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Cricket legacies

S

subshakerz

Hall of Fame Member
Ali TT said:
I am sure Fazal was a yard slower than Imran and those that followed but Fazal was the original Pakistani fast bowler that pioneered the way for the rest. As the PCB say on their biography for him:

"He was the first great fast bowler from the country that would go on to establish itself as one of the richest region for fast bowling."

or more simply put by Shoaib Akhtar "He was the torch-bearer"

Imran obviously has a huge legacy, but he was not the first in the way you are saying. Cricket before the 70s was a lot more than just Bradman.
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Fazal was in the 50s and after him there wasn't a pace bowler of quality in Pakistan for 20 years. He didn't have that impact.

Imran shirt-tearing Sydney 76 spell changed Pakistan cricket. His action, high pace and glamor inspired so many to start following him. Wasim, Waqar and Shoaib directly cite him as their influence to become pace bowlers.
 
M

ma1978

International Debutant
Vijay Merchant, and the "Mumbai School of Batsmanship". Can draw a straight line from him down to Rohit Sharma.
 
CricAddict

CricAddict

Cricketer Of The Year
Kapil Dev, Imran Khan, Arjuna Ranatunga, Eoin Morgan (ODIs and T20s), Rashid Khan, Richard Hadlee - Captains/Players that put their country to be a force to be reckoned with on the world map

Adam Gilchrist (Batting keepers), Sanath Jayasuriya (go from ball one opening in ODIs), Muralitharan (Chucking laws), Mankad, Jonny Bairstow (Bazball in tests) - Changing the way the game is played

Shane Warne, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar - Inspirational to this day for youngsters to take up cricket and try to imitate/emulate them
 
BoyBrumby

BoyBrumby

Englishman
Guess Bernard Bosanquet deserves a nod here as the inventor of the googly.

In fact Richie Benaud (who sent down one or two in his playing career) pretty much exclusively used to refer to the delivery as a "Bosie" in honour of its progenitor.
 
A

Ali TT

International Vice-Captain
Gilchrist - not just the volume of runs he scored but the pace. That #7 keeper position can't just be a batter, but one who can counter attack/take the game away rapidly.

Imran - his legacy was more than just being a fast bowler but ensuring Pakistani cricket stood toe-to-toe, even on the toes, of others. Cricket was an elite sport and despite being from the elite himself, he helped turn it into the mass participation game it is now in his country. He also backed Qadir, who in turn inspired future generations of Pakistani mystery spinners.

Botham - all-rounders hadn't been a big part of the English game until Greig then Beefy. The latter inspired a decade long search for the next Botham, mostly for the worse until Flintoff came along.

Gayle - he was the ubercool icon that T20 cricket and the IPL needed to rapidly establish the format as the biggest version of the game.

D'Oliveira - perhaps not by design but obviously the player who led to the South African sporting boycott, which in turn chipped away at the edifice of apartheid.

Bradman - never clear to me how much of a legacy as a player he had, was he just too good? His legacy as an administrator was less auspicious, helping bring about Packer.

Greig - by making Packer happen he really did change the game, turning it from essentially an amateur pastime to the professional game it is now by putting players first.

Benaud - as a commentator his soothing tones and sense of fairness must've brought several generations of young Australian and English cricketers into the game.

WG Grace - all the others stand on his shoulders.
 
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