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The batsmen who make batting look the most effortless and simple.

Satguru

Banned
Sehwag
Tim Paine
Kallis
Dravid
Kallis and Dravid? I always feel whenever im watching Kallis that hes putting all his muscle into the shots he plays. As for Dravid when you see him bat, its there for everyone to see that he's concentrating with all his might every single ball, and with all that movement of his arms and elbows, he never looks effortless to me either.

Martyn and Mark Waugh are the obvious choices from the ones ive seen. No shot in world cricket looks more lazily elegant than a Waugh flick off the pads.
Ganguly and Laxman honorable mentions... both look terribly ungainly when they get it wrong, but in full flow, theyre elegance personified.

Among the current ones, Ian Bell is great
 
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kyear2

International Coach
My choices currently would be Ian Bell and VVS Laxman. Looking back Carl Hooper and Mark Waugh and to me King Viv on song.
 

Anil

Hall of Fame Member
in terms of elegant style gower, laxman, m. waugh, hooper, g. chappell, vengsarkar, azharuddin, martyn, inzy, lara etc come to mind...gower being my personal favourite in that category...

in terms of making batting looking effortless and simple, the above players and most if not all of the all-time greats do that when they are in form...
 

ankitj

Hall of Fame Member
Kallis and Dravid? I always feel whenever im watching Kallis that hes putting all his muscle into the shots he plays. As for Dravid when you see him bat, its there for everyone to see that he's concentrating with all his might every single ball, and with all that movement of his arms and elbows, he never looks effortless to me either.

Martyn and Mark Waugh are the obvious choices from the ones ive seen. No shot in world cricket looks more lazily elegant than a Waugh flick off the pads.
Ganguly and Laxman honorable mentions... both look terribly ungainly when they get it wrong, but in full flow, theyre elegance personified.

Among the current ones, Ian Bell is great
Agree with you on Kallis, Waugh, Laxman and Dravid. Can't seem to remember much of Martyn which is a shame. But don't agree so much about Ganguly. His off side shots were good but his pull shot must be the ugliest and most arduous amongst all specialist batsmen I have seen. With that ****ty, exaggerated foot movement, I don't how he managed pull Pollock for sixes (must have lost some pace at that time)

And Ian Bell's running between the wicket is mighty effortless, I say.
 

Spark

Global Moderator
TBH Bell doesn't strike me as especially effortless. His technique a bit too obviously by-the-book for me to think of him that way.
 

Bahnz

Hall of Fame Member
Currently it would be Gayle and Sehwag for me. When those two are in form, they make batting in international cricket look no more difficult than biffing your younger brother's useless bowling around the back yard.
 

Zinzan

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in terms of elegant style gower, laxman, m. waugh, hooper, g. chappell, vengsarkar, azharuddin, martyn, inzy, lara etc come to mind...gower being my personal favourite in that category...

in terms of making batting looking effortless and simple, the above players and most if not all of the all-time greats do that when they are in form...
Nice list, but you forgot two Kiwis, M D Crowe & S P Fleming (when he wasn't facing McGrath)
 

Pothas

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
TBH Bell doesn't strike me as especially effortless. His technique a bit too obviously by-the-book for me to think of him that way.
Understand what you are saying and I guess he never creates the impression that he is not really trying but was at the Rose Bowl this year when he made 100 against Sri Lanka and I have not seen as an easy looking innings since I saw John Crawley aainst Cardiff University, his late cut is the most effortlessly brilliant shot around at the moment.
 

PYADAV

Cricket Spectator
Ability to make batting easy and looking elegant are two different things. First one is related to ability to send good balls to or over to boundary and second one is making quality shot. Mark Waugh, Martyn Laxman do make quality and good looking shots, but are not better to Ponting, Lara, and Sachin in hitting good balls to fences. Ability to send good balls to fence makes batting easy and depends on different things and there are masters of it.
Hand /Eye Co-ordination: Vivian Richards, Ricky Ponting. Ponting can play all shots what Waugh, Laxman, and Martyn can play, may be less elegantly but none of them can pull good length ball at 150 to mid wicket for four. Sachin and Ponting plays front foot punch very well to cover on good length ball.
Ability to adjust very quickly and Late: Lara. He can play cut shot to ball very close to off stump because of his ability to adjust, while others might nick to keeper. He always had extra time than others and played so late to make late adjustments.
Balance: Sachin: Backfoot or front foot punch to cover. Again like Lara, extra time to make late adjustments. Before Sachin no Right batsman thought to paddle sweep Warne and hitting against spin over midwicket.
Ability to hit good balls allows Barry Richards to find place in lot of worlds eleven, despite playing only four test matches.
 

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