Tony Cozier slams Lara

[Sanz]

OfCourse there is always an excuse. So is that the best he could come up with despite being so articulate, gracious and polite ?

 

[C_C]

OfCourse there is always an excuse. So is that the best he could come up with despite being so articulate, gracious and polite ?

That response, by no stretch of immagination was outside the realms of politeness and graciousness. He was asked a pointed personal question and answered it as such.
You seriously cannot compare Tendulkar's conduct off and on the field to Lara's.

 

[Benny2k1]

That response, by no stretch of immagination was outside the realms of politeness and graciousness. He was asked a pointed personal question and answered it as such.
You seriously cannot compare Tendulkar's conduct off and on the field to Lara's.

yeh you can, both are winners, sachin has had his moments and probably would act the same as lara has. if you actually put ur sachin worship to side for a second you mite actually see it.

 

[C_C]

yeh you can, both are winners, sachin has had his moments and probably would act the same as lara has. if you actually put ur sachin worship to side for a second you mite actually see it.

For fux sake, i dont worship Sachin- i consider him as the second best batsman ever and the template on good behaviour both on and off the field.
So far, he hasnt walked off mid tour ala Lara, dissed the sport that earned him his name, ala Lara, beat the #$#@ outta his girlfriend ala Lara, been a condescending **** with the umpires ala Lara, openly instigated confrontations in the middle ala Lara, openly mocked the groundsmen/board ala Lara (despite facing similar troubles), etc etc. And he's been a superstar from a far younger age than Lara to boot, dealing with an infinitely more intrusive media and popular pressure.
All in all, i consider Tendulkar as a template for 'how to behave on and off the field for a superstar' and Lara as a template for 'how NOT to behave on and off the field for a superstar'.

 

[JBH001]

Actually if you threw away your pro Lara bias, you might see there is no comparison between them as cricketers - in the best sense of the term.

Sure Sachin has been prone to some of the ills endemic to Indian Cricket (regional bias etc. but even that not in excessive amounts) but he has never thrown his toys in the way Lara has done and still continues to do. Despite being under more pressure and under a greater burden of expectation for most of his career. I think people forget that Sachin was a 16 year old when he stepped into test cricket - almost immediately he was made into a demi God with all that that implied. Yet he has hardly ever complained or moaned, thrown his toys or stalked off home with his bat.

Lara on the other simply pales in comparison - was this not the same person who worked against the captaincy of Hooper and Walsh (if I remember some newspaper articles right)? The same person who left his team on a tour of England and returned home?

Jeez what a cry baby, not to mention loser. Whatever his feelings on the matter they should have been aired in the proper manner - and mocking his own groundstaff in such a public manner is just plain rude.

Once again Lara proves that when it comes to the crunch he does not have what it takes.

Whatever their merits as batsmen - and I usually hold them as equals, there is no comparison when it comes to the larger picture of cricketer and team man. Sachin towers over Lara, head and shoulders and possibly quite a bit more.

 

[roseboy64]

Viv Richards and Clive Lloyd basically every other captain in WI history has had a great input into team selection(Chanderpaul excluded). I'm pretty sure the WICB wouldn't do to those guys what's happened to Lara. AFAIC he's well within his rights to complain. Pretty much every captain in international cricket gets the team he wants. Why should the case be different for Lara? I'd only disagree with him about degrading the groundstaff otherwise he's pretty much spot on. Saying these things in private would have made no difference. This is the WICB we're talking about. Lara doing this is probably the only way these things will get resolved. Trust me. And you're judging Lara on his past nto what he is now. It's because he was like that in the past why he never got the respect of the players. He has their respect now. I'm pretty sure it's not just because he's the oldest guy on the team.

 

[roseboy64]

For fux sake, i dont worship Sachin- i consider him as the second best batsman ever and the template on good behaviour both on and off the field.
So far, he hasnt walked off mid tour ala Lara, dissed the sport that earned him his name, ala Lara, beat the #$#@ outta his girlfriend ala Lara, been a condescending **** with the umpires ala Lara, openly instigated confrontations in the middle ala Lara, openly mocked the groundsmen/board ala Lara (despite facing similar troubles), etc etc. And he's been a superstar from a far younger age than Lara to boot, dealing with an infinitely more intrusive media and popular pressure.
All in all, i consider Tendulkar as a template for 'how to behave on and off the field for a superstar' and Lara as a template for 'how NOT to behave on and off the field for a superstar'.

