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Player who will answer his critics in the forthcoming BG trophy

Cricketics

By Cricketics
in Cricket Talk

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matma Newbie

matma

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You kidding me right about Dravid in the Irani Trophy? 5 plus hours for 69 showed the class of Dravid. The concentration is amazing. While everyone else was scratching around on a sloooooooow wicket, Dravid stood tall. That is test cricket calibre. Not many players in the world can do that. I would take 5 plus hours for 69, that 69 off 30 balls anyday in a test like environment. Cos 30 balls later you are gone, and who's going to bat the day out? They don't call Dravid the Wall for nothing. I am hoping Rahul can kick on against the Aussies. There's nothing better than watching Dravid frustrate the Aussie attack by leaving everything outside off-stump, and only playing balls that are to his strength.

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matma Newbie

matma

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^^ mashallah! Inshallah!
Apologies for lack of ignorance, but what does that mean? Even Shane Warne said it himself, you need someone there who can occupy the crease. Someone in the mould of Atherton, Richardson etc. As long as you have someone pushing the runs at the other end, then I think Dravid's role is to occupy. I guess its about understanding roles. You dont pick a Sehwag in the test team to occupy- he is primarily there to demolish and demoralise a bowling attack. Couple that with Dravid, leaving everything outside off at the other end, and that can further demoralise an attack. Watching the last Border/Gavaskar series, and Ponting has admitted it himself, their strategy against the Indians was to contain. Not the best strategy, when you have Dravid playing the role of containment with his batting. What happens when you leave EVERY ball outside off? It forces the bowler to bowl a wee bit straighter. Its hard to consistantly bowl on offstump, you eventually stray on middle-off or middle-leg, and someone like Dravid who is strong off his pads, is easy runs. Contrast this with Sehwag who loves the ball outside off...what do you do after your frontline attack has been smashed for 30-40 runs by a batsmen in quick time. You either bowl straighter, or you start bowling a bit shorter. Short balls, rarely bring about wickets. Being a Kiwi, it amazes me how a lot of folks are quick to dismiss Dravid. Each to their own opinion. Call me old fashioned though, I love a test batsmen who can occupy. Play to your strengths, and you will score.
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Why I still bat for Dravid : Ayaz Memon Dravid’s uncompromising approach to spending as much time as possible in the middle would have told the Aussies that he may well be the man to watch out for in the Test series. More... Why I still bat for Dravid Ayaz Memon Monday, September 29, 2008 00:30 IST The most important performance in the Irani Trophy for me came from Rahul Dravid. True, he did not score as many runs as did Gautam Gambhir and M S Dhoni, but Dravid’s resolute sense of purpose suggested a man who is hell bent on proving a thing or two — more to himself than his detractors. His dogged determination in coming to terms with himself will not have been lost on the Australian players who may have been practicing in Jaipur, but will have had one eye on what the India prospects were doing in Baroda. Dravid’s uncompromising approach to spending as much time as possible in the middle would have told the Aussies that he may well be the man to watch out for in the Test series. On a slow, low track on which bowlers had the better of batsmen on all days, Gambhir and Dhoni proved the value of good current form. But where all the other batsmen flopped, Dravid took the battle to himself first, as it were, and then to the opponents. He had some luck in the first innings, but his second innings half century was finely crafted and kept Delhi’s bowlers at bay long enough for Dhoni to come along and take the game completely away from them with blistering strokeplay. The more significant aspect of Dravid’s performance I believe, however, was his splendid catching at slip. The diving effort to get rid off the dangerous Viru Sehwag was breathtaking in its execution, and match-winning in its impact. Quick-silver reflexes, terrific anticipation coupled with great ball sense showed that Dravid’s cricketing instinct was hardly blunted, and that he was not mentally burnt-out. How a player’s fielding can reveal his state of mind was brought home vividly last season when Adam Gilchrist explained what made him take the decision to retire. “It was somewhere between the ball hitting my gloves and the ball hitting the ground in the Laxman-Brett Lee edge (in a Test),” he said. “…It made me realise in the ensuing 10 or 15 minutes that that’s it. I’m not moving quite as well as I have, not just on the field but in training and my fitness. I just realised I didn’t have the absolute desperation that you need to continue to maintain your standards.” Dravid’s fielding performance has been quite the opposite. He is already Test cricket’s second highest catcher (176 in 125 games), but importantly, has taken a whopping 16 catches this year in just 15 innings, which would not be possible for somebody who has lost his edge. Indeed, right through the year he has caught so brilliantly that his struggle with the bat must seem a surprise. But in his fitness and his superb catching also lies the hope that his batting woes will pass. For the all-important series against Australia, Dravid has made all the right preparatory moves. His body language also looks strong. Of course, to banish his critics to faraway lands he now needs to make those runs.

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