India v Australia, 4th Test, Nagpur, Day 1- 6/10/08

[cricketrulez]

Does the over rate matter anymore?

Looks like they are going to be behind 10 overs easily!

 

[Bumblebee]

well ponting again onto his negative tactics by having a leg side field and bowling on the legstump!

 

[jusarrived]

there is certainly enuf assistance for both pace and spin here ,though 450 will be par score for innings .....there is going to be a result here !

 

[Savak]

Surprised that Lee chose to drop his pace yet again, he really does not deserve wickets as far as i am concerned especially if he is not willing to work hard for it.

 

[umerz]

Right said.
India 199/3 (49.3 ov)
*VVS Laxman (rhb) 32
*SR Tendulkar (rhb) 61

 

[Tupac]

there is certainly enuf assistance for both pace and spin here ,though 450 will be par score for innings .....there is going to be a result here !

what do u have to say about tendulkar's batting in this series?

 

[moumotta]

The over rate is pathetic when you consider 20 overs out of 51 by spinners and another 10 by diddly doodler Watson. Come'on lazy aussies, its not a picnic in a park.

 

[moumotta]

what do u have to say about tendulkar's batting in this series?

It is established wisdom that Ponting will over take Tendulkar in terms of number of runs etc but the way he is going I am beginning to wonder.
The master may just be too good for the imposter.

 

[jusarrived]

what do u have to say about tendulkar's batting in this series?

well , hes been playing like this for more than a year now ....am loving it

 

[umerz]

Tendulkar has contributed in every test match.has palyed very crucial knocks for the team........but i just feel a hundred in last test would be the icing on the cake

 

[Sheikh]

Going out on a limb here, but I believe that last session sealed the series for India. The only way Australia were going to get a foothold was to pick up some wickets in the last session and have India around 200-5. They missed their opportunity and I think the series is gone.

 

[Savak]

I have to say Johnson has certainly not disgraced himself on this tour. He has done better than everyone else thought he would do.

 

[Savak]

Why is this guy Kretza taking so much tap? Is he a conventional, predictable offspinner like Deepak Patel, John Embury? Were the Australians serious about him posing a threat to the Indians, Stuart Clarke could have played a key role in keeping the runs down. Its Lee's and Johnson's job to pick up the wickets as always.

 

[Asim2Good]

Why is this guy Kretza taking so much tap? Is he a conventional, predictable offspinner like Deepak Patel, John Embury? Were the Australians serious about him posing a threat to the Indians, Stuart Clarke could have played a key role in keeping the runs down. Its Lee's and Johnson's job to pick up the wickets as always.

this is his first test and Viru went after from his first over and Sachin did damage as well after Viru got out, in his first 3 overs I think he gave around 34 runs. Indians decided to attack him and were successful as other saying, he gives a bit more flight as well which suited batsmen on this 1st day pitch

 

[Asim2Good]

and Jhonson dropped the test series

 

[umerz]

Laxman out and Krejza got another wkt India 262/4 (68.4 ov)

Sachin need to play a big innings here..

 

[Poison]

India will look for safety in a score of around 800 .

 

[Asim2Good]

Aus would have been right back in this game, had Jhonson held on to Sachin's chance

 

[lollol]

Tendulkar dropped again

By Lee this time, difficult chance, but u expect a Aussie to take it.

The fast bowlers are doing everything wrong Can't take wickets and dropping catches, hehe

 

[umerz]

India 282/4 (75.6 ov)

40th ton by the Master .very well deserved ...needs to make a big one

 

[Asim2Good]

sachin's wick at this time, may had helped Aus to get India out below 400, but not sure at moment

 

[Bumblebee]

well i dont know i should be happy or feel sad lookin at krejza's bowling figures! rpo 5.07 given more then 130 runs but has 3 top order wickets!

 

[Savak]

well i dont know i should be happy or feel sad lookin at krejza's bowling figures! rpo 5.07 given more then 130 runs but has 3 top order wickets!

To be honest, wickets are pointless if you are going to go for so many runs. The australians should have persisted with Stuart Clarke because Clarke is atleast economical and can keep things tight which puts pressure on the opposition. I still maintain it is Lee's and Johnson's main responsibility to pick up wickets. Australia i am afraid have been badly let down by Lee.

 

[jusarrived]

Stuart Clarke should have played no doubts , white being picked ahead of him is shocking ..though Clarke hasnt managed any wickets , hes bowled the best of the lot ....MJ for all his pace has been only gifted wickets , Clarke's the only bowler whos attacked the stumps consistently ...dont know what ponting was thinking here !

