Yeah, I've said for a while now that Tendulkar should concentrate solely on one day cricket. His test performances have been scratchy at best for such a great player.
Lara has realised that he's not really contributing as well as he would like in one day cricket and so he's decided, after the World Cup, to call it a day.
Originally posted by Nimrod: Yeah, I've said for a while now that Tendulkar should concentrate solely on one day cricket. His test performances have been scratchy at best for such a great player.
I advocated the same last year after seeing him bat in the Lanka and Pak tests much amidst ridicule from my Indian colleagues in the forum. Truth is I would rather have an Ashwel prince in the etam than SRT who seems only obsessed with records and money at the moment. That pride, passion and feeling of purpose is missing. Both the master and his clone are severe embarressments. All this talk of bad umpiring decsions goes so long. When a player does not back himself up and plays the way sachin plays in most second innings these days, unpiring decisions don't count. They fall anyways and don't help team India at all. Bad light and rain don't save India ever since trhey never fight and don't deserve to be saved. Simple.
People who ripped apart and ridiculed Ganguly the whole of last year are hypocritically quiet when it comes to Sachin. Why? Why? Why?
Originally posted by Nimrod: Yeah, I've said for a while now that Tendulkar should concentrate solely on one day cricket. His test performances have been scratchy at best for such a great player.
I advocated the same last year after seeing him bat in the Lanka and Pak tests much amidst ridicule from my Indian colleagues in the forum. Truth is I would rather have an Ashwel prince in the etam than SRT who seems only obsessed with records and money at the moment. That pride, passion and feeling of purpose is missing. Both the master and his clone are severe embarressments. All this talk of bad umpiring decsions goes so long. When a player does not back himself up and plays the way sachin plays in most second innings these days, unpiring decisions don't count. They fall anyways and don't help team India at all. Bad light and rain don't save India ever since trhey never fight and don't deserve to be saved. Simple.
People who ripped apart and ridiculed Ganguly the whole of last year are hypocritically quiet when it comes to Sachin. Why? Why? Why?
It is easy to see that he's not performing, that he's out of touch. But I don't see why you keep harping on about records and money without an iota of proof. Allegations like these lead nowhere and they seem to arise only ut of bitterness, however valid. Simple. You.don't.know.
Reg. Ganguly and Sachin, even though Ganguly looks good now, he was way out of sorts last year even when compared to Sachin of the last couple of years. Because he had technical problems, not just some crazy infected clouded mind like Sachin seems to be having now (because he still looks good, it is only upto his mind now to decide to do what he can). As for pride, you just have to see him on the field and compare him with other senior players. All things cannot be inferred from just the way he bats, and that too in second innings. Maybe he needs counseling, something very few would actually seriously consider giving him keeping in mind his stature.
And this is not the first instance of an Indian journalist pointing out Sachin's faults. There have been many before, in the last few years. This article is less an attack on Sachin and more a display of bitter disappointment by an ardent fan, as Sambit Bal always has been.
In the beginning, there was GoD. GoD only DoG. GoD only DoG only DoG only GoD. Ad inf.
Sachin's end is not new. It started way back in Sydney test in 2004, when he scored a double hundred. I knew then that this is the beginning of the end for him
Originally posted by Hey Jude...: Sachin's end is not new. It started way back in Sydney test in 2004, when he scored a double hundred. I knew then that this is the beginning of the end for him
Explain?
............................ "The prisoner Pierre Laval is in no danger of dying"
Originally posted by Hey Jude...: Sachin's end is not new. It started way back in Sydney test in 2004, when he scored a double hundred. I knew then that this is the beginning of the end for him
Explain?
That it was obvious that the vintage Sachin was over and his place would from then on be taken by an accumulater. Some fans actually were happy that they now had a "safe" Sachin who is supposedly even harder to dismiss. I could only shake my head at that, knowing well the magic was gone and it was only going to be downhill from there on
Originally posted by Hey Jude...: Sachin's end is not new. It started way back in Sydney test in 2004, when he scored a double hundred. I knew then that this is the beginning of the end for him
Explain?
