Things in life you just don't understand - cricket edition

[Scotland]

I'll kick it off. In limited overs cricket any ball pitched down the leg side is called wide. I think the interpretations are too harsh, but that's by the by.

Batsmen regularly back away towards the leg side to free the arms in order to hit through the ball, and bowlers regularly follow them so their shot is cramped. Why don't more batsmen simply move back towards the stumps and leave the ball down the leg side? Free run and an extra ball, and it puts doubt into the bowler's mind about bowling down that line.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

I don't understand why a batsman can be run out after he's made his ground if the bat pops up into the air. Seems a ridiculous rule.

 

[Scotland]

I don't understand the God-like aura that surrounds MS Dhoni.

He has an outstanding batting record in ODI cricket, but a test average of 38 with 6 100s from 90 tests isn't that amazing, and his captaincy left a bit to be desired. Even his wicketkeeping wasn't that good.

I get why the Indians idolise Tendulkar etc. but there's just something about Dhoni that I must have missed.

 

[The_Reaper]

I still don't understand the new fangled craze of calling batsmen 'batters'.

Especially since third man is still third man in womens cricket

 

[t_94]

I don't understand the God-like aura that surrounds MS Dhoni.

He has an outstanding batting record in ODI cricket, but a test average of 38 with 6 100s from 90 tests isn't that amazing, and his captaincy left a bit to be desired. Even his wicketkeeping wasn't that good.

I get why the Indians idolise Tendulkar etc. but there's just something about Dhoni that I must have missed.

It is for a wicketkeeper, genuine wicket keepers with double figure test hundreds is ridiculously rare

 

[Scotland]

It is for a wicketkeeper, genuine wicket keepers with double figure test hundreds is ridiculously rare

It's good, but he's revered as though he is the greatest player of his generation.

What would they do if they had Gilchrist or Sangakkara?

 

[Ronnie Baby]

I don't understand how the * a show that outs Santa as not being real is more popular than the BBL, Andy Maher notwithstanding.

 

[The_Reaper]

It's good, but he's revered as though he is the greatest player of his generation.

What would they do if they had Gilchrist or Sangakkara?

He is a world cup winning Captain.

That would be a massive deal in India.

Plus ODI cricket there is far more important than over here.

 

[Ashton Agar]

How Andy Maher ever got into the position to even be considered to commentate the Big Bash.

 

[Power Raid]

I smile that there is a rule about catching the ball of the helmet of the fields man

 

[t_94]

How john Hastings played a test match. Just terrible.

 

[Plugger35]

I don't understand the God-like aura that surrounds MS Dhoni.

He has an outstanding batting record in ODI cricket, but a test average of 38 with 6 100s from 90 tests isn't that amazing, and his captaincy left a bit to be desired. Even his wicketkeeping wasn't that good.

I get why the Indians idolise Tendulkar etc. but there's just something about Dhoni that I must have missed.

Never really rated Dhoni as a test cricketer, can't recall a good test innings he played here and his wicketkeeping was average at best.

He's a brilliant ODI and T20 cricketer though which is what most Indian fans care about these days, I think even Dhoni himself cared more about ODIs and T20s than tests.

Kohli will overtake him soon as the new Indian cricket god if he hasn't already, he's brilliant in all formats.

 

[Power Raid]

why couldn't a spin bowler bend his arm as much as pace bowlers in a legal delivery?

 

[Caesar]

It's good, but he's revered as though he is the greatest player of his generation.

What would they do if they had Gilchrist or Sangakkara?

Well, ODI and T20 performance is considered hugely important in India.

It's a bit hard to judge Test keepers on averages and numbers of centuries, because their innings are dictated so much by match circumstances. Dhoni played most of his career low down, with a star-studded batting order above him. I would venture to suggest that he was not required to play the big innings of substance nearly as often as someone like Sangakkara. Gilchrist had similar team circumstances to Dhoni, but he also played mostly on bouncy Australian wickets that were full of runs. That's not to say that Dhoni was as good as the other two keepers, but he is still significantly better than any other keeper-batsman to play for India.

Probably even more important than either ODI or Test performances is his captaincy. We in Australia might deride him as conservative and tactically uninspired, but he is the longest serving and most prolific Indian captain ever, and arguably the second most successful after Ganguly. That is no small feat given that the Indian captaincy is possibly the hardest job in world cricket - plagued by politics and pressure, usually detrimental to an individual's performance, and more often than not seen as a poisoned chalice. It often kills careers, and quickly.

To overcome that, lead the team for so long in all formats, win tournaments, weather the retirement of multiple greats of the game - it's very impressive.

 

[Aussie_boy]

I don't understand why India don't use DRS

 

[t_94]

Never really rated Dhoni as a test cricketer, can't recall a good test innings he played here and his wicketkeeping was average at best.

He's a brilliant ODI and T20 cricketer though which is what most Indian fans care about these days, I think even Dhoni himself cared more about ODIs and T20s than tests.

Kohli will overtake him soon as the new Indian cricket god if he hasn't already, he's brilliant in all formats.

You know test cricket is played in other places than Australia, right?

 

[Phone]

I don't understand why a batsman can be run out after he's made his ground if the bat pops up into the air. Seems a ridiculous rule.

I thought they changed the rule so that it could pop up and not be out, and i thought hurrah!, but sadly it does not appear to be true. such a shame


On the MSD note, I do not understand how everyone doesn't agree that MSD is the greatest ODI keeper-batsman

 

[Kram]

Commentators using the term 'maximum' almost every time for a 6 now.

 

[Scotland]

'Maximum' is just an IPL carryover.

I don't understand the fascination with playing test cricket at night. We already have day/night cricket. The tradition of test match cricket is great. Start late morning, stop for lunch, play another session, stop for tea, play a third session then call stumps late arvo. Why would you want to play from 1-9pm for example? Is it really all about playing 2-3 hours of cricket a day during a better TV timeslot?

 

[The_Reaper]

'Maximum' is just an IPL carryover.

I don't understand the fascination with playing test cricket at night. We already have day/night cricket. The tradition of test match cricket is great. Start late morning, stop for lunch, play another session, stop for tea, play a third session then call stumps late arvo. Why would you want to play from 1-9pm for example? Is it really all about playing 2-3 hours of cricket a day during a better TV timeslot?

It's not a big deal for Australia but I understand that the Kiwis and some of the Asian countries (not India) are pretty keen.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

The old DLF Maximum!

 

[Kram]

Wade you hack.

 

[Caesar]

Is it really all about playing 2-3 hours of cricket a day during a better TV timeslot?

Yes.

A day/night Test on the east coast would run from 7:30am to 3:30pm in India. The impact on broadcasting revenues would be enormous.

 

[thetank]

I don't understand how Shane Warne can be considered the best spinner of all time when he was thoroughly dominated by the country that best plays spin bowling (India).

A bit like Roger Federer - exceptionally good against lower standard, but a (significant) losing record against the strong rival (Nadal).

NB. Even taking out his 1992 test results he is still bad vs India.

 

[Xtreme]

Brayshaw, Slater, Healy still commentating matches on tv.