Sachin will be ready to face the Proteas next Thursday despite a knock on head

[Feed]

More... Sachin knocked over He will be ready to face the Proteas next Thursday Dec 10, 2010 By Craig Ray If Sachin Tendulkar did not know what he was in for on South African cricket pitches this summer, he quickly found out yesterday. 'The clang sounded serious, but he was only shaken' India's batting maestro was felled by a bouncer in the nets at Claremont Cricket Club. To add insult to injury, he was knocked over by one of his own. Facing a battery of Indian seam bowlers on another sweltering day in Cape Town, Tendulkar was taken by surprise as a ball from 23-year-old Umesh Yadav reared up from back of a length. Tendulkar ducked straight into the ball, which clattered into his helmet. The clang sounded serious but Tendulkar was only shaken and physically unhurt. He will be ready to face the Proteas next Thursday in the first Test. Tendulkar is the most genial of men, but he was clearly irritated by the incident, possibly because he made the mistake of ducking into the ball instead of away from it. When Yadav apologised from a distance, the Indian great spoke sharply to him and the young bowler rapidly came down the wicket to make a more humble apology. Tendulkar will face much faster and livelier bowling on this tour and won't receive the same deferential treatment from Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. He will no doubt have realised that his immense powers of concentration will be tested in the face of the South African pace barrage that will materialise. However, the incident, which ended without injury and saw Tendulkar immediately return to the crease and continue to strike the ball with deadly precision, was exactly what coach Gary Kirsten wanted. India have never won a series in South Africa, largely because the batsmen have been exposed against pace and bounce. Kirsten's main objective before the first Test at Centurion, starting on December 16, is to ensure his top order have acclimatised to the conditions. And lesser men than Tendulkar are going to kop some bruises along the way. Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virendar Sehwag and MS Dhoni were among the top batters that each spent in excess of an hour in the nets. Tendulkar perhaps had a little longer, having started with throw downs from Kirsten. The coach was impressed with what he saw, and after Tendulkar had creamed a dozen of Kirsten's best throws with his mighty bat, the coach was moved to say: "It's already fizzing off the middle, Sach." There is no substitute for the real thing, of course, but the Indian batsmen were certainly picking up the pace and bounce of a group of eager young net bowlers. Some were wild, but they were quick and the cocktail certainly made the batsmen stay watchful. "I haven't given the bowlers specific instructions to bowl short in the nets, but you know what it's like. As soon as a fast bowler sees some bounce the ball starts fizzing around the batsman's head," Kirsten said. "I'm not worried about injuries because that's what happens at nets. It happens in India as well and it's not something I can control. We just hope that no one gets too badly injured if they take a knock." Kirsten said he wanted his top order to face between 2000 and 3000 balls before the first Test and most of them received in excess of 300 deliveries yesterday. Tendulkar is in search of his 50th Test century and the amount of time he will spend in the nets before D-day is sure to improve his chances of reaching that incredible milestone. He has a career Test batting average of 56.55, but in South Africa his record shows a more modest average of 39.76. It's his lowest average against any country away from home. For India to win their first series over here, the feeling is that Tendulkar will have to bat closer to his overall career average. And after being struck on the head, his technique looked even more solid and his ball striking crisper. Is it an ominous sign for the home team?

[fineleg]

Tendulkar is the most genial of men, but he was clearly irritated by the incident, possibly because he made the mistake of ducking into the ball instead of away from it. When Yadav apologised from a distance, the Indian great spoke sharply to him and the young bowler rapidly came down the wicket to make a more humble apology. Tendulkar will face much faster and livelier bowling on this tour and won't receive the same deferential treatment from Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel.

Why should he speak "sharply" to U.Yadav and he has to come down to "apologize"? He did apologize from a distance and that should have been the end of matter. There is nothing wrong with UY's short ball, and if SRT is irritated abt the mistake he made of ducking, thats understandable, but not sure why he needs to speak "sharply" to UY as though the bowler did something wrong!? :dontknow: Did the article get it wrong? Meaning are they adding spice by saying he talked sharply to U.Yadav? This barrage is exactly what Steyn and Morkey are gonna do come Dec 16 and like the article says " won't receive the same deferential treatment from Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. "

[saneindian]

The article is an over exaggeration. Star News showed this in their news bulletin. Sachin was hit, Umesh immediately said sorry and asked him if he was alright. Sachin said I am fine , continue bowling the same line and length and for the next 15-20 minutes Umesh continued to bowl short to Sachin. In fact, the news report said Umesh is in demand on nets of every leading batsman as he is getting the ball to lift off good length and Kirsten is having to decide which batsmen Umesh will be bowling on each day. Raina and Pujara have been practicing on a cement wicket with a wet tennis ball and asking bowlers to bowl from 18 yards. Kirsten is taking these sessions very seriously. Good signs.

