Sachin Tendulkar

[mikesiva]

Here's an interesting part of that same article quoted above....

'Tendulkar was so keen to get to the mark that he even declined a leg bye, prompting Sammy to plot his dismissal. "When I saw him turning down the single, I went to Bishoo and told him 'let's try to go round the wicket and force him to sweep off the rough'," Sammy told reporters after his team lost the first Test by five wickets. "But Bishoo asked to give him two more balls from over the wicket and he got him out! Sachin really wanted to get the hundred but unfortunately for him...Like I said before the game, I would love him to get 100 hundreds but I'd prefer watching him playing an India vs Australia series sitting on my couch and cheering for Sachin," quipped the jovial 27-year-old.'

Now, Sachin was being more than a little disrespectful to the WIndies by turning down a leg-bye in order to focus on personal goals. Before he did that, I was cheering on Sachin to his century, but after that I was very happy that Bishoo got Sachin's wicket. Serves him right, I said!

A lot of WI fans share my feelings on this, and I'm sure Bishoo and Sammy inwardly had those feelings of satisfaction too. You only have to read between the lines of what Sammy said....

Yes, the Windies are crap, but there's no need to rub it in by turning down leg-byes. If Sachin had focussed on team goals solely, getting runs as they came along however they came along, leg bye or not, for the team's benefit, then I think the applause would be more universal.

[IndusCreed]

I think it basically boils down to rivalry on the field. Any batsman would want to score a 100, particularly when media and sponsors are breathing down your neck. Did I mention the immense and unimaginable amount of pressure that 1.2 billion Indians exert on him?

Whatever SRT did or WI side did should be seen through the healthy Cricket competition point of view rather than considering WI being rubbish!

Way to go, blowing things out of proportion, Mr. MikeSiva

[shankycricket]

I think it basically boils down to rivalry on the field. Any batsman would want to score a 100, particularly when media and sponsors are breathing down your neck. Did I mention the immense and unimaginable amount of pressure that 1.2 billion Indians exert on him?

Whatever SRT did or WI side did should be seen through the healthy Cricket competition point of view rather than considering WI being rubbish!

Way to go, blowing things out of proportion, Mr. MikeSiva

I think Mike made a fairly valid point and let me tell you,I am one of the biggest fans of Sachin.But it didnt look right to me.

[OffStumpYorker]

Now, Sachin was being more than a little disrespectful to the WIndies by turning down a leg-bye in order to focus on personal goals. Before he did that, I was cheering on Sachin to his century, but after that I was very happy that Bishoo got Sachin's wicket. Serves him right, I said!

A lot of WI fans share my feelings on this, and I'm sure Bishoo and Sammy inwardly had those feelings of satisfaction too. You only have to read between the lines of what Sammy said....

I felt the same during the Oval test when he was looking in good form in the 2nd innings, really wanting to see him get a Ton, and that bitter-sweet moment when he was out, relief as an england fan he was out, but sad that he didnt reach the milestone.

[IndusCreed]

I think Mike made a fairly valid point and let me tell you,I am one of the biggest fans of Sachin.But it didnt look right to me.

I am not contesting the point here, Mr. Shanks! SRT should have taken the bye if he was in perfect position for it. But pure speculations about SRT being disrespectful to WI, WI being rubbish and Indians rubbing it in by not taking byes, couple of WI bowlers feeling satisfied "internally" can and should be avoided. I mean how can someone "know" what a particular player was thinking?

There has got to be a difference in expressing one's opinion and speculation about Cricketer's internal feelings, right? SRT did not take a legbye when he could have. Fair point, says me. How about we don't light a fire on everything, making it more controversial than it is? We sometimes display attitude worse than bunch of sorority sisters in a kitty fight!

[Westdem]

I think Mike made a fairly valid point and let me tell you,I am one of the biggest fans of Sachin.But it didnt look right to me.

I am not contesting the point here, Mr. Shanks! SRT should have taken the bye if he was in perfect position for it. But pure speculations about SRT being disrespectful to WI, WI being rubbish and Indians rubbing it in by not taking byes, couple of WI bowlers feeling satisfied "internally" can and should be avoided. I mean how can someone "know" what a particular player was thinking?

There has got to be a difference in expressing one's opinion and speculation about Cricketer's internal feelings, right? SRT did not take a legbye when he could have. Fair point, says me. How about we don't light a fire on everything, making it more controversial than it is? We sometimes display attitude worse than bunch of sorority sisters in a kitty fight!

That what Tendy did is 100% controversial to fans like me...I would never condone that kind of actions in cricket...Were you in agreement with Angelo Matthews doing something similar against England earlier this year in an ODI so Chandimal can get to his maiden ton?

