Beer, Chips and Cricket

This is a site about drinking beer, eating chips and thinking cricket. I am not a former player, a television commentaror or a journalist; my qualification to being worthy of hearing is that I drink a lot of beer, eat a lot of chips and think a lot about cricket. The thoughts need not be politically correct and often include colourful language but there will be no deliberate bias towards any player, community or state. I don't care about popular opinion or perceptions and I speak it as I see it.

Tuesday, September 21, 2004

Tendulkar – Still a run machine but…

I sent this to Rediff ... don't know if they carry it ... if they don't carry it by September 28, I will put the article here on my blog.

Cheers

The Chuckster

****************************************************************************

Tendulkar – Still a run machine but…

Imagine the scene where Viv Richards pads up two consecutive balls, leaves the next one outside off stump and then presents a straight bat to the remaining three and explains to all the bewildered fans around that he was being responsible since tea break was only 20 minutes away. Really, I would ask for my money back.

When Richards batted, one could see he was the best and that everyone, including him, knew it. Tendulkar once batted that way. Richards kept the image till the time he left the scene. Tendulkar is fast losing the dynamic image gained over 16 hard and backbreaking years and I just can’t understand why it seems such a clever idea to him.

(To be cont...)

posted by The Chuckster @ 3:54 AM  

20 Comments:

  • At Friday, September 24, 2004 5:54:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I fully agree with you on the Tendulkars bat. I like the way he scores runs and not how many he scores :)

     

  • At Friday, September 24, 2004 6:10:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    viv richards is a fighter.. whereas tendulkar is just a personal record maker.. there are no instances where tendulkar stood firm when india needed him. so, stop wasting your time in over-hyping him.

     

  • At Friday, September 24, 2004 6:23:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    You are spot on, Chuckster. Sachin (as i prefer to call him) is crazy to bat the way he does today. Outside Off or Outside Leg is any captain's call to his bowlers once Sachin walks in to bat. I am one of Sachin's greatest fans and it pains me to sit n watch him be a shadow of the genius he once was.

    One important point about his so-called 'great' double-hundred in Sydney : If he had not exhibited such great self-control and wasted so much time, India would have won the test and with it the series.

    Srikanth
    srikanth_ramachandran@yahoo.com

     

  • At Friday, September 24, 2004 6:36:00 AM, Blogger WYSIWYG said…

    Well! They did carry it. Great article ... it lends voice to the question that has been on every Indians mind especially since the 241* in Australia. "Do I really enjoy watching Tendulkar bat anymore?" Well I certainly don't, although I don't deny that his presence in the Indian Locker Room is a blessing in itself as is clearly evident from the last few games sans Sachin.

    Blog away Chuck
    Manish

     

  • At Friday, September 24, 2004 7:14:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Is all that you guys want a good entertaining innings from sachin and don't care what happens to the team. Interesting! Have any of you guys watched the ICC championship. India did very well without Sachin. Come on guys! Somebody had nicely said that sachin's presence in the team has been taken for granted by us and we seem to have a ball ridculing him. People have a short memory. After the world cup, how many series has india played and badly did sachin do in those. not withstanding the fact that sachin's comtribution was the highlight of the world cup. How many of the present guys handlend Shoib Aktar with any hint of confidence outside the subcontinent. People indeed have a short memory.
    So take a break, all of you. Sit and watch the genius reinvent himself and contribute his best for the country, which many of you sitting abroad cannot even think of doing and will not do even when presented with a chance

     

  • At Friday, September 24, 2004 7:19:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    very nice article. though it is different version of the game, i don't think that 241 is not anywhere near to that 70+ in the middle of dust storm or that 6 of shoib in bacward square or the burst against darren gough. to be remembered/recalled this 241 needs a medium to hold.... but that 6 against shoib... oh man... that is "THE FIRE!"

    --Pandi

     

  • At Friday, September 24, 2004 7:43:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I fully agree with the article, Sachin more of hype than has great. he is more of accumlator than a great team batsman. he scored his centuries in first innings when their was no pressure. when mattered he rarely played , the test against pak in 1999 where we lost by 17runs. sachin scored 150 but no use. i am not critizing this great player regarded by the great people. as a team man he hasn't produced anything worth to remembered. a die hard sachin fans (most of the indians) won't accept. india was playing since 1932 still we are same may be 2 or 3 from bottom. i would like to see india win rather than 200 from our batsman that doesn't make any difference of the match. our indian players is like a govt. job no fear of losing they can continue with their past past records. if our indian team would have been australia more than half would sit out of the team. they played good against aussies and pak, but we cannot live in past glory. i think we need players like andy flower, steve waugh, bevan, dravid, robin singh, than players like sachin, hayden, afiridi, sanath, gibbs these players are great but for team they rarely plays when matters. i was also one of the die hardfan of indian team since 1984, since it diminished with that time. as a common man i can judge the present team, they are good on paper than field. sorry to hurt the indian fans but accept the reality. please we should not live in the glory of past, if that then we have to think of the defeats also.

