World Cricket II

[ajithfederer]

I knew this would be on Ian's List

VVS Laxman, 281 v Australia, Kolkata, 2001
'The best playing of spin bowling I've seen'
September 4, 2012

Laxman in Kolkata: footwork lessons © AFP
VVS Laxman
281 v Australia, Kolkata, 2001

The Australian tour of India in 2000-01 - before the Australians left home Steve Waugh said, "This is the last frontier, this is the one we need to conquer." He must have thought that he was well on the way to conquering India.

They won the first Test match, in Mumbai, convincingly. Second Test match, in Kolkata, Australia enforced the follow-on, 270 odd ahead. So Steve Waugh must have almost been able to feel that Border-Gavaskar Trophy in his hands.

The smart move that India made in that match… I always thought that VVS Laxman, to me, is the perfect No. 3. He is a good player of fast bowling, he has got that ability to see off the challenge if an early wicket falls but he can dictate terms, and he is also such a good player of spin bowling.

He had been batting down the order. I think No. 6 in that series up to that point. He was not out in the first innings [he was the last man out]. When everybody else fell around him, he was well and truly on top, but he just didn't get any support in the first innings. I don't know who made the move, but it was a very smart move - they bumped him up to No. 3 in the second innings.

He came in, and as I say, India was in dire straits. For the circumstances in the match, I don't think I have ever seen a better innings played. I mean, you are 274 behind - that is a hell of a deficit to face. He erased the deficit on his own; he got 281.

The thing about that innings that will always stick in my mind is the way he came down the pitch to Shane Warne. I mean, here is the best legspinner in the world at the time, spinning the ball a lot… and to me, the toughest shot, even on a good pitch, the toughest shot to play is an on-drive to a legspinner. You think about it: the ball is spinning that way and you are trying to drive the ball [the other] way. You've got to be absolutely precise with the way you play that shot. And here was Laxman, coming down three paces, probably three metres out the crease, getting to the ball and then just driving it wide of mid-on, off Shane Warne. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it. It was a magnificent innings.

I remember talking to Shane Warne at the end of the series, and I said to him, "Mate, how do you think you bowled?" And he said, "Well, actually I didn't think that I bowled that badly." And I said, "You didn't, you just came up against the player who… I think that's the best playing of spin bowling that I have seen."

When you've got a player who can come out three metres, and then you go a little bit higher, and a little bit shorter with the next one trying to strand him, and the guy goes back on his stumps and pulls you through midwicket for four, that's not bad bowling, that's just damn good batting, excellent use of the feet.

You are never ever going to see a better example of good footwork than VVS Laxman when he got his 281 at Kolkata. It was magnificent.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/conte...io/577247.html

[ajithfederer]

http://www.youtube.com/user/deathofagentleman/videos

'Death of a Gentleman' is a documentary feature, currently in production, where two cricket fans who became journalists - Sam Collins and Jarrod Kimber - travel the cricketing world in search of the answer to the question "Does Test Cricket have a future?". On their travels they interview the administrators, players and journalists to ask "Is Test Cricket in danger of dying out and if so what can be done to save it?" Along the way they befriend journeyman Aussie cricketer - Ed Cowan - about to win his first test cap at the age of 29. Ed and Test Cricket's future seem to run in parallel...

[ajithfederer]

Death of a Gentleman' is an independent documentary film. For more information please visit http://www.deathofagentlemanfilm.com.

We are currently in post production, with a view to release in mid-2013. If you would be interested in helping to fund or invest in 'Death of a Gentleman' please contact deathofagentlemanfilm@gmail.com.

CREDITS:
Video directed and edited by Johnny Blank
Cinematography: Anthony Koreny
Sound: Francis Kelly, Jacqueline Bender, Ayush Ahuja
Music: Cherubs by Josh Woodward
Photos: Philip Brown and Johnny Blank
Producer: Sam Collins
Executive Producers: David Chidgey and Henry Trotter
Creators: Sam Collins and Jarrod Kimber

[Plum]

Two Chucks dhAnE. Feeyarai katti vechu idhai pAkka vekkaNum. anti-thesis of everything englis gendilmanly, Jarrod Kimber is.

[Plum]

BTW, Feeyar, Guardian forumla vazhakkam pOla India-England seriesku chatterje pOttukitturundhEn. oru englis gendilman kamnaughty vandhu " Wow! Thats some pessimism! If ever you shift to England, you'll be very much at home" apdinnuttAn

(adhAvadhu, ennaiya englis gendilman-nu thittitAnpA )

[VinodKumar's]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan...ry/581143.html

"What's more, the Australians can now slip to 10th in the ICC's T20 rankings before the global event begins. Should Pakistan sweep the series - a possibility given the lopsidedness of the opening match - then Bailey's team will line-up for their tournament opener ranked below their opponents Ireland."

[ajithfederer]

. Idhu thevaya

BTW, Feeyar, Guardian forumla vazhakkam pOla India-England seriesku chatterje pOttukitturundhEn. oru englis gendilman kamnaughty vandhu " Wow! Thats some pessimism! If ever you shift to England, you'll be very much at home" apdinnuttAn

(adhAvadhu, ennaiya englis gendilman-nu thittitAnpA )

[wizzy]

anti-thesis of everything englis gendilmanly, Jarrod Kimber is

isn't Jarrod true blood Ozzie

[hamid]

gendilman kamnaughty

[ajithfederer]

Virat Kohli 103 Vs New Zealand 2nd Test 2012 HD


Stupid way to get out though.