Saeed Anwar vs. Virender Sehwag

[subshakerz]

Thats maybe because there were generally lesser draws in test cricket when Anwar played compared to the current time when there are more draws? And the bowlers who Anwar played along with in his side were infinitely superior than any bowler Sehwag played with.

Anwar played in 14 drawn test yet only scored 1 century in them. Sehwag played in 28 drawn tests yet scored 9 centuries in them. I'm sorry, there's no way you can positively spin that huge discrepancy in Sehwag's favor.

In another thread I said that Sehwag was without a doubt a FTB. But the thing is, with flat pitches becoming the norm of the day everywhere in the world, he is one hell of a player to have in your side. If Anwar managed to average 5 points higher(45+5) this decade, people would still select Sehwag for his awesome strike rate.

Then I guess its a difference in how you view quality. I tend to rate batsmen capable of scoring in tough conditions and quality attacks higher than FTBs. Otherwise we would say that Sehwag is better than both Dravid and Tendulkar simply based on strikerate. I just dont see it.

 

[Shri]

Anwar played in 14 drawn test yet only scored 1 century in them. Sehwag played in 28 drawn tests yet scored 9 centuries in them. I'm sorry, there's no way you can positively spin that huge discrepancy in Sehwag's favor.



Then I guess its a difference in how you view quality. I tend to rate batsmen capable of scoring in tough conditions and quality attacks higher than FTBs. Otherwise we would say that Sehwag is better than both Dravid and Tendulkar simply based on strikerate. I just dont see it.

You will miss out on a lot of better suited batsmen then. These days you get one in ten test matches where there are difficult batting conditions. You select players to try and win that one tough game. I select players to try and win the rest of the 9 games. FTBs are not a bad thing in cricket afaic. You need batsmen capable of cashing in on batting surfaces and Sehwag is one of the best players around to do that atm.

 

[NUFAN]

The bowling attack has nothing to do with one's own batting performance. FYI Sehwag has featured in more victorious matches already compared to Anwar, so that's no excuse. It's just that Anwar performed better in these scenarios.

In 26 victorious matches, Sehwag averages 53 with four centuries. In 23 victorious matches, Anwar averages 66 with 8 centuries in a decade with tougher conditions and better bowlers. That's a big difference.

Yeah the bowling attack doesn't have much to do with a batters individual performance, but when you are looking at victories it's obvious that bowling is important. There is nothing wrong with performing in a draw or a loss.

 

[arcane]

As always it is impossible to compare two players from different eras. So it all come downs to personal preference of what type of player you like/want.

Also, I feel that it would not matter to Sehwag where he was playing if he was in full flow. He would still be destructive. Thats the risk you take with him.

 

[subshakerz]

You will miss out on a lot of better suited batsmen then. These days you get one in ten test matches where there are difficult batting conditions. You select players to try and win that one tough game. I select players to try and win the rest of the 9 games. FTBs are not a bad thing in cricket afaic. You need batsmen capable of cashing in on batting surfaces and Sehwag is one of the best players around to do that atm.

In theory what you say could be correct but in reality what you end up with is a batsman who scores the vast majority of his runs/centuries in drawn tests and ends up looking foolish when faced with challenging conditions when the team really needs him to perform (ala against SA in Kanpur in 08 and Pakistan in Karachi in 06).

On the other end I understand that if its inevitable that he will play 90% of his cricket on flat pitches or against mediocre bowling, sure playing him makes sense. But if we develop a whole new crop of worldclass fast bowlers in the next decade,, he's in trouble.

 

[subshakerz]

Yeah the bowling attack doesn't have much to do with a batters individual performance, but when you are looking at victories it's obvious that bowling is important. There is nothing wrong with performing in a draw or a loss.

Yet even when you compare his record in victories to teammates on his own level (Tendulkar and Dravid) you will see that there's a huge chasm between them despite having the same bowling attack.

