Alec Stewart - Toughest career opponents XI

[Lillian Thomson]

Left out Viv Richards because his best days were behind him by 1990, yet included Greenidge and Marshall. Always thought he was a bit of a weirdo. Not a bad team though.

BBC Sport - Sachin Tendulkar among my toughest rivals - Alec Stewart

 

[Howe_zat]

Wasim Akram always ends up in these teams doesn't he? And always over Waqar or McGrath. Probably the only instance of prevailing CW opinion that differs from the pros every time.

 

[honestbharani]

Classic "playing to the Indian audience" by the newspaper.. Stewart says Lara is the best batsman he has played against bar none but the headline reads - Sachin amongst Stewart's toughest opponents.

 

[Red]

Wasim Akram always ends up in these teams doesn't he? And always over Waqar or McGrath. Probably the only instance of prevailing CW opinion that differs from the pros every time.

Guess it's a personal thing, but plenty of the guys who faced Wasim said he was the one they hated batting against the most.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Guess it's a personal thing, but plenty of the guys who faced Wasim said he was the one they hated batting against the most.

It probably is a personal thing. Geoff Boycott always says that the bowler he liked facing least was Colin Croft. He wasn't the greatest bowler but when he wasn't bothered whether he barged the umpire or not he used to deliver from wide of the crease and skid the ball into the batsman.

 

[Red]

Wasim was brilliant imo. I rate him so highly. He had an unusal action and he swung the ball massive amounts at times.

 

[LongHopCassidy]

Guess it's a personal thing, but plenty of the guys who faced Wasim said he was the one they hated batting against the most.

A lot of Test batsman (inc. Taylor and Border iirc) said if they were to be reincarnated it would be as Wasim Akram.

Like an always-in-form Mitchell Johnson. One of the few bowlers who could pitch it exactly where they wanted and make it move exactly how much they wanted, as opposed to "let's run in and hope this swings on a length" like your common Test paceman. Great angle for bouncing, brilliant yorker (lost in Waqar's shadow there, though) and ultimate proof that bottle tops > Murray Mints for reverse swing.

I think he cops a lot of flak on here for going on too long in Tests and blowing out his average to the high 23s, which makes a lot of Cribbs raise an eyebrow. Would dismantle any batting line-up today.

Apparently he's taken Starceh under his wing. Can think of worse bowling coaches for Australia ATM.

 

[the big bambino]

I'm a bit stunned at the under rating of Akram tbh. Frankly he was heaps better than Waqar. That's not disparaging the latter but tells you how good Akram was. The big difference is that Waqar was predictable. The 2 deliveries Akram bowled at Lamb and Lewis (from memory) to win the wc (again from memory) perfectly represent his skill. You just didn't know what was coming next. Except you knew it was going to be good.

I once saw Akram make a dunce out of Greenidge. No other bowler did that. Yes he could be lazy but at his best Akram is the last bowler you'd want to face.

 

[Coronis]

I'd rather face Akram than Barnes... both devestating with so much variation though..

 

[kyear2]

They may have hated playing againts him, but he didn't get them out as often as he should have, think Watson had a list of the batsmen he dismissed the most which was quite revealing. For me he performed better with the older ball than with the new one and took more tail end wickets than top order or middle order. He may have been the most talented but he wasn't the most effective and the fact that he was never once the top rated fast bowler, far less cracked a bolwer rating of 850 speaks volumes. Great bowler, but for me Waqar was better.

 

[the big bambino]

Fmd! Never got them out! You're probably thinking of Md Akram. He got heaps of them out and his deadliness againt the tail adds to his usefulness rather than detracts from it. He was just as capable as Lillee against the top order and beat him hands down against the tail. Lillee was a poor bowler against the tail which increases his batter/tail ender ratio and this is somehow to his credit. Weird thinking. (Btw I'll say it now and never again bcos I don't want to cop the abuse but Lillee is an overrated bowler).

