Who were the openers who have made an impact on the CB tri-series in Australia so far? (as of first 10 games).
Australia (6 matches till rubber is live)
Adam Gilchrist: 0, 61, 0, 118, 15, 6 (16 in dead rubber)
Hayden: DNP, 42, 25, 4, 13, 23 (54 in dead rubber)
India (7 matches, not qualified yet)
Tendulkar: 10, 35, 44, 32, 5, 0, 2
Sehwag 6, 33, 11, 14, DNP, DNP, 17
Gambhir opened twice: 34, 15
Sri Lanka (6 matches, yet to qualify)
Jayasuria DNB, 7, 27, 12, 0, 0
Tharanga DNB, 10, DNP
Dilshan DNP, DNP, 62, 11, 4
Perera DNP, DNP, DNP, DNP, DNP, 1
Adam Gilchrist as you can see has gone past 30 twice and converted it to impact the match
Tendulkar has gone past 30 thrice; but had effect on the match twice (44 the Indian top score in Melbourne, and 32 of 30 in a rain affected match against Sri lanka).
Hayden has one score over 30, (another brilliant 54 was in his practice match v India- hence no impact on series).
Jayasuria although not yet into the 30s, he had an impact in the reduced 21 over chase, scoring 27 of 13
So the top openers who made any impact in this series are Gilchrist and Tendulkar.
The moral of the story is that in low scoring series 30s is a good benchmark, as most ODI batsmen avg in the 30s in their career. So making a 30s is tricky indeed. Opening is not the same as batting one-down (as Dravid will be able to explain to you), as even if one wicket falls early- because now you know which part of the scoreboard to follow- to push runs or block wickets, wait for bad balls etc. As an opener, you are trting to figure out which aspect to address (strike-rate/hold wickets, especially in ODIs), without knowing how the bowling/pitch unfolds.
As you can see all the junior or upcoming openers have not been able to do well at all. The highest junior score as an opener is 34 (by Gambhir, who arguably is in the form of his life). Australia recognize the conditions and do not change their order as they know even a 20odd is not that bad in these conditions. Sure we would like to see more runs from all the top batters, but it is tough for them as they have to try to give a strike rate advantage as well, and can get out. The one down batter can say- since an early wicket is fallen, I will put the strike rate aside for a 8-10 balls (Sangakara did in his century against India, for dozen odd overs).
The analysts have forgotten that runs, wickets or strike rates in cricket are not absolute measures but relative to pitch conditions. Obviously, they are aware of it, but do not keep it in mind during calculations- but rather go by landmarks- 50s 100s etc. Who is playing for the records?!?!
Just as Elephants and other species are measured by their own average sizes based on region etc., so must scores according to weather & pitches. (In many sports such as snooker, billiards or say Olympic swimming etc, you can expect to have absolute measures, since the playing conditions are controlled and consistent).
Do not worry about Tendulkar folks. He has by far been the best top order ODI batter this year- since SAfrica in Ireland, England, Aus in India, Pak in India, and now partially in Australia ODIs.
Saumil
Mumbai
Feb 26, 2008
Feb 24, 2008
CB Series 2008- Analysis of Dhoni the Controller
India have lost the CB Series 10th ODI- to Australia, in Sydney. The media have got it all wrong again. Whereas batsmen- senior or junior can falter due to split second reaction time of shot making, the media and management have time to get it right.
1. The media missed out why our bowlers gave away in excess of 300 in the first place, when Sydney is a spin friendly track. Your chances are reduced to 1:10, right there when any team chases 300. Piyush Chawla could have played here instead of Shreeshant? The media did not even ask this question.
2. Dhoni's approach was a 'responsible' one? Sure, he played with caution when 4 wickets fell. But this innings can only be considered as 'good' if it was when batting first and then you try to settle for a reasonable score of 230 or so. But chasing 317, if some batsmen were to make 36 of 66 balls (yes the situation was messy, but the target is known and you have little choice), he is eating up 30 balls- considering run-a-ball is par.
Compare Dhoni's knock (36 of 66 balls) to Sehwag's (17 of 19 balls)- Dhoni has made 19 runs more from 47 more balls! Sure, he had to see off the top bowlers, but the fact is Sehwag was not facing the weak bowlers either. As it turns out, Dhoni's knock was poorer than Sehwag's, in context of the second innings chase.
