What was he thinking?

[silentstriker]

Dhoni at Mumbai springs to mind in the recent past

*SHUDDERS*

 

[Tomm NCCC]

Damien Martyn taking *that* single was pretty stoopid...what was that fielders name again?

Dhoni at Mumbai springs to mind in the recent past

For those of you who don't know, or if your looking for a good reminder, it was Gary Pratt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK3BBjfwdM0

amazing what you can find on youtube

 

[nightprowler10]

Collingwood's quote


McGrath's Quote



Big difference methinks.

Sounds just as ****y to me, that said I don't think either one is too ****y. You set these goals for your team to acheive. I really don't see the difference. McGrath may have said it differently, but they both meant the same thing.

 

[silentstriker]

If you go into a game thinking you're going to lose, chances are your brain will find a way to make it happen.

You have to go in thinking victories. McGrath just says it out loud.

 

[Perm]

Exactly, you have to be confident going into any sort of contest. There's no point saying that it's going to be 3-1, you have to have the utmost confidence you can win every game. You can still respect your opponent but never start thinking that they will win.

 

[Matteh]

The Chanderpaul + Morton runout against NZ.

Chanderpaul wusses out of the run, decides to save his skin but was about a milisecond too slow getting back to his crease as Morton got there first.

 

[Perm]

That was quite amusing, as was the look that they gave each other when they were trying to decide who was out.

 

[Arjun]

Here's this match in the 2003 VB Series. Trescothick and Knight were going at a good run rate and put 100 runs for the first wicket, chasing over 250. Then one of them got out and Blackwell walked in, playing and missing (or blocking) every delivery. What was Blackwell thinking?

 

[Lillian Thomson]

The recently departed Fred Trueman once stated on BBC Test Match Special that "Unless the unexpected happens no can tell what's going to happen."

 

[Arjun]

Rameez Raja mispronounced the words "The big shots are getting hit" on commentary for a hilarious effect. What was he thinking?

 

[Craig]

Here's this match in the 2003 VB Series. Trescothick and Knight were going at a good run rate and put 100 runs for the first wicket, chasing over 250. Then one of them got out and Blackwell walked in, playing and missing (or blocking) every delivery. What was Blackwell thinking?

His next pie?

 

[tooextracool]

Nasser Hussain inserting the Aussies during the first Test of the last English tour of Aust. 2-364 at stumps.

ok im sick and tired of people bringing this up as though its one of the biggest mistakes in his career. As i have pointed out several times before when he won the toss, there was enough cloud cover to suggest that the conditions might favor the bowlers. Further to back up my statements, this is from the cricinfo match report:
"It was partially cloudy this morning when Hussain won the toss. He may well live to regret his decision after the display by the English bowlers and fielders, and the fine efforts of the Australian batsmen.

Brilliant sunshine broke through within the first session and with the sun came runs for the Australians. Justin Langer (32) and Hayden made a terrific start, passing the fifty mark for the twelfth time from the past 20 occasions the two have paired up.

Andrew Caddick and Matthew Hoggard had the Australian openers jumping around in the first couple of overs, especially Hoggard who made Langer uncomfortable when swinging the ball away."

From the live reports:
"Hussain made the decision under slightly cloudy skies, which have now cleared to produce a sunny outlook."

I dont know about you, but this is a hardly a 'what was he thinking' moment because you can clearly see the logic behind his thinking in this case. Given Brisbane's history of being a seamers paradise under grey skies, its hardly surprising that he made that decision. Also, considering that 2 of his bowlers were swing bowlers- Hoggard and Caddick its quite clear why he opted to bowl. Whether or not Australia finished the day with 364/2 is hardly relevant, especially when you consider that Simon Jones was out of the game in the first session. It might not be the best decision he ever made as captain, and hes made some absolute brilliant ones, but its certainly not as poor as people keep making it out to be and nowhere near as bad as ponting's decision at edgbaston that cost Australia the series.

 

[tooextracool]

Gangully inserting the aussies in the world cup final after winning the Toss.
Ponting had the biggest smile in his face.... can't forget it.

think it had something to do with the fact that India had an excellent record chasing both before and during that world cup, not to mention the fact that the last time they batted first against Australia(which was in the same tournament) they were dismissed for 125. Needless to say that if they bowled like they did in the final, it wouldnt have mattered whether they had bowled or batted first.
I think one of the biggest 'what were you thinking moments' for me at least came from the English selectors in the summer of 2004. In picking the ODI side for the natwest series, they went in with all of Rob Key, Geraint Jones, Anthony Mcgrath, Sajid Mahmood, Ian Blackwell and Rikki Clarke. Not surprisingly of course they failed to even make the final and they were lucky to even win a game in the series.

