Thursday, November 1, 2007
Facts about the trio
Rahul Dravid has had a batting average of 24.9 with a strike rate of 62.2 in the last two series against England and Australia - and that's in 13 matches. So all those who are glibly saying that he has been dropped after just one poor series are ducking the truth. Sourav Ganguly has a strike rate of 56.1 in the two series against Australia and England - even lower than that of Dravid - although his average is decent at 34.1. Sachin Tendulkar tops the averages with 46.5 but his strike rate of 68.9 is also just over 4 runs an over. These strike rates are not good enough to win one-day matches these days, especially for openers who get to play the 20 powerplay overs with fielding restrictions.
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16 comments:
There is a nice article in HT which calls for sanity and balance on the same topic.
Now we know, if there was any doubt, that all three have enough public support to set off alternative public careers later if they so choose. Move over Sidhu!
I suggest a middle line.
Uthappa should open and Sachin should bat lower down the order.
( I know, Sachin wants to open, but what if we suggest the alternative would be to sit out?)
ottayan
are you taking about indian team..???
the same team which has become the reflection of whims of these superstars??? like sachin who wont go down the order at any cost even team...??? like saurav he can not play anywhere except opening???
are you taking about them???
Straightpoint,
Yup! The same team.
You have a case on Sachin and Ganguly, but Dravid who has mostly walked in at two, three or four wickets down, should be measured on a different yardstick.
john, there's no yardstick short enough to measure dravid in his current form - i mean take away the 92 not out in 60 odd balls that he got in one of his last 12 ODIs and you'll get an average and strike rate that will probably be the worst among all ODI batsmen in the world. but, having said that, i think he has been less selfish than the other two, who have cynically maintained their averages at the cost of the team.
soulberry, nice para in that article - questioning dravid's so-called selflessness.
ottayan, good point. wonder if sachin or sourav would've fared any better than rahul if they had played in the middle order.
sp, ya the trio is bigger than the team - at least in most of the media
Sumit,
Sachin would have been a success, albeit with less centruies to his name.
Saurav, would have been a pain, unless some part timer in the guise of a spinner came along.
I really like what Robin's doing lower down the order, Ottayan. He is stringing together some memorable finishes to an innings. Of course the danger of being a branded finisher is Kaif. That's a horrible disease that consumes talented cricketers. I agree opening is always a safer option in ODI's than no.5 or 6.
Soulberry,
Thats is a legitimate concern.
Apart from it, Uthappa's true calibre will be revealed.
Time will tell - and it will be interesting to see what unfolds.
Guys, this is the series Vs Pakistan. Yes you read it correct its Pakistan. A home series defeat against them is sure enough to end careers of those hapless young chickens who would be thrown in to face the Pakistanis at the expense of the "selfish", "past usage" seniors.
Media is not going to take any home series defeat against Pakistan lightly. You can imagine the scenario when the author of teh blog put forward an interesting plot when corporates pay up to keep certain players in the team.
The pressure and intensity in India - Pak series now is fizzed out as compared to 2003 or 04, but yet its mother of all series. Who would want to loose to a rival country, which has something more than cricket.
And again the nonsense talks of moving down Tendulkar down the order stumps me. Why ? he has made runs on the top of the order off late. Though "strike rate" has been lower, to which I dont agree, and then who s going to open ? Uthappa and Sehwag or Gambhir ?
Any answers or replacements to the seniors ? Those who ask the trio to step down should come up with an alternative strategy....
India - Pakistan series is not an experimenting stage, neither is the tour down under. Its a stage where proven and tested, battle sacred players play, not some young unknown rookies just cos their birth years were later than the trio or some of the senior players.
Thats the worst benchmark to judge any one.
http://tubbyszooter.blogspot.com/2007/11/strike-rates-of-trio.html
sam, let's continue the discussion in the next post...
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