Complaints and Grievances

[THX_1138]

Yeah we are an exceptional side these days, but i cant help but feel that our preparation is poor. Our brilliance over shadows our short comings, and thus, when all is well, it seems no one could be bothered. For instance, i observed how the Indians would warm up before taking the field and juxtaposed that to the approach adopted by the Kiwis. The later used a lot many more tools, and had a much more vigorous warm up with several advance exercises. The Indians settled for simple, and insipid bread and butter stuff: out dated routines of catching practice and some throwing. My rant does not just end there. Evidently, it has been discovered that the Indian team does not have a regulated nutritional intake when not on tour or not dinning with the team during games. They are permitted to be as self indulgent as they can get away with. On the other hand, the english, the south africans and even the west indians are very careful about their diet for every month of the year, regardless of the amount of cricket they are involved in. While it is arguable that indian players do not suffer as many injuries, but one must keep in mind that on an average the indian team is much younger than most other teams and thus, the players enjoy a greater youthfulness and thereby, quick recovery. Finally, it seems that none of our current team includes players who are regular runners. Running has been demonstrated to be the panacea for most common sports injuries, yet it is not particularly common with even our fast bowlers! It seems that there is a general attitude that 'hey! as long as we are winning, we needn't change the formula!'. When it is not a change, it is an improvement that i speak of. A bit like how an army, even during the periods of peace strives to improve its infrastructure, modernizing its weapons, and better equipping its foot soldiers, maybe the indian team and the think tank surrounding it should light fires under the feet of the player and push them to strive for something better. Common sense dictates that one must never face an enemy on an even keel. One must be prepared or prepare the platform in a manner that is considerably favorable for one's own self. When we are at home, we often achieve this with pitches we are accustomed to, and when away, we can achieve this with exception fielding and fitness. Consider this: If Zaheer was to break down during the first test, considering he has been playing all the ODIs, heck he has been the torch bearers during the series for our bowling attack... then wont we find ourselves in a tight spot?

[Sachinism]

Good post Agree with certain areas, but its hard to know exactly how much training they do Agree with the poor diets, they all look tubby

[cowboysfan]

kirsten has to insist on better fitness.yuvraj looks shocking to be honest.

[THX_1138]

Good post Agree with certain areas, but its hard to know exactly how much training they do Agree with the poor diets, they all look tubby

Let me put this in perspective: Michael Phelps, and i am no big fan of him though, was interviewed after his terrific display at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In his interview he was asked about his workout and preparation. And he remarked that since early 2003, till the day of the heats, he had spent 6-8 hours a day working out, in the pool, i.e. not inclusive of his time in the weight room. He added, that he would work out every damn day of the week, regardless of the circumstances. As a result he concluded that in comparison to the other athletes who often would take a day off in the week, Phelps gained 52 additional work outs more than his competition every year, and thats 200 or more additional workouts in the whole preparation before the event. Now while cricket is not as vigorous as swimming, but that is the level of commitment that separates the boys from the men...

[fineleg]

Yeah we are an exceptional side these days, but i cant help but feel that our preparation is poor. Our brilliance over shadows our short comings, and thus, when all is well, it seems no one could be bothered. For instance, i observed how the Indians would warm up before taking the field and juxtaposed that to the approach adopted by the Kiwis. The later used a lot many more tools, and had a much more vigorous warm up with several advance exercises. The Indians settled for simple, and insipid bread and butter stuff: out dated routines of catching practice and some throwing. My rant does not just end there. Evidently, it has been discovered that the Indian team does not have a regulated nutritional intake when not on tour or not dinning with the team during games. They are permitted to be as self indulgent as they can get away with. On the other hand, the english, the south africans and even the west indians are very careful about their diet for every month of the year, regardless of the amount of cricket they are involved in. While it is arguable that indian players do not suffer as many injuries, but one must keep in mind that on an average the indian team is much younger than most other teams and thus, the players enjoy a greater youthfulness and thereby, quick recovery. Finally, it seems that none of our current team includes players who are regular runners. Running has been demonstrated to be the panacea for most common sports injuries, yet it is not particularly common with even our fast bowlers! It seems that there is a general attitude that 'hey! as long as we are winning, we needn't change the formula!'. When it is not a change, it is an improvement that i speak of. A bit like how an army, even during the periods of peace strives to improve its infrastructure, modernizing its weapons, and better equipping its foot soldiers, maybe the indian team and the think tank surrounding it should light fires under the feet of the player and push them to strive for something better. Common sense dictates that one must never face an enemy on an even keel. One must be prepared or prepare the platform in a manner that is considerably favorable for one's own self. When we are at home, we often achieve this with pitches we are accustomed to, and when away, we can achieve this with exception fielding and fitness. Consider this: If Zaheer was to break down during the first test, considering he has been playing all the ODIs, heck he has been the torch bearers during the series for our bowling attack... then wont we find ourselves in a tight spot?