 

[archie mac]

ok im sick and tired of people bringing this up as though its one of the biggest mistakes in his career. As i have pointed out several times before when he won the toss, there was enough cloud cover to suggest that the conditions might favor the bowlers. Further to back up my statements, this is from the cricinfo match report:
"It was partially cloudy this morning when Hussain won the toss. He may well live to regret his decision after the display by the English bowlers and fielders, and the fine efforts of the Australian batsmen.

Brilliant sunshine broke through within the first session and with the sun came runs for the Australians. Justin Langer (32) and Hayden made a terrific start, passing the fifty mark for the twelfth time from the past 20 occasions the two have paired up.

Andrew Caddick and Matthew Hoggard had the Australian openers jumping around in the first couple of overs, especially Hoggard who made Langer uncomfortable when swinging the ball away."

From the live reports:
"Hussain made the decision under slightly cloudy skies, which have now cleared to produce a sunny outlook."

I dont know about you, but this is a hardly a 'what was he thinking' moment because you can clearly see the logic behind his thinking in this case. Given Brisbane's history of being a seamers paradise under grey skies, its hardly surprising that he made that decision. Also, considering that 2 of his bowlers were swing bowlers- Hoggard and Caddick its quite clear why he opted to bowl. Whether or not Australia finished the day with 364/2 is hardly relevant, especially when you consider that Simon Jones was out of the game in the first session. It might not be the best decision he ever made as captain, and hes made some absolute brilliant ones, but its certainly not as poor as people keep making it out to be and nowhere near as bad as ponting's decision at edgbaston that cost Australia the series.

I don't know about Brisbane being a seamers pitch? Shane Warne seems to do well there.

The clound cover was minimal, the pitch was flat and all of the commentators were saying there looks like a lot of runs. I would think Nasser would want a lot more clound coverage then a little to insert the Aussies on that pitch.

So it helped the bowlers for a few overs, I think they call that a Test pitch, does not mean you put in the best batting side in the world.

I thought that the Ashes were over by stumps on day one of that Test, the dye was cast and that my friend falls on the captain. And yes Ponting made a mistake as well, and to that choice I also say; what was he thinking.

 

[tooextracool]

I don't know about Brisbane being a seamers pitch? Shane Warne seems to do well there..

Umm yes but Brisbane has always offered assistance for the bowlers when the weather conditions were favorable. Classic case= 1st test of India- Australia series in 2003/04 for the one day in between the rain breaks. Further Brisbane has always apparently been a seamers paradise in domestic cricket, which is why Nathan Bracken's name always gets thrown in before the first test of every series.

The clound cover was minimal, the pitch was flat and all of the commentators were saying there looks like a lot of runs. I would think Nasser would want a lot more clound coverage then a little to insert the Aussies on that pitch.

When you have a bowling attack that revolves around swing, i think you take any cloud cover you can get. Hoggard, Caddick and White were always only going to be effective only if the conditions assisted them. As such hed have to be a soothsayer if he could have predicted that the sun would have come out 10 mins after he inserted them into bat.

So it helped the bowlers for a few overs, I think they call that a Test pitch, does not mean you put in the best batting side in the world.

A swinging ball has nothing to do with the pitch. The point im trying to stress on is that even when he put them in, there were signs of it being a decent decision. At edgbaston 2005, you could tell from the first over that it was a stupid decision, because not a ball moved off the seam or in the air.
Further more the Australians are also the best bowling side in the world and he would have ended up with a fair bit of egg on his face if hed decided to bat and the conditions stayed the same way, because and Mcgrath and Gillespie would have walked all over the England batting.
Anyways i think its pretty obvious that once the sun came out the ball stopped swinging and it turned into a demolition for our resident FTB matt Hayden.

I thought that the Ashes were over by stumps on day one of that Test, the dye was cast and that my friend falls on the captain. And yes Ponting made a mistake as well, and to that choice I also say; what was he thinking.

I would argue that the Ashes were over the moment Graham Thorpe decided to make a uturn and stay at home, and it was almost certainly over when Simon Jones pulled that horrific injury on the first day.

 

[Jono]

think it had something to do with the fact that India had an excellent record chasing both before and during that world cup, not to mention the fact that the last time they batted first against Australia(which was in the same tournament) they were dismissed for 125. Needless to say that if they bowled like they did in the final, it wouldnt have mattered whether they had bowled or batted first.

Yeah but mentally it gave the Aussies the upper hand. They knew the Indian batsmen were intimidated.

 

[NZTailender]

PS - according to Graham Gooch in his autobiography the remark to Viv Richards was by Greg Thomas and it was in a Test match.

Nope, it was a county match I think.

 

[archie mac]

Umm yes but Brisbane has always offered assistance for the bowlers when the weather conditions were favorable. Classic case= 1st test of India- Australia series in 2003/04 for the one day in between the rain breaks. Further Brisbane has always apparently been a seamers paradise in domestic cricket, which is why Nathan Bracken's name always gets thrown in before the first test of every series.

