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Andy Flower vs Ian Botham

Better test cricketer?


  • Total voters
    21

sayon basak

Cricketer Of The Year
Two reasons I suspect.

1. He's probably still sticking to his "Flower was a great keeper" shtick.

2. Ridiculously down plays Punter.
Both of which are wrong. He informed me in the convo that he misread the Thread as "Ian Bishop vs Andy Flower" and voted accordingly. Then he realized but just didn't change the vote, he doesn't actually rate Flower over Botham.
 

Migara

International Coach
Nope.

When you mention "teams" then obviously we're going to go by teams, I'm going to pick a team with respect to time, you did the same when you mentioned late 80s and early 90s Pakistan, Botham was picked as a general Cricketer, not at the lowest point in his career where it was universally agreed he shouldn't be playing Cricket.
Nope. The time period was specifically selected to show that Imran was useless as an AR, but it spectacularly backfired because it was Botham's nadir too. You cannot compare 89-92 Imran to general career of Botham. That is disingenuous. Either compare full careers or part of the careers in the time you are interested it.

your logic's flaw seems to have popped up when 2000s South Africa was discussed, should we now play it with respect to time and assume you're talking about if 2000s Botham would make the side?
There was not even a logic to discuss. Ntini, Morkel and Pollock didn't play together and that was the end of that argument. Botham would not be the third seamer in Steyn, Pollock, Ntini combo or Steyn, Morkel, Philander combo. He is not going to replace Kallis as the fourth seamer too. And that was that for the argument.

Botham does not need any qualifier or condition to get into any Pakistani side, you just have a strange hate honer and decided to alter context of sides so that Botham can't make it.
He cannot get in to Pakistan side of late 80s and early 90s, on performance of the time, general performance or with regards to the peaks of each player.

Peak Botham averages 20 with the ball and 35 with the bat, and doesn't have to use bottlecaps to tamper the ball, he's making it in over Waqar anyday
Lol

also No, Flower doesn't make an ATG English side, Botham may, clearly not a very good method.
No one discussed about the ATG english side. Flower would get in to any English side Botham played, and to the Pakistani ATG side if you cared to read it properly.

It is a rather poor effort from you.
 

Johan

Cricketer Of The Year
Nope. The time period was specifically selected to show that Imran was useless as an AR, but it spectacularly backfired because it was Botham's nadir too. You cannot compare 89-92 Imran to general career of Botham. That is disingenuous. Either compare full careers or part of the careers in the time you are interested it.
Not really how it works, it wasn't Johan who pointed out 80s-early 90s Pakistan side, It was Migara who pointed out that specific side in that specific timeframe, you limited yourself to that timeframe while not limiting Botham to any tangible or visible timeframe and thus we're going by his general overall career performance, you simply messed up your argument and are trying to backtrack to "Well No! I meant Botham in XYZ timeframe I swear!", either you take the context of the side you're referencing or just say you're making up fanfictional sides that Botham won't make, a Pakistani side where all four are firing on all cylinders? sure! Botham may not make that one, but sadly that side only exists in one's mind, but the actual side of late 80s/early 90s Pakistan? He's making it in for either his batting or bowling.

There was not even a logic to discuss. Ntini, Morkel and Pollock didn't play together and that was the end of that argument. Botham would not be the third seamer in Steyn, Pollock, Ntini combo or Steyn, Morkel, Philander combo
I'm afraid it wasn't, You said "2000s South Africa" very generally, I was the one with the sense to make the differentiation between the first half and the second half, as I already informed you, Botham is making it in over Andre Nel or Makhaya Ntini in the first half of the decade and he's opening the bowling with Pollock, and in the second half he's making it in over Morkel and is either opening the bowling with Steyn or is the third pacer, depending on Vernon's availability and the conditions. You dropped the argument simply because you had nothing to refute that.

He cannot get in to Pakistan side of late 80s and early 90s, on performance of the time, general performance or with regards to the peaks of each player.
Yeah Botham at the worst point in his career might not make that side, teleport a young or mid career Botham to that Pakistan and he's playing a 100+ tests, we don't need to discuss "peak" or "general performance" in the case of the Pakistan side you're referencing because you're manually limiting the Pakistani players to a timeframe, that is the whole concept behind "late 80s/early 90s Pakistan", for Botham you never made a "late 80s/early 90s" dissection as you did with Pakistan, thus we're going by his general performance.

