As they say, attack's the best defence on such pitches against such attack

[Old guy]

I know.I said he should be playing in MO.I am taking middle ground between opening with him n chucking him out:--D

in middle overs wicket would be falling..ball will come slowly and do u expect him to attack his way out of that? and not to mention there can be 2nd new ball ,reverse swing..honestly u cant escape moving ball at test level not even in lower middle order.. anyway u and ur theory like always deserve this :finger: gn :P

[Lord]

in middle overs wicket would be falling..ball will come slowly and do u expect him to attack his way out of that? and not to mention there can be 2nd new ball ,reverse swing..honestly u cant escape moving ball at test level not even in lower middle order.. anyway u and ur theory like always deserve this :finger: gn :P

arrey its not escaping moving ball,right now he has to counter that from first ball,in middle order he has time to get to set for 2nd new ball n things like that.he wants the ball to come slowly only,its too fast for him atm:giggle: gn:finger:

[The Outsider]

It's shortsighted to write off a great batsman like Sehwag. I feel he is up for 2-3 years of top notch performances.

[Marut]

He is not being written off. The fate of a batsman who depends heavily on hand-eye coordination as opposed to exceptional batting technique (like Sachin and Dravid) is predetermined. As one reaches the mid thirties, reflexes do slow down, eyesight drops a little bit, and these do not matter much to batsmen with very sound technique, they matter a lot to batsmen like Sehwag and even some one like Viv. Richards in his second half was not same as Richards in his first half and averaged about 15 runs lesser. It is probably too late for Sehwag to go back and refine his technique. But that is possible if he determined to do it. He will not be the batsman he was three years ago, as an opener. He may be able to be a very handy (or even matchwinning) batsman at 6. His days as a belligerent opener are gone, I am afraid, though he may still produce an odd gem of a knock.

[Crookbond]

I don't think one should write off any player. That said, keep it simple and look at performances. Sehwag has hardly done anything of note outside SC - a fact that Sehwag himself can change.

[rkt.india]

It's shortsighted to write off a great batsman like Sehwag. I feel he is up for 2-3 years of top notch performances.

He barely has any top notch performances abroad.

[saneindian]

It's shortsighted to write off a great batsman like Sehwag. I feel he is up for 2-3 years of top notch performances.

Not with his current state of fitness and attitude. If we go back to his 100s in SA, England or in Australia, all were knocks where he batted patiently for 15-20 overs before destroying the attacks. In fact that would be a pattern of most of his best test knocks whether home or away. Him going back to the middle order is an option but with his current shot a ball attitude and unwillingness to fight through tough batting periods, even there he may not succeed. And going by his recent statements in the media about him not changing his batting style, I do not see a change in form coming. May score some runs vs Aussies at home but away from home, his failures will continue.

[The Outsider]

He barely has any top notch performances abroad.

That's a patently unfair assessment. I agree with saneindian that he needs to play more patiently and adopt a change in approach to his game of the past 2-3 years where he has been playing too many shots. But to claim he does not have top notch performances abroad is absurd. Melbourne, Adelaide, Bloemfontein, Nottingham, Lords, Sydney. All these places are abroad even if you exclude Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

[Old guy]

That's a patently unfair assessment. I agree with saneindian that he needs to play more patiently and adopt a change in approach to his game of the past 2-3 years where he has been playing too many shots. But to claim he does not have top notch performances abroad is absurd. Melbourne, Adelaide, Bloemfontein, Nottingham, Lords, Sydney. All these places are abroad even if you exclude Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

most of these tracks were on easier side...tough for subcontinent players but not really 50 all out tough... he is not kind of player who will do well here against likes of steyn and philander..he was match winner in his own right on little easier tracks but i did not matter we had solid middle order for tracks like this before :(( to expect sehwag to do well here in his worst form when he has done nothing through out his career on such track will be wrong..i expect him to do ok at home vs australia still but thats it

[The Outsider]

^ Easier side? Kuch bhi kya? The ball was moving around throughout the first session at Melbourne. The entire batting line up of the middle order you are talking about was destroyed at Adelaide. India were some 80/4 at Bloemfontein. Nottingham always helps swing bowling. Galle, though in the subcontinent was when no one else was able to put bat to ball. And though in ODIs, the two hundreds he scored in New Zealand in '03 were as good as batting you will see in tough conditions.