3. If Dhoni has chosen to play a controlling role as a batsman (which was fine at times, in this low scoring series), perhaps he should promote himself up the order, like he did with Pathan. Or send Uthappa ahead, who is a regular batsman? Then he and Pathan can address the strike issues lower down. 36 of 66 balls when you have the best striking skills is not good enough, when you chase 300+.
4. India lost by 'just' 18 runs. Well they needed 70odd of 40 balls. The match was really gone long before. The real fact is that today only Gambhir and Utthappa played adequately (amongst batters) with desired strike rates.
5. This is the second time Dhoni's strike rate management has let India down in this series (as discussed, in some matches where the target was low, it was fine to make a 50 without a big shot). In the Canberra match, 5th ODI of this series, against Sri Lanka, Tendulkar, Gambhir, Rohit Sharma made good run-a-ball scores early in the innings (batting first in a reduced 29 over game). Dhoni came in when 9 overs/7 wickets were left, ahead of Yuvraj and Uthappa, to make 31 of 26 with 3 fours. In overs 26, 27, and 28 he was taking singles in 'finisher' style! In the first innings there is nothing to 'finish', it is 'more the merrier'. This was the case to go all out for your shots, with Rohit Sharma anchoring. Yuvraj, Uthappa and Pathan were wasted. Not what you expect from a captain of a T20 Champion team.
6. Just remember, we are not trying to blame anyone (after 5 years of wicket-keeper hunting, we finally got two!), but if we do analyze let us see what can be fixed in terms of planning and approach, as execution-wise every team can falter, as Australian batting has been so far. Dhoni's team selection, batting order and his own one-dimensional strike-rate approach need to be discussed- well before any senior-junior thing.
7. If MS Dhoni is going to bat like this in Tests (in a constructive manner)-that is just fine. But then we can consider Dinesh Karthik for Tests instead, because Karthik has the technique to bat like this in Tests. Dhoni can then stick to number 5-6 in ODIs and T20s- and face the lesser bowlers and well spread fields to garner singles, when strike-rate demands are moderate, and then he can unleash himself when he has the chance to do so (which perhaps Karthik may not be as good as Dhoni).
Dinesh Karthik- most of us have forgotten that he played a major role in beating England in England, as a Test opener. He might still be worth a shot as the wicketkeeper and bat at number 7 in Tests.
More later,
Saumil
Mumbai
1. The media missed out why our bowlers gave away in excess of 300 in the first place, when Sydney is a spin friendly track. Your chances are reduced to 1:10, right there when any team chases 300. Piyush Chawla could have played here instead of Shreeshant? The media did not even ask this question.
2. Dhoni's approach was a 'responsible' one? Sure, he played with caution when 4 wickets fell. But this innings can only be considered as 'good' if it was when batting first and then you try to settle for a reasonable score of 230 or so. But chasing 317, if some batsmen were to make 36 of 66 balls (yes the situation was messy, but the target is known and you have little choice), he is eating up 30 balls- considering run-a-ball is par.
Compare Dhoni's knock (36 of 66 balls) to Sehwag's (17 of 19 balls)- Dhoni has made 19 runs more from 47 more balls! Sure, he had to see off the top bowlers, but the fact is Sehwag was not facing the weak bowlers either. As it turns out, Dhoni's knock was poorer than Sehwag's, in context of the second innings chase.
3. If Dhoni has chosen to play a controlling role as a batsman (which was fine at times, in this low scoring series), perhaps he should promote himself up the order, like he did with Pathan. Or send Uthappa ahead, who is a regular batsman? Then he and Pathan can address the strike issues lower down. 36 of 66 balls when you have the best striking skills is not good enough, when you chase 300+.
4. India lost by 'just' 18 runs. Well they needed 70odd of 40 balls. The match was really gone long before. The real fact is that today only Gambhir and Utthappa played adequately (amongst batters) with desired strike rates.
5. This is the second time Dhoni's strike rate management has let India down in this series (as discussed, in some matches where the target was low, it was fine to make a 50 without a big shot). In the Canberra match, 5th ODI of this series, against Sri Lanka, Tendulkar, Gambhir, Rohit Sharma made good run-a-ball scores early in the innings (batting first in a reduced 29 over game). Dhoni came in when 9 overs/7 wickets were left, ahead of Yuvraj and Uthappa, to make 31 of 26 with 3 fours. In overs 26, 27, and 28 he was taking singles in 'finisher' style! In the first innings there is nothing to 'finish', it is 'more the merrier'. This was the case to go all out for your shots, with Rohit Sharma anchoring. Yuvraj, Uthappa and Pathan were wasted. Not what you expect from a captain of a T20 Champion team.
