Gayle had to bat without partners and totally reverse to his natural way.If he opened the batting he could have given a good start and WI had a better chance of winning.I don't feel 121 is a huge margine in test cricket.One more good partnership was enough to surpass the mark.
I always loved Windies style of cricket, how they mix cricket with fun (and not battle) and their pace battery. Perhaps, I am too old now. I still wish they get better players. More the competition, more the scope of growth of cricket.
RE:Sri Lanka claim first Test win in Caribbean
by dhananjayan ramaswamy on Mar 28, 2008 03:55 AM
Atleast i found one freind who wanted to see the old windies cricket, I wish they could produce another Malcolm Marshall and VIV Richards kind of cricketers who are suberb atheletes of cricket. Absolute treat to watch.
Kills natural instincts , dulls you and changes your personality.
It happened to Dhoni ; and it has happened to Gayle. Instead of towering sixes from their strong shoulders - you are seeing gentle prods to Murali and Vaas.
RE:Captaincy is like marriage
by sushanta gayen on Mar 27, 2008 01:02 PM
BY AN INDIAN
you are right it also happened to our Captain. he can play only in Indian soil not outside. Our BCCI supremo said that Tendulkar suggest me to choose the captain of Inida then it is clear that those who are in the Board are useless they are not judging the players to well. Mr supremo the politician and one of the world best player - Tendulkar who are taking decession to choose Inidan captain. May be the only reason he is in the oneday team. being a good captain and good player is two different thing he is a good wicketkeeper and also occationally played well he forget to hit sixes and bounderies and playing defensively as we all seen in the last tour games. so if this is the begenning of the captancy then why we blame our past captains.
I have always felt that the aloofness and individualistic approach of the West Indian cricketers have always let them down, except against India. Somehow the sight of Indians at the pitch spurs them on!! May be because, their team too has often had four or five players of Indian descent. Except Viv Richards who was open about his pro- local stand, the other captains have subtly sent the message that the mix of Carribeans and Indians has not worked well. Still,the team has limped along in international cricket.
Sri Lanka too have been gloriously inconsistent but in this series, they seem to have the best chance in taking away the victory chances from the hosts. All the best, Lankans!!
RE:West Indies team
by Rich Man on Mar 27, 2008 12:59 PM
KISI KE BARE MEIN BURA MAT BOLO ....PAAP LAGEGA...TUM LOG ACHA KAROGE TO ACHA HOGA..BURA KAROGE TO BURA HOGA...ACHA BOLOGE TO ACHA HOGA...BURA BOLOGE TO BURA HOGA....ZINDAGI MEIN ACHA KAAM KARNE KA MAUKA HAMESHA MILTA HAI LEKIN HUM LOG US MAUKE TO GAVA DETE HAIN...YEH DUNIYA EK KARAMBHUMI HAI...HAR MANUSH KO ACHE KARAM KARNA CHAHIYE....TABHI USE MOKSH MILEGA....NAHIN TO BHOOT BANKE GOMOGE..
They raised a false hope in the early stages of their second innings in this test, only to slip to their usual feat of losing a match which could have been won or drawn.
There appears to be no team spirit or comraderie amongst the WI players. One fails to understand what the match fixer Samuels is doing in the team, without being thrown out. His is a classic case of open and shut, requiring no investigation whatsoever. How on earth can a cricketer from WI have any valid reason for talking to a bookie from India for such long hours so as to run a bill of over Rs.6,000/-?
Brian Lara might be considered a champion batsman by many, but he was aloof from the team, was a non performer and hence non motivator of his team in his last 3-4 seasons.
WI Cricket authorities seem to have done precious little to get the best out of their young players like Bravo and Taylor more consistently.
In fact, it was the drab and dull policies of Dravid on the last tour to WI by India which saw WI pick up some threads to pose a challenge to Indian team. Any team other than India would have won that series 4-0. Yet fools were too fast and too willing to praise Dravid for achieving a series win (1-0, my foot!).
There will be nothing to wonder if SL thrash WI in all the tests of the present series.
RE:RE:West Indies team is in shambles
by satish subbaraman on Mar 27, 2008 10:44 PM
I agree with you that Windies is in Shambles. They have been now for far too long. Probably since 1995-96 they have steadily been on the decline. It was slow decline, and since the start of this decade, it has become worse. Of course Sri Lanka (SL) will now brag that they are not just lions at home, but also away. We only know that that it is so untrue. Seriously every year SL as a given, play 4 tests against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh (2 each against the two teams). Now we should include Windies, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe as minnows and they should only play tests against each other. Or else test records will lose their value.
And of course the great Muralitharan took his customary 6 wickets in a test match. After merely hurling 85 overs in the match. Thats right - 85 Overs! Somebody should look at his strike rate and not just his wickets. He bowls 45% of the total overs in their innings, and any decent bowler who bowls so much will gain some success. If you look at his strike rate against India and Australia, that shows the true colors.