     

  • At Friday, September 24, 2004 8:04:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    you know what now when I argue with my frens here I can say that look this guy shares my sentiment. I am sick and tired of people fawning for Tendulkar when he has rarely stood the team in good stead na dspecially in Tests. In his quest for being a Dravid he doesnt look like tendulkar anymore. He iwas a super consistent Sehwag and thats what he should try to do. Do'nt try to be a Dravid for you are not and you cannot.

     

  • At Friday, September 24, 2004 8:17:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    TOTAL NON SENSE!!!!

    guys... given sachin a chance... i really dont understand.. of late all web sites are streaming in with articles abt sachins lost form and his past glory... WHY THE HELL ARE WE DRIVING HIM INTO RETIREMENT?? dont u all remember the way he played in the 2003 world cup??? dont u all remember his sixes off shoiab akthar??? and u say that he has been on his decline in the last 4 years!!! i am not even bringing statistics here... statistically, as u have mentioned, sachin has done well in the last few years.. in fact better than the 98-99 season.. but, even according to your measure... the way he hammers the bowling etc...etc.. SACHIN WAS GOD during the world cup...
    i agree he has not been batting well in the last few months... please give him some time! you cant blame him for not hitting sixes when he is not even playing the matches bcos of injury!!

    SACHIN WAS.. and STILL IS... KING!!
    and please... for heavens sake... dont create an impression in the minds of readers, by publising articles like this, that Sachin is due for retirement!!

     

  • At Friday, September 24, 2004 8:24:00 AM, Blogger Kushal Agrawal said…

    well said man. i too am a great sachin fan. but these days that flare n hunger is gone. its as if the blood inside him has gone cold with age. each time i watch him, i just pray that he gets back to the old sachin, but now i think it will remain a distant dream.

     

  • At Friday, September 24, 2004 9:17:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I agree with most of the comments made by The Chuckster, save for the stupid and rather unwanted comparisons with Rahul Dravid. I don't know about anyone else, but I would still "switch on the TV" to watch Rahul bat. I don't really care that much about Sachin any more. Rahul, contrary to what "experts" like to think and say is capable of and does play some exquisite shots whenever he is at the crease. There is not a single shot that he can't play in cricket and he plays them all beautifully. Indeed, just watching him build his innings is a joy to watch. If I have to watch a greater artist at work in cricket, it has to be VVS Laxman - when batting well like in Brisbane when he made 70 odd with Suarav, there is simply no equal. But coming back to Sachin, 100% agree with the Chuckster - doesn't make sense for him to play the way he is nowadays. Cricket is the loser in this fiasco and fiasco it is. Its like watching a Ferrari run like an old Ambassador, watchin Sachin bat.

     

  • At Friday, September 24, 2004 9:44:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    The article's purpose is simple. It's merely trying to make out the fact that the author feels that Sachin should resort to his earlier ways of batting which brought great joy to the audience. One should not try and read into how his style will the team's performance or whether he goes on to play until then end and win a match and so on..no one can dispute that one loves to watch Sachin only when he comes out blazing even if he goes out blazing. although even in defense Sachin looks better than dravid or any one else..i get my paisavasool whe Sachin goes after the bowling and the bowlers and that's that. As the author rightly mentiones when one says 'King' I want to recall the image of a Sachin hooking a shoaib delivery over squre leg for six or dancing down and smashing warne over long on or standing up and punching thru covers or the peerless straight drive not the gum chewing Richards who effortlessly puts one leg across and swing a bob willis over mid wicket..

     

  • At Friday, September 24, 2004 10:45:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Dear Author..what a article ! HATS OFF to u and the game u played with words.

    BUT MY FRIEND, IF U THINK U R CAPABLE ENOUGH TO WRITE IT, DO SOMETHING AND GET THIS POINT INTO THE MIND OF "THE TENDULKAR", IF U CAN.

    Simple request, from one true indian and cricket fan. Save india, Raise this point on big banner so that The Tendulkar can read and understand what he is doing.

