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Marshall Vs Sobers

Marshall Vs Sobers

  • Total voters
    23
  • This poll will close: .
H

HouHsiaoHsien

International Debutant
subshakerz said:
Sobers. Probably better in his primary discipline too. Marshall a tad overrated on this board.
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Nah, Marshall has a more rounded record cmon. Sobers barely played in Pak but has a weak record in Nz(not a big issue but there). Plus his record in Aus a bit unsatisfying if you don’t include the Lillee 254. Also had plenty of flat pitches at home. Anyways Sobers is a better cricket, but Marshall was ATG in India, England and at home, and pretty good in Pak, Australia as well. Barely played some tests in NZ.
 
H

HouHsiaoHsien

International Debutant
trundler said:
The main thing Sobers has going for him is longevity. Marshall's average is somewhat protected compared to other ATGs due to not playing on or playing much when he was raw. Sobers debuted as a teenaged no rounder.
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Yes Marshall lacks longevity but makes up by being fanatics in all facets of bowling: average, economy, SR, and a near perfect record across conditions
 
S

subshakerz

Hall of Fame Member
HouHsiaoHsien said:
Nah, Marshall has a more rounded record cmon. Sobers barely played in Pak but has a weak record in Nz(not a big issue but there). Plus his record in Aus a bit unsatisfying if you don’t include the Lillee 254. Also had plenty of flat pitches at home. Anyways Sobers is a better cricket, but Marshall was ATG in India, England and at home, and pretty good in Pak, Australia as well. Barely played some tests in NZ.
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The one thing that becomes clear when going through Marshall's record is that he probably faced the overall least quality batting lineups of any other ATG pacer. Never faced his own lineup or the stronger Aussie lineup of the late 70s/early 80s. His record against top bats like Gooch, Border and Gavaskar is pretty good though but in terms of overall lineups still this has to be factored in.

And then there is the added benefit of so much pace quality bowling support that helps his overall average and SR. So generally I see a bit of stats padding there. Yes his peak was awesome in terms of WPM but over a career that quality support probably shielded his early and late career stats somewhat as he didn't have to shoulder a huge load as a 3rd/4th seamer.

Marshall is still no.1 in my book but he is not as far ahead of the others as his raw stats make out.
 
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S

subshakerz

Hall of Fame Member
Sobers is probably no.3 bat of all-time though and can be level with Marshall IMO on standing alone. Aussie record is fine and yes I count RoW.
 
S

subshakerz

Hall of Fame Member
kyear2 said:
It's literally all he does.

Doesn't bother or surprise me anymore, he's recently started on Hadlee as well.
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You mean Hadlee who I voted for in the Hadlee vs Imran thread? And whose critique you have since adopted?

No bowler is perfect man. Pointing out faults doesn't mean you want to downgrade them.

I don't recall a poster who ever pointed out that Hadlee has a disproportionately high number of wickets cloistered in friendly countries. Now we know and you can use that to argue why McGrath with a more even spread is better than him.

We should just read their records objectively. If Marshall had it easier than others by more frequently bullying lesser lineups, we should know.
 
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H

HouHsiaoHsien

International Debutant
subshakerz said:
Sobers is probably no.3 bat of all-time though and can be level with Marshall IMO on standing alone. Aussie record is fine and yes I count RoW.
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I don’t rate Sobers no. 3. Even outside the Aus thing, he barely toured Pak, weak in NZ(for a good stretch for matches), and had flat pitches at home. So his home/away not as impressive as other ATGs. Sobers is a still top 5/6 for me, and only slightly behind Marshall on primary skills, so we are not far off
 
S

subshakerz

Hall of Fame Member
HouHsiaoHsien said:
I don’t rate Sobers no. 3. Even outside the Aus thing, he barely toured Pak, weak in NZ(for a good stretch for matches), and had flat pitches at home. So his home/away not as impressive as other ATGs. Sobers is a still top 5/6 for me, and only slightly behind Marshall on primary skills, so we are not far off
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Sure but you would agree that if you did rate him number three then it's a toss up with Marshall?
 
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