Miscellaneous

Sachin versus Bradman:
S F Robert: Fabian Robert@Email.com: All the Best

The Harsha Bhogle column:
kgvenkatraman: kgvraman@hd2.vsnl.net.in: For all the hype about Pakistan team and their success in India is ore to the comp[osition ofthe Indian team.It is a pity that Gavaskar should be a commentator when he could fill the role of a coach.We have to appreciate South Africa and Australia on the focus of winning the World cup.There is a serious thought needed in our team selection based on regional basis rather than on national talent available.Harsha Bhogle is candidi in his assessment. Let us hope our boys play very well focussed on winning all the time.

The Harsha Bhogle column:
Maruthakumar: kumar_143@hotmail.com: Still i think most of the expression are bound into moderate predefined idiology, better it be a open expression, let us say if we are to lose, let us say so, let's not hide the real things. i prefer to to here the real things, let the portrayal be a fitting story and a round about way of expression. i happened to read harsha'a views over india's win, well it doesn't discuss the indian team do's, don't's plans or whatever, should it praise another team? with regards maruthu kumar banglore

Sachin versus Bradman:
Ashutosh Sant: ashusant@hotmail.com: Dear Arvind,

Its very wrong on your part to compare players of very different eras.

Though there was Bodyline during Bradman's time, there are equally devastating (maybe not more) bowlers now. Can you or anybody else say that Larwood was faster than the likes of Allan Donald, Shoaib Akhtar, Waqar Younis. Could any bowlers of the yore make the ball do the famous "REVERSE SWING". If you look at the spin department, there are many destructive bowlers today. Take Muralitharan for example. Or think of Saqlain Mushtaq, unarguably the best off spinner in the world. And last but not the least, the best leg spinner ever, Shane Warne. These above mentioned bowlers can, and on many occasions have demonstrated their ability to destroy the opposition batting single handedly.

Also, the team coaches have the facility of video recordings. They can work out ways and means to get a batsman out by studing the flaws of a batsman on a video tape.

Also, the euphoria generated by a cricket match in India is tremondous. There is a lot of pressure on Sachin to perform everytime he goes out to bat.

Compare these conditions with those during Bradman's or Gavaskar's time.

You talk about staying power. Do you think anybody has more staying power than our own Rahul Dravid. But, tell me frankly, don't you sometimes get frustrated when Dravid is batting. Despite his staying power, Dravid was out of the team for sometime. That too, despite his immaculate technique.

My dear friend, you have selectively quoted Sachin's failures. This amounts to distorting the statistics. Its very easy to manipulate statistics to prove ones point. I can provide an endless list of Sachin's good knocks to prove a point.

Well, you say Tendulkar's average is less than Kisrten and Lara. For your kind information, Sachin started batting in the top order only after his 77th ODI. Until then he batted at number 5 or 6, where he rarely got an opportunity to get a big score. There have been instances of his fast 30s and 40s turning the match in India's favour. If you leave out his first 77 ODIs, his average is well over 50. Much, much more than Kirsten and Lara who have always batted in the top order.

You have recounted some of Sachin's failures, specially the one against W.I. where India needed just 130 runs (infact it was 120 runs not 130) to win. What were the other batsmen in the team doing. Does this not indicate that even you subconsciously believe that if Sachin plays well, India wins a match.

I can go on and on, dismantling each of your points. Your arguments don't hold any ground and are based on distorted statistics.

Arvind, the gist my this piece is that Sachin is the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be.

Ashutosh

The Harsha Bhogle column:
bombino: bombino123@yahoo.com: go india go go for the world cup and get it all the best for all the team members and coach and phsio etc and good luck and happy watching for all the viewers Bombino

The Harsha Bhogle column:
JAYAKUMAR JANAKIRAMAN: jaykumarj89@hotmail.com: Hi Harsha, Don't be Sarcastic about INDIAN. JUST ENCOURAGE THEM. THEY ARE GOING TO MAKE IT YAAAAR!!!. JAY

The Dean Jones column:
Rahul Rajaram: rajaramr@rocketmail.com: Naah!!!! May the best team win and may it be INDIA



The Dean Jones column:
Hemant: hjaswal@rkinc.com: Australia can never be discounted from any big tournament ,any team with 11 sledgers will always be difficult to beat unless the opposing team is deaf. Anyway,Australia has a miserable one day record in England ,I think in each One Day series a precursor to the Test matches they have lost.Also, in the early part of English weather Aussies have not been as great a team as in the later part.But, I would still think that Aussie could make it to the final as it would be June by the time the Super League start and also they are in the softie group. It would have been a totally different matter had they been in the other group.

