CW's 100 Greatest Cricketers Poll

[PlayerComparisons]

Ambrose
Steyn
Gavaskar
Chappell
Donald
Lillee
Trueman
Ponting
Sangakkara
Dravid

 

[ankitj]

Steve Smith
Curtly Ambrose
Ian Botham
Dale Steyn
Graeme Pollock

Fred Trueman
Sunil Gavaskar
Dennis Lillee
Shaun Pollock
Greg Chappell

 

[capt_Luffy]

Steve Smith
Curtly Ambrose
Ian Botham
Dale Steyn
Graeme Pollock

Len Hutton
Fred Trueman
Sunil Gavaskar
Dennis Lillee
Shaun Pollock

Hutton ranked already

 

[ankitj]

Hutton ranked already

Updated.

 

[capt_Luffy]

21. Garner
22. Barrington
23. Weekes
24. Ambrose
25. G Chappell
26. S Waugh
27. Ponting
28. S Waugh
29. Steve Smith
30. Steyn

You ranked Steve Waugh twice

 

[OverratedSanity]

Dale Steyn
Steve Smith
Alan Border
Sunil Gavaskar
Bill O'Reilly
George Headley
Curtly Ambrose
Allan Donald
Dennis Lillee
Kumar Sangakkara

 

[subshakerz]

Shot 1 (16 seconds): The Hobbs forward defensive
A huge lunge forward with the bat planted 6 inches in front of his eyes and a foot in front of his front leg.
Arms almost horizontal, back almost horizontal.
Nearly falling over with his back foot on the verge of lifting off the ground
View attachment 40620


Shot 2 (20/21 seconds): The Hobbs cover drive
Gets nicely in position to shovel/dink it into the hands of short extra cover.
Follows through with the bat facing mid wicket.
View attachment 40621
View attachment 40622

Shot 3: The Hobbs back foot off-drive / aimless waft
God only knows what he's doing here. He moves forward, then moves back, then with his weight nowhere wafts at it (seemingly missing the ball) with a straight bat. If he'd managed by chance to make contact it might have dribbled back to the bowler. Far more likely nick it or get bowled.
View attachment 40624

Shot 4: The Hobbs wander around in your crease almost toppling over and then try to dolly it to short mid wicket
Looks like he missed it again
View attachment 40625

Shot 5: The Hobbs try to poke it back to the bowler without falling over
See shot 1
View attachment 40626

Shot 6: The Hobbs front foot square drive
Stab it outside in, somewhere just in front of point. Flick the wrists so that the bat's facing square leg
View attachment 40627

finish facing the bowler, looking where you think it might have gone
View attachment 40628

Shot 7: The Hobbs lofted on drive
Don't quite get to the pitch of it, lean back, bat flow going though mid wicket, somehow manage to nearly take the cameraman's head off at silly mid off
View attachment 40629

Shot 8: The Hobbs lofted drive
Get nowhere near the pitch. Take a baseball style swipe miles away from your body
(no photo used)

Shot 9: The Hobbs backwards defensive
Grip the bat almost on the shoulder, then twist it to face wide mid on, then half topple forward
View attachment 40630

@Burgey

Wow no wonder I am skeptical of these early era cricketers.

 

[subshakerz]

Steve Smith
Dale Steyn
Curtly Ambrose
Sunil Gavaskar
Lillee
Trueman
Chappelle
Allan Donald
Headley
O Reilly

 

[capt_Luffy]

Wow no wonder I am skeptical of these early era cricketers.

I can post clips of very reputed cricketers turned commentators looking like U-12 state players while batting (remember specifically one of probably VVS/Hussain trying to mimick Virat's cover drive and getting one shot in 4 attempts)....... A clip made to showcase stroke play shows nothing really and is horrible to judge a batsman on.

 

[AndrewB]

George Headley
Alan Knott
Dennis Lillee
Bill O'Reilly
Curtly Ambrose
Kumar Sangakkara
Ranjitsinhji
Joel Garner
Sunil Gavaskar
Ian Botham

 

[Brook's side]

You ranked Steve Waugh twice

21. Garner
22. Barrington
23. Weekes
24. Ambrose
25. G Chappell
26. S Waugh
27. Ponting
28. Steve Smith
29. Steyn
30. Botham

 

[Brook's side]

The technique they had have changed significantly. Pele could not possibly played today with a similar technique. Hobbs had better technique than someone like Root or Kohli. Heck, purely technically Hobbs was arguably even ahead of Don, who suffered in sticky dogs.

Clearly he didn't because his technique (at least in 1932) was terrible.

 

[Brook's side]

I can post clips of very reputed cricketers turned commentators looking like U-12 state players while batting (remember specifically one of probably VVS/Hussain trying to mimick Virat's cover drive and getting one shot in 4 attempts)....... A clip made to showcase stroke play shows nothing really and is horrible to judge a batsman on.

So KP is 42 here not 49, but he doesn't still play 1st class cricket, whereas Hobbs did in 1932.

1 shot and I know this is a guy who can bat

this is genuinely the first shot I've looked at, and to my eyes is light years ahead of any stroke played by Hobbs in that 1932 clip.

 

[capt_Luffy]

Clearly he didn't because his technique (at least in 1932) was terrible.

If you are really judging a cricketer based on a short video he made as a promotional material and looks casual as hell in it..... Have you ever seen Smithy bat?? Hobbs scored runs at everywhere against every opposition. It's disingenuous to judge his technique on that clip.

 

[capt_Luffy]

So KP is 42 here not 49, but he doesn't still play 1st class cricket, whereas Hobbs did in 1932.

1 shot and I know this is a guy who can bat

this is genuinely the first shot I've looked at, and without shadow of a doubt to my eyes is light years ahead of any stroke played by Hobbs in that 1932 clip.

Video unavailable

 

[Red_Ink_Squid]

So KP is 42 here not 49, but he doesn't still play 1st class cricket, whereas Hobbs did in 1932.

1 shot and I know this is a guy who can bat

this is genuinely the first shot I've looked at, and to my eyes is light years ahead of any stroke played by Hobbs in that 1932 clip.

All I'll say Brook's Side is that you judging cricketers not based on how well they did in cricket matches is at least nicely on brand.

 

[capt_Luffy]

Here is a clip with some actual substance of Hobbs batting..... The idea that Hobbs was technically inferior and Pele wasn't is complete bogus to me.

 

[Bitmap]

Curtly Ambrose
Dennis Lillee
Dale Steyn
Steve Smith
Bill O'Reilly
Sunil Gavaskar
George Headley
Graeme Pollock
Fred Trueman
Herbert Sutcliffe

 

[Brook's side]

Here is a clip with some actual substance of Hobbs batting..... The idea that Hobbs was technically inferior and Pele wasn't is complete bogus to me.

Have you got a video of Pele with blatantly terrible technique?

There's nothing positive to see in terms of Hobbs' technique in the video you've posted btw.

 

[capt_Luffy]

Have you got a video of Pele with blatantly terrible technique?

There's nothing positive to see in terms of Hobbs' technique in the video you've posted btw.

Yes there is. He is middling every ball with the bat; the very pinnacle of technique. And I have seen Pele going to dribble past defenders; who nowadays will just not go for the final tackle, block him and force him to make a shot. They literally used to play with a 2-3-5 formation.....