Ratings are at a complete discount to the point of being meaningless. There are many team and individual examples in cricket and other sports. That Akram was never the world's best reflects on the ratings not Akram.

 

[harsh.ag]

Fmd! Never got them out! You're probably thinking of Md Akram. He got heaps of them out and his deadliness againt the tail adds to his usefulness rather than detracts from it. He was just as capable as Lillee against the top order and beat him hands down against the tail. Lillee was a poor bowler against the tail which increases his batter/tail ender ratio and this is somehow to his credit. Weird thinking. (Btw I'll say it now and never again bcos I don't want to cop the abuse but Lillee is an overrated bowler).

Ratings are at a complete discount to the point of being meaningless. There are many team and individual examples in cricket and other sports. That Akram was never the world's best reflects on the ratings not Akram.

Now, now, bambi, breathe. Akram has his flaws. The only way to elevate his record against the top order is if we managed to convince ourselves that the top order bats played with a lot more caution against him than they did against other greats. Ratings can be meaningless when judging a career, yes, because it is possible for a player to be the best of his era without ever having the form to reach no 1. From what I saw of Wasim, I think he required a good captain/motivator/adviser to get the best out of himself, and sometimes he tried too many variations when things weren't going his way.

 

[Red]

(Btw I'll say it now and never again bcos I don't want to cop the abuse but Lillee is an overrated bowler).

 

[Prince EWS]

I think he cops a lot of flak on here for going on too long in Tests and blowing out his average to the high 23s, which makes a lot of Cribbs raise an eyebrow

What a ridiculous thing to say. I'd rate him lower than I do if he retired earlier.

 

[Agent Nationaux]

I'd rather face Akram than Barnes... both devestating with so much variation though..

You don't even know Barnes FFS!

How do you know what it would have been like to face him? Most people are in debate as to what type of bowler he was, which makes it even more difficult to make a decision on him.

 

[kingkallis]

Classic "playing to the Indian audience" by the newspaper.. Stewart says Lara is the best batsman he has played against bar none but the headline reads - Sachin amongst Stewart's toughest opponents.

Seriously. I read the same in a local newspaper and I was like WTF...

 

[the big bambino]

Gran Torino?

 

[the big bambino]

Now, now, bambi, breathe. Akram has his flaws. The only way to elevate his record against the top order is if we managed to convince ourselves that the top order bats played with a lot more caution against him than they did against other greats. Ratings can be meaningless when judging a career, yes, because it is possible for a player to be the best of his era without ever having the form to reach no 1. From what I saw of Wasim, I think he required a good captain/motivator/adviser to get the best out of himself, and sometimes he tried too many variations when things weren't going his way.

Nah mate. He's a total gun.

 

[Red]

Gran Torino?

Yep. I think it's my favourite movie ever.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

So this is Stewart's XI:

1. Gordon Greenidge (West Indies)
2. Matthew Hayden (Australia)
3. Brian Lara (West Indies)
4. Sachin Tendulkar (India)
5. Jacques Kallis (South Africa)
6. Steve Waugh (captain, Australia)
7. Adam Gilchrist (Australia, wicketkeeper)
8. Wasim Akram (Pakistan)
9. Shane Warne (Australia)
10. Malcolm Marshall (West Indies)
11. Curtly Ambrose (West Indies)


Hypothetically, I'd like to see how they go against this (they all played against Stewart as well):

Anwar
Sehwag
Ponting
Dravid
Sangakkara
Border (capt)
Flower (wk)
Pollock
Hadlee
Waqar
Murali

Who would win?

This 2nd side is arguably a stronger batting line-up (with Pollock and Hadlee at 8 & 9), but Stewart's side has more bowling variety with a left-armer in Wasim, plus having Kallis as the 5th bowler. I picked Waqar instead of McGrath to add pace to the attack (McGrath is a taller Pollock/Hadlee who can't bat.)