Who is South Africa's Greatest Batsman

[Beleg]

dravid's easily the equal of ponting and there'd be times when i'd pick him ahead of tendulkar. kallis is an annoying **** but he is right up there as well

sangakkara's better compared to the likes of yousuf and andy flower and, i dunno, arvinda de silva or something

 

[91Jmay]

What was that WI match where Dravid got two fifties on a pitch where getting 15 looked like a decent effort? Probably the only batsman capable of that.

Yeah, absolutely there that is why Dravid was an unbelievable player, but most pitches aren't like that so on most (vast majority) Ponting is a step above pretty comfortably for me.

 

[OverratedSanity]

What was that WI match where Dravid got two fifties on a pitch where getting 15 looked like a decent effort? Probably the only batsman capable of that.

Captain of the team. Was the last match of the series. Won the match. Won a series in West Indies after 35 years.
As epic as it gets imo. And he did similar stuff with amazing consistency for around 5-6 years

 

[cricmahanty]

If it's about who's the greatest SA batsman ever as the thread title suggests, I find it hard to comprehend why anyone would bother to look beyond Kallis.

Greatest isn't just about being the most attractive and eye-charming, is it ?

It also accounts for the sheer value a man entails and Kallis to me, is one big reason behind why South Africa are such a successful test side over the last decade or so. People who think he hasn't won them enough matches are the ones who probably still think that it's the Sun that revolves round the Earth.

 

[OverratedSanity]

If it's about who's the greatest SA batsman ever as the thread title suggests, I find it hard to comprehend why anyone would bother to look beyond Kallis.

Greatest isn't just about being the most attractive and eye-charming, is it ?

It also accounts for the sheer value a man entails and Kallis to me, is one big reason behind why South Africa are such a successful test side over the last decade or so. People who think he hasn't won them enough matches are the ones who probably still think that it's the Sun that revolves round the Earth.

I'd only agree if the topic was about SA's greatest test batsman which undoubtedly is Kallis. Simply "Greatest batsman", though is a topic worth discussing. Richards and Pollock have an amazing legacy outside of their test careers fir a reason and certainly merit debate

 

[Shri]

Yeah everyone is saying he is the greatest. Some like me just don't like his style.

 

[Jono]

Yep. Sad that Dravid has somehow been relegated to a status of not quite as good as even kallis and Sanga. For me, after the trifecta of Sachin, Ponting and Lara, it's Dravid. Won us more overseas games than anyone else

Other than a few randoms on the internet, who on Earth has relegated Dravid below Sanga?

 

[OverratedSanity]

Other than a few randoms on the internet, who on Earth has relegated Dravid below Sanga?

Apart from lots here, many of my friends seem to place Sanga over Dravid comfortably and place Sanga only below Tendulkar and Gavaskar among SC batsmen. His average is apparently a big deal.

He's not quite up there yet imo

 

[harsh.ag]

Apart from lots here, many of my friends seem to place Sanga over Dravid comfortably and place Sanga only below Tendulkar and Gavaskar among SC batsmen. His average is apparently a big deal.

He's not quite up there yet imo

To those people, Balderdash. That said, would have loved Sanga at number 5 for India ahead of Laxman

 

[OverratedSanity]

To those people, Balderdash. That said, would have loved Sanga at number 5 for India ahead of Laxman

Hell no if you mean to replace VVS completely .
VVS was perfect for us . Sanga at 5 and VVS at 6 maybe

 

[harsh.ag]

Hell no if you mean to replace VVS completely .
VVS was perfect for us . Sanga at 5 and VVS at 6 maybe

That's what I meant Sanga instead of Ganguly etc.. On that note, it's time we started playing England to other sub-continent nations!

 

[Dissector]

Kallis.

Pollock and Richards were probably more talented batsman but IMO a long and successful test career trumps talent and potential.

 

[Prince EWS]

Other than a few randoms on the internet, who on Earth has relegated Dravid below Sanga?

There's a chance I might do so by the time Sanga actually hangs up the gloves. Definitely not yet though.

 

[Leftarmtweaker]

Kallis' stats speak for themselves. The greatest all-rounder ever, and by many a mile, the greatest batsman the Rainbow Nation have ever produced.

 

[fredfertang]

Depends which particular stat you are considering of course

 

[NUFAN]

There's a chance I might do so by the time Sanga actually hangs up the gloves. Definitely not yet though.

I think you belong to 'the random on the Internet' category.

 

[kyear2]

Don't see what longevity has to do with greatness. Headley is definitely a greater batsman than Chanderpaul and he played the same amount of tests as Pollock. Greatness to me is about who was your best batsman and whose knocks meant more to the team and who could just take over a game for your team.

 

[kyear2]

Kallis' stats speak for themselves. The greatest all-rounder ever, and by many a mile, the greatest batsman the Rainbow Nation have ever produced.

Just nothing right about this post IMHO.

 

[watson]

Don't see what longevity has to do with greatness. Headley is definitely a greater batsman than Chanderpaul and he played the same amount of tests as Pollock. Greatness to me is about who was your best batsman and whose knocks meant more to the team and who could just take over a game for your team.

Greatness is the combination of skill and character. A batsman can be wonderfully skillful, but if it doesn't mean much if he doesn't have the mental toughness to bat for 6 hours plus in 40 degree temperatures, ignore sledging, survive short pitched bowling etc etc.

Longevity imples mental toughness, and along with it, tenacity and courage. So, longevity has everything to do with greatness.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Don't see what longevity has to do with greatness.

Everything. You're not great if you don't do it for a large portion of your career. Flash in the pans are not great are they