Sub-continent sides - are they mentally weaker?

First topic message reminder :

Perhaps a tad controversial and at first glance may seem like a huge generalisation, but before I start let me say that absolutely no offence is intended to anyone hailing from that part of the world, and this is more of a look at why spectacular batting collapses seem to be happening all the more frequently of late.

I'm thinking of writing a piece on this very subject, so as usual the thoughts of you chaps would be appreciated.

In short, it seems to me that the likes of India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh (though the lack of ability may be more prominent in their case) seem to struggle mentally as soon as the chips are down and things aren't quite going their way. Sri Lanka have provided us with an example against South Africa today, as have India's bowling attack. Harking back a few months, one instance in particular that stands out was during India's tour of England when they took a decent first innings lead following a sub-par total from England. However, a couple of enormous partnerships from the England top order saw them set an imposing total for India, after which they promptly 'gave their neck' and collapsed.

Is this purely coincidence that such a cluster of performances have been produced by sub-continent sides in recent times, or are there further reaching reasons. Is there too much of an emphasis on limited overs cricket in that part of the world? Is their view of the game, and ability to tough it out, maybe different to that of the more 'in your face' types like England, Australia and South Africa? Are there any other reasons why scoreboard pressure or any other kind of adversity tends to see them crumble?

Don't get me wrong, these sides are made up of incredibly gifted players, so the frequency of such occurences of late has made me ask this question. Your thoughts would be both interesting and appreciated.

True, but is'nt the only way they can overcome this, is by having more varied pitches in the future.

Mike Selig wrote:That kinda covers what I was saying about fitness and athleticism biltong.

sorry mike missed that.

skyeman wrote:True, but is'nt the only way they can overcome this, is by having more varied pitches in the future.

Or moving into the professional era. There are signs (youngsters coming through and Fletcher's appointment as coach, unless done by someone who really knew nothing) that India are looking to do so (although again, there is this hero-worship thing which means nobody's going to tell Tendulkar, Laxman, Dravid, even Shewag they're not fit enough).

You are right, someone in the BCCI must have known exactly what they were doing when appointing Fletcher. I hope he get's the time he needs to change the Indian mentality.

But it will be tough for Fletcher, especially with pressure from Indian fans if they have a bad few years once the big three retire, although I think they are coming to terms with the imminent loss of Laxman.

Should be interesting to observe for the next few years.

fletcher is continuing his awful run in australia lol.

There things do seem to go in cycles. The West Indies for a long period seemed to mentally enormously strong - whereas more recently they seem much weaker mentally.

Linked of course to all the factors of skill and fitness levels, confidence, team spirit, momentum, with winning or losing becoming a habit, etc, etc

The Corporal is spot on about things going in cycles and all the factors linked to it.

It is a matter worthy of debate. Due to perceived political sensitivities, mention of it tends to be avoided these days or, just as bad, glossed over. Around the time I was getting into Test cricket more than forty years ago I well remember the accusation being directly made from the commentary box against the Indian and New Zealand sides of that era.

It can be said about most teams when they travel away from home. As soon as Ajmal started bowling doosras in UAE England's batsmen looked clueless against spin on slow tracks.

The best example was Bell as everytime he faced Ajmal it could be seen that Ajmal would get him out as Bell had mentally lost the battle.

CF is that you?

CF? Today I visited this site for the first time.

It's not cf, Biltong.

Welcome, cricketfan12.

biltongbek wrote:CF is that you?

Did you see a LOL?

We've had so many cricketfans, I get confused.

Stella wrote:

biltongbek wrote:CF is that you?

Did you see a LOL?

I think Mike has hit the nail right on the head on this issue.

Anyhoo, welcome cricketfan12.

Indeed. Welcome to all cricketfans - whatever their number....