Certainly in Domestic cricket, but they seem to prepare much flatter tracks for Tests

When you have a bowling attack that revolves around swing, i think you take any cloud cover you can get. Hoggard, Caddick and White were always only going to be effective only if the conditions assisted them. As such hed have to be a soothsayer if he could have predicted that the sun would have come out 10 mins after he inserted them into bat.

I think you always bat first and less you are very confident of success, it seemed a brave move at the time, the ball never swings as much in Aust as it does in England, think Alderman.

A swinging ball has nothing to do with the pitch. The point im trying to stress on is that even when he put them in, there were signs of it being a decent decision. At edgbaston 2005, you could tell from the first over that it was a stupid decision, because not a ball moved off the seam or in the air.
Further more the Australians are also the best bowling side in the world and he would have ended up with a fair bit of egg on his face if hed decided to bat and the conditions stayed the same way, because and Mcgrath and Gillespie would have walked all over the England batting.
Anyways i think its pretty obvious that once the sun came out the ball stopped swinging and it turned into a demolition for our resident FTB matt Hayden..

Mcgrath and Dizzy do not swing the ball that much, and yes I have no doubt England would not have done as well as the Aussies on that pitch, but still he should have batted.

I would argue that the Ashes were over the moment Graham Thorpe decided to make a uturn and stay at home, and it was almost certainly over when Simon Jones pulled that horrific injury on the first day.

Mr Vaughan played better then expected so that negated the loss of Thorpe a little, and they did win at Sydney without Thorpe. I still think that first day was the most important in the Series. I will have to go back over Nasser's account in his bio

 

[tooextracool]

Certainly in Domestic cricket, but they seem to prepare much flatter tracks for Tests

Yes but you cant control the overhead conditions. Brisbane has the tendency of going from a batting paradise to a bowling paradise based simply on cloud cover. We've seen 2 classic examples of this in the last 3 years: one was when Australia collapsed from 2-268 to 323 against India. The other was when Bracken took 4/48 against the WI.

I think you always bat first and less you are very confident of success, it seemed a brave move at the time, the ball never swings as much in Aust as it does in England, think Alderman.

like i said earlier, Brisbane under cloud cover is known for swing. Brisbane itself is often known to help pace bowlers(even if it hasnt done so very often in the last few years). Furthermore i dont believe in the philosphy of always batting first. If the pitch is a minefield, you always bat 2nd. If the pitch is green you bat 2nd. If the overhead conditions are favoring a bowl you bat 2nd. If your bowlers are mostly useless unless theres cloud cover, you bowl under cloud cover.

Mcgrath and Dizzy do not swing the ball that much, and yes I have no doubt England would not have done as well as the Aussies on that pitch, but still he should have batted.

Mcgrath can swing the ball, not much but he can and any little assistance that he gets only makes him more dangerous. Dizzy used to be an outswing bowler, he isnt now, but back in the day he used to be. B.Lee as well swings the ball.

Mr Vaughan played better then expected so that negated the loss of Thorpe a little, and they did win at Sydney without Thorpe. I still think that first day was the most important in the Series. I will have to go back over Nasser's account in his bio

How on earth does Michael Vaughan scoring runs negate the loss of Thorpe? Vaughan was a certainity for the first test whether or not Thorpe played, especially after his dream summer of 2002. And yes they won the Sydney test, but it was dead rubber and they got absolutely massacred in the previous 4. Do you honestly think the England side and the Australian side were on an even key back in 2002? especially when you consider that Gough, Flintoff and Thorpe were all out before the series even started. Then there were only another 10 injuries after that. Even Vaughan was playing with an injury for most of the tour.

 

[archie mac]

How on earth does Michael Vaughan scoring runs negate the loss of Thorpe? Vaughan was a certainity for the first test whether or not Thorpe played, especially after his dream summer of 2002. And yes they won the Sydney test, but it was dead rubber and they got absolutely massacred in the previous 4. Do you honestly think the England side and the Australian side were on an even key back in 2002? especially when you consider that Gough, Flintoff and Thorpe were all out before the series even started. Then there were only another 10 injuries after that. Even Vaughan was playing with an injury for most of the tour.

The point was, I don't think they expected Vaughan to have the series he did, and because of those unexpected runs, that helped cover for the loss of Thorpe ( I did say a little). I did not mean he only played because of Thorpe missing.

I did not say they were on an even footing, but I don't think things would have been as bad as they were except for the decision to put the Aussie in first in Brisbane (just my opinion).

I thought they looked okay in the 4th Test as well, fighting back well (although the series was over by then).

"but then I made my big mistake. I should have gone to the middle, had a good look at the wicket and then had a chat with Duncan, as I usually do. I must confess I was looking for things that weren't there while trying to convince myself that we should bowl first". Nasser Hussain