Best After The Don

[doesitmatter]

pitches in the subcontinent are mostly flat but also low on bounce and sometimes uneven not really conducive for hit through the line kind of batting which Tendulkar likes. Indian tracks are not similar to flat tracks in Australia or England (when Richards made those mountain of runs in 76) where a batsman can hit through the line. Ask Tendulkar he would prefer the flat tracks of Aus, Eng, NZ than India. may be that is the reason why his average in India is less than in Eng and Aus.

 

[kyear2]

So why don't the SC bowlers get extra points for bowling well on these most placid of tracks?

So Indian wickets arn't flat?

Will resist the temptation to answer the broader question of sc bowlers.

 

[smash84]

So Indian wickets arn't flat?

Will resist the temptation to answer the broader question of sc bowlers.

The point is that if Indian batsmen get penalized for scoring mountains of runs on flat tracks then the bowlers should get extra points for getting wickets on those same flat tracks. You can't have it both ways.

 

[Agent Nationaux]

So why don't the SC bowlers get extra points for bowling well on these most placid of tracks?

Because they are not Marshall

 

[harsh.ag]

I'd definitely include Barry Richards and Graham Pollock had they played more tests.

I think Barry Richards is most probably the second greatest batsman of all time. But 4 tests isn't enough.

I guess my criterion has been very simple (perhaps too simple).. Barry was a better bat than Viv, more complete, more joyous to watch, so Viv cannot be the second best. Watching Barry bat gave you the right kind of happiness, Viv gave you a slightly cruder (hollower?) form of happiness (I know I will be mocked for this). Sobers was the most dashing left hander I ever saw, so Pollock and Lara cannot be the second greatest. Hobbs' record is just astounding, and I have no way to rule him out. Tendulkar because he gave me an immense amount of joy, and as an Indian, it is impossible to take that bias out even if I try

P.S. Not going to consider Grace, because then we might as well close this thread, and start a new one!

 

[Coronis]

Largely on the basis of his missing his best years and then achieving most of what he did after his wartime injury - would be fascinating to have seen the shoot out between him and Bradman in 40/41

To be fair, Hobbs also missed out on cricket due to war, and also achieved most of what he did after the war.

 

[fredfertang]

To be fair, Hobbs also missed out on cricket due to war, and also achieved most of what he did after the war.

Hobbs was a fine player without a doubt, but I think he had life rather easier than Hutton. He was in his early 30s when the Great War robbed him of four seasons whereas Hutton was only 23 when he lost six. Also the latter part of Hobbs' career coincided with what was probably the most "batsman-friendly" era in English cricket, whereas with Hutton it was the opposite - and I have to say that I do think having one arm two inches shorter than it was before the war was one hell of a handicap for Sir Len, as was the pressure of being the first professional to captain England - easily overlooked now of course, but clearly of huge significance at the time

 

[complan]

Viv Richards was a joy to watch, for me personally. He could destroy bowlers and do it consistently.

Tendulkar is not the run machine that Don was (or for that matter Lara or even Sehwag - 2 triple centuries). Still, my vote goes to Tendulkar. Simply because the Don himself said once that Tendulkar reminds him of himself.

 

[Tangles]

Lara is the most dominant batsman I have seen and a pleasure to watch. He edges it over Sachin for me. Plus an an Aussie living in the US playing cricket with Indians gives me some bias against him. He is rammed down your throat by some Indian fans as the best ever. I'll not mention how speechless I was to play with a couple of younger Indians who didnt know who the Don was.

I saw Viv at the end of his career (post '88) so it was only in highlights that I could see what people saw in him from an ATG pov. Special mention to Barry Richards who I saw play in a charity game in Sydney when he was 60 odd and even then he looked a pure natural at the crease.

 

[smash84]

Viv Richards, for having the most commanding presence ever at the crease and annihilating the opposition like no other before or since

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Viv Richards, for having the most commanding presence ever at the crease and annihilating the opposition like no other before or since

This, back then we didn't have the amount of cricket on tv as we do now so you only saw him against your own side but you loved and hated seeing him walk to the crease, loved it as you knew he was brilliant and could do something special but hated it as you knew he was going to make your own team look silly (lots did back then for my lot before you all jump in)

 

[honestbharani]

This, back then we didn't have the amount of cricket on tv as we do now so you only saw him against your own side but you loved and hated seeing him walk to the crease, loved it as you knew he was brilliant and could do something special but hated it as you knew he was going to make your own team look silly (lots did back then for my lot before you all jump in)

Must be a great feeling though, to have been a fan of your cricket team when they were the whipping boys and then growing up and seeing them become #1 and sorta maintain their position among the top 3 for a while now.

 

[fredfertang]

At least in those days we had David Gower

 

[Viscount Tom]

In these days you've got David Warner, not really got the same level of grace does he tbh.

 

[Coronis]

In these days you've got David Warner, not really got the same level of grace does he tbh.

Will probably end up being a better batsman though.

 

[Pothas]

Ok then.

 

[Slifer]

My vote went to Greg Chappell. Faced heaps of great bowlers in tests and WSC and did outstandingly. Was equally great vs spin, pace home and away. The next after the Don for me

 

[honestbharani]

My vote went to Greg Chappell. Faced heaps of great bowlers in tests and WSC and did outstandingly. Was equally great vs spin, pace home and away. The next after the Don for me

Do believe he is severely underrated as a batsman, possibly because of what he has been since retirement..

 

[watson]

Do believe he is severely underrated as a batsman, possibly because of what he has been since retirement..

Yes, and the Underarm incident doesn't help either. He also made a record 6 ducks in a row in the early 80s when the West Indies were touring.

Those things aside, Greg Chappell is the best and greatest batsman of the 1970s, and even better than Viv Richards during that decade. Viv had to wait until the 1980s when Greg was a couple years off retirement before he could be counted as the world's best batsman.

 

[Flametree]

I voted Hobbs. Of all batsmen to have played 10 tests or more before WW1, only about four (Jackson, Bardsley, Ranjit and Faulkner) averaged over 40, with Jackson the only one of those averaging above 45. Hobbs scored 2500+ runs at 57 pre-WW1. He stands out almost as much as Bradman for being so far ahead of his contemporaries.