**Official** Semi Finals and Final

[adharcric]

Now that's what you call a HUGE wicket ...

 

[silentstriker]

Clearly he is, but he has a point somewhat. McGrath doesn't have that lethal yorker he can slip in to own an ultra-aggressive batsman. He'll keep bowling good-length deliveries and someone like Gayle will just swipe through the line and plaster those.

And yet he does so well against the top order consistently and better than anyone in history? For example, he averages 17.50 against Gayle (in tests).

 

[adharcric]

And yet he does so well against the top order consistently and better than anyone in history?

Dude chill out. He's an all-time great but he's not flawless. Batsmen like Gayle can get stuck into him because good-length deliveries are perfect for them when they're in that mode, particularly in one-day cricket. Akram had some advantages ... doesn't mean he was better than McGrath.

 

[age_master]

Brilliant stuff from Bracken

 

[silentstriker]

Dude chill out. He's an all-time great but he's not flawless. Batsmen like Gayle can get stuck into him because good-length deliveries are perfect for them when they're in that mode, particularly in one-day cricket. Akram had some advantages ... doesn't mean he was better than McGrath.

I'm simply pointing out that he averages 17.50 against Gayle . So thats pretty good. What are some of the other 'ultra-aggressive' batsmen are you talking about, so we can see if the claim has any merit?

I am not disagreeing that McGrath is not perfect, I am questioning your claims because I was under the impression that only technically correct, slow scoring batsmen do well against him. That's all .

 

[sqwerty]

West Indies are ordinary.

You're kidding yourself if you thought the Aussies were under pressure at 2-80 with Chanderpaul; and Sarwan gone before 8 overs. All they needed was Gayles wicket and it was game over.

3 wickets in the first 10 overs - runs are meaningless.

Windies have an ordinary attack and if their batsmen can hit the Aussie attack like that you can guarentee they'll cop it back with interest when they bowl.

Flat track, fast outfield, Windies will be lucky to hit 240.

Aussies in a canter.,...was never in doubt

 

[PY]

Nath will be dancing in the streets.

 

[adharcric]

I'm simply pointing out that he averages 17.50 against Gayle . So thats pretty good. What are some of the other 'ultra-aggressive' batsmen are you talking about, so we can see if the claim has any merit?

I am not disagreeing that McGrath is not perfect, I am questioning your claims because I was under the impression that only technically correct, slow scoring batsmen do well against him. That's all .

There probably aren't many and I'm not even talking about guys who have succeeded against McGrath because there are almost none. I'm just saying that in certain situations, McGrath's lack of a pacy yorker and bouncer allows the batsman to go after his good-length stuff. Then again, I realize that Gayle's outburst came off some short-pitched deliveries from McGrath.

 

[PY]

West Indies are ordinary.

You're kidding yourself if you thought the Aussies were under pressure at 2-80 with Chanderpaul; and Sarwan gone before 8 overs. All they needed was Gayles wicket and it was game over.

3 wickets in the first 10 overs - runs are meaningless.

Windies have an ordinary attack and if their batsmen can hit the Aussie attack like that you can guarentee they'll cop it back with interest when they bowl.

Flat track, fast outfield, Windies will be lucky to hit 240.

Aussies in a canter.,...was never in doubt

Plenty of Greigy potential there.

 

[pasag]

McGrath 2 maidens in a row. You were saying?

 

[Slow Love™]

Great stuff from Bracken - not only has he taken the three wickets, but he's bowled with great intelligence. He may look like he belongs in the womens' hockey team, but he's kept us in this, no mistake.

Extraordinary hitting from Gayle to McGrath. I think people are missing the forest for the trees a bit on this one though - it's how rarely this happens to McGrath that makes him great.

 

[silentstriker]

Looking at McGrath's stats, this is very interesting:

VVS Laxman is averaging 82.40 against McGrath, even though he has been dismissed five times.

KP Pieterson hasn't faced him as much, so has been dismissed only twice by McGrath and averages 79.

On the other side, MA Atherton averages 9.80 and has been dismissed 19 (!!!) times. BC Lara is next on the list with 15 dismissals but gets the better of Lara, averaging 41 against him.

Some more total muppets against McGrath:

AJ Stewart (10 dismissals @ 23), MA Butcher(9 dismissals @ 13), SP Fleming (8 dismissals @ 23), and N Hussain (8 dismissals @ 22).


Actually, Jono has a point. Aggressive batsmen do tend to do slightly better against him, whereas technically correct people like Kallis (6 dismisslas @ 9.83) and Dravid (5 dismissals @ 10) tend to just get totally owned by McGrath.

I withdraw my argument Jono .

 

[silentstriker]

Argh Doube post!

 

[oz_fan]

Lara out for 2. Massive wicket for Australia. WI 88/4. WI will struggle to make 150 from here.

 

[silentstriker]

Argh Triple Post!

 

[pasag]

Thats where i knew Mcgrath was never a great bowler, if a batsman attacks him he has no answer to it!!!!!! Gayle is just awesome.

McGrath takes Lara for 2, you were saying?

 

[Dravid]

Great come back from Austrlaia. Problems starting to grow for the Windies.

 

[silentstriker]

McGrath takes Lara for 2, you were saying?

Even after Gayle smashed him, he's only 23 for 1. So thats pretty good .

 

[Slow Love™]

I withdraw my argument Jono .

I don't think Jono's brought his yet... Do you mean adharcric?

As a matter of fact, McGrath's temperament occasionally falls to pieces when he gets taken on like that. It was probably right on the verge this time around, I saw him having words to Gayle at the end of his over (is there any point to that when you're getting murdered like that?). But again, what separates him from the rest of the pack is just how rarely anybody succeeds in taking him on in such a manner. Gayle's just been seeing the ball like a watermelon in this tournament.

But then, McGrath proves what a champion he is by taking Lara out (again)...

(God it's hard to get posts through at the moment.)

 

[Dravid]

WI in HUGE trouble now. They were 49-0 and now are 94-5