[vamos_rafa]

SA are making it sound as if the Indians just can't face short pitched stuff. The title of the article yesterday was "WElcome to SA Sachin". It seemed more sarcastic to me than anything else. And I don't expect Sachin to speak sharply to UY after being hit. He might have been irritated of himslef but not certainly to UY for bowling that length.

[DomainK]

Why should he speak "sharply" to U.Yadav and he has to come down to "apologize"? He did apologize from a distance and that should have been the end of matter. There is nothing wrong with UY's short ball, and if SRT is irritated abt the mistake he made of ducking, thats understandable, but not sure why he needs to speak "sharply" to UY as though the bowler did something wrong!? :dontknow: Did the article get it wrong? Meaning are they adding spice by saying he talked sharply to U.Yadav? This barrage is exactly what Steyn and Morkey are gonna do come Dec 16 and like the article says " won't receive the same deferential treatment from Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. "

Get some brains FL. Now you are bashing a cricketing great based on some conclusion drawn by some attention seeking journalist.

[fineleg]

you need to read the post. I didn't draw a conclusion

[DomainK]

you need to read the post. I didn't draw a conclusion

No, you need to read my post. I nowhere said that you drew a conclusion. But you based your post on someone else's conclusion. Reporters spice things up to get attention. No need to get high on the conclusions they draw.

[vishalvirsingh]

More... Sachin knocked over He will be ready to face the Proteas next Thursday Dec 10, 2010 By Craig Ray If Sachin Tendulkar did not know what he was in for on South African cricket pitches this summer, he quickly found out yesterday. 'The clang sounded serious, but he was only shaken' India's batting maestro was felled by a bouncer in the nets at Claremont Cricket Club. To add insult to injury, he was knocked over by one of his own. Facing a battery of Indian seam bowlers on another sweltering day in Cape Town, Tendulkar was taken by surprise as a ball from 23-year-old Umesh Yadav reared up from back of a length. Tendulkar ducked straight into the ball, which clattered into his helmet. The clang sounded serious but Tendulkar was only shaken and physically unhurt. He will be ready to face the Proteas next Thursday in the first Test. Tendulkar is the most genial of men, but he was clearly irritated by the incident, possibly because he made the mistake of ducking into the ball instead of away from it. When Yadav apologised from a distance, the Indian great spoke sharply to him and the young bowler rapidly came down the wicket to make a more humble apology. Tendulkar will face much faster and livelier bowling on this tour and won't receive the same deferential treatment from Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. He will no doubt have realised that his immense powers of concentration will be tested in the face of the South African pace barrage that will materialise. However, the incident, which ended without injury and saw Tendulkar immediately return to the crease and continue to strike the ball with deadly precision, was exactly what coach Gary Kirsten wanted. India have never won a series in South Africa, largely because the batsmen have been exposed against pace and bounce. Kirsten's main objective before the first Test at Centurion, starting on December 16, is to ensure his top order have acclimatised to the conditions. And lesser men than Tendulkar are going to kop some bruises along the way. Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virendar Sehwag and MS Dhoni were among the top batters that each spent in excess of an hour in the nets. Tendulkar perhaps had a little longer, having started with throw downs from Kirsten. The coach was impressed with what he saw, and after Tendulkar had creamed a dozen of Kirsten's best throws with his mighty bat, the coach was moved to say: "It's already fizzing off the middle, Sach." There is no substitute for the real thing, of course, but the Indian batsmen were certainly picking up the pace and bounce of a group of eager young net bowlers. Some were wild, but they were quick and the cocktail certainly made the batsmen stay watchful. "I haven't given the bowlers specific instructions to bowl short in the nets, but you know what it's like. As soon as a fast bowler sees some bounce the ball starts fizzing around the batsman's head," Kirsten said. "I'm not worried about injuries because that's what happens at nets. It happens in India as well and it's not something I can control. We just hope that no one gets too badly injured if they take a knock." Kirsten said he wanted his top order to face between 2000 and 3000 balls before the first Test and most of them received in excess of 300 deliveries yesterday. Tendulkar is in search of his 50th Test century and the amount of time he will spend in the nets before D-day is sure to improve his chances of reaching that incredible milestone. He has a career Test batting average of 56.55, but in South Africa his record shows a more modest average of 39.76. It's his lowest average against any country away from home. For India to win their first series over here, the feeling is that Tendulkar will have to bat closer to his overall career average. And after being struck on the head, his technique looked even more solid and his ball striking crisper. Is it an ominous sign for the home team?

