Giving wickets away

[Kirsty Harris]

Very interesting idea, Rachael Mind you, for some strange reason, this reminds me of the scene in Dead Poets Society, where Robin Williams rallies against 'measuring' the value of poetry!!!

[Oliver]

Originally Posted by Kirsty Harris

Very interesting idea, Rachael Mind you, for some strange reason, this reminds me of the scene in Dead Poets Society, where Robin Williams rallies against 'measuring' the value of poetry!!!

Yours is a good point too. I did think of mentioning to Rachael that you could use a system like the one found in most cricket scorebooks. But I've had too many MB run-ins with Rachael to be as sarcastic as that.

However, if I should find myself at home on a Saturday afternoon when England's batting is going astray, I may choose to amuse myself further by using the RDT scoring method.

[Victor Frankenstein]

on a slightly related note, why is it that when people get out to silly shots it's ok if they've already posted a score of some sort?

surely the whole point is to stay in till you're bowled out, or forced to take risks because the bowling is so good and the game demands a tempo change?

A number of times our batsmen get to 60+ or just past their hundred and give it away when they looked set enough to get a much bigger score (in particular for this series, butcher and hussain, who both did a great job but could easily have done an excellent job), but people never really mention they got out to a very poor shot which would have been debated endlessly if they had been on less than 10 but is acceptable later on. I know the arguement is that they've at least got a score, but imo a batsman's job is never done and our batsmen have a habit of getting set and then throwing it away (i know a lot of other teams do this too, but we seem to do it more than most).

[Oliver]

Originally Posted by Victor Frankenstein

on a slightly related note, why is it that when people get out to silly shots it's ok if they've already posted a score of some sort?

(i know a lot of other teams do this too, but we seem to do it more than most).

Victor, I couldn't agree with you more.

It has always ********** me off that a batsman who gets out on 103 is still lauded immensely for the quality of his wonderful 100.
OK that's good, but he only scored three more of the next hundred, when he was "in" or "set" and to some extent the pressure is now off (following that bit in the nineties where the opposition without fail tighten up the screws and - to mix metaphores - nail the batsman down a bit).

And your point about Butcher and Hussain is well made.

It's a mind set problem.

I heard Graeme Smith suggesting that in South Africa the batsmen always think about scoring a first hundred for the team and then one for themselves.
In England it is said that the batsmen think about scoring a hundred for themselves and a hundred for the team.

That makes our guys rather more selfish cricketers. As it seems to me that by and large they're all pretty happy to just score a century for themselves.

It's often a long time in English cricket between Test cricketers scoring centuries "for the team".
Who made the last double ton before Trescothick's v. South Africa last summer?

I tend to think that Hussain is relieved to beat his Test average when he bats and having done that, he then aims for a half century. Any more appears to be a bonus.

I spent a long time thinking that Thorpe aimed at 75. I'd swear that the majority of his scores over fifty are in the seventies. I might look into that next week.

IT is a thought. I don't know what Butcher aims at when he goes to the crease, I sort of feel that he too is content to make fifty. And it seems to me that that is something that Fletcher should work on.

Top quality Test batsmen tend to score a century every five to six innings. Thorpe stands at about twelve, and Vaughan at seven. I'd guess that most people on this Board think that Thorpe is a higher class player, but twelve is crap.

[Notts Exile]

Spot on. Too many times we'll see an England card with four fifties on and no centuries. The Aussies and South Africans would rarely be guilty of this. I'm not convinced enough of our batsman are single-minded enough to go on all the time to firstly three figures and then to 150 and to carry on.

Think Thorpe was the last double ton before Tresco, scored against New Zealand down under.

[Kirsty Harris]

Oliver, I agree with what you said in the main - it is strange how few English batsmen really push on from 100, however I think your being rather unfair on Hussain! He has worked really hard on this tour, dispite not being in great form for the first couple of games, and outperformed most of the other batsmen. To imply his only playing for his average is a bit harsh!

He has been a really positive imflunce upon the direction of the team over the years, and I suspect he won't be around much longer, so it would be nice to cut him a little slack!

[Richie Benauds Love Child]

I think butcher is more in this vain than Hussain (god I'm a poet), nas always seems seething when he's out, butch, if he's got 50 or more seems mildly disappointed.

[Kirsty Harris]

Exactly what I meant!!! Hussain HATES it when he gets out, be it on 1 or 101!!