Greatest ever batsman with the tail?

[Migara]

Hashan Tillekaratne has a big shout as well. Mercurial in killing time out there with the tail and has scored few runs too, with useful partnerships. IIRC, put 80+ with Murali against India or England.

 

[luckyeddie]

Bill Lawry was pretty good at batting with the tail too. Mind you, that was back in the days when the Aussie tail started at No 3 (like it does now).

 

[smash84]

 

[Bun]

tbh.

 

[MW1304]

How good was Sobers? Considering he often batted at 5 or 6 and made a fair few hundreds there.

 

[wpdavid]

More recently, Matt Prior's made some significant scores when batting with the tail. Crucially in the first tests against Pakistan last year and India this year.

 

[Bun]

More recently, Matt Prior's made some significant scores when batting with the tail. Crucially in the first tests against Pakistan last year and India this year.

Well, not sure with guys like Bresnan, Broad, Swann one can actually call it a tail tbh.

 

[BoyBrumby]

More recently, Matt Prior's made some significant scores when batting with the tail. Crucially in the first tests against Pakistan last year and India this year.

Yeah, fair call.

Must be said tho we do have the strongest lower order we've had since I've been watching. Only Anderson is really a tailender and he's competent enough too.

Would've probably batted #8 in some tails I can recall.

Robin Smith, anyone? I remember him adding 50+ (and completing his ton) with Deadly Devon against India at OT.

 

[SamSawnoff]

Well, not sure with guys like Bresnan, Broad, Swann one can actually call it a tail tbh.

Prior isn't in the lists, even Anderson has vastly improved with the willow. He can't play too many shots but his defence has improved out of sight.

 

[luckyeddie]

How good was Sobers? Considering he often batted at 5 or 6 and made a fair few hundreds there.

Very good. I would rate him the greatest all-round cricketer of my lifetime, if not of all time. There have been better batsmen, better seamers, better spinners, better slippers and better short-leg fielders, but not all together.

 

[MW1304]

Cheers. I meant in terms of batting with the tail, though.

 

[OMM!]

Flintoff had some memorable stands down the order. I remember one 10th wicket stand with Harmison against South Africa I think, where Flintoff scored about 95% of the runs in a 70 odd stand.

Hussey and Waugh are/were brilliant at it though and Lara had his moments.

 

[wpdavid]

Flintoff had some memorable stands down the order. I remember one 10th wicket stand with Harmison against South Africa I think, where Flintoff scored about 95% of the runs in a 70 odd stand.

He also had a crucial 10th wicket partnership with Simon Jones at Edgbaston test in 2005.

 

[SamSawnoff]

Allan Border wins by a mile, last time i counted he had 11 test tons batting with the tail, no other player even comes close.

For sheer mongrel, he's king amongst Aus batsmen since I've followed cricket. I wish he could inject some of that into our current players.

 

[Himannv]

Mathews seems to be doing it over a variety of formats for us at the moment.

 

[Fusion]

He may not have been the "best" of them, but Inzi was pretty damn good with the tail. It seems like half the time he was out there, he would be batting with the tail because of yet another collapse. Post Miandad, he was certainly Pakistan's best batsman in those situations.

 

[Cabinet96]

Hussey maybe? Thinking of Sydney 2010 with Siddle and Melbourne 2006 with Mcgrath

 

[JBMAC]

You guys are too young.LOL Ken (slasher) Mackay. Without a doubt

 

[SteveNZ]

Brendon McCullum has made a lot of Test runs doing this

 

[vic_orthdox]

Steve Waugh. Perfected the art of batting with the tail.

Waugh did come in for a lot of criticism and found himself stranded a number of times as well, though. He is remembered for it because of some good ones, but he didn't have the ability to keep himself on strike as effortlessly as some others.