Celebrating Sachin:
Hyder Khan: hyderk@prodigy.net: Hi Prem, A good rejoinder to Arvind's views. This is how I view the comparison between Sunny and Sachin. Sachin is twice the Genius and half the temperament of Sunny Gavaskar.

I want to take this opportunity to also comment on Sanjay's 'Gully Cricketers' Column. Even though I do understand what Sanjay was trying to say, I also believe that he does tend to put his foot in his mouth on a regular basis. The Pakistanis are not 'Gully' cricketers but their desire to humiliate India at every opportunity is far greater than the Indian team's desire to do the same. Remember, our own captain, my fellow Hyderabadi, Mr.Azharuddin is the eternal 'Gully' cricketer. It's just that our team seems to derive their kicks, after they have achieved a certain status in society, out of a different set of achievements than the Pakistanis. For us winning against Pakistan is like winning against any other team but for the Pakistanis winning against India is like winning a war. Remember, Imran Khan once said in an interview that for them playing against India is like 'Jehad'. Don't forget, Sanjay, that the Pakistanis beat us more regularly when they were lead by the Oxford educated Imran Khan than by the 'gully'(Your word) Wasim Akram. I think it just depends on which part of either country you come from that influences how much hatred you have for the other country. My take on this is that the Punjabis from Pakistan and the Marathas from India seem to display a greater sense of Nationalism when playing each than any of the players from other regions. When will people understand that a match between the two countries is not about the love for one's own country but about hatred for the other.

The Dean Jones column:
Rudra Dalmia: rd48@cornell.edu: I dont understand how Mr. Jones was allowed to call the crowd 'idiots'. Let me remind you that its the public that makes and breaks you and you are getting paid to entertain the public. If Glen Mcgrath is allowed to Spit and Shout when he is fired up I believe that even the people of the country have emotions which they express. I am not trying to say that the incidents should have happened but that is the organizers fault and not the fault of the crowd.....just like the match referee is blamed for not pulling up players like Mcgrath and Donald when they get fired up and express emotions which bring the game to disrepute. So please mind your language when you talk about the cricket loving people.

Celebrating Sachin:
Dileep Tata: dileep@hotmail.com: Mr. Prem Panicker Thank you very much for your great article on Sachin.

Guest column -- The agony of being an Indian fan:
S Sundararaman: ssundararaman@hotmail.com: This article reflects the actual feeling of Indian Cricket fans. Very wonderfully written.

Celebrating Sachin:
Srivatsan: varadara@cs.umn.edu: Hi! Just thought I'd let you (Prem Panicker) know that that the "Celebrating Sachin" was a very nice and well written article. Vatsan

The Dean Jones column:
Imran Mughal: iamughal@hotmail.com: "Now let me tell you one thing about Steve Waugh - he is no liar" ISnt he the one who said I have never taken any bribes and then the whole world found out that Steve Waugh LIED!!! Why does rediff take article which contradicts the obvious

Sports editor responds: As far as we are aware, Waugh has neither taken a bribe, nor admitted to doing so. I think you are mixing Steve up with his brother, Mark -- and even here, while Mark did take money from a bookie, he didn't lie about it, if he had, we would never have known.

The Sanjay Manjrekar column :
bhavin: bhavi8pl@ccs.iitb.ernet.in: Can I get regular briefs about this column

Guest column -- Tendulkar's turn at bat:
Shariq Ahmed: shariqt@hotmail.com: Neat article. I believe Sachin Tendulkar has shown that he deserves much of the media hype he has received upto this point, but to be be classed with all the greats who preceeded him he has to become "The Man". This means that he has to carry the team more often that he has upto this point. For starters he could start by inspiring his team to a win in this world cup. The history of the world cup has shown that the world cups are won by teams which have one of the most dominating players in the game. In 1975 it was Lloyd, in 1979 it was Richards, in 1983 it was Kapil Dev, in 1987 it was an Australian team on the upswing, in 1992 it was Wasim Akram and in 1996 it was Aravinda De Silva. If Sachin manages to succeed in accomplishing what his great predecessors did before him, he will prove himself in the eyes of most of his doubters.