Let me put this in perspective: Michael Phelps, and i am no big fan of him though, was interviewed after his terrific display at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In his interview he was asked about his workout and preparation. And he remarked that since early 2003, till the day of the heats, he had spent 6-8 hours a day working out, in the pool, i.e. not inclusive of his time in the weight room. He added, that he would work out every damn day of the week, regardless of the circumstances. As a result he concluded that in comparison to the other athletes who often would take a day off in the week, Phelps gained 52 additional work outs more than his competition every year, and thats 200 or more additional workouts in the whole preparation before the event. Now while cricket is not as vigorous as swimming, but that is the level of commitment that separates the boys from the men...

THX - Top Posts :thumbs_up: Brilliant! :thumbs_up: One of the best posts I have seen at ICF, I cannot agree with you more - there needs to be more professionalism to our team's training, nutritional control, and best practices to keep fit. And they need to do this in non-cricket season too. Otherwise they return after a period of non-cricket with 'TONDs' as was said in another thread.

[Mr. Wicket]

Excellent post, THX. Agree fully - they're winning, but they can't afford to be complacent with so much to gain on this tour (and in the cricketing schedule ahead). A bit of Bob Simpsonesque training and focus on fitness would be welcome; given the way young guns like Rohit and Uthappa seem to be heading.

[THX_1138]

When i played high school soccer, we had training three days a week for three hours each. And our coach, who was a Swedish import would make us run drills, do a million sit ups, and some more running drills, some squat walks, some running drills... and then would he let us kick the ball around. He laid emphasis on skill, but more on fitness and agility, and it paid dividends... Let me put it this way, when you and i work regular 8 hour a day jobs, we are not permitted vacations from routine without proper cause! Why must the sports personnel be permitted any, especially when they reap such massive paychecks!!!??

[Mr. Wicket]

It's not the question of vacations from routine. It's the fact that fitness and practice will make them a better team. Some of the ground fielding in the ODIs has been very poor. If our batting hadn't been firing so brilliantly we could have been embarrassed at one stage with the way we've put down some catches and produced a number of swan dives. If we'd been defending 330 instead of 390 the other day we might have seen 20 threads show up lambasting our fielding.

[Mamu]

Speaking of fitness -- I am putting on my shoes and stepping out -- to run:icflove:

[Ram]

THX, how do you know some of things you alluded to in your OP? Especially the part about the players being given a free-hand to eat whatever they want on tour or them not being regular at doing their cardio work-outs? I am certain that is not the case and sure that there will be lots of dietery and exercise regulations imposed on the team, while on tour AND during off-season too.

[THX_1138]

THX, how do you know some of things you alluded to in your OP? Especially the part about the players being given a free-hand to eat whatever they want on tour or them not being regular at doing their cardio work-outs? I am certain that is not the case and sure that there will be lots of dietery and exercise regulations imposed on the team, while on tour AND during off-season too.

There are countless opinion columns and blogs. Of course, most are questionable, and then there is the evidence visible from the stature and appearance of the players. As for the bit about cardiovascular exercise, that was a complaint against the bowlers that was echoed from the times of ajit wadekar till the age of greg chappel. kirsten a lot more discerning with his words so it is difficult to comment on the current status... Furthermore, let me point out that even in today's match, we missed a run out and dropped a catch. If you recall the 2003-2004 tour of Australia where we came agonizingly close to winning the series, almost every innings in which Hayden and Langer prospered, there was atleast one abysmally simple chance fluffed. These half chances and missed opportunities is what i am refering to in my rant. Our team is incredibly talented and using their exploits on the field with the bat or the ball they are able to overwhelm most of the other oppositions that are not quite as talented. However, these opposition sides often make up for their talent deficit with tremendous efforts in the field. In the past ODI series, our fielding was marginally good, but not in the same echelon as that of New Zealand, especially the likes of Guptil and McCullumn... One much acknowledge that of all the possible competitive sports, cricket is one that permits the most latitude in performance. One can have a disasterous day with the bat and the ball and yet end up on the winning side. There is too much room for error, and often we are guilty of expoliting every inch of that leverage space before we are finally pulled over the victory line by the exploits of a single or two individuals. For instance, in the late 90s, we were never comparable to the aussies, who werent even as good as they would later become... yet the maverick tendulkar kept us alive and kicking. In the first edition of the Champions trophy, he won us the bloody match single handedly, scoring with the bat and the ball. Later, it would be yuvraj, and so on and so forth. As a team vying for the top spot, we owe it to the sport to be the very best in every department. Or atleast right up there. Can you imagine a sampras or federer who made it big with a weak service or a poor backhand?

[Mr. Wicket]

THX: You also have a lot of evidence from stories about certain players regularly hitting bars/party sites for drinks and such. And while some of the opinion columns and blogs may be a bit unreliable, comments like this by people like Ravi certainly have a lot more merit. And a great point. Teams who can excel in all areas of the game are the ones who'll reach the top. Look at Australia a few years ago. If they had an off day with the bat, they could fire back with the ball. If struggling with the ball, they might sometimes make up for it in the field. Fielding matters, and does win matches. It could be argued that Viv Richards won a World Cup final off his fielding with three stunning runouts. The better we raise our game in each department, the more we'll win. And the more we'll enjoy watching the team (because great batting and bowling are thrilling to watch, but seeing great fielders can also be amazing to witness. Rhodes was one of the most electric personalities I've seen on a field, and a few yrs ago when in NZ, I got to see them live with people like Hamish Marshall and Lou Vincent setting amazing standards in the infield and outfield. Their bowling wasn't overly great with Bond off colour in both games I watched, but the fielding was spectacular with people like Astle pulling off direct hits from the boundary's edge, and Marshall/Vincent diving all over the place and producing some unbelievable stops.)

