Australia tour of India 2008-09 - Tour Match, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad, 2nd to 5th October 2008 (4-day match)
Scorecard
And the Australian XI attack retreated to Jason Krejza to rescue them from the drudgery of bowling to a boy-team looking to bat on and on. You know those gullie cricket games?....Where once you get the chance to bat you darn well are not going to give that right up without a fight?...Where you'd do anything to be on the batting crease with bat in hand even if it is just to avoid running after the ball in the hot Indian sun?
You do know about all that? Good. For today this bunch of Indian boys (OK there are a couple of men in that purely on the basis of age) decided to take the Australian almost first eleven for a tour under the vivid sun - to the dhobighat Video, Wiki - it was laundry time folks!
Australia's attack retreated to conservationism and Krazy Krejza was thrush forward again. Krazy, I'm told, plays a mean guitar and sings wonderfully. But seriously, as a cricketer he is nothing more than a trojan horse! Wiki If we look around, maybe we find the big ammo...everybody feasted....Jaffer, yep the same who "played" in Australia, the same who "played" against South Africa and Pakistan at home, latched on to this opportunity to top-off his FC average. The hundred didn't come but the LBW shuffle surely came...but not before he got the 90-odd to remain on the fringes of gazelines.
Yuvraj...that man I never tire of admonishing, almost cruelly at times, yet whom I find difficult to let go Link needed no second invitation to stretch out his limbs. This wasn't Lanka and there wasn't an Ajantha...together the bowlers went for a clattering 113 with 7 fours and 7 imperious sixes. You could see the force of frustration behind each one of those strokes into the stands. Clarke 3 - Krejza 4. Then Stu Clark ambled in and the playtime was over. Both Jaffer and Yuvraj packed up for the day.
Maybe here Ricky Ponting might have felt BP XI would go for the kill - he'll probably say something to that effect at the press conference later - but the declaration didn't come. Never mind Ricky, your troops will be battle-fit for their labor in the sun, to take on the Indian team coming straight out from an a/c dressing room. None of these boys are going to play you know, so it doesn't count how much they practice batting.
I would like to see more into Yuvraj's innings but I cannot go beyond the fact that he stayed on at least for that while without letting his attention wander. That's all we want you to learn Yuvraj, for then we'll know you'll be watching the ball right through...the limbs will respond and acclamatize to longer labor.
So the BP XI is establishing a CV of sorts for itself and has eschewed chewing up a bit more of the Australian confidence ahead of the test series. Maybe Yuvraj should have declared instead of giving the Mumbai Mamba, who did sumthin' yewsful in the first innings, a shot at collecting some fool's gold for himself as well. One good thing, didn't give them a second baari to bat and become more purrffekt.
Go watch a draw folks...but there could be some lusty hitting as the sun heads thataway...Kohli and Mamba are at the crease while the bowlers are going through the motions.
I wish there were a telecast also of the 2nd Unofficial Test Match between NZ A and India A; this one's lost its sting to the cruel handling at the dhobighat. Video, Wiki
Brett Lee is trying to peck at Mumbai Mambo's helmet...he's coping...this is entertainment too if you wish.
Wokay...declared finally! 433 to win for Ricky's men. A few key wickets will round of this match well.
AUSTRALIA CHASING
433 is a while away, the BP XI bowlers are not Krejza-ing....they're playing to get noticed in the right way...time is the bridge to victory and at the the moment it is going nowhere.
However, don't get bored...please, please do go and check out the thumbnail sketches painted by our brilliant Aju John of Island Express Hustler gangster XI while Irfan steams in repeatedly hoping to get Matty boy again. Watching cricket match can't be dull if John gets going...never mind if there's nothing movin' on the field
Manpreet Goni decides he's going to register his name and Simon Luca Brasi Katich will have to pay for it. Ricky Ponting comes in for a form-splitting stint at the crease. Could go either way from here...methinks, not enough time to bring the spinners on and make him grope.
Guess what, this is turning out to be quite a spell from Goni. He's having the great man on the hop! That last delivery came back as Ricky raised his arms and almost kissed his off stump. Soon followed by a rap on the pads around the legsiderly ankle. Some rust needs to be dusted off those joints.
I say, get Ishant and Munaf both in the team alongside Zak and let them have a real go at Ricky in the test matches ahead.
That looks like it's done the trick. Three sweet shots rom Ricky Ponting for four - A trademarl pull, a lovely cover drive and a wonderfully precise straight drive - all off Goni. You'll learn bwoy! And he ends that 12 over with a plumb rap in front of the wickets...but for that edge onto. You're learning mah bwoy!
22 comments:
Great fun!
Hey John, it was fun to watch while it lasted, but what's it worth? Maybe just loosens up Yuvraj a bit? That boy (he's still kinduva boy-man) looks like he's wearing the woes of the world on his shoulders. If he can give us five big centuries this season at whatever levl he plays, I think he'll have turned the corner.
Better quality spin will be a perennial problem though.
How do you do it?
This is brilliant.
SB, Ricky Ponting had no problems facing our bowlers on the ODI tour last year. ODIs may be a different game, but given that he is a quality player, I am sure he would have made adjustments to his game.
I say he would atleast be an average scorer than a failure [as everyone expects him to be] in this series.
Aju John's Gangster XI is great!
