Shakib Al Hasan vs The Great All Rounders

[rtramdas]

Just out of curiosity, what would you say if I said Stuart Broad is a better bowler than, say, Micheal Holding?

firstly you have to specify the reasons for your conclusion.Broad's avg: is 28.54 & Holding's is 23.68 .A difference of almost 5 in Holding's favour. If you said Broad is only 23.68/28.54 = 82.97% a bowler as that of Holding, then i would assume that you are most senseless w.r.t cricket expertise. This is because plain avg:es as such are not at all reliable.
We need to take the contexts too. Here what are the contexts ? 1. Holding played in an era where it was much more bowler friendly. You can trace out easily a much higher no: of <25 bowlers in Holding's era when compared to that from Broad's era. Broad has played 102 tests when compared to Holding's 60. So longevity wise we have to give more marks to Broad. And Holding got better support from his bowling unit when compared to that of Broad. So all three combined,
Broad is a lot nearer to Holding than his plain bowl avg: suggests. 'Whether he is better to Holding or not' requires much deeper analysis of the extents of the effects of all the factors( may be some other factors too) on his bowling .This is really a difficult exercise .But one thing for sure, Broad is a lot nearer to Holding than his plain bowl avg: suggests

 

[Burgey]

Broad has also played half ormore of his tests in England, which provides friendlier conditions for bowlers of his type than his contemporaries. Having said that, pitches in West Indies were more bowler friendly when holding played too. These are the sorts of variable I guess everyone should take into account when assessing these things.

 

[Red]

Holding is a significantly better bowler than Broad. Significantly.

 

[Burgey]

Let's get back on track and talk some more about Spuddy Al Hasan compared with great all rounders. Or has that rightfully been put to bed now? Next thing people will be comparing Shane Watson with Imran Khan and Keith Miller. The whole thing is a *****-inspired (two words I never thought I'd see conjoined) farce.

 

[harsh.ag]

Shakib may be better than Mushtaq Mohammad. And that's quite decent praise given MM makes many all time Pak sides.

 

[S.Kennedy]

I cannot accept the fact that Broad is anywhere near Holding - and I do not even think Holding as the best of the West Indian pace quartet. All of these medium pacers are dangling around the late 20s - early 30s.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Bump

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

Shakib still has more than 5 years left and he's very much injury free through out. The next challenge for him is to elevate himself more and win matches for Bangladesh. His individual numbers are great but where other top all rounders excelled in was their more match winning contributions I would imagine.

 

[Black_Warrior]

Problem for Shakib in these comparisons is going to be that he will never end playing enough test matches, or have those big daddy peak seasons when guys are at their best and doing things at will - a bit like Smith now or Cook during 2010/11. Playing 2-3 test matches a year means he never gets to have seasons like that, and it would reflect in his stats unfortunately. Ultimately a couple of decades later when people are comparing him with other ATG all rounders and not having those stats will hurt him in those debates

 

[Howe_zat]

Lots of runs but averaging 48 with the ball this year. Turning into a batsman?

 

[cricman]

Lots of runs but averaging 48 with the ball this year. Turning into a batsman?

He's not the same bowler he once was

That being said, he'll probably take a 5fer in this innings.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Lots of runs but averaging 48 with the ball this year. Turning into a batsman?

Yeah , he's doing a Wilfred Rhodes. Not been great with the ball for a while now. Not hurting Bangladesh much since Mehedi seems to have stepped up well.

 

[cnerd123]

I'd argue Shakib has been bowling as well as ever, it's just that other bowled are now taking wickets instead so he's playing more of a support role than an attacking one.

 

[Black_Warrior]

His bowling in Tests has been a bit disappointing though. He used to pick up 5 wicket hauls before and used to be the main strike bowler. Understand that Mehedi has stepped up but his lack of wickets is a problem

 

[Daemon]

From Shakib's Cricinfo profile: "His on-field performances and off-field professionalism set a benchmark that was followed by peers and juniors alike."

 

[vcs]

From Shakib's Cricinfo profile: "His on-field performances and off-field professionalism set a benchmark that was followed by peers and juniors alike."

Nothing unprofessional in that

 

[viriya]

Shakib slowly turning into the true goat slowly.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Hundred + 7 wickets to win Bangladesh their 100th test. The bloke is absolutely a great and anyone not agreeing is being unnecessarily stubborn.

 

[andruid]

Hundred + 7 wickets to win Bangladesh their 100th test. The bloke is absolutely a great and anyone not agreeing is being unnecessarily stubborn.

Is there a 'necessary' stubborn?

 

[Howe_zat]

Or they disagree with you about the definition of 'great'.

Who made you the king of adjectives