The ATG Teams General arguing/discussing thread

[SillyCowCorner1]

...although I can understand the rationale of wanting Kallis between Sobers and Gilchrist.

Yeah, but which bowling lineup are they planning to kill with that lower middle order?

 

[Red]

Yeah, but which bowling lineup are they planning to kill with that lower middle order?

Well, he didn't have McGrath, Wasim, Ambrose, Warne. That could be it?

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

Well, he didn't have McGrath, Wasim, Ambrose, Warne. That could be it?

Damn, the counter attack by Gilly against Warne would have been mouthwatering.

Ambrose would be scratching his head every time he beats the bat of Sir Garry.

Kallis would be the weak link against Walsh and McGrath.

 

[_00_deathscar]

90s XI

Graham Gooch
Mark Taylor
Brian Lara
Sachin Tendulkar
Mark Waugh
Steve Waugh
Ian Healy
Wasim Akram
Shane Warne
Curtly Ambrose
Allan Donald

There had to have been better test batsmen in the 90s than Mark Waugh...

 

[h_hurricane]

There had to have been better test batsmen in the 90s than Mark Waugh...

I spent some time on this before picking him.

Waugh played an insane number of tests in 90s and averaged around 42 which is pretty good. Other contenders like Flower, Azhar, Cullinan and Inzy averaged in the same ballpark and didn't play anywhere as much as him and also had more gaping holes. I also thought of Crowe who played only 5 years and Aravinda De Sliva who was gun the second half of 90s but was inconsistent in the first half.

 

[honestbharani]

I would play Crowe ahead of Waugh Jr.

 

[h_hurricane]

Not a bad option at all. Averaged 45 in that period(as also his whole career) playing for a weak team which should count a lot. Played only 32 tests in 90s though as against 100 odd for Waugh.

 

[honestbharani]

he was active upto 95 so I would say its fair enough to include him. But I guess it means you also have to consider blokes like Richie Richardson.

 

[h_hurricane]

Richardson averaged 40+ as well in 90s. Actually David Boon is a pretty good choice, 4303 runs in 90s at 45.29. And batted at no.3 which should count a lot as well.

 

[honestbharani]

yep.. u can shunt everyone from Lara down by 1.

 

[Burgey]

Boonie. Was best in the business at short leg too. Loved the Keg on Legs.

 

[Logan]

Unpopular Opinion :

If Viv Richards played ODIs today, he would be a great batsman. But he wouldn’t as ahead of his peers like in the 1980s.

There is much more competition now and most batsman take ODIs more seriously than they did in the 70s/80s.

Being an attacking batsman, Viv’s style was suited to the new format(ODIs). Thus he was able to adapt much quicker than the others.

 

[h_hurricane]

He was obviously a truly great player, GOAT in ODIs. My rough estimate is that he would have been a moderate upgrade on Kohli or ABD, the best ODI players in recent years.

However, people do go over board sometimes and say he would average 60 and strike at 120, which is ridiculous.

 

[Malcolm]

However, people do go over board sometimes and say he would average 60 and strike at 120, which is ridiculous.

Why is that ridiculous?

 

[h_hurricane]

Why is that ridiculous?

Because if you bat like Kohli you cannot have a strike rate like Maxwell. And if you bat like Maxwell, you cannot average like Kohli.

 

[Red]

Because if you bat like Kohli you cannot have a strike rate like Maxwell. And if you bat like Maxwell, you cannot average like Kohli.

That's because neither Kohli, nor Maxwell, are Viv. Viv would average 70 at a SR of 130.

 

[Red]

fwiw, in all seriousness, I think Viv would probably average what he did, around 50, in this era. His SR would be something in the vicinity of AB DeVilliers, give or take. 100-ish strike rate. Maybe a touch more?

So to compare him to Kohli, he'd average slightly less, but strike a bit higher.

 

[h_hurricane]

My own take is that, he would average around 55 and strike at 105. He would take only calculated risks. His job is not to hit a few sixes and get out, but to bat through the innings reserving his explosiveness to those occasions when required.Would still be better than Kohli or AB.
Have seen him bat like that in ODIs. Would get bogged down for no reason and then would hit out for a while. Highlights package does not tell that

 

[Red]

It's been said before, but Viv with modern bats would be seriously hazardous.

 

[Logan]

It would have been great if Viv was playing today along with Kohli and ABD. To see Viv, ABD and Kohli motivating one another and bringing out the best in each other. Similar to the Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.