[Old guy]

^ Easier side? Kuch bhi kya? The ball was moving around throughout the first session at Melbourne. The entire batting line up of the middle order you are talking about was destroyed at Adelaide. India were some 80/4 at Bloemfontein. Nottingham always helps swing bowling. Galle, though in the subcontinent was when no one else was able to put bat to ball. And though in ODIs, the two hundreds he scored in New Zealand in '03 were as good as batting you will see in tough conditions.

i dont remember nottingham was that when he played in middle order? thing is most of these innings were long time ago! his technique has changed to and imo recent tours give better idea and he failed in all the recent tours of south africa,australia and england (well forget england ..maybe he was not fit but still! ) imo no point in digging up innings long time ago when he played sensibly too some times now a days after 1 good knock is back to slogging spinners and getting out after looking in form..even at home

[The Outsider]

^ Was correcting your notion that he has not scored in tough conditions away. Even I agree he needs to change his approach and play in a more cautious manner. It's criminal to see him throw it away against full tosses and half volleys against spinners.

[panther]

Sehwag needs to move down to 4-5

[rkt.india]

But to claim he does not have top notch performances abroad is absurd. Melbourne, Adelaide, Bloemfontein, Nottingham, Lords, Sydney. All these places are abroad even if you exclude Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Those are too few in a 12 year old career of his and are history for last 5 years.

[Old guy]

^ Was correcting your notion that he has not scored in tough conditions away. Even I agree he needs to change his approach and play in a more cautious manner. It's criminal to see him throw it away against full tosses and half volleys against spinners.

for long career he had innings..good innings in tough conditions have been very rare for my liking ..and definitely wont be the biggest factor in that series imo we will lose that series but i guess some of young batsmen will get much need experience and in long run i think this series will be start of turn around..dhoni will be gone too im sure :yay:

[The Outsider]

Those are too few in a 12 year old career of his and are history for last 5 years.

for long career he had innings..good innings in tough conditions have been very rare for my liking ..and definitely wont be the biggest factor in that series imo we will lose that series but i guess some of young batsmen will get much need experience and in long run i think this series will be start of turn around..dhoni will be gone too im sure :yay:

Can you name any other Indian opener except Gavaskar who has even these many performances in away conditions? Forget Indian, can you name any opener from the subcontinent who has these many performances.

[Old guy]

Can you name any other Indian opener except Gavaskar who has even these many performances in away conditions? Forget Indian' date=' can you name any opener from the subcontinent who has these many performances.[/quote'] thats not the point.. we are talking about weather he will be key and perform here or not and i think he wont be a big factor and will get out cheaply

[Old guy]

i will even say that no opener from india right now will be a factor or of any use in south africa currently...if discussion was hsould sehwag play well if we are gonna try some one in place on gambhir then yes he should ..but i dont expect him to do naything of note and i disagree blind slogging of sehwag is best defense in such conditions :winky:

[The Outsider]

thats not the point.. we are talking about weather he will be key and perform here or not and i think he wont be a big factor and will get out cheaply

And the point is that the replacement will be worse. It's not easy for openers from the subcontinent to perform in places like Australia and South Africa. There are A tours coming up and if some opener can perform well, sure get him in. But just putting in hacks like Vijay and Mukund and hoping for the best is not going to help. Sehwag is 34, not 43. He still has a good 2-3 years of cricket left in him.

[Old guy]

And the point is that the replacement will be worse. It's not easy for openers from the subcontinent to perform in places like Australia and South Africa. There are A tours coming up and if some opener can perform well' date=' sure get him in. But just putting in hacks like Vijay and Mukund and hoping for the best is not going to help. Sehwag is 34, not 43. He still has a good 2-3 years of cricket left in him.[/quote'] i agree he should play but i dont agree in putting our hopes in his hands..as in past he has not done much in such conditions..