    You are correct..what a waste !
    But what a waste of ur article, if not parcelled to the concerned person, Tendulkar.

     

  • At Friday, September 24, 2004 11:58:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Guys! Give Tendulkar a break. He knows what the hell he is doing! I don't understand this hysteria about the lack of flair in his batting. I am a die hard Tendulkar fan too. Who isnt? But we can't start picking on every innings of his. He is Tendulkar. Once again...He is TENDULKAR. He knows himself more than any of us "wise" critiques. So lets leave him alone! He will definitely bring a few moments of joy in our ordinary lives.

     

  • At Friday, September 24, 2004 1:52:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    The Chuckster:
    While i agree that the Tendulkar of new isnt the Tendulkar of old and that the certain fire seems to have diminished, it is also important to note his age. For a man like Tendulkar, who lives , sleeps, breathes cricket, 16 years is a long time. Look back in your life - see how 16 years has changed you - how marriage has changed you (assuming u got married in the past 16 years) - how kids have changed you. It is the inevitable. Also remember Tendulkars back injury?? He had to cut some shots coz of that, re-organise his batting style a lil (no more down the ground sixes like those from Desert Storm - Sharjah). The ankle injury - now the Tennis elbow. Its the wear and tear. Look at it this way, if he didnt care for all that and just played the way he always did, he wouldnt be around today and I thank him for not doing so. Just imagine trying to groom a team like today's TEAM INDIA without a Tendulkar. Sehwag was able to do what he does best, Kaif and Yuvi were able to settle down into the grind of Intl cricket, Bhajji was able to find inspiration in Tendulkar and Saurav and Wright were able to groom this TEAM INDIA coz they knew one fact : one out of the 11 was always going to be in the team, for the team no matter what time of day/night and that if need be he could take it upon himself to lift the spirits of all (eg. World Cup 2003 after New Zealand). Batsmen batted, bowlers bowled knowing very well that one genius was always there to support them and if need be throw his bat around (eg. World Cup) or turn a wrist (eg. Pakistan 2004). Remember you grew the way you grew coz you had the support of your father and mother. And that is what Tendulkar of today is. Not that your parents cant do what they did 16 years ago, but just that they want you to take center stage coz they know there time is coming and there is a need for a new hero and in cricket, there is a need for a new TEAM INDIA that we have today.
    Average age = less than 30 years.
    Upcoming player (Irfan etc) get to play with their inspiration and who better than Tendulkar to introduce them and settle them into intl cricket and pass the torch over before hanging his boots. The Tendulkar of new is the man who will give birth and nourish the TEAM INDIA of new.
    Lets thank ourselves that Tendulkar is here to stay. And not that he can not do what the Tendulkar of old did. He is a genius and that cannot be argued. It is only a matter of time that you will see the Tendulkar of old, though maybe not as often as you would want to but you will. You will also see the critic's Tendulkar - winnning matches that they once said he couldnt. He will score that 300 that ppl say he cant, he will show the world who he is before he hangs his boots and he will show the world what he was when he walked into cricket for the first time - he will show it all coz he is Tendulkar.
    Surely Viv Richards couldnt have done so. He just knew one way - the merciless swing of his bat - not that it was anything less than the work of a genius, but just that he was a different kind of genius.
    Get well soon Tendulkar! The world awaits to see what you have to offer and I will be there to watch every one of those precious moments!
    Cheers - to TEAM INDIA!
    Have a great one guys!

     

  • At Friday, September 24, 2004 1:57:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Hey What are u saying guys....? I am also a big fan of 'Tendlya'. He has his own class. He is uncomparable with anyone. No one has this kind of glory in Cricket for 16 years while he is playing...come on guys....i dont agree with you guys. Just think why he changed his style just becoz he has become matured player and so he has to play matured innings. Well nowadays Sehwag is doing what Tendulkar was doing before few years. He is playing cricket for 16 years and of course he is more knowledgeble than us about what he has to do? We are just giving him too much pressure.
    about that 241* innings can u just imagine why he played that innings? well if he didnt play that innings guys we had lost that series. You think that when we needed, he didnt play. comeon....give him a break !!! infact i would say most of the time he played and then we have won.....Also about that 1999 pak match where he scored 126. Single handedly he took the match. n what happened 4 ppl cant make only 16runs...now why to blame Sachin.....u are gone mad...just think with kool mind...he is real GEM in Indian Team...now just pray that he will be back soon on the ground and we can enjoy his batting....