I'll take that as a concession then.

No one discussed about the ATG english side.
then I wonder who brought up ATG sides at the first place- oh wait! it was you.

Flower would get in to any English side Botham played
Botham would also make any team Flower ever played for, hell, he'll be the first name on the sheet.

and to the Pakistani ATG side if you cared to read it properly.
Ok? I never said Botham would make it into the Pakistani ATG side, I said he'd make any side that ever existed and newsflash, an ATG Pakistani side doesn't exist, another strawman from you.

It is a rather poor effort from you.
I'm refuting very poor arguments from your end that are bordering on rambling, so I don't think I'd need to put much effort.
 
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Migara

International Coach
Not really how it works, it wasn't Johan who pointed out 80s-early 90s Pakistan side, It was Migara who pointed out that specific side in that specific timeframe, you limited yourself to that timeframe while not limiting Botham to any tangible or visible timeframe and thus we're going by his general overall career performance, you simply messed up your argument and are trying to backtrack to "Well No! I meant Botham in XYZ timeframe I swear!", either you take the context of the side you're referencing or just say you're making up fanfictional sides that Botham won't make, a Pakistani side where all four are firing on all cylinders? sure! Botham may not make that one, but sadly that side only exists in one's mind, but the actual side of late 80s/early 90s Pakistan? He's making it in for either his batting or bowling.
Actually that is how it works. It depends on what criteria you think Pakistan side of late 80s are selected. You have three options, current form, historic performances, or extrapolating quality using the whole careers (that includes future performances). What ever the metric you argue to select Pakistani team applies to Botham too. Otherwise it is a disingenuous effort. The fact is Botham neither on current form , nor on historic performances nor future performances. Wasim, Waqar and Imran trump Botham in every metric what ever the way you select it. And Botham is not going to replace spinners on Pakistani pitches. Only guy he can make over is Ramiz Raja, but Botham is not an opener. He is not going to replace Miandad, Malik, Shoaib Mohammed, or Imran Kahn in the middle order. who average 40+ with the bat in 85-92 period.


I'm afraid it wasn't, You said "2000s South Africa" very generally, I was the one with the sense to make the differentiation between the first half and the second half, as I already informed you, Botham is making it in over Andre Nel or Makhaya Ntini in the first half of the decade and he's opening the bowling with Pollock, and in the second half he's making it in over Morkel and is either opening the bowling with Steyn or is the third pacer, depending on Vernon's availability and the conditions. You dropped the argument simply because you had nothing to refute that.
You don't need Botham when you have Pollock or Steyn in the team. Similar averaging different bowlers of Ntini and Morkel always fits the bill. Stryn / Morlel / P:hilander or Pollock / Steyn / Ntini. Botham has no place to break in. Not even as the fourth seamer when Kallis is around. It is so simple as that.

Yeah Botham at the worst point in his career might not make that side, teleport a young or mid career Botham to that Pakistan and he's playing a 100+ tests, we don't need to discuss "peak" or "general performance" in the case of the Pakistan side you're referencing because you're manually limiting the Pakistani players to a timeframe, that is the whole concept behind "late 80s/early 90s Pakistan", for Botham you never made a "late 80s/early 90s" dissection as you did with Pakistan, thus we're going by his general performance.
Late 80s Pakistan has Imran and Wasim on performance and Waqar on talent. Where do you think Botham is going to fit in bowling? Then they had Miandead, Shoaib Mohammed and Salim Malik in 4 - 6 positions on performance and Inzamam ul Haq on talent. Considereing he has never opened and one of the openers was Aamir Sohail who was scoring heavily, he has no place in batting too. Not in batting, not in bowling. No place in the team.

I'll take that as a concession then.
Lol


then I wonder who brought up ATG sides at the first place- oh wait! it was you.


Botham would also make any team Flower ever played for, hell, he'll be the first name on the sheet.


Ok? I never said Botham would make it into the Pakistani ATG side, I said he'd make any side that ever existed and newsflash, an ATG Pakistani side doesn't exist, another strawman from you.
Lol, just another set of failed arguments.
 