 

[jusarrived]

Tendulkar gone , cud get interesting now if aus can manage another wicket here !

 

[Sheikh]

Stuart Clarke should have played no doubts , white being picked ahead of him is shocking ..though Clarke hasnt managed any wickets , hes bowled the best of the lot ....MJ for all his pace has been only gifted wickets , Clarke's the only bowler whos attacked the stumps consistently ...dont know what ponting was thinking here !

They could have played Clarke ahead of Lee!

 

[Amjid Javed]

India have got there runs quickly again. Aussies dont seem to be able to apply pressure through containment and once again have looked impotent with the ball overall!

 

[Amjid Javed]

Lees only bowled 11 overs all day? what the hell!

 

[Savak]

Lees only bowled 11 overs all day? what the hell!

He's bowled pathetically as far as i am concerned. Again he reduced his pace in this innings and is bowling like a trundler. I thought he bowled well without luck in the 3rd test, he was looking more dangerous when he was hitting 145-148 km/hr and reversing the ball.

 

[XFactor]

Mitchell Johnson's smile always reminds me of the guy below..

Smokin'!

 

[Random Aussie]

They could have played Clarke ahead of Lee!

Yes and they should have. But we can't drop the superstar apparently.

Lee has been nothing short of pathetic this series and should be permanently removed from our Test line up. MJ is on the way up and has already taken over as spearhead this tour.

Lee has more than 70 Tests experience, he is supposed to be leading the attack and being "the best fast bowler in the world". Instead he is going for 6 to 8 an over every time we start an innings or day, posing no threat at all. If that he is how he is going to perform when we need him we are better off with someone who does perform. He is the main reason we are down in this series because we expected a decent Test standard performance from him.

But after that rant, 5/300ish is OK for us, considering how things looked early in the day. Advantage India but not by much, they still need a lot more runs to feel safe.

As usual Tendulkar stands in the way of the Aussie team. It's going to be very nice one day when we are playing India and we see the YUVI walk out at number 4 instead of SRT.

 

[Random Aussie]

Lees only bowled 11 overs all day? what the hell!

Ponting is not happy with the superstar

 

[Random Aussie]

well i dont know i should be happy or feel sad lookin at krejza's bowling figures! rpo 5.07 given more then 130 runs but has 3 top order wickets!

Happy with that effort on a first day pitch from a debutant spinner. Ponting as usual bowled him for too long though.

 

[Bublu Bhuyan]

Yes and they should have. But we can't drop the superstar apparently.

Lee has been nothing short of pathetic this series and should be permanently removed from our Test line up. MJ is on the way up and has already taken over as spearhead this tour.

Lee has more than 70 Tests experience, he is supposed to be leading the attack and being "the best fast bowler in the world". Instead he is going for 6 to 8 an over every time we start an innings or day, posing no threat at all. If that he is how he is going to perform when we need him we are better off with someone who does perform. He is the main reason we are down in this series because we expected a decent Test standard performance from him.

But after that rant, 5/300ish is OK for us, considering how things looked early in the day. Advantage India but not by much, they still need a lot more runs to feel safe.

As usual Tendulkar stands in the way of the Aussie team. It's going to be very nice one day when we are playing India and we see the YUVI walk out at number 4 instead of SRT.

I'd stop watching cricket that day.

 

[Bublu Bhuyan]

I think 500 would be a good target for India to achieve tomorrow, specially considering the fact that the last two recognized batsmen are there at the crease. Would be nice to see the tail-enders too put up some runs just like they did in the 1st innings of the 1st Test.

 

[Random Aussie]

Gellespie i feel still had 3years of cricket left in him before he was dropped

No, his performances in domestic cricket never suggested anything other than that the selectors were correct in dropping him.

Lost too much pace and zip.

 

[Savak]

Random Aussie, i have explained my reasons for Lee's poor showing on this tour. Why do you think he has struggled on this tour? Btw he himself in a tv interview admitted that his marriage breakdown is not really the issue and he would not have toured if he felt he wasnt mentally up to the task.

 

[Random Aussie]

Random Aussie, i have explained my reasons for Lee's poor showing on this tour. Why do you think he has struggled on this tour? Btw he himself in a tv interview admitted that his marriage breakdown is not really the issue and he would not have toured if he felt he wasnt mentally up to the task.

I guess Lee just had a run of form for a while which made everyone think he was better than an average Test bowler.

 

[Bublu Bhuyan]

No, his performances in domestic cricket never suggested anything other than that the selectors were correct in dropping him.

Lost too much pace and zip.

He averages 26 with he ball in Test cricket, right ?

 

[Savak]

I guess Lee just had a run of form for a while which made everyone think he was better than an average Test bowler.

I dont think he is as worse as his performance on this tour would suggest but he has been found wanting on unsupportive wickets. And it is on this basis, i wont rate him world class.

 

[Sheikh]

Ponting is not happy with the superstar

Statement then, perhaps, to the selectors that, ''hey, if you wanna force this guy on me then, well, I'm not gonna bowl him!"

Is that what Ponting's doing here? Would he dare?

 

[OZGOD]

I see Useless managed to poach three wickets. Any batsmen who lost their wickets to him should retire ASAP.

 

[dinakar]

who do you think is the top contender for the 'man of the series' award? Since Gambhir had to miss this test, I think now Laxman has good chance to get that car.

 

[lollol]

Random Aussie, i have explained my reasons for Lee's poor showing on this tour. Why do you think he has struggled on this tour? Btw he himself in a tv interview admitted that his marriage breakdown is not really the issue and he would not have toured if he felt he wasnt mentally up to the task.

1) Lee isnt a very good Test bowler... yes he is good overall, but not as good as u think
2) Lee cannot bowl on flat pitches without bounce

Here u have the most valid reasons for Lee's miserable performance. I know ur referring to his pace, but i dont think that has much influence on his performance.

 

[bones20]

1) Lee isnt a very good Test bowler... yes he is good overall, but not as good as u think
2) Lee cannot bowl on flat pitches without bounce

Here u have the most valid reasons for Lee's miserable performance. I know ur referring to his pace, but i dont think that has much influence on his performance.

Savak is right to certain extent. All bowlers have their strengths:

Wasim: his variations and swing
Mcgrath: bounce, seam
Asif: line/length, seam/swing
Zaheer: line/length, seam/swing
ishant: bounce, seam/swing in
etc etc.

Brett Lee: pace, mild seam/swing
He has never beem a big swinger/seamer of the ball nor he is a line/length bowler.

So with bounce and pace missing, I am afraid he is up for the taking. That however does not mean that all pacers need pace on subcontinent. Its just that Brett Lee' strength happens to be mostly pace.

 

[bones20]

I see Useless managed to poach three wickets. Any batsmen who lost their wickets to him should retire ASAP.

No he bowled really well with a good loop and spin on the ball. Ball was turning sharply with bounce off the surface. Aussies have unearthed a potential future spinner who just needs to add a trick or 2 in his bag.

 

[Indian Pretending to To Be Pakistani]

Savak is right to certain extent. All bowlers have their strengths:

Wasim: his variations and swing
Mcgrath: bounce, seam
Asif: line/length, seam/swing
Zaheer: line/length, seam/swing
ishant: bounce, seam/swing in
etc etc.

Brett Lee: pace, mild seam/swing
He has never beem a big swinger/seamer of the ball nor he is a line/length bowler.

So with bounce and pace missing, I am afraid he is up for the taking. That however does not mean that all pacers need pace on subcontinent. Its just that Brett Lee' strength happens to be mostly pace.

We are very harsh on bret lee. wicket is very very flat and its very hard for the fast bowlers to get any movement or bounce on this wicket. even if akthar or mcgrath bowling on this wicket, they wud not have done well.

 

[Indian Pretending to To Be Pakistani]

No he bowled really well with a good loop and spin on the ball. Ball was turning sharply with bounce off the surface. Aussies have unearthed a potential future spinner who just needs to add a trick or 2 in his bag.

yeah he bowled really well. he was the only bowler who looked like getting wickets.

 

[criccric]

That is a very clever comment considering he does not pick the team.

And that he has the highest winning percentage of any captain in the history of cricket. Can't be that bad lol.

Give any captain (including Kumble and Tendulkar, utter failures as captains) a team with McGrath, Warne, Gilchrist,... and even they can carve out a win. Things dont appear to be the same when the maestros are gone.

 

[Savak]

We are very harsh on bret lee. wicket is very very flat and its very hard for the fast bowlers to get any movement or bounce on this wicket. even if akthar or mcgrath bowling on this wicket, they wud not have done well.

Akhtar would never slow down on flat wickets. He would never surrender to the line and length stuff. Akhtar's biggest strength over Lee is that Akhtar knows how to take wickets. Akhtar has more variations than Lee i.e inswinger, yorker, bouncer, slower delivery, good line and length. Akhtar is not all about pace, he knows how to bowl to certain batsman and has the ability to adjust to different conditions.

In the 2007 tour to India Akhtar was the most threatening of Pakistani bowlers even though he was not a 100% fit for the tour and was sick in the second test match. Akhtar got 17 wickets against England in 2005 on pitches and conditions even flatter than the Indian pitches right now.

As far as Mcgrath is concerned. He would have done the job for Australia on this pitch as well. He would have bowled a good line and length, would not have given an easy runs and that alone would have created pressure enough to create wicket taking chances. Gillespie was also more or less accurate enough to maintain pressure.
From what i have seen of Lee, the only time he looked decent in the series was when he picked his speed up and operated around the 146-148 km/hr region in the third test. But still his bowling lacks the variety that is needed. Its embarrasing that Johnson has performed better than him in this series so far.

Anyways, i think the Aussie's should have retained Stuart Clarke and dropped that joker of a spinner White for this offie.

 

[Indian Pretending to To Be Pakistani]

Akhtar would never slow down on flat wickets. He would never surrender to the line and length stuff. Akhtar's biggest strength over Lee is that Akhtar knows how to take wickets. Akhtar has more variations than Lee i.e inswinger, yorker, bouncer, slower delivery, good line and length. Akhtar is not all about pace, he knows how to bowl to certain batsman and has the ability to adjust to different conditions.

In the 2007 tour to India Akhtar was the most threatening of Pakistani bowlers even though he was not a 100% fit for the tour and was sick in the second test match. Akhtar got 17 wickets against England in 2005 on pitches and conditions even flatter than the Indian pitches right now.

As far as Mcgrath is concerned. He would have done the job for Australia on this pitch as well. He would have bowled a good line and length, would not have given an easy runs and that alone would have created pressure enough to create wicket taking chances. Gillespie was also more or less accurate enough to maintain pressure.
From what i have seen of Lee, the only time he looked decent in the series was when he picked his speed up and operated around the 146-148 km/hr region in the third test. But still his bowling lacks the variety that is needed. Its embarrasing that Johnson has performed better than him in this series so far.

Anyways, i think the Aussie's should have retained Stuart Clarke and dropped that joker of a spinner White for this offie.

Savak,

I understand you are a big fan of Akthar. But I disagree with you especially on Akthar. I have seen so many india vs pakistan matches where akthar looked as bad as lee in the current series. I can give you several instances. Multan game where shewag hit 300 and even in the other two games too. pakistan won the game in lahore due to gul's 5fer in the first innings. akthar and sami did not trouble indian batsmen even in that helpful condition. pindi test match, akthar faked an injury (according to inzi) in the middle of the test match.

Even in 2007 series, akthar looked threatening only in the Delhi match where the pitch was very uneven and def not a flat track like we are seeing today or the previous test match. when india went to pakistan in 2006, asif was the only bowler who looked deadly that too in the last test match. whereas other two test matches were dull draw and we all know how akthar bowled in those conditions. so i dont agree with you that akthar wud have bowled better than lee on flat pitches and that too against the team which has shewag, sachin, laxman who are very very good on those flat pitches. for that match they are very good playing on most of the pitches in the world.

 

[PlanetPakistan]

Akhtar would never slow down on flat wickets. He would never surrender to the line and length stuff. Akhtar's biggest strength over Lee is that Akhtar knows how to take wickets. Akhtar has more variations than Lee i.e inswinger, yorker, bouncer, slower delivery, good line and length. Akhtar is not all about pace, he knows how to bowl to certain batsman and has the ability to adjust to different conditions.

In the 2007 tour to India Akhtar was the most threatening of Pakistani bowlers even though he was not a 100% fit for the tour and was sick in the second test match. Akhtar got 17 wickets against England in 2005 on pitches and conditions even flatter than the Indian pitches right now.

As far as Mcgrath is concerned. He would have done the job for Australia on this pitch as well. He would have bowled a good line and length, would not have given an easy runs and that alone would have created pressure enough to create wicket taking chances. Gillespie was also more or less accurate enough to maintain pressure.
From what i have seen of Lee, the only time he looked decent in the series was when he picked his speed up and operated around the 146-148 km/hr region in the third test. But still his bowling lacks the variety that is needed. Its embarrasing that Johnson has performed better than him in this series so far.

Anyways, i think the Aussie's should have retained Stuart Clarke and dropped that joker of a spinner White for this offie.

Why do you keep comparing AKhtar and Lee when its quite clear that Lee isn't any where near as talented/good.

Lee should be compared to bowlers like Ntini.

 

[lollol]

We are very harsh on bret lee. wicket is very very flat and its very hard for the fast bowlers to get any movement or bounce on this wicket. even if akthar or mcgrath bowling on this wicket, they wud not have done well.

Akhtar averages:
in India: 24.47
in Pakistan: 26.48
in Asia: 24.24

This isnt about fitness etc, but Akhtar definitely can bowl on flat tracks.

And mcgrath, what a joke that he wont perform on this wicket. Mcgrath is one of those bowlers who has performed EVERYWHERE.
Ur talking as if the wkts in this series are flatter than ever, which they arent.

Wait till Sharma & Zak are going to bowl, they'll get some wickets, as they have proven already

 

[bones20]

Many people keep touting S Clark as Mcgrath replacement and to me the only similarity is that they are value conventional orthodox line/length bowlers. By that argument, Munaf Patel is our Mcgrath who even has an action similar to Mcgrath's

Mcgrath had his gift of bounce which is a deadly combination with line/length. Line Length bowlers could be easily taken for singles but McGrath with his bounce made even the singles difficult and risky to go for. Basically he would choke one end completely and the batsman would be made to suffer through the song.

Only batsmen with good heights were somewhat successful against him or those who were good at hitting good length balls through the line like Laxman.

 

[Savak]

Why do you keep comparing AKhtar and Lee when its quite clear that Lee isn't any where near as talented/good.

Lee should be compared to bowlers like Ntini.

I guess its because they are the two fastest bowlers in the world. Some people i know (not on this forum) just ignorantly claim with extreme stubborness without backing their assertions that Lee is a better bowler than Akhtar.

 

[Indian Pretending to To Be Pakistani]

Akhtar averages:
in India: 24.47
in Pakistan: 26.48
in Asia: 24.24

This isnt about fitness etc, but Akhtar definitely can bowl on flat tracks.

And mcgrath, what a joke that he wont perform on this wicket. Mcgrath is one of those bowlers who has performed EVERYWHERE.
Ur talking as if the wkts in this series are flatter than ever, which they arent.

Wait till Sharma & Zak are going to bowl, they'll get some wickets, as they have proven already

here we are talking about matches against india. we know england and nz dont play pace bowling well. no matter where they play.

could you please provide the stats of akthar in pakistan and india against india? also many people argue about his average. cos he bowls one or two 4 over spells and then he fakes an injury and sit out. so that he can maintain very good average and strike rate. if you take last test series against india, you could see that clearly. he has done the same against aussies few yrs ago too. i might sound very harsh on akthar here. but these are somethings that i hear everytime i debated about akthar with my friends.

why are you bringing Zak or Sharma here.. Akthar / Lee far better bowler than these two. they bowl faster than sharma.

 

[Indian Pretending to To Be Pakistani]

Why do you keep comparing AKhtar and Lee when its quite clear that Lee isn't any where near as talented/good.

Lee should be compared to bowlers like Ntini.

I dont agree with you on this.

 

[Indian Pretending to To Be Pakistani]

I guess its because they are the two fastest bowlers in the world. Some people i know (not on this forum) just ignorantly claim with extreme stubborness without backing their assertions that Lee is a better bowler than Akhtar.

just becos some people claim lee is a better bowler than akthar, to prove them wrong you are bringing speed in pretty much all the post that you have written about ind vs aus series. thats just my observation. I have read match threads in all the four test matches, every post that you have posted has this speed thing. you are generally a very knowledgable poster and i like the way you write, but this thing about speed in every post is little annoying.

 

[Savak]

just becos some people claim lee is a better bowler than akthar, to prove them wrong you are bringing speed in pretty much all the post that you have written about ind vs aus series. thats just my observation. I have read match threads in all the four test matches, every post that you have posted has this speed thing. you are generally a very knowledgable poster and i like the way you write, but this thing about speed in every post is little annoying.

I am a fan of speed. That is a personal thing. Lee looked the best in the third test where he picked his speed up a touch. If you have pace, i believe you should use it. I dont know how has told Lee to slow down because slowing down has not helped him and he looks pretty much ineffective.

Btw, these current wickets in India are not as flat as you are making it out to be. We saw how Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma have shown more skill with the ball than the Aussie's in this series so far. Lee has just been dreadful in this series. Johnson i believe has done better than what was expected of him. Stuart Clarke though he hasnt picked up wickets on this tour, i never expected him too but he kept the runs down and fulfilled one of his roles in the squad.

 

[Indian Pretending to To Be Pakistani]

I am a fan of speed. That is a personal thing. Lee looked the best in the third test where he picked his speed up a touch. If you have pace, i believe you should use it. I dont know how has told Lee to slow down because slowing down has not helped him and he looks pretty much ineffective.

Btw, these current wickets in India are not as flat as you are making it out to be. We saw how Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma have shown more skill with the ball than the Aussie's in this series so far. Lee has just been dreadful in this series. Johnson i believe has done better than what was expected of him. Stuart Clarke though he hasnt picked up wickets on this tour, i never expected him too but he kept the runs down and fulfilled one of his roles in the squad.

more than speed, you wanted to prove that akthar is better than lee. IMHO both have good and bad. akthar cannot bowl long spell. indians always use that to their advantage, they know well that he wont bowl more than 4 overs, so they just see him off and attack other bowlers. whereas wiith lee, he can bowl longer spell and maintain the speed of around 150K throughout. but as far as I know he has never bowled a spell and pick bunch of wickets or single handedly won the match like akthar did few times against aussies, eng and nz.

 

[PlanetPakistan]

I dont agree with you on this.

first of welcome to PP..

why don't you agree with me? i reckon its really obvious that Shoaib is more talented....and is also a far superior bowler.

 

[Indian Pretending to To Be Pakistani]

first of welcome to PP..

why don't you agree with me? i reckon its really obvious that Shoaib is more talented....and is also a far superior bowler.

Thanks for the welcome. I can agree that he is more talented than Lee. but I doubt he is far superior than Lee. I dont agree with that part.

speed wise Akthar is slightly ahead of Lee but Lee can bowl longer spells. Lee has better fitness than akthar. Lee is as leathal as Akthar on fast and bouncy wicket. Both have average records against india. Akthar might be slightly better on subcontinental wickets. but no way he is far superior than lee.

 

[PlanetPakistan]

Thanks for the welcome. I can agree that he is more talented than Lee. but I doubt he is far superior than Lee. I dont agree with that part.

speed wise Akthar is slightly ahead of Lee but Lee can bowl longer spells. Lee has better fitness than akthar. Lee is as leathal as Akthar on fast and bouncy wicket. Both have average records against india. Akthar might be slightly better on subcontinental wickets. but no way he is far superior than lee.

slightly better?

Its no comparison bro, no matter which way you look at it. B Lee has an epic failure in subcont while Shoaib has bowled numerous match winning spells in subcont. Even in defeats he has bowled some fine spells like last year's performance at Delhi or that great spell vs AUS at Colombo in 02.

As i said absolutely no comparison between the two.

 

[Random Aussie]

Statement then, perhaps, to the selectors that, ''hey, if you wanna force this guy on me then, well, I'm not gonna bowl him!"

Is that what Ponting's doing here? Would he dare?

No I don't think he was unhappy with Lee being selected but I think he was very unhappy with the way Lee bowled in the morning (and has bowled all tour) and so used him very little.

Ponting has done this before - to Gillespie and to Tait.

 

[Random Aussie]

He averages 26 with he ball in Test cricket, right ?

Yes about that and 250 wickets. Was a world class bowler for most of his career.

 

[Oxy]

, but this thing about speed in every post is little annoying.

Shoaib Akhtar

Express FAST bowler - The NEED for SPEED.

NOT to talk about pace & speed when referring to Akhtar? WHY???

 

[f.b.m]

Thanks for the welcome. I can agree that he is more talented than Lee. but I doubt he is far superior than Lee. I dont agree with that part.

speed wise Akthar is slightly ahead of Lee but Lee can bowl longer spells. Lee has better fitness than akthar. Lee is as leathal as Akthar on fast and bouncy wicket. Both have average records against india. Akthar might be slightly better on subcontinental wickets. but no way he is far superior than lee.

You just glance past speed as if it were just a small part of bowling. And besides, its not just about speed, its about what he can do with the ball. Akhtar gets far more late swing, late reverse swing, etc, etc. He's also much harder to pick because his hand comes from behind his body and gives it a good whip of the wrist. Lee does none of that.

Its really like comparing a Maybach with a Kia that looks a bit like one. You can yab on about maintanance costs and dealership all you want but in the end of the day, that doesnt make the Kia a better car.