[IndusCreed]

Let me repeat - I am not contesting the actual point here! It's the fluff around it that, I believe, is stretching it a little bit

[DeltaAlpha]

"Making mountains out of molehills," as one might say...

[OffStumpYorker]

One might even say had the 'plan' not worked would Sammy and Bishoo piped up and said it they were trying what they did, and that it was linked to the way a previous ball had been played.

In the end its a moot point, and nobody knows how SRT was feeling at the time for all we know he could have been thinking about what to order for Lunch/Tea/Dinner, or what to buy his wife for here next birthday.

[rich1uk]

always been a huge sachin fan and will be very happy to see him get the landmark

however i was watching live when it happened and when he turned down the leg bye then got out the next delivery my initial thought was "serves you right for not taking the leg bye"

it was laxman's call and laxman was halfway down the wicket when sachin sent him back, it was a blatant single and he was obviously thinking of the number of runs left imo when he sent laxman back

[mikesiva]

always been a huge sachin fan and will be very happy to see him get the landmark

however i was watching live when it happened and when he turned down the leg bye then got out the next delivery my initial thought was "serves you right for not taking the leg bye"

it was laxman's call and laxman was halfway down the wicket when sachin sent him back, it was a blatant single and he was obviously thinking of the number of runs left imo when he sent laxman back

My feelings exactly....

[meninblue]

always been a huge sachin fan and will be very happy to see him get the landmark

however i was watching live when it happened and when he turned down the leg bye then got out the next delivery my initial thought was "serves you right for not taking the leg bye"

it was laxman's call and laxman was halfway down the wicket when sachin sent him back, it was a blatant single and he was obviously thinking of the number of runs left imo when he sent laxman back

My feelings exactly....

Laxman's call okay, but laxman is one of the worst runners in this team. Sachin would have considered that.

[braveneutral]

"Making mountains out of molehills," as one might say...

As usual DA is spot on!

[mikesiva]

I think Mike made a fairly valid point and let me tell you,I am one of the biggest fans of Sachin.But it didnt look right to me.

I am not contesting the point here, Mr. Shanks! SRT should have taken the bye if he was in perfect position for it. But pure speculations about SRT being disrespectful to WI, WI being rubbish and Indians rubbing it in by not taking byes, couple of WI bowlers feeling satisfied "internally" can and should be avoided. I mean how can someone "know" what a particular player was thinking?

There has got to be a difference in expressing one's opinion and speculation about Cricketer's internal feelings, right? SRT did not take a legbye when he could have. Fair point, says me. How about we don't light a fire on everything, making it more controversial than it is? We sometimes display attitude worse than bunch of sorority sisters in a kitty fight!

That what Tendy did is 100% controversial to fans like me...I would never condone that kind of actions in cricket...Were you in agreement with Angelo Matthews doing something similar against England earlier this year in an ODI so Chandimal can get to his maiden ton?

'Angelo Mathews dead-batted 17 deliveries as Sri Lanka closed in on their target, turning down easy singles to allow his partner, the 21-year-old Dinesh Chandimal, a chance to make a century. Cook was obviously irked by what he seemed to take as an insult to his team. "They're perfectly entitled to do it if they want," he said. "But you never know, the cricketing Gods might look down at that in a bit of disgust." Never mind the "cricketing Gods", disgust was clearly what England were feeling when Chandimal finally completed his wonderful 100 by crashing a six over long-on. While he leapt into Mathews' arms, the England team stood around the field with their hands on their hips, 11 teapots with steam coming out of their spouts. Moments earlier, Kevin Pietersen had had a pointed conversation with umpire Nigel Llong, when the Sri Lankans had sent a 12th man on to the field with some new gloves and a drink for the batsmen.'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/ju ... -sri-lanka

It may have been 17 balls compared to just one by Sachin, but the principle is the same....

Cook felt insulted that Mathews was farming the strike to help Chandimal get to his ton, and Sachin was turning down a leg-bye to try to get to his, so, similarly, it would be understandable if some WI players and fans felt insulted and 'disgust' as well. The indignation by that slight may have spurred Sammy and Bishoo out of thei lethargy to get Sachin's wicket, and some WI fans may have celebrated his demise more than they would've if he hadn't turned down the leg-bye, but it does seem that - like Mathews and Chandimal - Sachin for a moment put personal goals above team goals, and slighted the WIndies in the process. He may not have meant to do it, and may have been thinking about his own personal goal, but I'm sure Mathews didn't intend to offend Cook either.

Indus, Sachin's not a god. If Chandimal had got out instead of getting his ton, his dismissal would've been celebrated just as much by England fans as Sachin's departure was celebrated by WIndies fans....

[Gingerfinch]

I think there is a massive difference between 1 ball and 17 balls.