Who's the greatest opening batsman of alltime?

[bond21]

Mark Taylor.

 

[Flem274*]

Mark Taylor.

ROLLEYES ATTACK!!!!

 

[bond21]

btw my answer is extremely bias and partial.

 

[Flem274*]

btw my answer is extremely bias and partial.

Good reply, bet everyone expected a long winded explanation which they could all attack TBH.

 

[bond21]

yea richard might be a bit disappointed.

 

[biased indian]

btw my answer is extremely bias and partial.

Nothing new there

 

[Nate]

Least he was honest.

 

[Ikki]

Nothing new there

The irony, I'm sure, is not lost on you - considering your forum name.

 

[iamdavid]

On Hayden yea he cashed in on some poor bowlers this era but it is not as if he hasn't had testing conditions & as man who has followed Hayden career in great detail i don't see why Hayden wouldn't be able to score runs in the 70s 80s & 90s especially given that he is without doubt the most talented & destructive batsman Australia have produced since the Simpson/Lawry era, people make it sound as if scoring runs then was impossible it isn't. Cutt Hayden some slack will ya fellas..

I agree completely with this, not enough Hayden-love on these forums. I know he has question marks over some (actually only one really) aspect of his game, and there will always be the perception of this era being too easy for batsman. However no batsman is perfect (only one has ever been close) and given Hayden's ability and achievments I think he's fit to rank alongside the better openers the game has ever seen.

One could argue a very strong case for him being the best opener Australia has ever produced...I know Simpson, Morris, Woodful, Ponsford etc were all wonderful players, however Hayden's career is something to behold.

 

[DaRick]

Hmm...from a subjective point of view, Matthew Hayden is actually my favourite player. There have obviously been better openers, but it amazes me how thoroughly based he is on this forum.

I can't vote on this poll, though...my vote will be both dishonest (as Hayden is not, objectively speaking, the greatest opening batsman of all time) and paradoxial (after all, how can I not vote for my favourite player)?

 

[Richard]

On Hayden yea he cashed in on some poor bowlers this era but it is not as if he hasn't had testing conditions & as man who has followed Hayden career in great detail i don't see why Hayden wouldn't be able to score runs in the 70s 80s & 90s

And I too have followed it in great detail and I don't see any reason why he would TBH.

 

[silentstriker]

Agreed. As I believe that W.G. was the unequivocal greatest batsman of all-time, it only follows that he should be my greatest opener.

WG Grace

Not for me. I've no clue how to rate the guy in any sort of a modern sense.

 

[Goughy]

Not for me. I've no clue how to rate the guy in any sort of a modern sense.

I dont see why not.

You wouldnt call yourself a better scientist than Newton, Jenner etc but chances are yourself and many others know far more than they did.

Same with modern batsmen, they have the benefit of accumulated knowledge without having to do anything revolutionary themselves.

Grace is the father of modern batting and should be revered as such. Without him cricket as we know it wouldnt exist. Its certainly possible that a modern player could be a better actual batsman than him (though impossible to know for sure) though that really isnt that relevant. What is more relevant is that he changed the cricketing world and layed a foundation for every subsequent player to build upon. In the same way the average science school teacher has a greater knowledge than even the greatest scientific minds of yesteryear, however we would never class them as greater based purely on the fact they know more.

 

[silentstriker]

I dont see why not.

You wouldnt call yourself a better scientist than Newton, Jenner etc but chances are yourself and many others know far more than they did.

Same with modern batsmen, they have the benefit of accumulated knowledge without having to do anything revolutionary themselves..

I agree, and the same thing is true for guys like Hobbs, and thats why he tops my list. However, the sport itself is quite different. I am not sure if the sport he dominated has as much resemblance to our sport for us to directly line him up. He certainly was a titan, and stands outside of history, so to speak.

 

[Goughy]

I agree, and the same thing is true for guys like Hobbs, and thats why he tops my list. However, the sport itself is quite different. I am not sure if the sport he dominated has as much resemblance to our sport for us to directly line him up. He certainly was a titan, and stands outside of history, so to speak.

He created modern cricket. Before him had little relation to after him.

His period of cricketing dominance made the modern game. One man (with lesser impact from others) effectively built what we now know as cricket. Hobbs owes as much to him as Lara does.

Pre-Grace was nothing like what we play today. Post-Grace the game was almost exactly the same as now.

 

[andruid]

I do not know if I have already stated this in the thred but now that it has been exhumed I vote Steve Tikolo

 

[Richard]

Tikolo isn't an opener.

 

[andruid]

Tikolo isn't an opener.

Ooops

He opened in T20 match once

OK Fine Greenidge rules all!!!

 

[aussie]

And I too have followed it in great detail and I don't see any reason why he would TBH.

Well i would love to hear your reason..

 

[JBH001]

I agree completely with this, not enough Hayden-love on these forums. I know he has question marks over some (actually only one really) aspect of his game, and there will always be the perception of this era being too easy for batsman. However no batsman is perfect (only one has ever been close) and given Hayden's ability and achievments I think he's fit to rank alongside the better openers the game has ever seen.

One could argue a very strong case for him being the best opener Australia has ever produced...I know Simpson, Morris, Woodful, Ponsford etc were all wonderful players, however Hayden's career is something to behold.

I concur. A few years ago I was part of the Hayden FTB brigade. Not anymore though.