AB de Villiers vs Graeme Smith

[PlayerComparisons]

Two best South African batsmen after Kallis since readmission

 

[Pant Kameez]

Amla > Smith

 

[kyear2]

Amla > Smith

Oh wow.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Oh wow.

Why

 

[PlayerComparisons]

Oh wow.

Why

 

[kyear2]

Why

There's a mass underrating of the man.

Atherton aside, which modern opener had tougher home conditions and faced a tougher side than Australia in it's prime?

 

[Pant Kameez]

There's a mass underrating of the man.

Atherton aside, which modern opener had tougher home conditions and faced a tougher side than Australia in it's prime?

Nah I'm a Graeme Smith fan but he is being overrated on this forum of late.

First of all I don't think he gets openers benefit compared to Amla who batted at 3.
Secondly his record in his tough home conditions is not good at all. He averages 34 in his home conditions against the major teams of his era and only 26 against Australia.

Amla also not only have more well rounded record but also more longevity and less minnow bashing.

 

[OverratedSanity]

There's a mass underrating of the man.

Atherton aside, which modern opener had tougher home conditions and faced a tougher side than Australia in it's prime?

If you really think Amla>Graeme Smith is a crazy opinion like your response implied, the one who's actually being underrated is Amla. Through the majority of the time they're careers overlapped, Amla was the better batsman.

 

[PlayerComparisons]

There's a mass underrating of the man.

Atherton aside, which modern opener had tougher home conditions and faced a tougher side than Australia in it's prime?

He didn’t even do well in those tough conditions or against the ATG Australian sides lmao

It’s not like he was some great player of high quality bowling like De Villiers or Kohli so it’s a bit odd you rate him so highly

 

[subshakerz]

Kallis > ABD > Smith > Amla for me

 

[BazBall21]

Amla better than Smith for me.

Did better against Australia, batting no3 isn't much of an advantage, much better home record where they faced a wealth of capable pace attacks due to the conditions. Less minnow inflation in his record.

Amla had an outstanding cross-conditions peak where he was arguably the best in the world. Was averaging 50+ across a good sample for a long time. His average slipped below Smith at the end because his decline coincided with a more bowler-friendly era whereas Smith played entirely in a batting era.

 

[shortpitched713]

Sehwag better than both.

 

[Pant Kameez]

Sehwag better than both.

I apologize to @kyear2 for calling him rude

 

[Coronis]

Sehwag better than both.

Cool story bro.

 

[Coronis]

I apologize to @kyear2 for calling him rude

Ask him what he thinks of Matthew Hayden.

 

[kyear2]

Ask him what he thinks of Matthew Hayden.

Or Weekes?

 

[PlayerComparisons]

Hayden > Tendulkar and Ashwin > Warne are his best opinions

 

[Majestic]

It is close. I will pick ABD as a personal choice but Smith's impact in Test cricket for South Africa's success goes beyond stats. The difference is 19-20 in my opinion.

 

[CodeOfWisden]

ABD winning by some margin, when all of them were at their best AB for me was the 4th best batsman in that SA team.

For me the overall order would be:
Kallis
Smith
Abd
Amla

 

[capt_Luffy]

ABD winning by some margin, when all of them were at their best AB for me was the 4th best batsman in that SA team.

For me the overall order would be:
Kallis
Smith
Abd
Amla

Just send Smithy at the bottom and I am fine with the rest.