6. Just remember, we are not trying to blame anyone (after 5 years of wicket-keeper hunting, we finally got two!), but if we do analyze let us see what can be fixed in terms of planning and approach, as execution-wise every team can falter, as Australian batting has been so far. Dhoni's team selection, batting order and his own one-dimensional strike-rate approach need to be discussed- well before any senior-junior thing.
7. If MS Dhoni is going to bat like this in Tests (in a constructive manner)-that is just fine. But then we can consider Dinesh Karthik for Tests instead, because Karthik has the technique to bat like this in Tests. Dhoni can then stick to number 5-6 in ODIs and T20s- and face the lesser bowlers and well spread fields to garner singles, when strike-rate demands are moderate, and then he can unleash himself when he has the chance to do so (which perhaps Karthik may not be as good as Dhoni).
Dinesh Karthik- most of us have forgotten that he played a major role in beating England in England, as a Test opener. He might still be worth a shot as the wicketkeeper and bat at number 7 in Tests.
More later,
Saumil
Mumbai
Feb 23, 2008
Indian Premier League T20 Cricket- After the Auctions…
Now that the auctions are through and guys have been bought over, the focus is now on discussions of how it will impact the future of the game (of Cricket, that is).
1. Is all this money good for cricket?
Money is always a necessity for any activity- so there should be nothing to complain about this fact. But can some journalist please conduct a discussion of how it will help, the various aspects of the sport? Please spell out how much money will go to school-college-and state level (as an avg $ per aspiring player). Will it improve the benchstrength of our National side or will it improve the benches of Wankhade stadium? Or academically, can a teenager rent out a DVD to study past great cricketers from a library or will there be a website with such material, so that there is 'progress' in the IT age for Indians in every corner. I can personally vouch that I have improved my appreciation of chess in the last 3 years, which I could not in 20 years. The internet has PGNs of every past game- no such luck with many other sports.
Geet Sethi- our legendary billiard champion- summed it up today that these developments are a combination of hope and despair. Money is finally coming in a big way. But will it be used for sport or mere entertainment.
2. Will it affect playing for the country in Tests and ODIs?
The general comparison given here is about how soccer clubs function without any conflict with FIFA's World Cup. Just as players give their 100% to their club sides and then are willing to shed their blood for their country in World Cups/Continental Tournaments- so will it be the case with Cricket. But Test Cricket happens every year and for about 6-8 months or more and seasons of each country happen in different times of the year. So what will be left after that will be time for a shrunk down format such as T20. At least the club version of soccer is same as their World Cup version. You can perhaps consider my suggestion of playing T20 as pairs with overs/wicket state carrying over but 2 results in each game...see Dot Chess.
Or take for instance, ad-guru Prahlad Kakkar when asked about whether this was like Archie comics v Charles Dickens (T20 v Test Cricket). He had a simple answer that Archie comics sell more! No problem with that- just do not take characters from Charles Dickens or the classics- and put them into Archie comics! Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis in one team- looks like a great Charles Dickens like pairing... but guess what- we will see them trying to be the Jughead of the day (their appetitie will be to try to get out in 3 overs!).
3. The family and friends stuff!
They say T20 will be great to attract families- who can have a great evening after all. Would it not be great for a father and son watch a game together? But a game of what? If they can only find 4 hours together once every so many weeks, that is in itself a scary thing. Why not go and see or do things which naturally take 3-4 hours... a movie, or some other sport...
And what will kids learn- to focus on a Bollywood beauty or the Cheerleaders? (is that not why Archie comics were not permitted in school...).
And which kid would like to grow up to be bowler? Get the bowling machines out instead- at least Preity Zinta can then bowl a few to Sachin or Symonds. Then fathers could bring their wives along as well as the kids!
4. We have to move on- this is the new age of exciting cricket..
Exciting batting, not exciting cricket. I can only thank my stars that I have interests in many other sports as well- which may outlive my lifetime...
Time for a break...
It sure is some nice time for a yacht trip amidst the PhangNga Hongs in Phuket!
WiFi will allow me some time to catch up with wonder boy GM Carlsen and his revival of some off-the-beaten-path chess openings. His Alekhine reply to Topalov sure was great to witness at Linaries 2008.
Have a great summer!
