Other Sports: Page 7 - The Arsenal discussion community: One More in the Tolly

Other Sports

Burnwinter

On a day like yesterday I'm forced to admit I'm just prejudiced against them both for not being Steve Waugh.

EDIT: Both on 87, historically the unlucky number of Australian cricket. Khan to Ponting: FOUR

Timbob

Punter 94
Clarke 93

Really want Ponting to get that 40th.

Burnwinter

Clarke gets his in the over before lunch. Ponting still on 97. Amazingly even share of the scoring - not something you often see.

Timbob

Ponting gets his 100. Would have been run out going for it if Zaheer had hit.

Have to say, even as a proud Englishman, when all is said and done, I have huge respect for Ricky ponting. He embodies so much of what I admire about sport.

Burnwinter

Since I mentioned their scores were tied, Clarke has scored 47, Ponting 18. Accelerating.

India are looking very likely to lose this Test now, but no one's forgotten the infamous Dravid and Laxman partnerships that saw us surrender seemingly unlosable matches in the early noughties.

EDIT: this is reportedly now the highest ever partnership by an Australian pair against India, for any wicket.

Timbob

Might be famous last words, but the indian top and middle order that was capable of incredible batting feats outside of the subcontinent is gone. None of them seem capable of playing a long innings anymore, Dravid aside. This indian team needs to be put out to pasture.

Rohit

Ponting and Clarke have played really well and apart from Zaheer, we just haven't bowled in the right areas. Once they got their eye in, they have just scored at an astonishing rate. Clarke was destined to get a 100 at Sydney it seems.

India look down and out, shoulders dropped very early. We need somme inspiration but I don't see anyone that can provide it. We won at the WACA last time against all odss, but it is so not happening again.

Also, agree wholeheartedly with Tim on Ponting. The man is a warrior, cricket will miss him once he is gone, there aren't many of his ilk in modern day cricket. So many times he has had to answer questions and he has done it when one would have thought he is down and out.

I will never forget his 100 at the WC last year in the QF amongst so many other real fighter's innings.

Timbob

Thing is, Ponting is answering questions that he really doesn't have to. His legacy is absolutely secure as one of the greatest cricketers of all time. The man just loves to compete.

For my part, i'd make Ponting the 4th best batsman I've seen in 20+ years of watching the sport.

Burnwinter

It's definitely an ageing lineup Tim. I've been watching most of these batsmen for over a decade.

If the Indian batting failures continue in this series, it will raise huge questions over the adequacy of the Indian domestic competitions as a proving ground for Test matches.

Fewer teams, a higher standard and more balanced wickets might be required, not that anything will disrupt the cash machine over there.

I'm not a Ponting fan myself, but I've always respected him as a batsman. Hard not to when you've seen him score tremendous totals against great attacks in the past. Won't forget him watching him compile 197 against a strong West Indies attack at the WACA in 96-97. As a captain he leads by example quite often, but I feel he's tactically average.

Burnwinter

Hmm. That 197 was actually against Pakistan a couple of years later, so it seems I don't remember it too well after all :o

Rohit

Tim, who would your top 3 be?

Timbob

Lara, Tendulkar, Steve Waugh in that order. Then come Ponting and Kallis. I only caught the back end of Richards' career and Border's. Mohamed Yousef was pretty incredible for a period, pretty much impossible to bowl to at his best.

Timbob

Burnwinter wrote:
I'm not a Ponting fan myself, but I've always respected him as a batsman. Hard not to when you've seen him score tremendous totals against great attacks in the past. Won't forget him watching him compile 197 against a strong West Indies attack at the WACA in 96-97. As a captain he leads by example quite often, but I feel he's tactically average.

Yeah, definitely not the best captain, although his record is still pretty good.

I remember watching Ponting back when he first started and he really struggled at times. Had a tough time in India against spin and then he was pretty dire in his first Ashes tour until he scored a hundred (at Headingly, I think). He undoubtedly has unbelievable natural ability, but he wasn't blessed with the genius of a Lara or Laxman. He's had to work hard for everything he's achieved.

Burnwinter

That'd probably be my list as well, practically picks itself, although I think Waugh is there more for his winningness, his versatility and improvisation than his natural ability.

New ball has just been taken. India need a breakthrough quite desperately.

Burnwinter

@Tim The thing about Ponting's record as captain is that he's repeatedly lost us the Ashes. That's difficult for us to forgive, especially given that we have had reasonable quality in the squad (if not anything like the glory years) throughout his tenure.

And there it is. Ponting gone for 134.

Timbob

Something wrong with Australia's batting line-up. Top 3 have about 10 tests between them. 4,5 and 6 have about 300 tests and 75 hundreds together.

Burnwinter

Haven't really filled the void at the top since Hayden and Langer split up in 2007. Hayden's form deteriorated badly after that, and though Katich was decent for a bit, the likes of Watson, Hughes and Jaques have never really stepped up at Test level.

Our current top three are a bit of a joke, but one of them really has to pan out soon otherwise we're in trouble.

Timbob

That's probably where I agree with you about Clarke. Think he's a classy number 5, but he has the ability and technique to be Australia's banker at 3, but he just doesn't have the temperament. I seem to remember he briefly moved to 4 a while back but flopped so badly he was dropped.

Top 3 needs sorting if Australia are gonna challenge England and South Africa consistently. Those teams would not have let the Ponting-Clarke partnership shift the momentum so easily on the first day.

Righto, Ponting's out now, so off to bed.

Burnwinter

Night Tim - good chat.

Rohit

Ponting's captaincy record in Tests is enviable. Even after a poor spell of 2 - 3 years after most of the dominant Australian team's players had retired, his win % is 63%.

I loved Steve Waugh for his courage, won't ever forget him refusing a runner and scoring a hundred with Gillespie on the other end and he had a win % of 72% in tests but he never had to lead a team in transition.

« Previous Page Next Page »