Are we really going to pretend that Murali Vijay....

[Dan]

Yes. I am going to pretend he isn't the 2nd best opener in the world, even if all evidence proves that he is.

 

[Dan]

Also is this the CW equivalent of one of those tweets where you passive-aggressively target someone without actually mentioning them? Because this thread works so, so perfectly for that given that my anti-Vijay agenda is reaching antivaxxer levels.

 

[fredfertang]

Far too prone to getting to 140 and then getting out soon after

 

[weldone]

Everyone believed Cook had a legitimate chance of beating Sachin's run tally. Funny times.

That's non-issue - Tendulkar has been compared to at least 40 batsmen in the last 25 years (not talking about CW)

Still remember when Pakistanis were raving about how this new kid called Basit Ali will be better than Tendulkar; also remember how some Indians genuinely believed even though Tendulkar is better in ODIs Vinod Kambli will be better in tests. Sanjay Manjrekar was touted as the most promising Indian batsman till 1991-92 tour down under. In 1993 Mark Waugh was better than Tendulkar, de Silva in 1997. Some thought Ganguly is the better ODI opener after 1999 WC. Apart from the more serious comparisons (like Lara, Ponting, Dravid, Kallis, S Waugh), there have been so many fringes at different points in time. Jayasuriya, Afridi, and the list goes on...People are comparing Kohli with him nowadays..

And it's not about ordinary people only, some so-called experts joined the bandwagon. After watching a young Ajit Agarkar's back-to-back centuries in Ranji Trophy Sunil Gavaskar predicted that we now know the next great batsman from Mumbai after Tendulkar

It's funny that people (outside CW) didn't compare these players against each other - but everyone was pitted against Tendulkar. Nobody compared Basit Ali with Vinod Kambli.

 

[Jono]

Everyone believed Cook had a legitimate chance of beating Sachin's run tally. Funny times.

My favourite thing to refer to. The certainty of it was hilarious.

SilentStriker thought Cook was the second coming.

 

[Pratters]

At one stage almost every one thought Ponting would overtake Tendulkar in test runs scored.

 

[Pratters]

Growing up my comparison point was always Steve Waugh as he was the best test batsman for a while before Lara and Tendulkar had their rivalry of sorts.

 

[Maximas]

Cook's been fairly dire since the tour of India IIRC, which was two years ago.

So yes, but it wouldn't surprise me if Latham and/or Brathwaite overtake him in the near future.

If Kaushal Silva starts turning 50s into 100s every now and again he's right up there too, see how he goes in NZ, him, Latham and Braithwaite still have quite a lot to prove.

Vijay is both reasonably consistent and able to go big in both home and foreign conditions, something no other opener in world cricket has truly achieved really, Warner still has a bit to prove in the SC IMO

 

[anil1405]

The one thing about Vijay I really admire is the turnaround he has made in last year or so. There was a stage (1-2 years ago) where it looked like T20 has pretty much damaged his reputation as a test player or more aptly tarnished his batting technique that he grew up with. But very good to see that it was just one of those rare patches in his career and something that isn't affecting him in the long run.

 

[cnerd123]

Yea agreed. Vijay has always been gun in FC and was really good at the start of his career. It's just that he had a great IPL followed by a poor FC season and was brought back to the Test side when out of touch, leading everyone to feel that he was a glorified T20 player who didn't have what it takes.

Glad to see him proving everyone wrong now.

 

[weldone]

Yea agreed. Vijay has always been gun in FC and was really good at the start of his career. It's just that he had a great IPL followed by a poor FC season and was brought back to the Test side when out of touch, leading everyone to feel that he was a glorified T20 player who didn't have what it takes.

Glad to see him proving everyone wrong now.

Ya actually after the first couple of IPL seasons his attitude towards test matches changed; he temporarily lost patience and concentration. He had those qualities to start with; good to see him regain those.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Also is this the CW equivalent of one of those tweets where you passive-aggressively target someone without actually mentioning them? Because this thread works so, so perfectly for that given that my anti-Vijay agenda is reaching antivaxxer levels.