[bharat297]

Brilliant Post ... 100% agree.

[Ram]

There are countless opinion columns and blogs. Of course, most are questionable, and then there is the evidence visible from the stature and appearance of the players. As for the bit about cardiovascular exercise, that was a complaint against the bowlers that was echoed from the times of ajit wadekar till the age of greg chappel. kirsten a lot more discerning with his words so it is difficult to comment on the current status... Furthermore, let me point out that even in today's match, we missed a run out and dropped a catch. If you recall the 2003-2004 tour of Australia where we came agonizingly close to winning the series, almost every innings in which Hayden and Langer prospered, there was atleast one abysmally simple chance fluffed. These half chances and missed opportunities is what i am refering to in my rant. Our team is incredibly talented and using their exploits on the field with the bat or the ball they are able to overwhelm most of the other oppositions that are not quite as talented. However, these opposition sides often make up for their talent deficit with tremendous efforts in the field. In the past ODI series, our fielding was marginally good, but not in the same echelon as that of New Zealand, especially the likes of Guptil and McCullumn... One much acknowledge that of all the possible competitive sports, cricket is one that permits the most latitude in performance. One can have a disasterous day with the bat and the ball and yet end up on the winning side. There is too much room for error, and often we are guilty of expoliting every inch of that leverage space before we are finally pulled over the victory line by the exploits of a single or two individuals. For instance, in the late 90s, we were never comparable to the aussies, who werent even as good as they would later become... yet the maverick tendulkar kept us alive and kicking. In the first edition of the Champions trophy, he won us the bloody match single handedly, scoring with the bat and the ball. Later, it would be yuvraj, and so on and so forth. As a team vying for the top spot, we owe it to the sport to be the very best in every department. Or atleast right up there. Can you imagine a sampras or federer who made it big with a weak service or a poor backhand?

Your point is noted man, but I don’t think its as bad as you think. Sure, we did put down a lot of catches and missed a few run-outs, but it can happen to even the best fielding side. In the recent ODI series b/w India and Lanka, Lanka’s fielding was horrible that it prompted a major controversy. In this case, can you point out to any Lankan fielder and say he is unfit? Fielding is not only fitness, its also about inherent talent and athleticism. No amount of gym work can give you either of that. Is there room for us to improve? Of course there is. But as far as fitness and fielding is concerned, this is probably the best we’ve ever been, but there is certainly room for improvement.

[King Tendulkar]

Everyone seems obssessed with fitness. Yes they need to be reasonably fit and of course much fitter then how some were in 90s etc. However, they dont need to be top athletes. OTT on fitness Lets not forget skill and handeye cordination for batting and catching in particular. Yes quicks need to be in good shape but even then ZK is not what you would call an athlete but is best in the business at swing/ seam. Also motu sehwag has never exactly been an athlete and I am sure every single kiwi would massacre him in a 5 km run(ryder excluded), would you swap him for anyone of them super atletes? HELL NO! Even the greatest crciketer ever, sachin is not exactly auussie protype fit. Look at that fat drunk ryder as well My point is to be fit is important but in cricket to be like a super athlete is helpful but by no means a prequesite at all. You can be super fit and still drop dollies and super fit and still get bowled through the gate. Our boys must concentarte on cricket skills and also maintain decent levels of fitness without been super atletes and over doing it.

[graphic23]

Um, no. Being an athlete helps you a LOT in fielding skills and general energy levels throughout the day. Why do you think Mitchell Johnson and Siddle can bowl at greater than 145kmh even at the end of the day ?

[King Tendulkar]

Um' date=' no. Being an athlete helps you a LOT in fielding skills and general energy levels throughout the day. Why do you think Mitchell Johnson and Siddle can bowl at greater than 145kmh even at the end of the day ?[/quote'] Siddle was pants against India and got smoked against us. He should spend less time in gym and focus on how he grips the ball, release points and his action. He gets no movement as in just up and down. Also Siddle bowling 145 kmh??? Only on SA speed guns. When against India he is no quicker then Ishant and ZK at times out guns him. Not to mention ZKs movement. Nothing wrong with being reasonably fit and its essential. But no need to be fitness machines ala premership footballers.

[graphic23]

No. Even against us and the series against SA in Australia, he clocked well over 140. So a swing bowler doesn't need to be as fit as a seam bowler ?

[King Tendulkar]

Also our boys look fit to me. Fitter then they have ever been IMO. Not sure why the rant?? Ishant, ZK and even Munaf looked trim and not carrying any weight.

[suraj]

Also our boys look fit to me. Fitter then they have ever been IMO. Not sure why the rant?? Ishant, ZK and even Munaf looked trim and not carrying any weight.

Actually ZK does look super trim and fit