Trust me, I generally don't take it seriously either. Sometimes I can get in a trolling mode, but cricket of all things, is the least of the things that can set me off over the edge. Don't take it personal, as I've taken similar snipes as subs when I've found one of his particular opinions delulu.
That said, you understand why it's even a context which would be considered to tack on an additional run tax to an average threshold to be considered great, right? It's because the West Indies were the ****ing best, and they didn't get that reputation by rolling over to any given bowling attack that turned up. Generally everyone would do worse than their normal record because, duh. You should take the complement for your side.
But there's no luck or whatever to the record of Imran in the West Indies, that could likely be sustained over the course of 16 innings bowled there. He was clearly one of the best touring bowlers who ever came to the West Indies. And these are the kind of performances where if you're there, you'd feel compelled to applaud even an opposing player.
Instead of celebrating the good cricket all around that those series represented, and accepting the complement to your team's standard that we would consider a relatively higher average still indicative of ATG performance, you instead go full curmudgeon.
What's up with that?
Dude, you all don't understand the existential crisis our buddy
@kyear2 is having. Lemme lay it out.
Kyears cricket worldview centers around hierarchies. There are great pantheons of cricketers and each bowler and bat has a designated place in this sacred ladder. He views this with hallowed reverence. It is an honor to be in the highest echelon.
Many years ago, he held the same cursory high opinion we all have of Imran, putting him in near the top. Only then he heard about ball tampering, and took it as a personal affront. How dare this scoundrel try and claw his way to the top of these legends?
So he made it in his personal mission to deny Imran those highest accolades. Cheaters shouldn't win. This was a threefold strategy. Deny his suitability as a bowler among the top tier, downplay his batting and dismiss his captaincy. And he proceeded hence with his strategy.
Only recently, cracks have started emerging. He has realised digging into his record that Imran cannot be knocked down so easily. To maintain his intellectual credibility, he has been forced to make concessions.
On batting, rather than pretend Imran was just a useful tail who scored on dead pitches, he has conceded that he is the only one with serious lower order batting credentials among the ARs.
On captaincy, he has been forced to concede that Imran did impact Pak's struggling team and that captaincy actually does account for a good deal for results. He hasn't quite closed the loop yet on that, but soon with time, we are working with him.
He also recently selected Imran as no.8 in his ATG time, essentially dismissing his own point that a lower order AR like him wouldn't be a good fit.
The last reserve to downplay Imran is his bowling. He cannot, CANNOT concede there, because if he does, it's game over. He will be forced to see what we all do, Imran was a top pacer with no gulf with the others, and denying him a front row seat in the cricketing pantheon doesn't make sense.
He can only make his case for Imran as a bowler if he says that he was a home bully and his away record doesn't merit serious consideration. Yet even there, has just admitted that Imran in England does have a worldclass record.
So now it all goes down to Imran in WI and Aus. He needs to stick to his guns on this because if not, Imran will be seen as as accomplished away as anyone else, cheaters will win, Imran gets his props, and all those years of posting go down the drain.
So please be patient with our buddy Kyear, this is an existential issue for him.
