Time to shed the century fixation

[yoda]

bottom line - we lost - another ODI. we either seem to set too low a target (normally due to poor acceleration/scoring in the last 10 overs) knowing fully well that we have a crappy bowling or collapse/start very very slow while chasing. we seem to have both scenarios covered pretty well.

[Ram]

As for batting for milestones, thats one of the main reasons (besides money), SRT has chosen to continue his career. So we have to live with that.

I am surprised you say that. How much is Sachin worth today ? 200-250 crores maybe ? you call him to be "playing for money" , when the guy has already made enough of it to support a dozen generations ?

[Bumper]

In all this quagmire of SR and statistics, all of you have missed the key attribute of this debate -- CC aligning on the same side as Bheem. Talk about missing the forest for trees. This doesnt happen too often folks. To argueth with one of them is akin to screweth yourself. To argueth with both of them, is suicideth. Yoda beware!:haha:

[Ram]

In all this quagmire of SR and statistics, all of you have missed the key attribute of this debate -- CC aligning on the same side as Bheem. Talk about missing the forest for trees. This doesnt happen too often folks. To argueth with one of them is akin to screweth yourself. To argueth with both of them, is suicideth. Yoda beware!:haha:

:haha::haha: Good to see Shakespeare in action ! And now , if only we can make DR and CC agree on something !

[yoda]

I noticed that too. I also noticed that they carefully avoided each other as well, probably being too embarrassed to be in agreement. :cantstop:

[Bumper]

I am surprised you say that. How much is Sachin worth today ? 200-250 crores maybe ? you call him to be "playing for money" ' date=' when the guy has already made enough of it to support a dozen generations ?[/quote'] Never heard of endorsements ? Are u telling me that at 34, facing an injury threat every 6 months, with a lot at stake in Tests and almost nothing to play for in ODIs, extending his ODI career is important ? Lemme flip this back to you. If you were SRT, why would u any longer play ODIs ?

[Ram]

Never heard of endorsements ? Are u telling me that at 34' date=' facing an injury threat every 6 months, with a lot at stake in Tests and almost nothing to play for in ODIs, extending his ODI career is important ? Lemme flip this back to you. If you were SRT, why would u any longer play ODIs ?[/quote'] Nothing to play for in ODI's ? i dont get what you mean by that... And what makes you think Sachin is extending his ODI career ? Kallis, Ponting , Gilchrist , Dravid , Ganguly are all his age . Do you call them to extending their careers too ? And why would i play ODI's if i were Sachin ? Simple, becasue i think i am still good enough to play for the country and deliver. We can call that misplaced pride/ego or whatever. But not for money, no... As Pete Sampras was once asked late in his career - " What motivates you to still play ? Money?" For this answered - " Beyond a point , money becomes meanningless. You cant possibly wear golden underwear just because you have millions.".

[Bumper]

Kallis, Ponting , Gilchrist , Dravid = Fit cricketers SRT = Walking corpse. Wrong comparison.

[Ram]

Kallis, Ponting , Gilchrist , Dravid = Fit cricketers SRT = Walking corpse. Wrong comparison.

maybe so.. But still , the assertion that he is playing for money is totally baseless.

[Donny]

Punter is 32.

[Donny]

Actually, I awoke this morning with the idea of writing a piece about this exact subject and came online and saw this topic. Even though a lot of the posts are about SRT and yesterday's match, I have a few thoughts about this so called 'century fixation'. Having watched cricket from about 1958, I have seen statistics take on a whole new perspective. Cricket is a fascinating game for the stats minded and it's one of the aspects I love about the game but personal milestones certainly have effected team totals more since about 1980 - give or take a few years. As a captain, I always encouraged personal goals and achievements - if they contributed to the team effort in a positive way. There's a programme on TV here called Late Night Legends in which they feature old sporting events. Recently, I've relived some of the magic moments in Test cricket from the 50s, 60s & 70s. What took my eye was the minimal fuss and celebration when personal milestones were reached or wickets taken. A batsman would maybe touch his cap in recognition of crowd applause when a 50 came up and touch the cap and raise the bat upon reaching a century. No big deal. Now, look at what happens. Batsmen react in orgasmic delight with leaps and bounds, kissing the helmet, being embraced by fellow batsmen, exaggerated skyward looks etc. The century has become such a worshipped happening it's not difficult to see why it overcomes batsmen these days. Then there's the commercial side of it. Michael Clarke had a $AU1.3 million bat contract before he'd even played a Test !! I think it's unfortunate because cricket is such a great team sport. I resisted writing was in the positive desire it remains so - even in the light of this anomaly existing and flourishing: A batsman who hits ten slow centuries and gets out shortly after is revered disproportionately more than one who hits ten fast 90s.