Didn't have anyone, much less you in mind when I created the thread tbh. Cbf with all the 'tasting' posts filling up the forum. Wasn't thinking of calling you out for a "taste" or anything. Find that tiring. I was reminded of the Tom Southee thread and the "Moeen is a perfectly fine bowler" posts and both sentiments seemed to apply to Vijay.

If anything, Vijay has made us Indian fans eat humble pie far more than anyone else. No one thought he'd succeed when he was picked in the australia series at home last year. When he did score runs, everyone then reverted to "Oh, he'll obviously suck overseas". Then when he gunned it in SA, some said it was a one off. Now the excuses have just run out.

It's pretty amazing, because his initial return to the squad went against everything we here like to talk about as the proper way to select someone for tests. He didn't score in the domestic too heavily, he played ipl, and was generally seen as an ipl only commodity.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Summed up very well OS, it may end up that this is Vijay having the purple patch of his career and drops off soon but he is causing lots to eat humble pie at present.

 

[Dan]

Didn't have anyone, much less you in mind when I created the thread tbh. Cbf with all the 'tasting' posts filling up the forum. Wasn't thinking of calling you out for a "taste" or anything. Find that tiring. I was reminded of the Tom Southee thread and the "Moeen is a perfectly fine bowler" posts and both sentiments seemed to apply to Vijay.

If anything, Vijay has made us Indian fans eat humble pie far more than anyone else. No one thought he'd succeed when he was picked in the australia series at home last year. When he did score runs, everyone then reverted to "Oh, he'll obviously suck overseas". Then when he gunned it in SA, some said it was a one off. Now the excuses have just run out.

It's pretty amazing, because his initial return to the squad went against everything we here like to talk about as the proper way to select someone for tests. He didn't score in the domestic too heavily, he played ipl, and was generally seen as an ipl only commodity.

Haha, I wasn't being serious there :P

FTR my issue with Vijay stemmed from that IPL-ness of his career -- he made the Test side, had some success vs. Australia and looked pretty decent, then lost form in real cricket while dominating the IPL year to year. And then he got re-picked for Tests on the basis of his IPL form when he'd done nothing to deserve it.

See also: Shaun Marsh, Aaron Finch (without the 'selected for Tests' bit).

 

[Antihippy]

Is shaun marsh really selected on IPL form though or because his dad is a selector?

 

[Bahnz]

I rate Tom Latham. Great technique. Knows his game so well. Knows exactly what to play and what not to play according to his abilities. I am very impressed by him. I hope he has a great career. I am actually most excited about Latham among the three openers.

Jeez, hendrix must've nearly ripped his **** off at the sight of this post.

 

[Riggins]

Is shaun marsh really selected on IPL form though or because his dad is a selector?

this is great on both levels.

 

[Prince EWS]

You'd have to take Vijay for a one off match starting next week. If I was asked to pick a team to play several matches in different conditions over a 12-month period though I'd definitely back Cook to come good and add more than Vijay overall in that time, so it depends how you view the question. Cook is in awful touch but I don't think he's actually declined per se; I think he's still the second best opener in cricket.

 

[andruid]

...isn't the second best opener in the world behind David Warner?
And no "There aren't any other quality openers" nonsense. Runs in ENgland , runs in South Africa, runs in Australia. 3 best attacks in world cricket and the 3 toughest conditions for India traditionally. He's awesome and we should all bow down to his ***iness

Yes! Yes! 10,000 times YES! *Sees self to door*

 

[Daemon]

I actually think Vijay will do a good job seeing off the new ball. He's a good leaver of the ball and he did that pretty well against Steyn when he was bowling a crazy spell back in the 2010 SA series.

Hey guys remember this before the South Africa series? I'm sure you do because I've mentioned it at least 10 times by now.

All the vijay haters back then can suck my balls