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Jacques Kallis vs Viv Richards

Who is the better test cricketer?


  • Total voters
    35

BazBall21

International Captain
Richards imo. The better bat by a decent distance. Kallis' bowling resume is not enough to overturn this.
 

BazBall21

International Captain
Reckon Kallis v Lindwall is close with Kallis a level below Hadlee/Akram. Lindwall was the best bowler of his generation and has two test centuries. Kallis probably takes it due to longevity but Lindwall was unlucky that the War happened when it did.
 

Coronis

International Coach
As batsmenthey’re very close imo. Some days I might have Kallis, other days I might have Richards. So overall taking into account his allround skills, its Kallis for me.
 

subshakerz

Hall of Fame Member
As batsmenthey’re very close imo. Some days I might have Kallis, other days I might have Richards. So overall taking into account his allround skills, its Kallis for me.
Kallis isn't close enough to smell Richard's farts.

Richards is a top tier ATG, undisputed best of his era.

Kallis, far from being the best in his era, wasn't ever recognized as the best batsman in the world at a particular time in his career. Defensive bats like him who don't even cash in on all that wasted time at the crease to make daddy tons simple aren't threatening enough to be considered the best.
 

PlayerComparisons

International Vice-Captain
Kallis isn't close enough to smell Richard's farts.

Richards is a top tier ATG, undisputed best of his era.

Kallis, far from being the best in his era, wasn't ever recognized as the best batsman in the world at a particular time in his career. Defensive bats like him who don't even cash in on all that wasted time at the crease to make daddy tons simple aren't threatening enough to be considered the best.
Kallis had a lot of competition in his era tbf. He’d probably be the second best bat of the current era after Smith.
 

trundler

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Of course they are. Richards is the significantly superior batsman and Kallis isn't enough of an AR to turn it around.
 

subshakerz

Hall of Fame Member
That’s sadly how deep rooted this Kallis hate has become. Kudos to certain posters.
It's heartening to see. First job was to expose the myth that his bowling was specialist standard. We've mostly succeeded there. The bigger thing, which is still a work in progress, is to show he doesn't belong in the conversation as an ATG bat and at the very least carries serious liabilities that the others do not.

Don't worry, we will leave his slip fielding alone. For now.
 

Prince EWS

Global Moderator
And at every stage, he was behind the competition, even though he racked up great numbers.

Hmm, I wonder why? Maybe it had something to do with how he played that people didn't rate him.
I rated him at the time at that sort of level.

There are posts here saying so. I was mocked for it.

I'm happy to be an edgy outlier here if need be. In some ways I prefer it. But when I'm ignored or people pretend my opinions would have been different in the past even when we have concrete evidence otherwise then it gives me the shits.

Tendulkar was better (at batting) than Kallis. Lara was of a very similar quality IMO.

Ponting reached a level of batsmanship maybe slightly higher than Kallis's absolute peak, but it's insignificant compared to how much longer Kallis was able to be gun. If I had to manage a team of unknown quality for the next twenty years and you offered me Kallis or Ponting as batsmen alone for full careers then I'd take Kallis for sure and this is really in no way contradictory to anything I said at the time

Bowling and catching are just bonuses, but put it beyond doubt.
 

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