What did Bradman think of that Windies team?

[Coronis]

Best overall. The feet, quickness, hand eye is the best of the lot other than Bradman.

Weekes > Hobbs, Sutcliffe, Hammond, Headley, Hutton, Barrington, Pollock. Have not heard this opinion before.

 

[shortpitched713]

Weekes > Hobbs, Sutcliffe, Hammond, Headley, Hutton, Barrington, Pollock. Have not heard this opinion before.

I'm not going to speak on the ones there's no footage of. The rest, yes. Now you've heard this opinion.

 

[peterhrt]

I'm not going to speak on the ones there's no footage of. The rest, yes. Now you've heard this opinion.

Sobers: "If you call Gower a great player, you will have to invent a new word to describe the all-time great players like Bradman and Weekes."

Not sure to what extent this view is confined to Barbados and the wider Caribbean.

 

[peterhrt]

Oh and let me say Sunil is a complete liar, talking about wi never showed appreciation to Indian players. There's literally a calypso about west Indian respect for Indian players and especially him:

Didn't the crowds at Queen's Park Oval and Bourda routinely support India and Pakistan against their "home" team?

 

[Slifer]

Didn't the crowds at Queen's Park Oval and Bourda routinely support India and Pakistan against their "home" team?

Yes they did. Gavaskar literally named his son after Rohan Kanhai who encouraged him when he toured the WI. But I guess Gavaskar's comments were only directed at West Indians of African descent....

 

[Ali TT]

Lol at the comments

They remind me of a Spaniard I worked with who claimed Spanish football fans monkey-chanting and throwing bananas at black players was no different to English fans singing "who ate all the pies?" to anyone with a bit of additional timber.

(PS that was fifteen years ago, not much changed in Spain since)

 

[Chrish]

Don’t know if Sunny is truly a bigot. Have heard him praising Viv and Sobers on plenty of occasions during interviews and commentary.

 

[Chrish]

Question: Three players who played with you whom you rate the most ?

Sunny: Garfield Sobers.. Quite simply the greatest. I mean absolutely the greatest. He is my no. 1.

https://m.facebook.com/CricTrackerHumour/videos/sunil-gavaskar-shares-his-fondness-for-his-co-cricketers/933964727305180/

 

[Shady Slim]

Don’t know if Sunny is truly a bigot. Have heard him praising Viv and Sobers on plenty of occasions during interviews and commentary.

black fans of the nfl are barbarians who belong in the trees, but i'm not a bigot as i acknowledge russell wilson and patrick mahomes are good quarterbacks

 

[Chrish]

Yeah I didn’t read all those comments from the biography till now. Pretty poor taste if it was indeed written by him.

 

[the big bambino]

Question: Three players who played with you whom you rate the most ?

Sunny: Garfield Sobers.. Quite simply the greatest. I mean absolutely the greatest. He is my no. 1.

https://m.facebook.com/CricTrackerHumour/videos/sunil-gavaskar-shares-his-fondness-for-his-co-cricketers/933964727305180/

Look I think Sunny was reacting in anger but it’s still prejudiced.

I’m not a fan of mentioning cw members who aren’t here to defend themselves but will say as it’s relevant, hookshot/Watson also rated Sobers and VIv.

 

[peterhrt]

I'm not going to speak on the ones there's no footage of. The rest, yes. Now you've heard this opinion.

In 1999 Bill Frindall and TMS producer Peter Baxter both included Weekes in their all-time world XI. Tony Cozier thought Weekes was the best of the 3 Ws.

Trueman considered Worrell the hardest of the three to dismiss on seaming/spinning pitches because he was more orthodox and played straighter.

As a young man Walcott took up wicket-keeping as insurance in case the runs dried up. Without the gloves he may well have scored even more runs.

 

[Kirkut]

Sunil is a hypocrite. I distinctly remember in 1994 when WI toured India 2nd test, and the Indian crowd would launch rocks etc at the WI players. Then look at Australia from the 70s, their crowds were just as hostile as wi crowds and they used to tell Lillee and Thommo to literally kill kill kill. But west Indian players sucked it up. But oh no, Sunil had to go run his big mouth. But he knew who to run it about. Great great batsman but an azz hole of a human being!!!