So you're saying Lara's worse than Shane Warne and Ricky Ponting?

 

[Benny2k1]

Exactly Roseboy, Lara is doing what he needs to do for the good of West Indies Cricket, Im sure Sachin would do the same if he was captain, If he didnt id be dissapointed!! Shows Lara has the best Interests of West Indies Cricket at heart

C_C your turning this personal which IMO is wrong.

"beat the #$#@ outta his girlfriend ala Lara" have you got any evidence to prove this statement? ive never heard that, and if it is true, i am not condoning it and it was wrong but you cant make a statement on some ones character like that when arguing bout cricket matters!"

and yeh i do like Lara abit more than sachin but i dont take it as far as some people who make personal statements bout Lara to make sachin look good!

Even if i did want to trawl up some stories bout Sachin, i could, but i dont want to personally attack some one, am just making a personal opinion on why Lara is doing what he is doing and i get replys of Sachin is a perfect model of how to behave, then i am going to argue my case back!!

 

[viktor]

Viv Richards and Clive Lloyd basically every other captain in WI history has had a great input into team selection(Chanderpaul excluded). I'm pretty sure the WICB wouldn't do to those guys what's happened to Lara. AFAIC he's well within his rights to complain. Pretty much every captain in international cricket gets the team he wants. Why should the case be different for Lara? I'd only disagree with him about degrading the groundstaff otherwise he's pretty much spot on. Saying these things in private would have made no difference. This is the WICB we're talking about. Lara doing this is probably the only way these things will get resolved. Trust me.

I don't think anybody has an issue with players trashing the management in public; by and large, (except for Aus and Eng), they deserve it. It was Lara's degrading the groundstaff that really irritated most people. That is just not on. You can have an opinion before the game but once it begins, thats it. Both sides are playing on it. Personally, I admired Mark Taylor for his response when his team lost at Delhi in 1995; asked about the pitch, he said "I've seen them better, I've seen them worse."

 

[roseboy64]

I agree about the pitch thing.

 

[adharcric]

Agree that Lara and Tendulkar don't compare in terms of conduct and behavior.
Lara still didn't commit a huge sin or anything; the selectors are bigger idiots.

 

[honestbharani]

Sorry, i dont see how it is McGrath's fault for that tete a tete.
McGrath had delivered the ball, turned around and was walking back when Lara deliberately bumped into him and instigated the war of words, at which point Pidge looked towards the umpire with ' can anyone please get this hanky panky midget off my back?' look on his face.
Make no mistake, Pidge is not the benchmark for behaviour by any stretch of immagination but Lara was very much the instigator of that verbal fight.
And i do think lara is a spoilt brat- i've given sufficient example of his brattish attitudes, not to mention, utter lack of class in the most recent test series.

u should have watched the overs and the balls before that.

 

[honestbharani]

i never said that i had problems with the mumbai pitch either, merely with pontings attitude towards it.

I didn't mean it towards u. I meant, in general. A no. of guys who felt that mumbai pitch was a disaster are keeping kinda mum now reg. this pitch.

 

[honestbharani]

I don't believe that was his intention then.



I don't remember this, but even if it happened, so what? Most people say far worse, and I think its all part of the game anyway. Harbhajan recently said that to an English player, and I'm OK with that (as long as you wont whine if it happens to you). Out in the middle, away from the media, I think you should use every advantage you can get.

Besides McGrath doesn't exactly have a clean reputation when it comes to losing temper either.....



Finally, you said something right. Though I think it shouldn't be in Mumbai, because then it would be hard for me to visit.

It was only as bad as wat Lara did to McGrath at Barbados. And at least, for Lara, McGrath had been sledging him earlier during that innings. With Sachin, he hit McGrath for a six during his second over and then started sledging him left, right and centre. Also, during the match in which India passed 300 for the first time in an ODI at Sharjah against Pak, you can clearly see him mouthing obscene words to Saqlain Mushtaq after he had him LBW. Even Gavaskar didn't support him then, and THAT was a first.

