The great 1980s all rounders

[Burgey]

The new Top 50 thread got me thinking about the four great all rounders of the 80s. That and Ding Dong being a putz talking about Hadlee.

Where do you rate them against each other?

Personally I have Imran > Botham > Hadlee > or = Dev.

Thoughts?

I'd like the comments on this thread kept to the more respected posters, so please onl comment if you've made 1,000 or more posts on CW.

Cheers.

 

[weldone]

According to how I see them as cricketers overall, Hadlee>Imran>Dev>Botham.

According to whom I consider the most 'rounded' all-rounder, Imran>Dev>Botham>Hadlee.

 

[Flem274*]

I would comment, but even with my 19,000 posts I don't have the required points on the respectometer.

Imran wins this comfortably for mine.

 

[ankitj]

What a great bunch. Love each one of them. As for rating them, I'd go:

Imran > Hadlee > Botham > Dev

Where would have Procter finished if SA were not outlawed?

 

[Spark]

Imran, then Hadlee.

 

[Flem274*]

According to how I see them as cricketers overall, Hadlee>Imran>Dev>Botham.

According to whom I consider the most 'rounded' all-rounder, Imran>Dev>Botham>Hadlee.

Actually this is a pretty good way of looking at it.

Hadlee and Imran are comfortably the best bowlers, but Hadlee loses out on batting. Likewise, Botham and Kapil lose out with their bowling.

It depends what you're looking for and how highly you value specialists. Hadlee and Imran, even if they were Martin-esque with the bat, are all time greats on bowling alone. Botham and Kapil aren't all time greats in either discipline. If you value specialists, Imran and Hadlee piss this in.

 

[benchmark00]

Mushr00ms.

 

[uvelocity]

I'd like the comments on this thread kept to the more respected posters, so please onl comment if you've made 1,000 or more posts on CW.

Cheers.

what a ridiculous request

 

[Howe_zat]

Hard to top David Capel.

 

[grecian]

What a great bunch. Love each one of them. As for rating them, I'd go:

Imran > Hadlee > Botham > Dev

Where would have Procter finished if SA were not outlawed?

Or indeed Rice.

I would go imran-botham-hadlee-dev

I'm only posting her for the exclusivity of the thread though, I feel we should all be wearing MCC ties, smoking cigars, and talking about how you can't get good help nowadays.

 

[The Sean]

Are we just judging them as all-rounders, or as overall cricketers? As all-rounders, my rankings would go:

Botham / Imran
Kapil Dev
Hadlee

Botham was the more brilliant and "rounded" all rounder at his very best, but Imran was better for longer, so I can't really split them. Harsh on Kapil, who I always thought was a superb player and isn't far behind, with Hadlee's (relatively) lesser batting meaning he comes in fourth.

As overall cricketers though - as in, in what order did I rank them in my top 50:

Imran
Hadlee
Botham
Kapil Dev

Hadlee's bowling elevates him above Botham and Kapil overall, while Imran's captaincy and legacy, combined with his bowling too, put him in a class of his own IMO.

All four absolutely all time epic guns though, obviously.

 

[Arachnodouche]

What a time for cricket, to be blessed with four cricketers of that caliber. Not to mention the all-time great bowlers that played during the same era. We haven't had one all-rounder approaching that sort of level since.

 

[smash84]

Hadlee and Imran ATG bowlers which gives them a huge edge if you value bowling a lot.

 

[weldone]

What a time for cricket, to be blessed with four cricketers of that caliber. Not to mention the all-time great bowlers that played during the same era. We haven't had one bowling all-rounder approaching that sort of level since.

Fixed.

 

[Burgey]

I'd like the comments on this thread kept to the more respected posters, so please onl comment if you've made 1,000 or more posts on CW.

Cheers.

What a time for cricket, to be blessed with four cricketers of that caliber. Not to mention the all-time great bowlers that played during the same era. We haven't had one all-rounder approaching that sort of level since.

.

 

[smash84]

 

[weeman27bob]

To quote Simon Hughes:

" In the end it's all pretty subjective. Imran was the fastest bowler, Hadlee the most consistent, Botham was the most destructive batsman, Kapil the most unpredictable. But, for his superior record against the premier team of the eighties, the West Indies (775 runs at 28 and 80 wickets at 21) - and his trophy girlfriends, Imran just shades it.

Interesting analysis from the analyst. Quite what the relevance of being the fastest bowler is, I'm not sure.

 

[Arachnodouche]

yeah, Kallis. To be honest, people like Pollock, Cairns, and Flintoff had their moments, but it's only Freddie who'll be spoken in superlatives and in the same vein (from a sheer match-impacting pov) as the big 4 from the 80s.

 

[smash84]

^or the trophy girlfriends for that matter

 

[Burgey]

I'd like the comments on this thread kept to the more respected posters, so please onl comment if you've made 1,000 or more posts on CW.

Cheers.

To quote Simon Hughes:

" In the end it's all pretty subjective. Imran was the fastest bowler, Hadlee the most consistent, Botham was the most destructive batsman, Kapil the most unpredictable. But, for his superior record against the premier team of the eighties, the West Indies (775 runs at 28 and 80 wickets at 21) - and his trophy girlfriends, Imran just shades it.

Interesting analysis from the analyst. Quite what the relevance of being the fastest bowler is, I'm not sure.

.