My problem is not that Sehwag performs well in drawn tests, its just that he seems to perform exclusively well in these kind of tests while his record in victories is pretty tame.

Come on, 9 out of his 16 centuries in drawn tests is a bit much, no?

 

[Shri]

Yet even when you compare his record in victories to teammates on his own level (Tendulkar and Dravid) you will see that there's a huge chasm between them despite having the same bowling attack.

My problem is not that Sehwag performs well in drawn tests, its just that he seems to perform exclusively well in these kind of tests while his record in victories is pretty tame.

Come on, 9 out of his 16 centuries in drawn tests is a bit much, no?

Maybe his 100 was the difference between a draw and a defeat.

 

[subshakerz]

Maybe his 100 was the difference between a draw and a defeat.

Which one? I dont recall any.

 

[0RI0N]

Which one? I dont recall any.

He is grasping at straws,don't be so hard on him man.

 

[Shri]

That has nothing to do with the discussion. I clutch 'em cause I like straws in general.

 

[Sir Alex]

That has nothing to do with the discussion. I clutch 'em cause I like straws in general.

 

[0RI0N]

That has nothing to do with the discussion. I clutch 'em cause I like straws in general.

cool story bro

 

[Shri]

cool story bro

You are doing it wrong:

 

[honestbharani]

Which one? I dont recall any.

The one in Adelaide, for starters... The one in chennai was drawn coz of rain... The one against Pak in Mohali was because of a gr8 rearguard action from Pak, not Viru's fault.. He left us at a position when most teams would have won. The triple against RSA might have ended in a loss too.. The middle and lower order scored nothing and India collapse at funny times. There goes 4...

 

[Furball]

In theory what you say could be correct but in reality what you end up with is a batsman who scores the vast majority of his runs/centuries in drawn tests and ends up looking foolish when faced with challenging conditions when the team really needs him to perform (ala against SA in Kanpur in 08 and Pakistan in Karachi in 06).

On the other end I understand that if its inevitable that he will play 90% of his cricket on flat pitches or against mediocre bowling, sure playing him makes sense. But if we develop a whole new crop of worldclass fast bowlers in the next decade,, he's in trouble.

2nd Test: Sri Lanka v India at Galle, Jul 31-Aug 3, 2008 | Cricket Scorecard | Cricinfo.com

Great call.

 

[aussie]

2nd Test: Sri Lanka v India at Galle, Jul 31-Aug 3, 2008 | Cricket Scorecard | Cricinfo.com

Great call.

No, the arguments is runs he has made or rather lack of runs againts quality pace attacks in testing conditons. His ability againts spin is not in question.

 

[Furball]

Read the post I quoted please.

 

[Sir Alex]

I think Sehwag has already proven enough in pace friendly conditions as well. In fact his first century came on South African soil against a good attack. He has also made 100 against Warne and Mcgrath, the two greatest bowlers of this decade (alongwith Murali) on a difficult Chennai pitch as well.

 

[subshakerz]

Read the post I quoted please.

Aussie is right, by challenging conditions I meant against pace. Nobody doubts he's fantastic against spin.

 

[subshakerz]

The one in Adelaide, for starters... The one in chennai was drawn coz of rain... The one against Pak in Mohali was because of a gr8 rearguard action from Pak, not Viru's fault.. He left us at a position when most teams would have won. The triple against RSA might have ended in a loss too.. The middle and lower order scored nothing and India collapse at funny times. There goes 4...

The question was whether any of his 9 centuries in drawn games changed the result from defeat to draw. None of those work

By the time India batted for a second time in Adelaide the match was heading to a draw, India didn't even complete their innings.

In Chennai, the match could either have been lost, drawn or won, so we don't know if his innings changed the result.

In Mohali, his innings set up a victory which India couldnt pull out, didnt save India from defeat.

Triple against SA was on a dead pitch when the result was a draw from the first ball bowled.

Again, none of these were pace friendly pitches, all were more than helpful to the batsman.