SB, Are we making a mistake by keeping out Yuvraj against the aussies now. He is a good player of pace bowling, [quality, not sub-par] spinners are a problem for him. And what better thing would be to give him chances at home, to improve his confidence, rather than abroad. He would also serve as the 'clarke' of our team if we need him to bowl.
Baskar, thanks for visiting. I really hope if you could make it here more often :)
Touche Yenkayya, yesterday I planned to write a post on Yuvraj being used selectively as a test player to start with, but I gave it up for I don't know if it would have made sense to readers.
Actually now may be a good time to fling him in against these bowlers he appears to be confident of.
Unfortunately, it does look like one'll have to keep shoe-horning his career along for a little longer rather than it motoring along on its own steam, under all conditions.
SB I with you when it comes to using Yuvraj selectively. Keep him away at the sight of quality spinners. Unleash him to tackle fast bowlers. Keep him far away under swinging conditions. :)
It would both be uproarious and cause for uproar SD :)
The questions which would arise then is how would you know Yuvi is feeling confident of the particular set of bowlers?
What would Yuvi's captain do when the opposing captain hands him his team sheet at the toss and finds the opposition packed with spinners? I mean if you are trapped in a pit with 11 cobras...OK even 5...oh two...there is only so much of hopping and flailing you might do...one of them's gonna get you sooner than later!
It's a difficult choice SB. If I am Yuvraj's captain then I would play him in India against all but Srilanka. I won't play him in Srilanka, England and New zealand. I will play him in South Africa, West Indies, Pakistan and Bangaladesh. If spinners or any other bowler trouble him then I will protect him by keeping him away for awhile. Go back to him in changed conditions and opponents. This way we can maximise the gains from Yuvraj and minimise losses from his shortcomings. I don't think he will ever develop a method against spin.
Good spin is a problem for him but not all spinners. If his mental make up his good then he can overcome his short comings against most of the spinners except Murali, Mendis, Vettori, and the like.
the one problem with selective using is it wont be fair to both players...with whom he will be swapping places...will lead to more complicated scenario than it appears...
rather as yo said i would like to see his remaining otings...till eng come home...
Bala...that's wonderul. I agree but that sounds like the way I used to feel when calculus was taught to me! :)
I'll also put up SP's question to you then...would it be fair to the other player who would be circulating as a result?
I agree that you have described Yuvi's position accurately - his strengths and weaknesses and in the process have made unsaid statements about the countries concerned!
Under-rating Australia is always a dangerous business.
Soulberry; it probably won't come as a surprise but we don't get to see this series in NZ area.
You'd think with 5 dedicated sports channels...
Why can't we just demand more from Yuvi? Everything that is wrong with Yuvraj today is because we thought his talent justified him getting it all on a platter. We stand corrected today. There is no reason to go back to that belief.
That's a straight point SP.
No SB, it would not be fair to the other player. And yes it's not right go like that. As John put it, let's demand more from Yuvraj. Let him prove his consistency in first class cricket and earn the place. Once in we should then give him a fair run to prove himself at the highest level in test cricket. He succeeds or fails.
I agree with you on thinking again, that Yuvraj really needs to prove himself again.
2 questions [anyone can answer]:
1, SD, You said Yuvraj shouldn't play in SL, England and NZ. Why not in England and NZ where seamers rule the roost and may be there is an ocassional spin bowler like Vettori and Panesar?
2, We have many spinners in our domestic cricket who trouble batsmen as well as the International class spinners. How can Yuvraj cope with our domestic spinners while he has trouble playing International class?
Yuvraj's footwork is very minimal Yenkayya. Both in Eng and NZ the ball will swing and seam a lot and that will test a batsman whose defence is not sound. Yuvraj is good against pace and bounce but not against the moving ball.
I guess Yuvraj has very limited exposure to domestic cricket. Since 1996 he has appeared only in 78 first class matches but his performance is good with an average of around 48. Yuvraj's trouble against spin has also got more to do with his mind as well as his lack of technique. In India when pitted against lesser known names in spin bowling, mustn't be bothering him.
I'm inclined to agree with SD, Yenks. If you recall, we had left Yuvraj at an interesting point in an earlier discussion. I recall you brought up his domestic record...the thing is that domestic record averages 3-4 games per season. Which wasn't sufficient for a man of his degree of impatience and lingering "crudeness" of his game. The rough edges had to be dealt with and the mind needed to be trained to be able to concentrate for not 1-2 hours, but for longer times than that. He was stuck doing nothing during playing seasons with the main team.
The issue is not of high quality spin like Murali or mendis...even moderate spinners affect him. That, is so much because of his mental aspects...the failure to concentrate for long duration with tight fields )unlike loose fields of ODIs)....the repetitive limb movements required to be executed wth patience before cashing in on the effect of all that...that is not just an issue of talent. Training for it also comes in. His game is designed for limited overs fields and timing....he hasn't learnt or is unable to accomodate more attacking fields in test matches with patience or circumspection or concentration and the right degree of respect to the bowler when needed.
Sportsfreak, actually I am surprised, for in India at least, all world cricket and domestic cricket of various countries is usually well covered by TV channels.
John, 100% with you on that. We must demand more of Yuvraj and no need to feel shy about it anymore....
Yep, I went to cricket archive to dig into Yuvraj's domestic records. Cricket archive stores all records, cricinfo doesn't give us match by match first class record.
In that, I couldn't find 'terrific' record because as you say SB, he played few games every season that is spread between International matches. That wouldn't count.
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