Did Younis time his ODI retirement right?
How to prevent bottle-throwing in cricket stadiums
Reader: ravishankar_bs
In Germany they collect 25/15 cents extra per bottle (called Pfand) and this money is returned when the bottle is given back. There is bar code on the bottle and there is a machine where you can give back so that the money is returned. German Government had this idea to avoid water bottles thrown everywhere. One can increase the deposit or security (Pfand) money so that people do not throw. This is positive way of motivating.
PCB chairman criticises Younis retirement
Reader: Nutcutlet
Perhaps it's a cultural thing, but when a man or woman decides that it is time to move on/retire then it is for the rest of the world to respect that decision . Only Younis Khan knows what he feels or how he thinks. He has been one of Pakistan's greatest cricketers and it ill behoves any other person, no matter of what rank or position, to criticise YK for deciding that now is the time to go from ODI cricket. At the age of nearly 38, he is mature enough to know his own mind. Besides which, he has not retired from Test cricket. Where else in the world would a man of his status and experience be criticised for making a sensible decision? Pakistani cricket is always a fraught place to survive, subject as it is to all manner of politicking and nefarious goings on. Personally, I'm surprised he's put up with it all for so long!
Younis Khan announces ODI retirement
Reader: salmantarar
Kudos to Younis Khan! He did the right thing and can prolong his career in test matches where he excels the realm. His selection to ODI team now threw a wrench in rebuilding efforts where a budding middle order needed confidence would have been under undue bench pressure for their place in the squad which would have showed in the performance as well. His retirement is also timely in a sense that he wouldn't be part of Pakistan's world Cup plans either and would have hindered rebuilding process. In test matches he builds his innings without much pressure and plays in his comfort zone as crease time in test match is actually good however the same doesn't work in ODI's as each passing over and each dot ball creates pressure which in my opinion has been his undoing in ODI cricket. Best of LUCK Younis!
Reader: Joe Williams
Younis Khan was a good player, though he could perform much better than what he ended up with. He would be regarded as one of the good batsmen but unfortunately i do not see him in ODIs greatest players list. His lack of concentration in start of inning was his major flaw in ODI but once he get settled down and scored 25-30 runs than usually he easily managed to convert it into 60-70s. He used to stabilize the middle order but at the same time was not a popular finisher, how often we saw him getting out at critical moments when only 30-40 runs to finish. I personally see Mohammad Rizwan or Asad Shafiq as his replacement in ODIs.
Spinners win India another three-day home Test
Reader: liz1558
Home advantage needs to be overcome, not by preparing bland one size fits all pitches, but by having a better all round side than the home team. And who is to decide what a 'good' pitch is when that definition will vary from nation to nation? This is a whinging Aussies problem. The real world solution: learn how to play equally well on turning/seaming/fast and bouncy pitches and you won't have a problem. The old Aussie side played in all the same conditions and beat everyone. And there is the reality, there isn't a great side playing Test cricket.
Refreshed Jadeja rediscovers his mojo
Reader: Leggie
Jadeja's positive attitude and his high energy on the field should always be admired. But the big mistake that the team management often does is playing Jadeja as an all rounder even on wickets that are "true" and those that do not offer variable bounce or spin. On those kind of wickets, batsmen often simply play him as a medium pace bowler, and he has consistently proved ineffective on such tracks. Also his batting does not quite stand-up against quality fast bowling (save for one miracle performance in Lords). While this success of Jadeja needs to be celebrated, I hope the team management follows the "horses for courses" approach and takes wise decisions in playing Jadeja only in conditions that suit his style of bowling/batting.
Warner's double-century crushes NZ spirits
Reader: Salmon89
Some folk need to give some credit where it is due. Just because someone scores runs doesn't mean the pitch is a road. Many people said the Gabba was flat too, but Oz still bowled out NZ twice. And a flat pitch does not in any way guarantee a batter will score runs. How many of the critics have ever batted for 2, 3, 4 hours in a club game, let alone 6.5 hours in 35 degree heat against a Test attack. Sure NZ didn't bowl as well as they could, but again, 6.5 hours in 35 degrees is tough.
Reader: akpy
Fans have a right to choose who their idol is but the thing about sachin has always been a slightly different deal especially for the 30-50 year olds, who all saw a significant and important phase of their lives coincide with Sachin and he made up for a bad day for us many many times. Other fans struggle to understand this especially as their own idol has also done his bit and most of them have contributed very well to India...but something about sachin starting from 15 years of age to retiring at 40...that emotional connection by one man is hard to explain, like people switching on their radio/TV sets just when he enters and switching off when he gets out...it is not like they are not interested in the Indian team but more to cool off after the high intensity and tension of watching sachin battle in a long innings or short innings..by end of day, they will look up scores and then think about sachin's 2nd innings.
Reader: venkatr_11
This is the passion for Tendulkar. He was a part of our heartbeats all along and no other International cricketer has managed to stir up this kind of an emotion among cricket fans! I had played representative cricket years ago and had the opportunity to be in some of the India camps and the experience when you get to see him in Flesh and Blood is surreal! It simply cannot be explained in words. I count myself as one of the very few lucky ones in this aspect. Watching the game yesterday took me back to the wonderful years where you have watched every ball in a test or ODI around the world sacrificing sleep, school and everything else!
Dilshan and Mathews seal thumping win
Reader: SLC_OBSERVER
This is the best batting line up we ever had for a T20. We don't need to change anyone. All what we need is to have a few extra batters to cover injuries or out of form players. We have Thirimanne and Kithuruwan. If we groom another two or three that would be sufficient. It was a great win because we batted first and won against a side with some of the most explosive hitters in T20s. And also there were two other big hitters who did not come to the crease, Samarawickrama and Kapugedara. But the bowling was a different story. Apart from Malinga others were below par. Someone really needs to work with Chameera to get the best out of his menacing pace. I think our fast bowlers need an international coach and a fitness specialist. We cannot expect anything better from Kulasekara and his inclusion is not justifiable, same goes for Senanayake. He is no longer an effective bowler after his comeback. The answer is Vandersay. In my opinion we need a coach for our spinners too.
Compiled by Delisa D'Souza