Cricket's Great Myths

[subshakerz]

Not Kumble. By the time Ashes 1993 (that estabkished Warne) had rolled out, He had already distinguished himself with the SA tour where he took 18 wickets from 4 tests at 25. Followed it up with 21 wickets in the 3-0 whitewash of Eng at home as well.

Yeah but that's India...

 

[subshakerz]

Gibbs dropped the World Cup in 1999 ..Steve Waugh didnt say it , but even if it was said there's no merit or real logic to that statement , firstly that dropped catch off Waugh was in the super sixes stage , you don't win World cups in the group stage , secondly poor Herchelle got a hundred in that game...Our two best bowlers Donald and Pollock picked up 0 wickets between them in defending 270 odd which was a huge score in the 90's , that to me cost us more than anything in that game , we still had another crack at Australia in the semi final to prove we really deserved to reach the final and we failed , even if we beat Australia there's no guarantee we would have beaten Pakistan ..I mean Pakistan were a better side than Zimbabwe yet we also lost to them in that WC ..The whole thing was a huge overreaction in my opinion and unfair on Gibbs .

The hundred was just a ruse...

 

[Senile Sentry]

Gibbs dropped the World Cup in 1999 ..Steve Waugh didnt say it , but even if it was said there's no merit or real logic to that statement , firstly that dropped catch off Waugh was in the super sixes stage , you don't win World cups in the group stage , secondly poor Herchelle got a hundred in that game...Our two best bowlers Donald and Pollock picked up 0 wickets between them in defending 270 odd which was a huge score in the 90's , that to me cost us more than anything in that game , we still had another crack at Australia in the semi final to prove we really deserved to reach the final and we failed , even if we beat Australia there's no guarantee we would have beaten Pakistan ..I mean Pakistan were a better side than Zimbabwe yet we also lost to them in that WC ..The whole thing was a huge overreaction in my opinion and unfair on Gibbs .

Yes, SA in 1999 was basically Klusener on God Mode bailing out SA again and again. The man was in some unreal form. But I think SA could have won the cup. Zim were no pushover during that time and narrowly missed out on semis (due to NRR - a crucial super six game vs NZ was rained off). So no shame in losing to them.

 

[Senile Sentry]

Yeah but that's India...

The SA tour was in SA. Their first since readmission to cricket.

 

[subshakerz]

The SA tour was in SA. Their first since readmission to cricket.

Ah yes, I remember. Kumble gets overlooked. Warne got way overhyped.

 

[ankitj]

Waugh to Gibbs: "You dropped the world cup"

Edit: obviously this is covered.

 

[Kenneth Viljoen]

Glenn McGrath only bowled in one area , outside off looking for the edge .. This myth has really grinded my gears especially when I have heard it from local bowling coaches teaching young kids cause they can easily get the wrong idea ..

Glenn McGrath was much much more than an outside off merchant, yes that was where the majority of his deliveries were delivered with pinpoint accuracy like any responsible fast medium but he mixed it up, he was never one dimensional if he saw the batsman wasn't good enough to edge it , or a technical flaw that required a certain delivery he would bowl it , his Yorkers were incredible , his bouncer was one of the best in the game , and even on slow dry pitches he had a very useful off cutter which he used to great effect at the 2007 WC ..McGrath was no one trick pony

 

[subshakerz]

Glenn McGrath only bowled in one area , outside off looking for the edge .. This myth has really grinded my gears especially when I have heard it from local bowling coaches teaching young kids cause they can easily get the wrong idea ..

Glenn McGrath was much much more than an outside off merchant, yes that was where the majority of his deliveries were delivered with pinpoint accuracy like any responsible fast medium but he mixed it up, he was never one dimensional if he saw the batsman wasn't good enough to edge it , or a technical flaw that required a certain delivery he would bowl it , his Yorkers were incredible , his bouncer was one of the best in the game , and even on slow dry pitches he had a very useful off cutter which he used to great effect at the 2007 WC ..McGrath was no one trick pony

Plus hitting the top of off or the top of the knee roll. But outside off was his default mode to be fair in his opening spell.

 

[Senile Sentry]

Ah yes, I remember. Kumble gets overlooked. Warne got way overhyped.

Yeah, but Warne was an absolute beast after the 1993 Ashes series. He was wrecking pretty much every team that was coming his way. Kumble was not at all shabby either. But Warne wad obviously playing the more visible series and much more matches.

 

[subshakerz]

Yeah, but Warne was an absolute beast after the 1993 Ashes series. He was wrecking pretty much every team that was coming his way. Kumble was not at all shabby either. But Warne wad obviously playing the more visible series and much more matches.

Point is these things come in cycles. Nobody was complaining about the quality of spin in the 70s.