Johan

Cricketer Of The Year
Actually that is how it works.
well that's just a display of you being logically inept and too incompetent to understand the implication of the statements that you make.

It depends on what criteria you think Pakistan side of late 80s are selected. You have three options, current form, historic performances, or extrapolating quality using the whole careers (that includes future performances). What ever the metric you argue to select Pakistani team applies to Botham too. Otherwise it is a disingenuous effort. The fact is Botham neither on current form , nor on historic performances nor future performances.
once again, I should not be asked to teach you basic language, as you said "Pakistan side of late 80s" that's it, there is no choice to be made, no extrapolation, no discussion, We're talking about a real side that existed and played Cricket and we've everything on them in real life data, there's no point of hypothetical discussions or whatever, the reality is that Imran barely bowled after 88, before 88 they didn't have an amazing third pacer nor an amazing batting, you cannot put hypotheticals on "Pakistan side of the 1980s" as that side already exists, you said Ian Botham would not make the team, so obviously for Botham we'd go by general career instead of peak or washed days, as you never specified that.

Wasim, Waqar and Imran trump Botham in every metric what ever the way you select it.
On hypotheticals, Yes. but the actual Pakistan team you're referencing? again, No, because Botham is walking in.

And Botham is not going to replace spinners on Pakistani pitches. Only guy he can make over is Ramiz Raja, but Botham is not an opener. He is not going to replace Miandad, Malik, Shoaib Mohammed, or Imran Kahn in the middle order. who average 40+ with the bat in 85-92 period.
again, Pre Waqar he makes it in as the third pacer and a clear overseas choice over Qadir (who was garbage overseas), by the time Waqar got good, the batting is terrible enough and Imran is bowling so little that he's making it in both ways, now you're free to ramble on about a non existent Pakistani side all you want, it would change nothing, but as clearly shown, Botham easily makes any side in history.

You don't need Botham when you have Pollock or Steyn in the team. Similar averaging different bowlers of Ntini and Morkel always fits the bill. Stryn / Morlel / P:hilander or Pollock / Steyn / Ntini. Botham has no place to break in. Not even as the fourth seamer when Kallis is around. It is so simple as that.
Not even close, not only is Ntini not different enough but he's terrible overseas and not necessarily better than Botham with the new ball, and then you have Botham's batting, he's effortlessly making it in over Ntini, not even a point of discussion. Morkel is also an inferior bowler and a proper number 10, he also has 19 less fifers than Beefy in 8 less innings, Botham is again easily making it over Morkel (he's making it over him as a bowler alone infact) and Philander, while good, was injury prone and ineffective on unhelpful wickets and often hidden from bowling on them. Botham in helpful conditions is the third bowler for Steyn/Vern, in unhelpful he's the second bowler with Steyn, he's making it over Morkel in any condition, and he's making it over Ntini in any condition and always opening the bowling with Pollock.

It is so simple as that.

.
Late 80s Pakistan has Imran and Wasim on performance and Waqar on talent. Where do you think Botham is going to fit in bowling?
not only was Waqar practically a nobody until the 1990 New Zealand series where Botham makes it as the third pacer (he's better than Aqib Javed), they had no great third pacer until Imran heavily pulled back on bowling. the only series where Waqar was good and Imran played was the 91 West Indies series where Imran bowled in one game out of three. Once again, he's the third pacer as Imran is barely bowling by that point.

Then they had Miandead, Shoaib Mohammed and Salim Malik in 4 - 6 positions on performance and Inzamam ul Haq on talent.
Akram Raza (56 avg bowler) and Zahid Fazal say hi, if you're gonna knight for Pakistan so hard atleast know what the sides were

Considereing he has never opened and one of the openers was Aamir Sohail who was scoring heavily, he has no place in batting too. Not in batting, not in bowling. No place in the team.
Yeah because Aaqib Javed is a completely sustainable and preffered third bowler over Ian Botham lmao, just joke arguments from your end at this point man, I'm sure you'd pick Salim Jaffer as the third pacer in India series like Pakistan did in 1986, or Manzoor Elahi and Rizwan Uz Zaman as a batter, but Pakistan would take Botham happily for either of his all round services at the time, perfect third pacer, legendary slip (which you represent as a problem for Pakistani pacers) and more than good lower order batter.

