Nothing better than beating India: Hayden

[Ram]

A batting line-up of Jaffer, Sehwag , Dravid,Sachin ,Ganguly and Laxman looks good on paper, but too many of them have been scarred by Aus before.Will they overcome it ? Whats the guarantee Aus bat first in the first test , score 450+ and India respond with a 185 all out ? We need some fresh minds Our bowling attack is better than last time though , with Kumble , Zaheer , RPS and Sreesanth. I back Sree to do well , he is our quickest in a long time.

[Mr. Wicket]

Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman have no reason to be scarred, given their past records against Australia, particularly in Australia. Sehwag has dominated Australia's bowlers in both series he has played them. Jaffer has no experience against Australia, but he has a solid back foot technique and can build big scores. Ganguly may be the only one to worry about.

[veer]

sehwagh should NOT play.. veeru has not anything substantial that we can select him.. he is getting out in same way again and again.. either its fishing and caught behind, or caught at square or inside edge on stumps.. even bangla team has figured out his weakness.. and you guys talking about playing him in Australia.. veeru is a lost case.. i would rather go with karthik and jaffer as opener..

[veer]

Karthik/Yuseless shouldn't be in the middle order. Yuseless averages in the low 30s after almost 20 games, and I don't expect him to handle Clark and the other Aussies. Give me: Jaffer, Sehwag, Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly and Laxman. I'd argue for Badrinath, but VVS' class and past record in Aus wins out. .

hahaa you want sehwag and calling yuvraj useless?? :cantstop: veeru is definition of useless.. damn fatty .. yuvraj can field and bowl.. much much better player..

[The Outsider]

For poster boys fans, Afretard averages a good 4-5 runs more than poster boy over a similar number of tests. If anything, Afretard has been more in and out of the team than poster boy.

[Guest BossBhai]

-- Removed on request of the user --

[The Outsider]

how dare you use stats to quantify a player .... dont you know stats = bikini ... shame on you proff ... :D :giggle:

I love bikinis, saala kuch to dekhne ko mila!!

[yoda]

whatever happened to YVR and tests?

[Donny]

Fair call I suppose' date=' Hayden reckons beating India is a lot more fun than beating England.[/quote'] He actually didn't say that at all, Ravi. From the above article: ""I think India is close on being my favourite side to beat. They've almost taken the number one seed off England in a lot of ways," Hayden was quoted as saying.

[The Outsider]

They've almost taken the number one seed off England in a lot of ways," Hayden was quoted as saying.

Which implies what Ravi said, doesn't it?

[Mr. Wicket]

For poster boys fans' date=' Afretard averages a good 4-5 runs more than poster boy over a similar number of tests. If anything, Afretard has been more in and out of the team than poster boy.[/quote'] You know, if we keep switching between calling him poster boy and Yuseless, the likes of veer and such will quickly get confused. We need to stick to one. "Yuseless poster boy"? :D

[Donny]

Agree ' date=' Sehwag MUST play. But who will he replace ?[/quote'] Presumably, you want Kapil Dev back in as well, mm, as he also used to hit the ball fairly well. May as well throw Kris Srikkanth in there too. Oh yes, Sehwag MUST play. After all, he has a Test score of 180 only 17 months ago. We'll just sweep his 12 scores of under 10 in his last 21 Test innings under the carpet, shall we ? I sure hope the Indian selectors think like you, mm. :regular_smile: Who will he replace ? Easy. Use the same logic. Just kick out one of the current in form openers.

[Donny]

Which implies what Ravi said' date=' doesn't it?[/quote'] You can take any implication you like from what Hayden said. Doesn't change the fact the topic/article headings are different from what he's quoted as saying.

[Mr. Wicket]

Er, christ. Karthik's in form? And THESE are the scores he's making? Dunno abt you Donny, but I don't believe an "in form" opener should be making pretty 50s and 60s in a test team. If so I'd have him out. The whole point of a test batsman is to bat, bat, bat, bat and bat. The best test players are those who can produce good starts, build on them, and keep producing the runs. Bradman was not feared because he made pretty 50s and 60s, but because he would HURT the opposition when he got going. If he passed a low score, you could bet a house on him going big. Tendulkar, Dravid, Hayden, Ponting, Boycott, Gavaskar, Hammond, Greg Chappell, etc - all the great batsmen have one thing in common. Regardless of technique, they could all be trusted to put big runs on the board when it mattered. If they weren't in form, they'd get out cheaply - that's expected of a lot of openers, and allowed, given the nature of the job ahead of them. But if they were, they wouldn't get out for pretty 40s, 50s and 60s most of the time. That's the difference between Sehwag and most other Indian openers. If he fails, he fails. But that's the same with most batsmen. If Sehwag clicks, you get scores like uh... 195, 309, 250-something, 155, 180, etc. Some risk, but a massive potential return. You don't get an average of nearly 50 in test cricket across tours of Australia, England, Pakistan, NZ, SAF, WI, etc and tons of series in India by being a bad batsman. Karthik is not a batsman who can ever dominate or win a test match. At best he'll make solid half centuries or at best a century on a flat pitch against weaker opposition. But he is simply not a good enough batsman to batter the opposition into submission. He will not leave Shoaib or McGrath screaming curses to the skies, nor will he leave a bowler like Saqlain Mushtaq wondering where the **** to bowl to him. I'd rather pick a batsman who can win matches and do that sort of thing, rather than a slightly steadier but far less potent bat.

[Donny]

Salil, Clearly, my remarks were made in the context of considering VS to replace either of the present openers. What you write about Viru is true but dated. Incidentally, his 180 was his only century since Jan. 2006 and didn't provide a 'massive return'. The Test was a draw. His scores since the 180 ? 31, 65, 0, 4, 4, 33, 0, 8, 40, 4

[Ram]

Presumably, you want Kapil Dev back in as well, mm, as he also used to hit the ball fairly well. May as well throw Kris Srikkanth in there too. Oh yes, Sehwag MUST play. After all, he has a Test score of 180 only 17 months ago. We'll just sweep his 12 scores of under 10 in his last 21 Test innings under the carpet, shall we ? I sure hope the Indian selectors think like you, mm. :regular_smile: Who will he replace ? Easy. Use the same logic. Just kick out one of the current in form openers.

I appreciate the humor in your post Donny, but i am quite serious in what i said. I would like Sehwag to open in Australia , irrespective of his current form for the simple reason that i back him to do well. There have been instances where Indian players dropped from the team , have made superb comebacks even though they didnt set the world alight in the time they were out of the team. They were selected for their experience/pedigree and they delivered. I back Sehwag to do the same too. After all , its not often that an opener scores 195 in 80 overs of first day play in a teat match in Australia.

[Mr. Wicket]

Indeed Donny, but I take one thing from that - Sehwag was well out of form. Most openers provide the same returns (i.e. next to nil) when they're out of form. What sets them apart is what they provide when in form. Karthik produces pretty starts, 50s and 60s at best and dropped catches. Sehwag on form can win a match off his own bat by obliterating the opposition and wrecking their psyche in the first day itself. It's worth the gamble IMO. Who dares wins etc...