Two batsmen A and B , both are openers but with contrasting styles. A scores a 70 in 70 balls and gets out before lunch on the 1st day of a TEST whereas B scores a 50 in 180 balls and carries his bat on the first day while the entire team scores 250 for 3 on the first day. Next day his team goes on to score 500+ runs. (B finally gets out next day at the score of 65 in 230 balls when the team score was 320)
A and B have been consistently doing the same.
Whose innings do you think is more important for the team ?
If you have to pick one of these 2 players for the next TEST, who will you pick ?
Apparently player B who stuck out there tiring all the bowlers and fielders (alongwith himself) and allow partners to play their style and keep his wicket.
A is a star batsman in ODIs and kind of pampered child of his captain and fans whereas B is a nobody with no godfather to support him. If B fails your job will be questioned esp by Fans, If A fails you will be criticized for not selecting B but you will get away with it.
Yes, still B... because being star of ODI (like Sehvag who is hard hitter) does not necessarily mean you are good at Test where wickets are very important (not that its not important in ODI). Providing stability to innings by holding your wicket is very crucial because runs come along as you stay on wicket.
I'd rather not pick either one of em. Test cricket has changed a lot from the days of Shoaib Muhammad or Sunil Gavaskar. Trust me if Mr B scored 65 from 230 balls, there will be a lot of criticism for that player, saying he didnt give chance to other players to score some runs. I wouldnt mind a 65 from 150 balls but 230 is too slow from the current standards of Test cricket and hell if you stuck around that long then "B" should have gone for a big innings.
Compare that to Mr "A" who made 70 in 70 balls, if given the option I'll probably have the coach give him some temprament lesson and stick with him for the next match, with the clear message that if he tries to play another ODI innings he can kiss his Test career (atleast for now) goodbye.
Asif itna tu kise team ka captain bhe nahi sochta i guess jitna aap hamain sucha rahey hoo :)
My selection of the opener will also depend on the remaining batting lineup. If i have batsman with temperament like Miandad, Dravid, Salim Malik, Arvinda D’Silva, Youhana then I’ll select Batsman “A” as an opener but if I have batsmen like Sehwag, Ijaz, Amir Sohail, Sidhu, Imran Nazir then I will select batsman “B”
These days in test cricket, one must have a strike rate of atleast 50 to be considered a good batsman, specially when it comes to openers.
I wouldn't mind having both of them, because one is keeping the run rate good and the other one is keeping the wickets in hand.
In one dayers I would prefer B, but in test A is more favorable.
LahoriMunda - I agree one is too agressive and the other one is too slow. But we also have to keep in mind that on fast pitches in australia and South Africa - Playing for that long is a challenge in itself. No ?
Let's assume Pakistan is playing a Test at perth against Australia and you have the option of playing either Imran Nazir or Md. Hafeez at the opener's slot. Nazir is agressive, not afraid to take chances and is known for his good strike rate whereas Hafeez is cool, calm, with lit of patience and willing to wait for the loose ball and careful with a below avg. strike rate. There is a fair chance that Nazir will score more runs than Hafeez and much faster than Hafeez, however it is also more likely that Nazir will get out sooner than Hafeez.
So lets assume that Nazir scores 50 runs in 50 balls and gets out before lunch on the 1st day of the test and at that time Hafeez was still at 10 in as many balls. Pakistan has Inzamam, YoYo, Younis Khan, Hameed Razzaq and Latif in the batting line up. Hafeez finally get out after scoring 35 runs in 130 balls just before tea with Pakistan's innings 160/3 and Inzamam also back in the Dressing room in the previous over.
Day 1 ends with Pakistan 240 for 4 - With Hafeez, Nazir, Inzamam and Hameed Out. Younis khan and YoYo batting at the end. Now whose innings is more valuable, Hafeez's or Nazir's ?
(this is assuming both Nazir and Hafeez are playing)
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by LahoriMunda: *
Umair bhai kheriat to hai... you want someone who makes 65 in 230 balls to be in the one dayers??? baki team kay pass 70 balls bachain gi.....
[/QUOTE]
I am just assuming that B won't take 230 balls but more like a strike rate of 50, kind of like our Hafeez, but bigger scores.
I think 230 balls is suitable for test.
You did not give say its Pakistan team we are talking about. Lets just turn the table and say its Sehwaq who makes 50 off 50 balls. Now the biggest thing he has done is he put the bowlers and the fielders under pressure. The captain is thinking about field changes. On the other hand if you have someone else who comes and plays as slow as a turtle the bowlers and the fielders wont be under any pressure. The bowlers will try different things and trust me if you have Shoaib Akhtar or Bret Lee on the other hand with no fear of being hit around they will make life very uncomfortable for you. So yes playing too fast is test can be damaging but so can playing too slow ands I'd rather take my chances with the faster one. Get him some temprament advice from Miandad or Gavaskar and hope for the best.
i would say none...if these 2 batsmen have been doing it consistently, then they shouldnt be given a chance to open at all...a good test batsman is the one who knows how to convert his 50s to 100s and 200s...
Lahorimunda - I wasn't talking about Pakistan in particular, I just chose it as an example so that you could understand my point better. Well as you said Let's Take India's innings yesterday, Sehwag (an experienced batsman) made 29 in 32 balls whereas Copra( a debutant) scored only 42 in 116 balls and stayed until 37th over, now who do you think played a better innings, Sehwag or chopra ? Whose innings had a character and whose inning was more valuable for the team ?
As far as your 50 runs in 50 balls is concerned, I dont think it makes any difference at the beginning of the innings. In fact it would put a smile on the opposing captain's face (instead of panic) because he knows he can exploit the batsman's aggresiveness and get him out. A shrewed captain would love to see your main batsman on the ground when the pitch is still green and the ball is still new. No ?