Martin Crowe's Top 50 Greatest Cricketers of Six Generations

[Coronis]

@kyear2

Nah c’mon lets be good @kyear2

ignore the bait.

 

[kyear2]

Not sure why Godfrey Evans was picked above the likes of Les Ames or Flower.

Possibly because he was a brilliant keeper?

 

[kyear2]

He’s definitely above Barry Richards

Why, why, why would you go there?

He even put Barry in his 2nd AT XI, not so crazy after all.

 

[capt_Luffy]

Nah c’mon lets be good @kyear2

ignore the bait.

He won't!!!

 

[kyear2]

He won't!!!

Why waste good bait?

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Not sure why Godfrey Evans was picked above the likes of Les Ames or Flower.

As he writes of selection criteria, Crowe explains that he isn't comparing eras and that rather players "are judged or selected by the standards of the eras in which they performed".

Ames was not a guaranteed selection for a World XI in his era ahead of Oldfield and Cameron in the early 30s. Likewise, Flower was behind Gilchrist.

Crowe also writes of players inspiring reverence and the importance of longevity.

Evans was judged the best of his era, and as perhaps the best pure keeper to have played the game he was revered. Finally, 91 tests as a keeper in an era of poor pitches and worse protective gear is insanely good. It is still the 6th most tests as a keeper behind Boucher, Healy, Gilchrist, Marsh, and Knott (just behind the latter 3). That's a remarkable stat.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

I would say the 10 most noticeable players missing (not in any order):

1. Mike Procter
2. Joel Garner
3. Ray Lindwall
4. Alan Davidson
5. Shaun Pollock
6. KS Ranjitsinhji
7. Ken Barrington
8. Aubrey Faulkner
9. Kumar Sangakkara
10. Wilfred Rhodes

He said players had to have retired, and Sanga was a current player at the time of writing.

 

[Coronis]

As he writes of selection criteria, Crowe explains that he isn't comparing eras and that rather players "are judged or selected by the standards of the eras in which they performed".

Ames was not a guaranteed selection for a World XI in his era ahead of Oldfield and Cameron in the early 30s. Likewise, Flower was behind Gilchrist.

Crowe also writes of players inspiring reverence and the importance of longevity.

Evans was judged the best of his era, and as perhaps the best pure keeper to have played the game he was revered. Finally, 91 tests as a keeper in an era of poor pitches and worse protective gear is insanely good. It is still the 6th most tests as a keeper behind Boucher, Healy, Gilchrist, Marsh, and Knott (just behind the latter 3). That's a remarkable stat.

Always good to have the context behind a list.

 

[ankitj]

I would say the 10 most noticeable players missing (not in any order):

1. Mike Procter
2. Joel Garner
3. Ray Lindwall
4. Alan Davidson
5. Shaun Pollock
6. KS Ranjitsinhji
7. Ken Barrington
8. Aubrey Faulkner
9. Kumar Sangakkara
10. Wilfred Rhodes

Courtney Walsh