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Which 4 heads would you put on a cricketing Mount Rushmore?

shortpitched713

shortpitched713

International Captain
If we're building a gigantic monument honoring the greats of cricket, I don't see why we have to stick by the rules of the American presidents version. We should just carve on the side of this mountain a bunch of slaveholders, as many greats of the game as we deem necessary.

My own version would have 1 for each of the major 8 Test playing nations, and 1 extra for the nations with historic pioneering impact / excellence. Here's how I'd break it down, with alternates in parentheses, and my explanation:

Australia (2)
Donald Bradman
Glenn McGrath (Shane Warne)

Bradman is just duh. Needed to include the driving force to arguably the greatest team of all time, and I went with McGrath, but Warne could also be acceptable here. Steve Smith misses out, as he (like Calvin Coolidge for the presidents sculpture) is currently active, otherwise I think he'd deserve it as well.

England (2)
W.G. Grace
Jack Hobbs

Grace is in as a pioneer. Hobbs, for his Test record of excellence. I can't really think of any modern England players to take Hobbs' spot, nor Barnes as an old time bowling representative. Simply no one merits inclusion, when compared to these old fogeys.

India (1)
Sachin Tendulkar (Sunil Gavaskar)

Either paragon of Indian batting excellence could go here. I'm partial to Gavaskar as the original master, but judging on impact and fame, there's only one winner, and that's Sachin.

New Zealand (1)
Richard Hadlee

Obvious pick is obvious.

Pakistan (1)
Imran Khan

Another very obvious pick. An ultimate all-rounder.

South Africa (1)
Jacques Kallis

You an argue there are greater players, (bowlers like Steyn and Donald, or as an all-rounder Shaun Pollock) but I think to represent South Africa, in the post apartheid era, there is no greater colossus for sheer impact than Kallis.

Sri Lanka (1)
Muttiah Muralitharan

What a guy.

West Indies (2)
Garfield Sobers
Viv Richards (Brian Lara)

Sobers is an obvious pick. The second for me I'm partial to Lara, but him and Viv had similarly destructive games. And Viv has the clear advantage on historical impact, so even though my heart says Lara, I think Viv ends up being the better candidate.

That brings us to these for the final faces on the statue:

Hobbs
Grace
Bradman
Tendulkar
Kallis
Viv Richards
Sobers
Imran
Hadlee
Murali
McGrath

Hey, that's not a bad XI, if I don't say so myself! :)
 
kyear2

kyear2

International Coach
shortpitched713 said:
If we're building a gigantic monument honoring the greats of cricket, I don't see why we have to stick by the rules of the American presidents version. We should just carve on the side of this mountain a bunch of slaveholders, as many greats of the game as we deem necessary.

My own version would have 1 for each of the major 8 Test playing nations, and 1 extra for the nations with historic pioneering impact / excellence. Here's how I'd break it down, with alternates in parentheses, and my explanation:

Australia (2)
Donald Bradman
Glenn McGrath (Shane Warne)

Bradman is just duh. Needed to include the driving force to arguably the greatest team of all time, and I went with McGrath, but Warne could also be acceptable here. Steve Smith misses out, as he (like Calvin Coolidge for the presidents sculpture) is currently active, otherwise I think he'd deserve it as well.

England (2)
W.G. Grace
Jack Hobbs

Grace is in as a pioneer. Hobbs, for his Test record of excellence. I can't really think of any modern England players to take Hobbs' spot, nor Barnes as an old time bowling representative. Simply no one merits inclusion, when compared to these old fogeys.

India (1)
Sachin Tendulkar (Sunil Gavaskar)

Either paragon of Indian batting excellence could go here. I'm partial to Gavaskar as the original master, but judging on impact and fame, there's only one winner, and that's Sachin.

New Zealand (1)
Richard Hadlee

Obvious pick is obvious.

Pakistan (1)
Imran Khan

Another very obvious pick. An ultimate all-rounder.

South Africa (1)
Jacques Kallis

You an argue there are greater players, (bowlers like Steyn and Donald, or as an all-rounder Shaun Pollock) but I think to represent South Africa, in the post apartheid era, there is no greater colossus for sheer impact than Kallis.

Sri Lanka (1)
Muttiah Muralitharan

What a guy.

West Indies (2)
Garfield Sobers
Viv Richards (Brian Lara)

Sobers is an obvious pick. The second for me I'm partial to Lara, but him and Viv had similarly destructive games. And Viv has the clear advantage on historical impact, so even though my heart says Lara, I think Viv ends up being the better candidate.

That brings us to these for the final faces on the statue:

Hobbs
Grace
Bradman
Tendulkar
Kallis
Viv Richards
Sobers
Imran
Hadlee
Murali
McGrath

Hey, that's not a bad XI, if I don't say so myself! :)
Click to expand...
Always back to the participation throphy bs. We don't have to use 4, but definitely not giving everyone a place. But 4 is as good a number as any.
 
smash84

smash84

The Tiger King
how the heck does Warne get in ahead of Imran? Except maybe Australia, Imran was far more iconic everywhere.
 
kyear2

kyear2

International Coach
This is what happens when we venture outside of just choosing the best 4. How can one measure who was more iconic, how do we even define iconic.

Unless we're going straight popularity contest. And for the record, during his day, Garry defined iconic, popular, in demand. He was sought out for every domestic competition. The world record, the 6 sixes, the best all round cricketers ever... He drank, he partied, he literally did it all.
 
shortpitched713

shortpitched713

International Captain
kyear2 said:
Always back to the participation throphy bs. We don't have to use 4, but definitely not giving everyone a place. But 4 is as good a number as any.
Click to expand...
That's the thing, I could go:

Sobers
Gavaskar
Imran
Murali

And this grouping would have the "most impact" in my mind. But everyone else would say I'm missing something here, while I could just say "go **** yourselves".

Picking something like:

Grace
Bradman
Warne
4th

has exactly the same dismissing of impact and missing out of "something" but can somehow be considered "consensus" and "reasonable", despite being hopelessly Eurocentric. We don't have to keep with the mores of the white, slaveholder glorifying envisioners of the American monument (fascinating history by the way, as is the history of the parallel Georgia monument to slaveholding that stands to this day, not far from where I live).

All of the major Test nations contributed something essential to the game of cricket, and should have a player face for the monument, not just the old, white ones.
 
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