     

  • At Saturday, September 25, 2004 11:48:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Richards played his game througout, yes , but how come the windies were more successful in the early eighties as compared to the start of their decline in the mid to late eighties when richards was still in the team? India are a more successful team now than 4 years ago, not including the recent one day form.(The one exception being 1998 when we rode on Sachin's shoulders the entire year.) So Sachin slows his batting , but still we win more matches - because its a team game and the team is much better now. I watched his 194 against pak - it was chanceless, compared to sehwags swashbuckling innings- did you see how many catches were dropped? If at any point Sehwag had gotten out (and it looked like he would from the way he played), it was upto Sachin to keep things going- what was the point in him playing the same game..What if he had gotten out and sehwag had played a foolish shot and gotten out as well?We would have squandered a good lead.

    He is definitely being plauged with injuries and that is taking toll,without question.I remember in the VB series against aussies against perth , it was sachin who hit more 4's of lee, despite laxman starting the attack- but then he had an injury and wasnt the same for the rest of the series.

    Against SL in the final of the asia cup,the pitch was deteriorating rapidly and he had to stay put and not take chances-Hayden recently made a 50 of nearly 100 balls in holland on a slow pitch and everyone was praising him for changing his game to the situation!!!When sachin does the same- people criticize him?!

     

  • At Sunday, September 26, 2004 11:40:00 AM, Blogger yogi said…

    Hi,
    me too a gr8 fan of sachin..Yes,i also always prefer watching those exquisite shots than calm centuries.He's no more a terror.Agreed.The reason-his batting is influenced by the team too.The team doesn't want both openers to go on rampage.(which can make both lose their wickets.)Sehwag has been given the freedom to aggression.And very recently in TVS cup too sachin played his style.Just a season of non-sachin game & ppl. get at him.He isn't a dumber after all to change himself overnight.He has his own reasons.I guess we should learn to respect his decisions a bit.And not start lamenting & criticising him.

     

  • At Tuesday, September 28, 2004 8:29:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Teandulkar of old and Tendulkar of new. I remember one of the greatest partnerships of all time(for me all time is always in the timeframe that i have followed cricket, i.e. since Tendulkar has started playing cricket) in South Africa. A certain Azhar and a certain Tendulkar were batting perfectly. SA had no clue what to do. They had a partnership of over 200. Both got centuries. Brilliant paisa vasuli. INDIA LOST.
    The two tendulkars you are talking about are actually not that different (except for one "get back to form" innings in Aus) I for one dont remember Tendulkar batting very much different in the past few years from what he did before. He attacks in ODIs and plays patiently in tests. His strike rate (a statistic i fear, but more relevant to your laments) is still pretty much the same. These past two seasons were the first time that he really failed in a series of tests. SO he went back and decided to get his form back, quite unlike Sehwag, who is trying to beat the form back. He decided to hit the ball in the middle of his bat more often and did. Scored over 400 runs in 2 innings against different opposition, in different hemspheres, under totally different conditions. The last real One Day competition that he played was the world cup. I did jsut what one of the posts on this blog asked. i went and bought a DVD of India vs Pakistan. It had a bonus of Tendulkar in that WC. All i have to say is, it worked. OH MY GOD.... the six off Caddick that cleared the stadium...the innings against Pakistan. Then i realised, I have actually not watched any other ODIs since then with any real interest. I live in the US and cricket is an expensive sport to follow on TV, not to mention the 43 waking hours spent watching/discussing cricket, then working. The tests have been brilliant and i have watched them all, but hte Oned days have been inconsequential. the stadiums, empty, the general feeling was, who cares. I am now looking forward to watching India vs. Australia in tests again. the point i'm trying to make is that, since the WC, where HE was unbelievable, he hasnt really had the chance to do much in anything that matters. HE WILL IN INDIA AGAINST AUSTRALIA.
    So Sachin has not changed that much, just gotten older, the bat is not the heavy bat he used before, so the ball does not fly like it used to, the back is not that strong anymore, so he cannot spring into a pull or cut or hook as willingly anymore, and now the elbow.

    A closing statement:
    I will pay money to watch Tendulkar no matter what. If Tendulkar takes 5 days to make 150 i will watch it every minute for every day. if he does not hit anothe boundary till he retires, i will watch him, in case he hits that one shot that makes my hair stand up. I have spent over $3000 watching cricket here in the US in the last few years and look forward to spending som emore just to get the chance to see Tendulkar bat, and India win. GO INDIA!!!
    -Manu

     

  • At Wednesday, September 03, 2014 11:38:00 PM, Blogger Unknown said…

    This comment has been removed by the author.

     

Post a Comment

<< Home