Saumil
Mumbai
1. Is all this money good for cricket?
Money is always a necessity for any activity- so there should be nothing to complain about this fact. But can some journalist please conduct a discussion of how it will help, the various aspects of the sport? Please spell out how much money will go to school-college-and state level (as an avg $ per aspiring player). Will it improve the benchstrength of our National side or will it improve the benches of Wankhade stadium? Or academically, can a teenager rent out a DVD to study past great cricketers from a library or will there be a website with such material, so that there is 'progress' in the IT age for Indians in every corner. I can personally vouch that I have improved my appreciation of chess in the last 3 years, which I could not in 20 years. The internet has PGNs of every past game- no such luck with many other sports.
Geet Sethi- our legendary billiard champion- summed it up today that these developments are a combination of hope and despair. Money is finally coming in a big way. But will it be used for sport or mere entertainment.
2. Will it affect playing for the country in Tests and ODIs?
The general comparison given here is about how soccer clubs function without any conflict with FIFA's World Cup. Just as players give their 100% to their club sides and then are willing to shed their blood for their country in World Cups/Continental Tournaments- so will it be the case with Cricket. But Test Cricket happens every year and for about 6-8 months or more and seasons of each country happen in different times of the year. So what will be left after that will be time for a shrunk down format such as T20. At least the club version of soccer is same as their World Cup version. You can perhaps consider my suggestion of playing T20 as pairs with overs/wicket state carrying over but 2 results in each game...see Dot Chess.
Or take for instance, ad-guru Prahlad Kakkar when asked about whether this was like Archie comics v Charles Dickens (T20 v Test Cricket). He had a simple answer that Archie comics sell more! No problem with that- just do not take characters from Charles Dickens or the classics- and put them into Archie comics! Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis in one team- looks like a great Charles Dickens like pairing... but guess what- we will see them trying to be the Jughead of the day (their appetitie will be to try to get out in 3 overs!).
3. The family and friends stuff!
They say T20 will be great to attract families- who can have a great evening after all. Would it not be great for a father and son watch a game together? But a game of what? If they can only find 4 hours together once every so many weeks, that is in itself a scary thing. Why not go and see or do things which naturally take 3-4 hours... a movie, or some other sport...
And what will kids learn- to focus on a Bollywood beauty or the Cheerleaders? (is that not why Archie comics were not permitted in school...).
And which kid would like to grow up to be bowler? Get the bowling machines out instead- at least Preity Zinta can then bowl a few to Sachin or Symonds. Then fathers could bring their wives along as well as the kids!
4. We have to move on- this is the new age of exciting cricket..
Exciting batting, not exciting cricket. I can only thank my stars that I have interests in many other sports as well- which may outlive my lifetime...
Time for a break...
It sure is some nice time for a yacht trip amidst the PhangNga Hongs in Phuket!
WiFi will allow me some time to catch up with wonder boy GM Carlsen and his revival of some off-the-beaten-path chess openings. His Alekhine reply to Topalov sure was great to witness at Linaries 2008.
Have a great summer!
Saumil
Mumbai
Feb 4, 2008
To click or not to click
Good introductory books, as in Chess (Capablanca, Nimzowitsch), Math-Logic (Russell, Godel) or Physics (Stephen Hawking), work well with online resources such as the Wikipedia.
The printed book actually helps you keep a tab on the hyperlinking on the web resource, since classics are always well organized in their chapter sequence and will include the key or mandatory points which a reader must know before knowing something else which is more advanced. The web resource is then better used as a tool to clarify and enlist details which you need to know more about, rather than get lost in surfing around in circles.
So a mode of reading which does not have clicking options (print) or has restricted clicking (audio, video), is perhaps necessary to control our usage of a point and click medium- such as the web.
Some ideas for ebooks or an ipod touch … as an entry device to the web.
Saumil
Mumbai
4th Feb 2008
The printed book actually helps you keep a tab on the hyperlinking on the web resource, since classics are always well organized in their chapter sequence and will include the key or mandatory points which a reader must know before knowing something else which is more advanced. The web resource is then better used as a tool to clarify and enlist details which you need to know more about, rather than get lost in surfing around in circles.
So a mode of reading which does not have clicking options (print) or has restricted clicking (audio, video), is perhaps necessary to control our usage of a point and click medium- such as the web.
Some ideas for ebooks or an ipod touch … as an entry device to the web.
Saumil
Mumbai
4th Feb 2008
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