I tend to rate the one-man army sorta batsmen higher than similarly great batsmen who had others to help around them.. So going with AB here..
Always rated Viv above both Sachin and Lara.. Dunno, just personal bias towards his style of batting more than any so-called "solid" statistical reasons...
Out before the spreadsheeters are in..
I think Viv is more great than Lara.. So they are not similarly great, tbh..
Lara obliterated spin bowlers all the time and when in the mood, any bowler.I suppose if you wanted someone to turn a game around in 30 minutes of big hitting, you would go for Viv. But if you needed somone to bat all day and save a test, you would go for Lara. Except he wouldnt save the game, he would score a double hundred, and either win it, or fall just short....
Richards obliterated anyone who was bowling. Ill never forget him smashing perfect length quick deliveries from Willis and Foster for 6 at Old Trafford in 1984, eventually hitting 189 in a match when no other batsman made anything like a decent score.Lara obliterated spin bowlers all the time and when in the mood, any bowler.
I was suggesting that if Lara was in a team where he could play demolisher all the time, then he might have, as he showed quite often his ability and will to do so.Richards obliterated anyone who was bowling. Ill never forget him smashing perfect length quick deliveries from Willis and Foster for 6 at Old Trafford in 1984, eventually hitting 189 in a match when no other batsman made anything like a decent score.
Richards is probably the best ODI batsman ever. Tho I voted for Lara overall.
Didn't Lara score a century against WW in 1993 when Pak toured WI?Im not really a fan of making comparisons between players of different eras, but Im going to bite here. For me Lara's record will always be tainted for what was a very moderate period between 96-2001. The other issue with Lara was that he never really scored a century against against Wasim and Waqar or against Donald and generally one thought that he struggled against the best of quicks.
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He was less consistent but a couple of his best ever knocks came against OZ in that period too, a couple away from home and in the midst of McGrath's cobra/snake charmer-like hold over him.Im not really a fan of making comparisons between players of different eras, but Im going to bite here. For me Lara's record will always be tainted for what was a very moderate period between 96-2001.