[chanakya]

lets see Gambhir took 7 balls for his zero and Ganguly took 22 balls for his 13. Why exactly are we talking about slow cricket from someone when were were 36/2 after 12 overs ? Btw i think pollack has been SA's premier fast bowler just when nitini seemed to slide. It was in an article in Cricinfo i believe.

[The Outsider]

So what if he plays for money, not that the rest of the world is Mother Teresa incarnate. If a professional has one eye on the money while doing well professionally, I can't seem to find any fault in the attitude. Again, why do we want our cricketers to be saints??

[Predator_05]

So what if he plays for money' date=' not that the rest of the world is Mother Teresa incarnate. If a professional has one eye on the money while doing well professionally, I can't seem to find any fault in the attitude. Again, why do we want our cricketers to be saints??[/quote'] You can't compromise the team's chances just for the sake of a personal milestone (ie; a century). My mind goes back to an ODI played between ENG and IND @ the Oval back in '04. England were 200 odd by the 40th. Flintoff was nearing his hundred, and instead of taking singles (as England only had 10 overs left) he launched into Balaji - smashing him for a flat batted six and two fours. He eventually got to 99, and instead of poking the ball somewhere for an easy single, he went for a massive hit against Agarkar and got caught off a top-edge. Century fixation ? Obviously not. England hit 100 in those final 10, largely because Flintoff didn't p*ss around looking for singles. He didn't get his hundred, but his team finished with a formidable 300+ total which India never chased down.

[Dhondy]

What took my eye was the minimal fuss and celebration when personal milestones were reached or wickets taken. A batsman would maybe touch his cap in recognition of crowd applause when a 50 came up and touch the cap and raise the bat upon reaching a century. No big deal. Now, look at what happens. Batsmen react in orgasmic delight with leaps and bounds, kissing the helmet, being embraced by fellow batsmen, exaggerated skyward looks etc. The century has become such a worshipped happening it's not difficult to see why it overcomes batsmen these days. Then there's the commercial side of it. Michael Clarke had a $AU1.3 million bat contract before he'd even played a Test !! I think it's unfortunate because cricket is such a great team sport. I resisted writing was in the positive desire it remains so - even in the light of this anomaly existing and flourishing: A batsman who hits ten slow centuries and gets out shortly after is revered disproportionately more than one who hits ten fast 90s.

Brilliant post, because it's so true.

[The Outsider]

Predator, he survived 2 shies at the stumps before he was eventually run out going for what was a tough run to start off with during his last 10 runs. Those are also risks aren't they?

[Predator_05]

Predator' date=' he survived 2 shies at the stumps before he was eventually run out going for what was a tough run to start off with during his last 10 runs. Those are also risks aren't they?[/quote'] He should have taken more risk, ie; going after boundaries. Come on, you know singles are as good as dot balls in the slog overs.

[King Tendulkar]

You can't compromise the team's chances just for the sake of a personal milestone (ie; a century). My mind goes back to an ODI played between ENG and IND @ the Oval back in '04. England were 200 odd by the 40th. Flintoff was nearing his hundred' date=' and instead of taking singles (as England only had 10 overs left) he launched into Balaji - smashing him for a flat batted six and two fours. He eventually got to 99, and instead of poking the ball somewhere for an easy single, he went for a massive hit against Agarkar and got caught off a top-edge. Century fixation ? Obviously not. England hit 100 in those final 10, largely because Flintoff didn't p*ss around looking for singles. He didn't get his hundred, but his team finished with a formidable 300+ total which India never chased down.[/quote'] Thats why flintoff is a dope. Not a team man just stupid. He also does not have capabilty to score singles and work the gaps like skilled batters. Only style he has his whack it hard! How many tons has freddie got compared to all time greats? How many runs compared to all time greats? Flintoffs biggest failure is to score tons and get big scores! However, you praise him for this

[Predator_05]

How do you think a batsman should play in the slog overs, dsr ? Try to take singles every ball and complete his century, or try to hit the cover off the ball for boundaries in an attempt to propel his team's total as high as humanely possible so that they have a better chance of winning the match ? Fours and sixes, or singles ?

[King Tendulkar]

When are the slog overs?