Nominate your top 15 best ever test opening batsmen - another in my countdown series

[honestbharani]

I think Sir Geoffery said "my mum cud ve hit that with a stick of rhubarb" a lot more than he said "grandma or nan"...

 

[TNT]

I think Sir Geoffery said "my mum cud ve hit that with a stick of rhubarb" a lot more than he said "grandma or nan"...

He beat his wife with more than a stick of rhubarb though.

 

[mr_mister]

already up to 12 lists. this is moving along nicely


keep 'em coming in hot boys

 

[trundler]

My list will have to rectify the appalling Australian revisionism in some of these lists

 

[mr_mister]

Anwar and Hanniff 1 and 2?

 

[harsh.ag]

1. Sunil Gavaskar
2. Barry Richards
3. Jack Hobbs
4. Len Hutton
5. Gordon Greenidge
6. Graham Gooch
7. Graeme Smith
8. Bruce Mitchell
9. Victor Trumper
10. Virender Sehwag
11. WG Grace
12. Matthew Hayden
13. Bob Simpson
14. Justin Langer
15. Geoffery Boycott

 

[mr_mister]

No Suttclife at all is interesting.

 

[Engle]

01. J. Hobbs
02. S. Gavaskar
03. L. Hutton
04. H. Sutcliffe
05. B. Richards
06. V. Sehwag
07. G. Greenidge
08. B. Ponsford
09. C. Hunte
10. G. Boycott
11. M. Hayden
12. G. Smith
13. A. Cook
14. G. Gooch
15. Hanif M.

 

[AndrewB]

Jack Hobbs
Len Hutton
Sunil Gavaskar
Herbert Sutcliffe
Barry Richards
Bob Simpson
Virender Sehwag
Gordon Greenidge
Graeme Smith
Victor Trumper
Arthur Morris
Bruce Mitchell
WG Grace
Sid Barnes
Geoff Boycott

 

[Red]

Hutton
Hobbs
Gavaskar
B.Richards
Greenidge
Simpson
Lawry
G.Smith
Boycott
Gooch
Morris
Sutcliffe
Haynes
Langer
Cook

 

[TheJediBrah]

My list will have to rectify the appalling Australian revisionism in some of these lists

such as?

If we're going to start this game it kind of defeats the whole point of the exercise

Maybe I'll have to post a list of 15 Australians to "rectify" your list

 

[stephen]

such as?

If we're going to start this game it kind of defeats the whole point of the exercise

Maybe I'll have to post a list of 15 Australians to "rectify" your list

He means that I put Gavaskar below a bunch of other players and called out the fact that a lot of his supposed greatness against the West Indies happened on massive roads or in matches where the Windies fielded substandard attacks. 70/71 he averaged 150 against the Windies when they fielded an utterly terrible bowling attack.

 

[harsh.ag]

such as?

Hobbs
Hutton
Sutcliffe
Simpson
B Richards
Hayden
Ponsford
Woodfull
Lawry
Morris
Trumper
Gavaskar
G Smith
Greenidge
Sehwag

Simpson
Amiss
Hayden
Katich
Gavaskar
Sehwag
Warner
Smith
Langer
Boycott
Gibbs
Lawry
Anwar
Barlow
Turner

Tbf the TNT list isn't Australian revisionism as much as it's quirky

 

[TheJediBrah]

Tbf the TNT list isn't Australian revisionism as much as it's quirky

Stephen's list isn't unreasonable at all. Australia have had a lot of great opening batsmen and been playing a lot longer than most other teams, not particular surprising that he put 7 Aussies in there. Any less than 5 would probably be too much the other way tbh

TNT's top 4 is very questionable though

 

[TNT]

Stephen's list isn't unreasonable at all. Australia have had a lot of great opening batsmen and been playing a lot longer than most other teams, not particular surprising that he put 7 Aussies in there. Any less than 5 would probably be too much the other way tbh

TNT's top 4 is very questionable though

My list is not in order of greatness but a list of the best 15 openers I think have been the best.

 

[mr_mister]

oh... well you're meant to order it as i give out points from the top down

 

[harsh.ag]

Stephen's list isn't unreasonable at all.

Of course not. Nothing unreasonable about that list

 

[mr_mister]

there's always gonna be some questionable placings and disagreements but that's part of it

I know you think Gavakaskr should be higher than all those aussies but stephen gave his reasons


In the spinner one, Warne featured at the bottom of one list, O'Reilly missed an entire list and Murali missed 2

All three ended up in the top 3 so really all of those lists having them nowhere near their personal top 5 look manipulated/dodgy - i figure the Murali ones were protests about his action and then the Warne and O'Reilly omissions counter-attacks at that


Let's all try to give our honest opinion and not get too petty by trying to counter what we think are 'wrong' lists

 

[TheJediBrah]

there's always gonna be some questionable placings and disagreements but that's part of it

I know you think Gavakaskr should be higher than all those aussies but stephen gave his reasons


In the spinner one, Warne featured at the bottom of one list, O'Reilly missed an entire list and Murali missed 2

All three ended up in the top 3 so really all of those lists having them nowhere near their top 10 look manipulated/dodgy - i figure the Murali ones were protests about his action and then the Warne and O'Reilly omissions counter-attacks at that


Let's all try to give our honest opinion and not get too petty by trying to counter what we think are 'wrong' lists

exactly. We had this exact same whinging in the spinner thread. The whole point of this sort of exercise is to see what cricketweb comes up with, it's not supposed to be an ultimate definitive ranking.

the idea that you would alter your opinion to make up for someone else's you don't agree with is so dumb

Of course not. Nothing unreasonable about that list

is this sarcasm

 

[mr_mister]

yeah and ftr harsh i have no issue with you having Gavaskar number 1 - i had him 4 and i can see plenty of reasons someone would consider him 1, he's definitely considered by many people to be the best post-war opener and if you think modern batting is harder than it was in the 30s it seems pretty cut and dry


i guess lets not just spend too much time criticising other people's lists full stop

unless something is really, really obviously a troll list