opposed to their spectators ), think that they were close but for the umpires and only need a small improvement, I think they're going to be in trouble again next test.

 

[FRAZ]

Dont worry india pakistan will get revenge in december against the aussies

i hope they dont ruin my birthday party which is in December .......

 

[FRAZ]

Yes, that one to not dismiss Patel 1st ball in the 1st innings was a crucial one that stopped India.

As, by all accounts, was Langer's 2nd Innings dismissal.

No matter how true you are some times Marc . They just wanna hate you .

 

[JustTool]

Jeez some of you Indian supporters are whingers, moaners and backstabbers.

Turn on your team at the smallest opportunity and then start calling on Sachin to save you!
(he's not going to fix your problems in a hurry with his lack of matchplay. I feel sorry for him already)

Give credit where its due. Outplayed by a very fine Aussie team and perhaps the best Aussie batting line up to visit Indian shores.

Besides its not lost yet...

best Aussie batting line up to visit Indian shores.
You should have heard the things they said about the Aussie team after they one the first Test in Mumbai in 2001.
None of you can understand the 'passion' for cricket in India and the fans' visceral reactions (Fraz - please use the dictionary here). Just be thankful though because 80+ % the money players make world-wide comes because of the sponsors from India - otherwise cricket would be a sorry poor state

 

[Mr Casson]

For all this talk about technology, I think that the microphones and earpieces to make it easier for umpires to pick up edges should be implemented. In places like India and Sri Lanka you can barely hear a thing (and the umpire has it worse), and he can't make a good decision if he hasn't considered all the information e.g. heard a noise.

Obviously it isn't perfect, as it will pick up other noises too, but at least the umpire can make a distinction on what is bat hitting ball.

I think there is a link between that and the so-called umpires being influenced by the voracity of the appeals in this match. If everyone appeals so confidently, when the umpire can hear nothing but tens of thousands of Indian supporters booing Australia for appealing again, he must be thinking "what have they heard that I didn't?" He simply doesn't have all the information to work with that he should, so has to resort to other means like gauging the strength of an appeal.

 

[FRAZ]

Just out of curiosity .. Umpires are saints or some thing . Why only Odumbe or Hansie Cronje etc etc have been accused of being having links with Indian bookies ... If players can be prosecuted then why not Umpires ..
Trust me If I were a Mumbai Based Bookie , I would like to contact the Umpires before the Players .... Makes sense . A lot of sense ...

 

[Mr Casson]

Just out of curiosity .. Umpires are saints or some thing . Why only Odumbe or Hansie Cronje etc etc have been accused of being having links with Indian bookies ... If players can be prosecuted then why not Umpires ..
Trust me If I were a Mumbai Based Bookie , I would like to contact the Umpires before the Players .... Makes sense . A lot of sense ...

Because out of umpires and players, I can guaran-damn-tee that most of the time the umpires will have much higher integrity and moral fibre.

So no.

 

[maxpower]

how bout binocluar glasses to get detailed view of the ball hitting pads/bat, only back drop i see is that their eyes might get fried in the sun, but its a small price and umpires need to step it up.

 

[JustTool]

Because out of umpires and players, I can guaran-damn-tee that most of the time the umpires will have much higher integrity and moral fibre.

So no.

I think Fraz has an excellent point. Your gaurantee is based on what ...? No one ever thought Hans Cronje or Shane Warne or Mark Waugh (or probably a bunch of Indian and Pakistani players) would ever be involved in match fixing. Unless, you predicted that....

 

[Scallywag]

I think Fraz has an excellent point. Your gaurantee is based on what ...? No one ever thought Hans Cronje or Shane Warne or Mark Waugh (or probably a bunch of Indian and Pakistani players) would ever be involved in match fixing. Unless, you predicted that....

Justtool you made a tool of yourself by not knowing the laws of cricket and now you make a tool of yourself by not knowing general knowlege.

Give it up mate you cant Beat Australia. But keep trying its funny to watch.