Sachin is at the peak of his powers and I don't believe he will get a better opportunity to win the world cup than now. Now is the Time. Good luck Sachin.

The Dean Jones column:
krishna: bommakrishna@hotmail.com: May best team win.

The Dean Jones column:
dips: dipsd@usa.net: Let the Cup begin, and lets hope the best team wins -- and may that team be India....................

Celebrating Sachin:
Ramon Flores: ramon_flores@hotmail.com: A very written article in refutation to Mr Arvind Lavakre's article. I am very pleased to see that an Indian like yourself has pride and confidence of one of world cricket's greatest players if not the greatest. Once again,I congratulate you Mr Prem Panicker and thank you very much for coming forth to write an article of such a nature.

Celebrating Sachin:
Tushar: tushar_55@yahoo.com: Mr Prem Panicer I really liked your article and I would be grateful to you if you write some more statistics of tendulkar's greatest innings.

The Dean Jones column:
rao: lakkon@hotmail.com: Australia has the chance to win world cup if south Africa doesn't come to semifinal.

The Dean Jones column:
Abdul Nasir: a-nasir@ Satyam. net in: I hope Astralia wins the cup

The Dean Jones column:
Sudhin: sud_len@hotmail.com: His articles are by far the most intresting ones that I have been reading on rediff. His columns make a lot of sense and he analyses the game like a player and not like a writer. Dean is undoubtedly one of the greatest we have or will see in our life time. Please get him into writing more often and give us ardent cricket fans the opportunity to look at the game from a newer and more radical perspective

The Dean Jones column:
abc: abc@hotmail.com: Everything is quite fine except for last line "Let the Cup begin, and lets hope the best team wins -- and may that team be Australia! " let the team be INDIA

The Dean Jones column:
JAYAKUMAR JANAKIRAMAN: jaykumarj89@hotmail.com: Hi JONES, I still think BEVAN plays in the right place, there have been situations when Aussies have been in dire straits and BEVAN has this Knack of placing the ball and running for 2 runs very very fast. BEVAN IS COOL! REGARDS JAY

The Dean Jones column:
amitabh: amitabh@onthe.net.au: Interesting point of view !

Bevan is the best #6 batsman in One day cricket. I guess, he's best suited to positions 5,6 or 7 , not at 3 or 4. The reason is that he, being technically incorrect, would not serve Australia best by batting higher up. Against the rising ball, or even the seaming ball, he'll struggle due to his limited talent and he not got shots all round the wicket. He's a master at fiddling/nudging the ball towards mid-wicket, fine leg (over 50% of his runs come from this area). He gives solidarity to the middle/lower order by keeping his wicket intact (36 not outs in 90 innings proves that). Also he will not, and cannot score at Gilchrist's/M Waugh's pace. Ponting and Lehmann are superior players to pace. Wherever Bevan bats, he is not the same class a Lara, Tendulkar, Desilva or even Saeed Anwar.

It's best if he replaces Steve Waugh at #5, and Waugh himself at #6. Steve does not deserve a spot in the one-day side (he's got a poor average, and he rarely performs as a batsman). Get rid of Julian and Moody. Good luck.

The Sanjay Manjrekar column :
rekha: shreyas@satyam.net.in: as the name suggests this is a very sensible column. the contents are a reflection of my thoughts though I am a cricket lover myself.

The Dean Jones column:
Nagamohan Metta: nmetta@mailcity.com: This is just to convey my admiration for this great cricketer.. Dean Jones. I love his batting, his style, his brilliance - he was the most talented batsman of his times in Australian squad.. and he has always been honest.

Please pass on this mesg. to this bloke Dean Jones .."how r u todaye maiyte!"

-- Metts

Celebrating Sachin:
ashesh/runul: : hope your back is not damaged

The Dean Jones column:
hahaha: hahaha@hahaha.com: hahaha! what a silly article...... Australia can never overcome South Africa forget about it being the best team. Bevan has no fighting spirit... he can never score at 10 runs per over when needed to win. He is just a cool & calm player who plays safe with run-rate 4-7. Nothing more, nothing less.

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