Batsmen far too cimcumspect: Kumble

[Rebb]

I hope this is the right place to post and is actually of interest to some of you. Apologies in advance if not.

Batsmen far too cimcumspect- Kumble Anil Kumble January 01, 2008 12:00am I DON'T really know what to say. I never expected the batting to fail as it did. I never expected our batsmen, all experienced players who have done really well at this level, to walk out there and not apply themselves, to look so out of sorts. All of us understood the MCG pitch. We knew well this was not a pitch you could just go out there and blast yourself out of trouble. We knew we had to bat right through in the way you approach the first 20-30 balls of an innings - cautiously, watchfully. Yet we didn't do it. We knew a lot would depend on rotating the strike as much as possible, running the ones and twos hard, yet staying positive enough to punish the loose balls when they arrived. Yet, somehow, we didn't do it. Cricket, like any other sport, is won or lost in the mind. I was delighted by the way our bowlers won the first battle by refusing to give up on day one. They could easily have let things go at one stage and waited for Australia to rack up 2-350 or something. But we didn't give up. Our batsmen, on the other hand, went in far too circumspect. They should have gone in and played a few shots when possible, given themselves some confidence. Losing wickets at regular intervals didn't help, especially when we had a couple of partnerships beginning - such as Sachin Tendulkar and V. V. S. Laxman and then Sachin and Sourav Ganguly in the first innings. But there was no reason for them to be this way, so I don't understand it. They have the skills, they have the advantage of knowing they've done this before, in similar conditions against similar attacks and against better ones in even tougher conditions, so I'm not sure what happened out there. But we've spoken about it, about the importance of thinking and staying positive, and I'm hoping we can work out the things we need to do in the short time we have before Sydney. There has been a certain amount of talk about Rahul Dravid, not surprisingly, given he was our best batsman here last time we toured and there are huge expectations from him. The expectations can't be wished away and are there because he's very good, but I've suggested he try to relax. I don't think it's a question of form at all, he's probably too uptight. Sydney should be a different pitch and I think he needs to open out a little. I'm confident he will. We should not panic after one loss, but we have to tackle the problem best by making sure we have the people best suited for a job doing it. After the Melbourne game, I spoke to the team. We just talked about positive things. I see no point in blowing your head off. I thought I just needed to suggest we pick ourselves up. After all, this is the same bunch of players who won a Test in South Africa and came out on top in the Caribbean last summer, in England last year. This is the best we've done in Test cricket in 75 years. We have a lot going for us, our senior group, plus the younger lot. There are expectations because we've achieved all this. I just reminded the players of that. Everybody is still in good spirits. We believe we can come back into this series. It's a question of going in with an open mind rather than worrying too much about what could have been.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22992816-2882,00.html

[msb1991]

Good find mate and Kumble seems to be talking a lot of sense about how he felt when the batsmen capitulated.

[talksport]

That is Kumbles own article....not quoted....

[msb1991]

That is Kumbles own article....not quoted....

Of course it is (serious, not sarcastic), how foolish of me. Edited.

[fineleg]

I think Kumble's article seem to suggest "same 11"? Many here are hoping for a new 11 in SCG, but I think he is going in with the same 11 with "we have trust that we can bounce back".

[kumble_rocks]

It's going to be the same eleven , Kumble gave Karthik an extended run , what makes anyone think otherwise ..

[fineleg]

It's going to be the same eleven ' date=' Kumble gave Karthik an extended run , what makes anyone think otherwise ..[/quote'] If same 11, is RD gonna open or YS gonna open or who? By making RD open, we are gonna gift 0-2 to Aus!

[Yuvraj4Captaincy]

If same 11, is RD gonna open or YS gonna open or who? By making RD open, we are gonna gift 0-2 to Aus!

Dravid to open and YS to bat in the middle order. why you think otherwise?

[fineleg]

Dravid to open and YS to bat in the middle order. why you think otherwise?

coz RD to open means we are gifting the match away. better to try YS to open if it is the same 11. Else, we shud change the 11 by bringing in Sehwag and Pathan and KKD

[Yuvraj4Captaincy]

coz RD to open means we are gifting the match away. better to try YS to open if it is the same 11. Else, we shud change the 11 by bringing in Sehwag and Pathan and KKD

not really....sehwag cant even score against domestic bowlers in india...r u fukin kiddin me by expectin him to bat him in aus?...lmao gotta back dravid to come good next test opening...no matter wut

[fineleg]

Y4C, IMO, Sehwag shud not have even been in the squad to Aus! But now that he is there, I'm trying to see how we can do damage control of the whipping our team got at MCG. RD opening will be a recipe for disaster, as Aus will choke us.

[Rajan]

All that is required by Kumble is , just to talk this straight to the batsmen. let him give them a piece of his mind, of what he thinks about their performance @ MCG. He can do a better job than any shrink. If i had taken 5 aussie wickets in the first innings on the first day at MCG, I certainly have a right to ask my batsmen to prove they are man enough to face and handle the Aussie bowling bravely.