 

[honestbharani]

Good call Sanz



C_C you cant say that, we all know how much by ur posts how crazy you are about tendulkar, but he is no more or no less a sportsman/gentleman than Lara, they are both great cricketers, Put sachin in laras situation and what would he do, go down quietly? if i was a west Indian fan i wouldd want to see the captain coming out fighting shows he cares!!

And yes i am a lara fan am not going to deny that but i at least am not pretending that lara is head and shoulders above the rest its just an issue to me that people think that sachin is the be all and end all.

And im not having a go C_C you are entitled to your opinion and i respect it, just dont like seeing you always putting Sachin on a different plane to every one else, so i like to put my point accross too no offence intended in any of my posts

Lara is easily the most sporting cricketer I have seen. Sure, he had a turbulent time for a couple of years in the mid 90s with him not seeing eye to eye with Richie Richardson and Courtney Walsh but since 99, he has been easily one of the best behaved cricketers around. He does retaliate when provoked, while Sachin sometimes keeps low but that is hardly a fault. It is not like Sachin didn't have his problems with the then captain Azharuddin. I agree that Sachin did well to never publicly comment on those things like Lara did, but there is also the matter of different cultures there. Like I said, I do think Sachin, overall, has been a better behaved cricketer than Lara, but really, Lara is no spoilt brat and Sachin is not as good as CC and some others here claim.

 

[honestbharani]

That was in response to a direct question thrown at him.



There is nothing ungracious about being 'surprised and disappointed'. Gracious and/or ungraciousness involves human interactive conduct. Not personal opinion over a milestone.



Go to caribbeancricket.com and see for yourself. Lara is quite invovled in a power struggle with WICB because its too much for him to be a player and not captain on the field.

The question was how does it feel to have defeated Pak in world cup. Where did the "we have defeated them 4 times in a row" come into that? He has made his share of mistakes. Plz accept that. He has been easily the best role model for youngsters in India. And I have the highest regard for him because not everyone is mature enough to decline ads for cigarettes and alcohol at the age of 20 citing the fact that "kids look at me as their rolemodel". I respect Sachin as much as anyone but u trying to find an excuse for every mistake he has made is really funny right now.

 

[honestbharani]

No, he was complaining leading up to the last test, *****ing and moaning right when Dave Mohhamad was dropped and he didn't get a bowler. In fact, the board to had to tell Lara to cut it out....

why is it wrong again? SAchin kept complaining that pitches in INdia weren't of good quality for a year after he became captain. And I like to think that a year is longer than 3 weeks.

 

[honestbharani]

Tendulkar was SPECIFICALLY asked how he felt about it- he answered it.
There is a categoric difference in experessing personal opinion in mild terms when pointedly asked about it and throwing yer toys out of the pram like Lara does so often.

Rahul was asked abt him missing a hundred and his reply was short and sweet: "Us winning is more important right now".

 

[honestbharani]

I don't think anybody has an issue with players trashing the management in public; by and large, (except for Aus and Eng), they deserve it. It was Lara's degrading the groundstaff that really irritated most people. That is just not on. You can have an opinion before the game but once it begins, thats it. Both sides are playing on it. Personally, I admired Mark Taylor for his response when his team lost at Delhi in 1995; asked about the pitch, he said "I've seen them better, I've seen them worse."

Sachin complained abt the pitches for a year after he first took over the captaincy. And trust me, if I have a team with 4 medium pacers playing India in a decider of a test series and I get a pitch that turns a mile the first time a spinner bowls on it, I would be peeved too.

 

[honestbharani]

Agree that Lara and Tendulkar don't compare in terms of conduct and behavior.
Lara still didn't commit a huge sin or anything; the selectors are bigger idiots.

Actually, I think they do. Lara is definitely more sporting than Sachin in his own way. I agree that Sachin is better behaved overall, but again the diff. is not as big as u ppl project.


On that note, I would like to add that neither of these two can even come close to Jonty Rhodes, who I felt was the best behaved cricketer I have ever seen.