I was Sure Umesh will hit a few balls in the nets on some batsmen but i did not expect him to hit Sachin ...it seems Umesh is becoming a deadly bowler , it seems this bouncy pitch is the right pitch for Umesh, i may play him ahead of BHajji if it is possible... Umesh is required if he is balling really well there in africa...he should get to play...i dont see him replacing ishant sreesanth and zaheer..and even bhajji is neccessary

[vamos_rafa]

I was Sure Umesh will hit a few balls in the nets on some batsmen but i did not expect him to hit Sachin ...it seems Umesh is becoming a deadly bowler , it seems this bouncy pitch is the right pitch for Umesh, i may play him ahead of BHajji if it is possible... Umesh is required if he is balling really well there in africa...he should get to play...i dont see him replacing ishant sreesanth and zaheer..and even bhajji is neccessary

I would play him ahead of either Ishant or Sreesanth if he IS bowling really deadly. I know Ishant has made a comeback of sorts but by no means he's close to his best and same is the case with Sreesanth. Bhajji I would play him coz we can't have a 4-pronged seam attack at Centurion, which as per reports supports spin bowlers as well.

[hari504504]

Because he might have instructed Umesh to pitch it up early on. Batsmen do that to get their feet moving at the start. It's not a match where Umesh can bowl according to his whims.

Ridiculous...would Sachin give the same 'instruction' to Steyn and Morkel at Kingsmead :haha: You should make things as difficult as you can for yourself in the nets... else why bother facing a decent quick..he should have brought ganguly along to bowl his dibbly dobblies in the nets.. I am assuming Tendu didn't make any 'sharp retort' or anything... cause he has no right to.

[hari504504]

I was Sure Umesh will hit a few balls in the nets on some batsmen but i did not expect him to hit Sachin ...it seems Umesh is becoming a deadly bowler

Don't read too much into it.. Before he became the mythical demon fast bowler in the newspaper Munaf had struck a just-retired Steven Waugh on his helmet several times during a nets session at MRF pace foundation. I don't recall Waugh ever being hit on the helmet by any bowler including Walsh,Ambrose..etc

[flamy]

Why should he speak "sharply" to U.Yadav and he has to come down to "apologize"? He did apologize from a distance and that should have been the end of matter. There is nothing wrong with UY's short ball, and if SRT is irritated abt the mistake he made of ducking, thats understandable, but not sure why he needs to speak "sharply" to UY as though the bowler did something wrong!? :dontknow: Did the article get it wrong? Meaning are they adding spice by saying he talked sharply to U.Yadav? This barrage is exactly what Steyn and Morkey are gonna do come Dec 16 and like the article says " won't receive the same deferential treatment from Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. "

He could have just asked him to not apologize and carry on bowling, knowing Him. So, :finger:

[rkt.india]

@hari sir ji did u watch munaf's firdt test...He was pretty shzrp back then, up to 145 on tests on indian pitches and he was smtms pretty unplayble for english btsman with hid bouncers and reverse swinging yorkers..he slowed down whn chappal advised him

[hari504504]

@hari sir ji did u watch munaf's firdt test...He was pretty shzrp back then' date=' up to 145 on tests on indian pitches and he was smtms pretty unplayble for english btsman with hid bouncers and reverse swinging yorkers..he slowed down whn chappal advised him[/quote'] don't think he was unplayable..was a good debut thats all. Same as Kuruvilla was good on his debut I don't buy the 'chappell advised him/Irfan to slow down' so they slowed down theory...now chappell is long gone..unless you say chappell hypnotised them into bowling slow or he is some kindof dark overlord who vacuum syphoned the 'phaast energy' in them..we'd see the same bowlers today instead of tapering off..