That it was obvious that the vintage Sachin was over and his place would from then on be taken by an accumulater. Some fans actually were happy that they now had a "safe" Sachin who is supposedly even harder to dismiss. I could only shake my head at that, knowing well the magic was gone and it was only going to be downhill from there on
k.
............................ "The prisoner Pierre Laval is in no danger of dying"
I think tendulker no longer likes to bat it feels as if he no longer enjoys his batting and is just going through the motions you see a diffrent tendulker when he is bowling
He came back from injury last year and hit a century against Sri Lanka. Then had two very poor series against Pakistan and England.
This current South African tour he made 199 runs @ 33.17, and came 3rd in the batting averages. Yes, maybe he is not what he was, but when a bloke is one of your 3 best bats on a tour, to say that is the 'end' for him is bizarre. I think some people need to take some deep breaths, settle down, and get real.
----------------------- 'John and Kevin offered to settle their differences in the ring, but were forced to backflip after it became clear no-one wanted to see either of them in boxer shorts'
tendulkars absolute peak as a test batsman was probably 1997-2001.
between 2002 and 2004 he scored some big 100s in WI, eng, aus, pak but without the signature tendulkar style. his 100 in SA at the end of 2001 was his last great test innings imo - it was chanceless, fluent and dominating. the last world cup was an abberation, in terms of style of batting, one which im hoping repeats itself in a couple of months.
next season is a big one for india and perhaps a make or break one for tendulkar - with tests against england (A), pakistan (H) and australia (A).
whats worrying is the manner in which he batted in the second innings here - and it is not the first time. low scores you can accept as being poor form (should add that his series avg of 33 is par with his overall record in SA and it was a bowler dominated series) but it seems to be more of a mental thing. i disagree with cric fan above - that tendulkar doesnt seem to enjoy batting as much as bowling or fielding. he has always looked edgy and uncomfortable at the crease even during his heyday.
Originally posted by Ash: he has always looked edgy and uncomfortable at the crease even during his heyday.
Are you not getting mixed up with the other great batsman?
In all seriousness and you would have seen a lot more of SRT than me, but during his peak he never looked anything but. He always looked calm and in control and the ball generally always hit the middle of his bat. It's not like he jumps around on the crease, got edges that fell short or had numerous appeals against him in his prime.
i was referring more to his demeanour than his technique or the number of chances offered. never relaxed, pernickety about the sightscreen - you never saw the kind joy you see when he'd bowl
but obviously you're right - in particular he now gets a lot more inside edges.
I hope he plays on until India's tour of Australia next year. Even if he's only half the batsman he was, it'll still be worth the ticket price to see him play.
He needs to be told that he has to bat aggresively, or else face the axe. He played several shots during this series which told me that he wasnt completely finished. He should be told he needs to bat how he did from 96-99.
Laxman is another strokemaker who is playing well within himself at the moment.
the skills and shots still seem to be there but he just won't play them most of the time.
He no longer comes in and changes games or puts his stamp on the innings like say a ricky ponting does but im sure he still has the skills to if his mind was right.
Originally posted by Pontoon: Does the inconsistency disturb you one iota, Leo?
I'm not entirely sure what you mean by 'inconsistency'.
He has consistently been getting in - he has reached 14 in 11 of his last 14 innings. On this Saffie tour, he lasted 40 minutes in 4/5 knocks. That says to me the technique and skills are still there. He is just not going on to 100 like he used to once set. Something in the mind - I reckon it'll only take one major innings to blow the cobwebs away, like the 241* did in 2004. Batted well up until his 2005 injury after that.
Further - he passed 50 in the first innings of his last 2 tests. But people are saying 'the end'. A bloke scores 63 & 64 in consecutive tests, but he is finished as an international player? Pull the other one.
However: it may be that we'll never see Sachin at his best again. I don't think Lara 2002-06, though prolific at times, has ever been quite the player of 1992-99. Some people seem to think Tendulkar either has to be a batting god or a feather duster: there is a middle ground. He was solid and made a contribution in this series - more so than Dravid or Sehwag. 'The end' is OTT, and (IMO) silly.
----------------------- 'John and Kevin offered to settle their differences in the ring, but were forced to backflip after it became clear no-one wanted to see either of them in boxer shorts'
