To be fair, his first couple of tests were in 2001 and he didn't play again until 2004.
Bingo. Getting on the park is a pretty important trait in rating a cricketer imo.
Sure, if you include now, his post injury specialist bat venture which has been a disaster really. But did you actually see him bowl? Slumping shoulders aside, he was actually a threatening bowler with pace, who could swing the ball really well. He had the tools of a proper fast bowler. I don't think many people remember this. That's why he was underrated. As EWS says, everyone will remember him for this stage of his career, and not that one.
I don't think so. Chris Martin has had an amazing ability to stay on the park, but I don't rate him as being a better player for it. Just better at one aspect of being a professional cricketer.
Yeah I did watch him bowl, and I'm treating modern frinks and classic frinks as completely different players. I'm saying he was good, but it wasn't incredible or sustained enough to make conclusions of him being underrated in his time. Okay, so he averaged 28. Cool. If you want to be considered an excellent player you do that across 50 matches, not 19.
Obviously. I'm not putting him down as an all-time great bowler, and I'm saying that for a time, he had the tools to become one and put in some great performances. And that a lot of people didn't rate him at the time despite being pretty darned good.
I disagree. That's where Martin's value as a cricketer lies. If he couldn't stay so consistently fit he'd barely be making his domestic side.
You don't have to be a great player to be under-rated though. In fact you can be an absolutely awful player and still be under-rated if the general consensus of you is that of an even more vile player than you actually are.
Haha yeah I didn't mean excellent as in ATG, just that I thought he was rated pretty accurately for what he acheived.
People weren't saying much about him at all, which is part of the point. His Test bowling, at any rate.Haha yeah I didn't mean excellent as in ATG, just that I thought he was rated pretty accurately for what he acheived.
I honestly don't know what people were saying about him at that point in his career as I wasn't exactly into internet forums at that age, so if that's what you're referring to we'll just leave it at that.
I do. For a country who struggle to keep fast bowlers on the park for a whole series, let alone a summer, Tommy's ability to stay fit and lead the attack deserves plenty of plaudits.
