Reducing cricket to numbers

[Guest BossBhai]

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[The Outsider]

Damn proff ... the odds of a Kapil Dev or a Sunny or a Viv or any of those other 20 odd having played most of their test career against almost all opposition that had players in the 40s is just tiny comapred to DGB. It is also highly unlikely that the rest of those who qualified thru FC cricket rubbed shoulders with mostly cricketers past their prime.

Okay, so what are the odds on Bradman having faced a regular 40+ year old bowler : http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/stats/index.html?agemin1=40;ageval1=age;class=1;filter=advanced;opposition=2;orderby=wickets;player_involve=492;spanmax1=01+Jan+1950;spanmin1=01+Jan+1930;spanval1=span;template=results;type=bowling

[goose]

I somehow doubt that the knowhow of such a fitness program has eluded cricketers for about 10yrs.

Know-how is nothing. Fitness is a function of traits such as desire, motivation, and discipline. Most cricketers probably aim to keep their body fat levels below 20%. How many will strive for 15% or even 12%? Nothing to do with know-how. It's called pushing the bar.

[Guest BossBhai]

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[Lurker]

bowlers start declining much earlier than at 40 ... just the fact that so many people could play Test cricket well past the mid to early 30s is a tell-tale indicator of the overall scene at that time. You will find this mentioned in some obscure reports of those times allbeit in passing. Anybody with an iota of common sense wil tell you - and Iam sure you know it too but just wont admit it - that if someone played well past the 40s like Hobbs and avged well above 50 either he was superhuman or the bowling was very friendly.

Since we are on an assumption spree here let it also be mentioned that since cricketers of early 1900s participated in many a World Wars they would be far more fitter than cricketers of our age. Hedley verity died in war, Miller crash landed his plane, who do we think would lead the fight at the Wagah border? Sachin? Bah. Who would crash land a plane today? Nehra??? :giggle: This whole exercise is ridiculous, actually it proves very well the very premise of this thread. xxx

[The Outsider]

bowlers start declining much earlier than at 40 ... just the fact that so many people could play Test cricket well past the mid to early 30s is a tell-tale indicator of the overall scene at that time. You will find this mentioned in some obscure reports of those times allbeit in passing. Anybody with an iota of common sense wil tell you - and Iam sure you know it too but just wont admit it - that if someone played well past the 40s like Hobbs and avged well above 50 either he was superhuman or the bowling was very friendly.

:hysterical::hysterical: When I talk about 45 38+ cricketers who played in the 70s-90s, you say that the odds of them facing Gavaskar, Kapil etc. are small and when I show you that Bradman faced just one 40+ bowler in a grand total of 2 tests, you start referring to the overall scene. Well, the overall scene in 70s-90s was pretty bleak compared to today, evidenced by the 45 or 21 cricketers, so Tamim > Gavaskar and Agarkar > Kapil.

[Guest BossBhai]

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[Guest BossBhai]

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[SJS50]

Where is that article you're talking about? Can you give me the link' date=' please? I want to read it.[/quote'] I quoted them in another thread here yesterday but anyway here are the links. . . Bradman to Sehwag : Redefining Great Batsmanship by Defying Tradition (Part 1) Bradman to Sehwag : Redefining Great Batsmanship by Defying Tradition (Part 2)

[thevortex]

The waffle brigade are trying to take over the world. Soon, ICF will resemble the UK- lots of people doing degrees in philosophy, media studies and suchlike, but none left to do engineering or the technical sciences. Waffle waffle...

Come on, Dhondy, dont you have a little romance within you? :) Cricket is nothing if not romantic. One of the prime reasons why T20 is not so fascinating for long time cricket enthusiasts. And what, by the way, is wrong with studying philosophy and media studies. Without art, mankind will be left undefined - in every sense of the word.

[vvvslaxman]

:hysterical::hysterical: When I talk about 45 38+ cricketers who played in the 70s-90s, you say that the odds of them facing Gavaskar, Kapil etc. are small and when I show you that Bradman faced just one 40+ bowler in a grand total of 2 tests, you start referring to the overall scene. Well, the overall scene in 70s-90s was pretty bleak compared to today, evidenced by the 45 or 21 cricketers, so Tamim > Gavaskar and Agarkar > Kapil.

PWNED :hysterical:

[thevortex]

Before I waste anymore time on something that is sooo obvious to anyone ... are you trying to argue the merits of middle age over youth in sports ?

Bossbhai - what if Shwetabh indeed did say something on those lines? Would he be totally wrong? Think about it. Spinners, like fine wine, are best when they are in their mid 30's and past. And batsmen can certainly carry on till 40 or so. Yes, it is individual as to how much deterioration takes place. But it is certainly not the case that batsmen cannot hold their own even in their late 30's. Only fast bowling is an exception. Just throwing out a thought here. Not saying that older men should play more than younger men or anything like that.

[Guest BossBhai]

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[thevortex]

I am afraid I have not seen Jack Hobbs bat. So it would be impossible for me to say whether he would have been able to repeat his heroics in today's game. But then it is anybody's guess.

[Guest BossBhai]

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[thevortex]

I can think of nobody playing more cricket than Sachin Tendulkar. If Sachin scores a double century when he is 40, that would not surprise me. Is that what you are asking? One can ever look at Dravid. And arguably he is even fitter than the Mumbai maestro. And Kallis at 35 still is a potent force - with bat and ball. And he is no tiddly biddly bowler. He bowls a mean bouncer too.

[Roshanrocks]

BB has got incredible stamina :sweat: i think BB was arguing about players playing at 45+

[Guest BossBhai]

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[Guest BossBhai]

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[thevortex]

Hobbs played test cricket till he was 48. And FC till 53 and made 100 FC 100s between age 40 and 53 ... do you think ANY cricketer will ever come close to doing this ? Pls provide a clear answer.

Have you considered that Hobbs could be an exception, Bossbhai? I mean - there are people begetting children in their 60's or what not. There is a lot in this world we have yet to understand, I am sure you realize. It would be meaningful to focus on this point if there were quite a few gentlmen in that age who could score more than a clutch of centuries in their late 40's or early 50's! Deal?