In the 90s there was a general spin resurgence of which Warne was the biggest part.

 

[Migara]

I've tackled this one before but here goes - the only notable legspinner aside from flashes in the pan like Siva and Hirwani to come out of Asia post-Chandra was Qadir, who received massive effusive praise beyond his actual returns. Legspin was kept alive no more there than it was in Australia by Hohns, Holland and Sleep. Kumble did not break through until after Warne and Mushtaq took even longer.

Kumble and Mushtaq both debuted before Warne. And Players like Mushtaq Mohammed were pretty good.

 

[Starfighter]

Kumble and Mushtaq both debuted before Warne. And Players like Mushtaq Mohammed were pretty good.

Already covered that.

Mushtaq was that traditional type leggie but was a non-entity until 1995, with nothing to stand him out from the previous guys from either Asia or Australia.

He never took more than three in an innings until 1994, and even that was an unremarkable 4/107. If you went by his performances you'd've concluded he was another mediocrity. Mushtaq Mohammad is completely irrelevant. He made his debut in 1959, when Benaud and Gupte were still playing.

 

[thierry henry]

That Vettori ever carried either the NZ bowling attack or the NZ side.

At best, he was the least-terrible option when we were struggling and the worst option when the conditions were favourable for bowling. Later on he certainly did a lot of stuff but not well - bad captain, moderately effective bowler, and his batting got worse the more responsibility he was given.

Good player and good looker all the same

 

[the big bambino]

Jenner and Higgs were pretty good leggies and the former's relationship with Warne helpful to his development.

 

[the big bambino]

Glenn McGrath only bowled in one area , outside off looking for the edge .. This myth has really grinded my gears especially when I have heard it from local bowling coaches teaching young kids cause they can easily get the wrong idea ..

He deliberately pared his methods imo as part of his psych offensive on batsman. Nonetheless he had a way to summarise his effectiveness. Something like "aim at the top of off, a bit of movement, the occasional bouncer; job done."

 

[Line and Length]

I recall a story about a fast bowler (I can't remember the name) who bowled a ball that went for six byes, broke a picket in the fence and killed a sleeping dog on the other side.
This allegedly occurred well before WWI and it was a story I took with a very large grain of salt.

 

[TheJediBrah]

I've tackled this one before but here goes - the only notable legspinner aside from flashes in the pan like Siva and Hirwani to come out of Asia post-Chandra was Qadir, who received massive effusive praise beyond his actual returns. Legspin was kept alive no more there than it was in Australia by Hohns, Holland and Sleep. Kumble did not break through until after Warne and Mushtaq took even longer.

If Warne revitalised leg-spin why hasn't Australia had a great leg-spinner since him? The only other great in the last 20 years was MacGill who was a contemporary, not encouraged to bowl leg-spin by Warne

Gibbs dropped the World Cup in 1999 ..Steve Waugh didnt say it , but even if it was said there's no merit or real logic to that statement , firstly that dropped catch off Waugh was in the super sixes stage , you don't win World cups in the group stage , secondly poor Herchelle got a hundred in that game...Our two best bowlers Donald and Pollock picked up 0 wickets between them in defending 270 odd which was a huge score in the 90's , that to me cost us more than anything in that game , we still had another crack at Australia in the semi final to prove we really deserved to reach the final and we failed , even if we beat Australia there's no guarantee we would have beaten Pakistan ..I mean Pakistan were a better side than Zimbabwe yet we also lost to them in that WC ..The whole thing was a huge overreaction in my opinion and unfair on Gibbs .

Actually from what I recall that super sixes game did decide who went through to the final after SA & Aus tied the Semi. If Gibbs had taken (or held) that catch SA would have gone through in the case of a Tie.

So in hindsight it kind of makes sense but still doesn't make any more sense for Waugh to have said that at the time

 

[TheJediBrah]

Glenn McGrath only bowled in one area , outside off looking for the edge .. This myth has really grinded my gears especially when I have heard it from local bowling coaches teaching young kids cause they can easily get the wrong idea ..

I've never actually heard anyone say that, but it's also completely illogical. If he only bowled outside off he wouldn't be a dangerous bowler because you could just leave everything.

Also that he got a 3rd of his wickets bowled or lbw would be another big hint.

 

[Daemon]

Warne made leg spin ***y while he was playing =/= Warne revived leg spin imo

He didn't revive it, it literally died after he retired. We've had no good ones other than darters in the LO format and Yasir Shah

 

[Burgey]

Yeah that Waugh ton in the dropped catch game was something else. Basically picked the side up and dragged it across the line in that match. Just a great knock. Seeing him slog sweeping Elworthy over midwicket was awesome. The semi final rightly gets the accolades as a great game, but the super six match was Waugh's defining ODI knock.