Aussie Players benchmark for rest of the cricketers

[Rehan_24]

I remember when Mark Taylor was smashing Pakistani bowlers a long time ago in Pakistan home ground If I remember correctly. Mark Taylor was placing a great inning and it looked imminent that this man will break Brain Lara's record of 385 Runs but I got really shocked when I saw that Taylor has declared the innings when he was on his way to shatter some records.

The next day I read the headline in the local newspaper where Taylor said that "Bradman was the greatest batsman and I wont break his record" That statement was so much inspirational for me and I said wow thats very impressive, such a class player Mark Taylor is and he is giving respect to the greatest batsmen of all time in cricketing history Sir Don Bradman.

The recent test at the sydney cricket ground felt to me like a flashback or i should say that the clocked ticked back. Micheal Clarke was at the prefect position to break many records, He could even break Lara's 400 Runs Test Record but he didn't.... He played for the team not for himself.

He said that If more runs from my bat would have needed for my team then I would have continued to bat on, and I am very much hopeful that likewise Ponting, Warner, Watson, Marsh and Hussey these players have also the same philosophy which is "Play for the team first than yourself"

I have highest regards for some of the great players from other nations but I am sorry to say I have never seen THAT committment for their teams relative to Australian Players.

Be it Inzamam-ul-Haq, Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis or Rahul Dravid... They are good and play for their teams but lack that professionalism which the Australian players have. In the past there are examples where these players played for themselves and got angry when they couldnt break some records for some reasons whatsoever. I dont wanna discuss that to keep the thread clean. Well I got so much impress with Clarke statement that I created this new thread for their professionalism

There is no doubt on that Australia has a fantastic first class structure which keeps its great pool of talent intact but the reason of their continouos success and the winning of world cups is also because of their tradition of putting the team first before themselves

 

[CG123]

Well I got so much impress with Clarke statement that I created this new thread for their professionalism

I lost my respect for Clarke at the lack of respect he showed us (the New Zealand team) after the Hobart Test. There was no shortage of him giving credit to Warner for his innings, but he didn't give the likes of Bracewell any credit at all.

In response to the rest of the thread, Fleming showed that same "professionalism" when he declared the New Zealand innings when he was on 274 not out, only 25 runs short of Martin Crowe's New Zealand record. He could have batted into day three to break Crowe's record, but he declared the innings so he could have a bowl at them (Sri Lanka) for a few overs at the end of day two.

Yes there are examples of what you're saying, like Brian Lara batting into day three to break Hayden's record, but the "commitment" you're talking about definitely does not only exist with Australian players.

 

[puddleduck]

The other side is Hayden smashing 380 against a woeful Zimbabwe team. Essentially ignoring the history that Taylor and the Don had set.

There were a lot of people that wanted Lara to beat the record again, because even though England weren't the strongest team in the world, it at least meant more than bludgeoning Zimbabwe.

 

[MUFC1987]

I was one of those. Lara deserves that record. He gets a lot of flak for not declaring earlier, but it was a road, he needed a miracle to bowl England out twice.

Forgive me for not jumping along to sing the Australian's praises though. I've seen enough of their 'win at any costs' attitude to not be a fan of the recent generations, including Clarke.

 

[puddleduck]

Me too. Didn't really seem any doubt he wouldn't once he got past 10

 

[StinkyBoHoon]

is this not one of those oft repeated cliches in cricket "I was pleased to make a [insert personal milestone] but what's important is the team won." jayawardena's column in cricinfo has just been an exercise in trying to come up with 7 million different ways to express this.

 

[puddleduck]

"The next session is crucial"

 

[StinkyBoHoon]

"i intend to keep playing my natural game" - i'm going to get out driving within 10 balls in the next game as well.

 

[mrtwisties]

I lost my respect for Clarke at the lack of respect he showed us (the New Zealand team) after the Hobart Test. There was no shortage of him giving credit to Warner for his innings, but he didn't give the likes of Bracewell any credit at all.

Gotta be honest, mate, that sounds like an excuse rather than a real reason. Or if it is a real reason, it's an astonishingly fickle one - like not rating Bradman very highly because he didn't give props to Keith Miller.

 

[Sedition]

I wouldn't have given Bracewell any credit either after he'd just gotten me out 15 times in one test.

 

[StinkyBoHoon]

did he actually declare short of 334 as a tribute to bradman or a people just reading into it?

because to me that seems like a bit of an equally fawny sort of "look what I did" statement as much as hitting a personal landmark like 400. like I'm not bagging making personal landmarks, i totally understand it when players try to make their 100 as has happened loads of times or 200 like tendulkar scored in the ODI, dhoni deliberately giving him strike, mark taylor stopping at 334 was also a lovely touch, but it doesn't sit that comfortably with "the declaration was all for the team" thing either. it was either a nod to bradman or it was the exact right time to declare, it's possible it was both but they do sit as contradictory things to do, so it seems odd to be praising him for doing both.

I don't think it was a nod to bradman personally.

I don't mind clarke, I kind of like his bottle actually when the wheels were coming off australia, but I'm not a huge fan. people liked to call him pup back in the dominant aussie era, ponting's lapdog would have been a better nickname.

 

[CG123]

Gotta be honest, mate, that sounds like an excuse rather than a real reason. Or if it is a real reason, it's an astonishingly fickle one - like not rating Bradman very highly because he didn't give props to Keith Miller.

I probably worded what I meant slightly wrong above. I still think Clarke's a very decent cricketer, but he just came across as a bit of a ???????? to me in that post-match interview. Similarly with someone like Ponting, he's one of the best batsmen I've ever seen, but as a person I don't really like him. I guess imo rating someone as a player, and having respect from someone/liking them is different.

My comment was in response to Clarke's "professionalism", and a true professional would have giving credit where credit is due, which it was when Bracewell, and the whole New Zealand team had done what they did. When you're the first Australian captain to lose to a New Zealand team on your own patch in 26 years, I guess it's somewhat understandable, but there's some stuff imo he should have said which he didn't.

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And now I don't want to come across as a ????????, but tbh the original poster should probably take his Australian eye-patch off.

 

[swacker]

I know that tightly clashed lower scoring Tests are more entertaining but there's something great about just looking at a scorecard like that! Fantastic effort from Clarke, and probably a sensible increase for his average to make sure he declared not out!

 

[mrtwisties]

I guess it's somewhat understandable, but there's some stuff imo he should have said which he didn't.

Sure, but wouldn't you prefer to evaluate someone on their behaviour rather than their performance in press conferences? Dhoni says some really daft stuff, but I sure do like the way he called Ian Bell back to the crease. Border was a growly bastard, but he didn't flinch against the West Indies. Hadlee apparently wasn't great on the interpersonal skills, but he never gave up. That sort of thing.

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Sorry, I think I should probably be making more of a point about the media than disagreeing with your personal opinion, which can obviously be whatever you'd like it to be. It just gets to me how, for example, Clarke once had the decency to break up with his fiancee face-to-face, the class to score a big century under pressure when he returned, and yet all the media could talk about from that episode was how he combed his hair before getting off the plane. Sure, he's a bit of a knob. But underneath being a knob, his behaviour suggests that he's probably a pretty good bloke.

 

[CG123]

Yeah, he probably is a decent guy, I just thought he could've paid a bit more credit to New Zealand's great achievement.

Like you kind of say I think we're coming at this from different angles, which is why we're disagreeing.