I don't understand why would the Indian crowd throw rocks, like why? I'm pretty sure a specific section did this and most likely out of losing the money they gambled.

Australian crowd back then was not too different from the South African crowd when we toured there for the test series in 1992. There is a banner in that Sachin's 111 knock at Jo'burg youtube video where it said "Friendship Series? Haha kill 'em Alan!", although nobody complained or found that to be offensive.

Things were not very politically correct back then, so people expressed their feelings openly, both hostile and warm.

 

[Slifer]

I don't understand why would the Indian crowd throw rocks, like why? I'm pretty sure a specific section did this and most likely out of losing the money they gambled.

Australian crowd back then was not too different from the South African crowd when we toured there for the test series in 1992. There is a banner in that Sachin's 111 knock at Jo'burg youtube video where it said "Friendship Series? Haha kill 'em Alan!", although nobody complained or found that to be offensive.

Things were not very politically correct back then, so people expressed their feelings openly, both hostile and warm.

Courtney Walsh captain at the time, got so fed up he took his players off and play was delayed. In a cruel twist of fate, that delay cost India the match and the series. India may well have been the first team to defeat the WI since 1980 but for that delay. Wi ended up narrowly drawing that test, won the next test and drew the series.

 

[Kirkut]

Courtney Walsh captain at the time, got so fed up he took his players off and play was delayed. In a cruel twist of fate, that delay cost India the match and the series. India may well have been the first team to defeat the WI since 1980 but for that delay. Wi ended up narrowly drawing that test, won the next test and drew the series.

Definitely not a tactical move from Walsh there, Windies were never really known for tactical shrewdness like that. Dignity comes first always.
Glad that at least things did not escalate to ugly levels like the incident where Sylvester Clarke threw a brick to a Pakistani supporter.

 

[Slifer]

Definitely not a tactical move from Walsh there, Windies were never really known for tactical shrewdness like that. Dignity comes first always.
Glad that at least things did not escalate to ugly levels like the incident where Sylvester Clarke threw a brick to a Pakistani supporter.

Safety more than anything else.

 

[Coronis]

Definitely not a tactical move from Walsh there, Windies were never really known for tactical shrewdness like that. Dignity comes first always.
Glad that at least things did not escalate to ugly levels like the incident where Sylvester Clarke threw a brick to a Pakistani supporter.

To him or at him? Big difference

 

[AndrewB]

I know Don very much admired Sobers, but I can’t seem to find his views on WI team post-Sobers era; especially from 70s-80s.

Do we have any source on how he felt about them and players in general from that era?

From Bradman's foreword to the 2nd edition of the Wisden Book of Test Cricket, written in February 1985:

"There has been much speculation as to whether the current West Indian team is the best of all time. Comparisons have been made with the Australian teams of 1921 and 1948. The question provokes animated and interesting discussion but can never produce an authoritative answer.

Of course they are a great side. As I've said earlier, the best fielding team I've ever seen. Added to that, they have probably the best combination of fast bowlers in one side. But that particular strength immediately predicates a lack of balance when conditions don't favour speed - a fact so nakedly exposed when the West Indians were handsomely beaten in a Sydney Test, mainly through the bowling of Australia's spinners. The West Indian attack lacked adequate spin under these conditions and the batsmen (including even the great Richards) could not handle the unfamiliar spin of Holland and Bennett. Yet nobody with a knowledge of his subject and in his right mind would rate Holland and Bennett in the same class as Grimmett and O'Reilly.

Comparing great sides of different eras must be inconclusive. I always thought my 1948 side the best I saw, though conceding it would have been hard pressed to beat Armstrong's 1921 combination. Yet Armstrong, when asked whether his team was better than Joe Darling's 1902 side replied 'the 1902 side could play 22 of our chaps and give them a beating'. Armstrong played in both so he should know."

(It may be worth noting that, judging by his comments quoted in Fingleton's "Cricket Crisis", Armstrong was definitely a "players were much better when I was young" type).

 

[Coronis]

Not surprised Bradman brought up the spin issue. Pretty much the only weakness of this side though of course.

 

[G. S. Kohli]

"I should play in Asia than i can gave idea to others" -- Late Bradman.

Bradman never play anywhere than Aus & England otherwise his Average not extremely High. (limited test matches of this career)