I told you, I took that as a concession already, no need to cry about it.

Lol, just another set of failed arguments.
I get it, you ran out of arguments, better luck next time.
 
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Coronis

Hall of Fame Member
Actually that is how it works. It depends on what criteria you think Pakistan side of late 80s are selected. You have three options, current form, historic performances, or extrapolating quality using the whole careers (that includes future performances). What ever the metric you argue to select Pakistani team applies to Botham too. Otherwise it is a disingenuous effort. The fact is Botham neither on current form , nor on historic performances nor future performances. Wasim, Waqar and Imran trump Botham in every metric what ever the way you select it. And Botham is not going to replace spinners on Pakistani pitches. Only guy he can make over is Ramiz Raja, but Botham is not an opener. He is not going to replace Miandad, Malik, Shoaib Mohammed, or Imran Kahn in the middle order. who average 40+ with the bat in 85-92 period.


You don't need Botham when you have Pollock or Steyn in the team. Similar averaging different bowlers of Ntini and Morkel always fits the bill. Stryn / Morlel / P:hilander or Pollock / Steyn / Ntini. Botham has no place to break in. Not even as the fourth seamer when Kallis is around. It is so simple as that.

Late 80s Pakistan has Imran and Wasim on performance and Waqar on talent. Where do you think Botham is going to fit in bowling? Then they had Miandead, Shoaib Mohammed and Salim Malik in 4 - 6 positions on performance and Inzamam ul Haq on talent. Considereing he has never opened and one of the openers was Aamir Sohail who was scoring heavily, he has no place in batting too. Not in batting, not in bowling. No place in the team.

Lol


Lol, just another set of failed arguments.
Nah stop being so ****ing moronic with this.

When we say Bradman would make any side in history we don’t restrict it to his bodyline series to make a stupid argument.

Unless someone uses the qualifier (e.g Prime Kohli would walk into any test side in history) you’re evaluating a player’s overall career and whether based on that you’d have him in any specific team from any specific timeframe. Get your head out of your own ass
 

DrWolverine

International Debutant
Flower would have walked in to the English team that Botham played, and would have been the best batsman of the team too.
If Flower played for the English team; he would have played 100+ Tests, scored 8000+ runs and would have ended up as their best batsman since Barrington
 

Coronis

Hall of Fame Member
If Flower played for the English team; he would have played 100+ Tests, scored 8000+ runs and would have ended up as their best batsman since Barrington
Actually his numbers would look worse - he would play more tests in his lean 90’s years, and thus his prime years would have a lot smaller effect on his overall average. Plus he probably ends up playing a bit longer and falling after that.
 

DrWolverine

International Debutant
Actually his numbers would look worse - he would play more tests in his lean 90’s years, and thus his prime years would have a lot smaller effect on his overall average. Plus he probably ends up playing a bit longer and falling after that.
True

But he would also play without the burden of being a wicketkeeper and have other good batsman around him
 

Johan

Cricketer Of The Year
If Flower played for the English team; he would have played 100+ Tests, scored 8000+ runs and would have ended up as their best batsman since Barrington
Boycott is a better Batsmen than Flower, and Root is also quite a bit better than Flower/Boycott types.
 

Coronis

Hall of Fame Member
True

But he would also play without the burden of being a wicketkeeper and have other good batsman around him
Depends if they make Stewart or Flower keep. Not like England’s batting was that great either. Houghton and Goodwin definitely wouldn’t be out of place.
 

DrWolverine

International Debutant
Depends if they make Stewart or Flower keep. Not like England’s batting was that great either. Houghton and Goodwin definitely wouldn’t be out of place.
Atherton. Stewart. Hick. Thorpe.
This was the top order I remember.
Andy playing at 5 would have been good for England.
 

capt_Luffy

International Coach
Depends if they make Stewart or Flower keep. Not like England’s batting was that great either. Houghton and Goodwin definitely wouldn’t be out of place.
Well they can ask them to share the gloves. Less load for both, Win-win for all
 

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