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The great (and meaningless) acts of batting bullying in recent times.

TheJediBrah

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Eh, Hayden was also dropped like 4 times. And sure they had Streak but Blignaut was never really an international-class bowler. Price wasn't much chop in Tests either.
 

Bolo

State Captain
Ya, that attack was dire. Streak was over the hill. Price (who I think was pretty solid generally) and blignaut were terrible in away tests. The 4th and 5th bowlers were basically part timers, even in 1st class. I think credit is being given because it's Zim, and a poor attack is expected.

But it wasn't just the bowling quality. 2003 AUS at home, on a pancake, vs Zim, who had fallen off a cliff in quality recently.

And they batted too long to allow Hayden to get the world record in a rain affected match. Declaring earlier would clearly have given them better odds of winning.
 

Himannv

International Coach
Yes, we all know that :) But SL had the potential to win a few more test series than they achieved. Unfortunately, they could not. What I mentioned was one such missed chance.
Not sure how that was a chance to win a Test. SL only matched India's 1st innings score somewhere around tea on day 4. It was obvious a win wasn't on the cards and they just decided to keep batting. It was probably worth it IMO.

1st Test, India tour of Sri Lanka at Colombo, Aug 2-6 1997 | Match Summary | ESPNCricinfo
 

Top_Cat

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And they batted too long to allow Hayden to get the world record in a rain affected match. Declaring earlier would clearly have given them better odds of winning.
What would a good declaration have looked like to you? They won the match and declared on day 2. The only reason Hayden was within range of the record was because they were going at a run-a-ball for most of his innings.
 
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Bolo

State Captain
It was a good decleration. May as well go for the record under the circumstances. I'm not sure anyone will have a chance like that again without negatively affecting their team's odds significantly, which this didn't.

But it did have a minor negative impact on the teams chance of success- ie. It's pure bullying. A Zim team with a best bat averaging 30 are not making 735 runs in two innings against an AUS attack. Their only hope of saving the game is some combination of blockathon and rain.

650, maybe less depending on how much rain was likely if the only goal is to win.
 

stephen

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Yeah declaring on day 2 is never too late unless a cyclone is blowing in. Hayden's innings was fine and left them plenty of time to dismiss Zimbabwe twice.

He was dropped a couple of times but if I remember correctly they were when he was already part the triple century mark.
 

ImpatientLime

International Regular
lol the absolute state of people complaining about the timing of a declaration in a game where the team who declared won by an innings
 

Bolo

State Captain
lol the absolute state of people complaining about the timing of a declaration in a game where the team who declared won by an innings
Read the thread to the end and reassess what specifically is being complained about and whether your innings statement makes any sense at all in the context of the match.
 

SteveNZ

Cricketer Of The Year
The important thing to remember that human beings, by and large, are selfish beings. People, especially international cricketers, have egos. Yes team comes first, but the ability to facilitate milestones and records along the way is all part of individual expression (yes it's an individual game inside a team sport) and therefore team unity.

John Wright tried to come into the NZ environment when he was coach and dispel all notion of individual milestones being of any importance. Noble in theory, but completely impossible in practicality. At the end of the day, milestones and achievements help players hold onto their jobs, sign endorsements etc. So if there's batting bullying at any stage, probably not surprising.
 

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