[rkt.india]

@pthan was nvr quick..But we cant compltly blame chapal.Its his attitude which annoys me..Munaf still can boel quick if he wants to..Bt he is satisfied..On kiwi tour in tests last year he bwlef upto 140 bt he hs changd his approch runup n luks lethargic

[Clarke]

So now we know why Umesh is in SA, a bowling machine is not good enough all the time.

[hari504504]

Getting their feet moving up front is important hence they ask the bowlers to pitch the ball up.

yeah right... and I guess that happens in real cricket too ( "hey Joel..mind bowling a few at length so that I can get my feet moving before bowling those snorters at my throat..thanks! "). Don't know what level of cricket you are talking about.. at University level in Canada we had to take everything the bowler dished in the nets.. and if you get konked on the helmet - usually the plaudits go to the bowler while you look like a fool.. cause you are not supposed to get clonked on the head as a batter , whether you feel like moving your feet or not. As a batter you're supposed to deal with everything)

[The Outsider]

yeah right... and I guess that happens in real cricket too ( "hey Joel..mind bowling a few at length so that I can get my feet moving before bowling those snorters at my throat..thanks! "). Don't know what level of cricket you are talking about.. at University level in Canada we had to take everything the bowler dished in the nets.. and if you get konked on the helmet - usually the plaudits go to the bowler while you look like a fool.. cause you are not supposed to get clonked on the head as a batter , whether you feel like moving your feet or not. As a batter you're supposed to deal with everything)

Maybe, that's why Canada is a sh!thouse in cricket and maybe you should give the folks there some advice about how net sessions are conducted in actual cricket playing countries. A lot of net sessions are designed to work out on a particular plan. It is very common for a batsman to have a net session just to work on his off and cover drives. In such cases, he is not expecting a short pitch ball or something on the leg stump. He is trying to get his body position and bat going for the off side drives. In this kind of a simulation, if a bowler suddenly pitches one short it can take the batsman by surprise. Just like a beamer in real cricket - an unexpected trajectory. And then there are net sessions to simulate match line and lengths as well, without a predefined plan. Now, I don't know what happened in the Tendulkar incident - looks to be the work of the Indian media to blow it out of proportion as usual. But what you are describing is not how proper net sessions are conducted.

[hari504504]

A lot of net sessions are designed to work out on a particular plan. It is very common for a batsman to have a net session just to work on his off and cover drives. In such cases, he is not expecting a short pitch ball or something on the leg stump. He is trying to get his body position and bat going for the off side drives. In this kind of a simulation, if a bowler suddenly pitches one short it can take the batsman by surprise. Just like a beamer in real cricket - an unexpected trajectory. And then there are net sessions to simulate match line and lengths as well, without a predefined plan.

'Unexpected trajectory" ??- a bouncer...oh dear.. So you are telling me (if this whole story is true..) Tendulkar is in SA practicing drives against full length deliveries.. stuff a man of his class should be able to play with his eyes shut..and admonishes a bowler for pitching it short (which is the main concern for us...) ...

[Holysmoke]

Why should he speak "sharply" to U.Yadav and he has to come down to "apologize"? He did apologize from a distance and that should have been the end of matter. There is nothing wrong with UY's short ball, and if SRT is irritated abt the mistake he made of ducking, thats understandable, but not sure why he needs to speak "sharply" to UY as though the bowler did something wrong!? :dontknow: Did the article get it wrong? Meaning are they adding spice by saying he talked sharply to U.Yadav? This barrage is exactly what Steyn and Morkey are gonna do come Dec 16 and like the article says " won't receive the same deferential treatment from Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. "

Get some brains FL. Now you are bashing a cricketing great based on some conclusion drawn by some attention seeking journalist.

you need to read the post. I didn't draw a conclusion

No' date=' you need to read my post. I nowhere said that you drew a conclusion. But you based your post on someone else's conclusion. Reporters spice things up to get attention. No need to get high on the conclusions they draw.[/quote'] News channels will now say this is a conspiracy to bring Umesh Yadav in the team. :hmmm: