What's the issue with scoring well in a dead rubber?

[MenInG]

I am getting a little sick of listening to voices which are putting down Cook for scoring double hundred in a Dead Rubber!

As if those runs are useless - so what is expected of England?

Rollover and play dead?

And this applies to all series where a result has been decided. We cannot downplay or devalue a contribution like that. In my view, if Cook or anyone else helps England win this Test then they have done their job.

Here's how even a contribution in a Dead Rubber can make a difference!

 

[shariqnoor]

Every run counts and against any team. People just want to create a reason to belittle one's achievement.

This logic of not giving any recognition or importance to Cook's double hundred because it has come in a dead rubber is so incredibly laughable.

I mean essentially what these critics are saying is that Lara's 400 was a useless inning. Kohli's maiden Test hundred at Adelaide was a useless inning as well. Same with Younis's magnificent hundred at Sydney at the start of the year. Sorry Brian Lara - I guess your innings doesn't really count. Try again when the series is alive.

 

[Pete Rose]

Performing in dead rubber < performing when series is alive

 

[Kroll]

Considering the fact that Aussies were going for a 5-0 thumping and they must have been thinking that they only needed to turn up for the remaining two test matches for this to happen. I think this has been a very valuable contribution. It's just that with 5-0 not looking likely, others need something else to moan about.

 

[EliteCynical]

If you fail in a dead rubber, then critics would be like "Pooh, couldn't even score runs when he had nothing to lose. Joke of a batsman"

If you score in a dead rubber, then critics would be like "What's the point of scoring now. Should have done it when the series was alive. Too late!"


I don't think prejudice has a cure!

 

[Robert]

Because the pressure is less.

It’s like failing in the first innings, then getting fifty in the second when the match is gone.

Still, 244 away from home against a good attack is going some.

 

[Robert]

I mean essentially what these critics are saying is that Lara's 400 was a useless inning.

It was. He played for his ego not the team, should have declared on 300 and left WI time to win the match.

 

[MenInG]

Because the pressure is less.

It’s like failing in the first innings, then getting fifty in the second when the match is gone.

Still, 244 away from home against a good attack is going some.

Indian and Pakistani fans will know that there is no thing as less pressure when they play against each other. Every game is played on its own.

 

[Dead Ball]

Every run counts and against any team. People just want to create a reason to belittle one's achievement.

This logic of not giving any recognition or importance to Cook's double hundred because it has come in a dead rubber is so incredibly laughable.

I mean essentially what these critics are saying is that Lara's 400 was a useless inning. Kohli's maiden Test hundred at Adelaide was a useless inning as well. Same with Younis's magnificent hundred at Sydney at the start of the year. Sorry Brian Lara - I guess your innings doesn't really count. Try again when the series is alive.

I think a lot of people would agree that Lara's 400 was pretty useless. Lara failed during all innings of the series when it was alive and scored 400* when it least mattered . Lara actually had the dubious distinction of having the second most number of hundreds in dead rubbers (after Langer)

Scoring in dead rubbers is fine, but i am critical of performers who fail all through the series and suddenly score a double/triple in a dead rubber (like Younis and Cook did in Aus, or like Rahane did when SA visited India last year)

Their overall stats may show they had a brilliant series, but in reality they failed when it was most needed. Rahane averaged higher than Pujara, who was India's main hero during the series. I consider such test runs as the softest.

 

[coy0607]

Indian and Pakistani fans will know that there is no thing as less pressure when they play against each other. Every game is played on its own.

that is just not true

Obviously every international match comes with pressure (some more so than others, like the aforementioned Pak/India matches), but once a series has been decided, that's just a tremendous load off the batsmen's mind.

just think about it- people aren't counting on you so much any more, you can be free and do what you want without really changing the overall result

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Man I hope Cook scores a 300 to rub it in.

Haters

 

[Ab Fan]

Dead rubber matches dont have same pressure as matches when series is alive.

Moreover, the opposition might not be giving their best after the series is dead and won't even play with best XI at times.

Having said all, an individual score of 250+ is no mean feat and if it has come up in Australia by a visiting player against an attack of Hazlewood and Cummins even on a slow wicket, it does count and hence should be rated but we also have to consider that it was a dead rubber at a same time.

Lara's 400 is again a massive individual achievement and no mean feat even though it was dead rubber.

Cook has now elevated himself to Smith and Hayden level as a test opener IMO.

 

[pillionrider]

A dead rubber knock generally isn't as appreciated as one which has an impact on a tournament or series for obvious and justifiable reasons. But sometimes, it can be great to watch, when the opposition have been so much better in the games preceding it.

For eg: Sachin Tendulkar got one of his best hundreds at the MCG in 1999 when his team had fallen apart and were being ripped apart by that great Australian team. During the same tour, in the final test, VVS Laxman came up with a stunning hundred though the series and game were long gone.

When a player takes on a marauding team even if in a lost cause, it can be gratifying to watch.

Cook's hundred, for me, isn't in the same class as the above two, but is still significant because Australia have played so much better than his team, that it didn't seem like anyone from his team was capable of any batting of note, with the series gone.

 

[troodon]

More than dead rubber, the absence of Starc meant that Cook was able to survive the initial 10-15 overs of the Test match

Jackson Bird is a trundler compared to Starc. No issues for Cook to negotiate 130k pace.

 

[hadi123]

I don't think it should be disregarded completely as it still takes a lot ability to play an innings like Cook has as International Cricket is the best of the best. But obviously, it would mean more if the Ashes was still alive. I think the absence of Starc is a more fair way of critiquing Cook for this innings rather than it being a dead rubber as Cook has struggled against quality left arm pace before so it shows that he needs his weaknesses to be absent to play innings like this.

 

[bujhee kom]

It is still the Ashes. It is still a Test match in Australia.
This is a line of argument being trotted out by particular fans to downplay the fact that Cook may one day pip their champion.
If we exclude 'dead rubber' runs for all batsman, the results would be interesting.

 

[Hasan123]

Pressure is less that's why. But runs are runs at the end of the day. Not every player can score 244 in Australia. Cook deserves credit because he was under he was under a lot of pressure and was being written off by a lot of people.

 

[pakistani pride]

Every run counts in a test match, more so when you play in AUS but fact is that the series is lost.

Also you see this a lot with great players in decline they get that a1 (big) score in the series to cement their place for the next year.

 

[jnaveen1980]

If it contributes to winning the match that will be valued or even if it helps you to avoid one more test loss that will have some value. in this case i still think England can lose from here. But should England avoid whitewash that will be purely because of Cook's knock. Not all the dead rubber innings are meaningless.

 

[Abdullah]

They are still playing for ranking points if not the ashes so it still counts!!

 

[Proactive_]

LOL the sign.

And just besides that you have Cook 206*.

What a slap in the face.

 

[Markhor]

Dead rubber or not, Cook was under serious pressure for his place. Another failure and he could've dropped at the end of this series.

We have to caveat this knock with the fact he didn't face Starc, but given the context of his recent form and the series, its an excellent innings.

 

[EliteCynical]

Dead rubber or not, Cook was under serious pressure for his place. Another failure and he could've dropped at the end of this series.

We have to caveat this knock with the fact he didn't face Starc, but given the context of his recent form and the series, its an excellent innings.

England would never imagine dropping Cook. As Nasser Hussain recently said, a lot of time, effort and money has been spent in making Cook the beast he is today. He was carefully picked, nurtured for such moments, at an early age. No one in their right mind would think of letting Cook go. It was all up to Cook and he showed that motivation isn't a problem for him. He was under pressure, but don't think he would have been dropped.