Battle of the test innings played by batsmen currently less than 30 years old

[Spark]

Kane Williamson is the Sachin Tendulkar of this generation. The technical purity of his batting alone will give him a certain advantage when he is compared to his peers, which will result in lots of other people calling him overrated, etc.

FTR, I love him.

Surely the people calling him overrated would be right, then?

 

[Athlai]

Surely the people calling him overrated would be right, then?

Was Sachin overrated?

 

[Athlai]

 

[vcs]

Surely the people calling him overrated would be right, then?

I guess.. in a way. But some people will always value technical perfection in sportsmen, even though it is an intangible trait, and doesn't really contribute directly to winning. It's another factor that goes into rating someone, so it comes down to one's opinion how much you value it.

 

[cnerd123]

 

[Zinzan]

Kane Williamson is the Sachin Tendulkar of this generation. The technical purity of his batting alone will give him a certain advantage when he is compared to his peers, which will result in lots of other people calling him overrated, etc.

FTR, I love him.

This is a really interesting one, because I think you're right about their technical purity, and while I've always found both ST & KW to be extremely compact & uncomplicated & good to watch, I must say in terms of 'style' points, I've always found the like of Martin Crowe, Mark Waugh, Damien Martyn, Brain Lara, VVS Laxman & even Michael Vaughan & Stephen Fleming at their pomp, to more aesthetically pleasing on the eye, but I'm sure that's just a personal preference.

 

[cnerd123]

This is a really interesting one, because I think you're right about their technical purity, and I've always found both ST & KW to be extremely compact & uncomplicated. But I've always found the like of Martin Crowe, Mark Waugh, Damien Martyn, Brain Lara, VVS Laxman & even Michael Vaughan & Stephen Fleming in their at pomp, to more aesthetically pleasing on the eye & hence they earn some extra style points in my book, but I'm sure that just a personal preference.

I remember getting really high and coming to the 'realisation' that true beauty doesn't lie in perfection, but in imperfection. Someone striving to be perfect, and is almost perfect, but is just slightly flawed.

That's why the most aesthetically pleasing athletes, artists, musicians etc aren't the ones that are flawless, but the ones that are just a little bit off being flawless. An over exaggerated backlift, a little bit of personal flair, the tendency to do something a little bit incorrectly and leaving themselves just that little bit more vulnerable to failure.

It's also why we romanticise people and players with flawed careers more than those with the perfect record. Bradman's legend wouldn't be so great if he didn't have that last innings duck to end of 99.94.

I'm gonna stop before I go full on kiwivictor here.

 

[OverratedSanity]

You already did. That was one of the most "cool story bro" posts ever.

 

[OverratedSanity]

That tamim innings is a good call, as are his two tons in England. Always forget how young he is.

 

[Zinzan]

I remember getting really high and coming to the 'realisation' that true beauty doesn't lie in perfection, but in imperfection. Someone striving to be perfect, and is almost perfect, but is just slightly flawed.

That's why the most aesthetically pleasing athletes, artists, musicians etc aren't the ones that are flawless, but the ones that are just a little bit off being flawless. An over exaggerated backlift, a little bit of personal flair, the tendency to do something a little bit incorrectly and leaving themselves just that little bit more vulnerable to failure.

It's also why we romanticise people and players with flawed careers more than those with the perfect record. Bradman's legend wouldn't be so great if he didn't have that last innings duck to end of 99.94.

I'm gonna stop before I go full on kiwivictor here.

Possibly some truth there, although I have to disagree with that in bold. Had Bradman managed the 4 or so runs or whatever he needed to finish with an average >100 in that last innings, he would have been no less legendary imo,

Only people might have joked around how tragic it would have been if he only scored 0-3 in that last innings & ended up averaging 99.9 something :P

 

[Spark]

Was Sachin overrated?

Depends. If people were rating him above the rest primarily of his technique as opposed to his longevity, his consistency, hunger, etc etc (i.e. actual results) then yeah, sure.

Technique matters a lot, but it doesn't directly determine how good you are as a Test batsman. Runs do.

 

[vcs]

This is a really interesting one, because I think you're right about their technical purity, and while I've always found both ST & KW to be extremely compact & uncomplicated & good to watch, I must say in terms of 'style' points, I've always found the like of Martin Crowe, Mark Waugh, Damien Martyn, Brain Lara, VVS Laxman & even Michael Vaughan & Stephen Fleming at their pomp, to more aesthetically pleasing on the eye, but I'm sure that's just a personal preference.

They're all pretty good to watch, really. I think my point is more applicable in let's say, comparing Dravid and Chanderpaul.

 

[Flem274*]

that chandimal knock was insanely good fun

 

[OverratedSanity]

that chandimal knock was insanely good fun

Dwta

 

[Fuller Pilch]

David Warner - 43 days too old for this thread

 

[Zinzan]

David Warner - 43 days too old for this thread

Which knock?

 

[ImpatientLime]

This is a really interesting one, because I think you're right about their technical purity, and while I've always found both ST & KW to be extremely compact & uncomplicated & good to watch, I must say in terms of 'style' points, I've always found the like of Martin Crowe, Mark Waugh, Damien Martyn, Brain Lara, VVS Laxman & even Michael Vaughan & Stephen Fleming at their pomp, to more aesthetically pleasing on the eye, but I'm sure that's just a personal preference.

'even michael vaughan'? he makes the rest of those blokes look like rank amateurs in terms of style.

 

[Zinzan]

'even michael vaughan'? he makes the rest of those blokes look like rank amateurs in terms of style.

I used 'even' for Vaughan and Fleming, because they were probably a level down from those other names in terms of their records. That said, so is Mark Waugh.

 

[Adders]

Keaton Jennings - Mumbai 2016

 

[Zinzan]

Keaton Jennings - Mumbai 2016

Day 1 of a test on a good batting track favouring spin which was only going to happen as the day wore on?... No chance.

But I think this was tongue in cheek anyway.