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  1. P

    DoG's Test Innings and Bowling Performances. Updates thread.

    Yes, next highest wicket-takers are: Mailey 69 @ 32 and O'Reilly 66 @ 27. Next most runs Ponsford 1598 @ 47.
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    DoG's Test Innings and Bowling Performances. Updates thread.

    All Tests in Australia were timeless until WW2. There were a couple of draws when the visitors had a boat to catch. The last match of the 1912 Triangular Tournament in England was timeless to decide a winner. During the 1920s and 1930s when an Ashes series in England was undecided going into...
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    Players whose reputation during their career was an inaccurate reflection of how good they really were

    Around 1992 some claimed he was the world's best batsman. Adept against pace and spin. Averaging over 60 during past three years. Main rivals were Crowe and Gooch. Then Lara put the debate to bed. Match-fixing ban affected his post-retirement reputation.
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    Players whose reputation during their career was an inaccurate reflection of how good they really were

    Yes the overall numbers are slightly skewed because 84 of the 235 men appearing in 1864 played only one game. Teams sometimes looked for men to make up the numbers at the last minute. One of the reasons the county championship was set up (and the Football League) was to standardise fixtures as...
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    Players whose reputation during their career was an inaccurate reflection of how good they really were

    In 1864 there were 46 first-class matches in England. 24 different teams. Some only played one match, such as Gentlemen of Kent, Players of South, The England XI and The United England XI. Surrey played most matches, 11, and used 18 different players. Sussex used 22, Middlesex 26 and Kent 28...
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    Players whose reputation during their career was an inaccurate reflection of how good they really were

    In 1860 in England, 40 first-class matches were played. In 1864, 46 matches. In 1871, 52 matches.
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    Who's in you best after Bradman tier and in your top tier for bowlers

    The bowlers are more difficult to assess. Before World War Two there were only three bowlers in the discussion for greatest-ever: Spofforth, Barnes and O'Reilly. By 1970 many historians agreed that Lindwall had been the best fast bowler to date. In 2010 the four specialist bowlers in...
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    Who's in you best after Bradman tier and in your top tier for bowlers

    EW Swanton writing in 1962: As to the relative greatness of WG, Jack Hobbs and Don Bradman it is of course fruitless to argue: wickets, bowling, environment, atmosphere - all have varied. It is sufficient to say that each was supreme in his own day. This was the general view of cricket...
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    Players whose reputation during their career was an inaccurate reflection of how good they really were

    As a cricketer yes. There were aspects of his character and personality that left something to be desired. Also he wasn't a great thinker on the game, like Bradman for instance. Those seeking words of wisdom were usually disappointed.
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    Players whose reputation during their career was an inaccurate reflection of how good they really were

    The law changed in 1864 to reflect the fact that arms were being raised above the shoulder, but the first real overarm bowler was Spofforth during the following decade. Charlie Turner was still bowling roundarm in the 1880s. Before Grace's time cricket had been a low-scoring bowlers' game...
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    Players whose reputation during their career was an inaccurate reflection of how good they really were

    Most of the first-class grounds were of reasonable size and could hold several thousand spectators. Grace probably wouldn't have hit many balls over the boundary anyway. He tended to pick length early and strike the ball hard along the ground. Wild roundarm fast bowlers had terrorised batsmen...
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    Players whose reputation during their career was an inaccurate reflection of how good they really were

    Six hits were only introduced during the early 20th century and the batsman had to strike the ball out of the ground, not just over the boundary. Most of Jessop's hits into the crowd only counted as four, which makes his fast scoring even more remarkable.
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    What would be a peer rating ranking?

    The teams are a good illustration of how few cricketers' reputations during the past fifty years are set in stone, compared with before, and the subjective nature of judging them. Botham and Lamb were involved in a court case against Imran. They also played a lot of county cricket which...
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    What would be a peer rating ranking?

    That was the case in England from 1912, and in Australia for a time from around 1908. During most of his actual playing career Barnes was largely ignored by the English authorities and selectors because he had opted out of first-class cricket. In 1908 Wisden claimed Ernie Vogler was the...
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    What would be a peer rating ranking?

    I think there is some truth in this. Hadlee and Marshall were neck and neck reputation-wise through the second half of the 1980s. Holding had been regarded as the leader of the West Indies pack ("The Rolls Royce of Fast Bowlers"), succeeding Roberts.
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    What would be a peer rating ranking?

    With reputation in their own time, Grace was ahead of Bradman who was quite often talked down by contemporaries, sometimes unfairly. Virtually nobody talked Grace down. When Shrewsbury surpassed him, the press were careful to describe Shrewsbury as the best professional batsman. Grace was...
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    DoG's Test Innings and Bowling Performances. Updates thread.

    Interesting to compare the fine Days of Grace list with other recent ones. Cricinfo produced something last year and The Independent in 2019. All three have Kusal Perera first. Four other innings are common to the three Top 10s: Botham 149*, Gooch 154*, Lara 153* and Laxman 281. These four also...
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    DoG's Test Innings and Bowling Performances. Updates thread.

    In terms of strokeplay the Sydney innings was regarded as his best. However, it was a high-scoring match that Australia lost. As well as Foster's 287, Noble and Braund also got hundreds. The 104 at Old Trafford in 1902 is more famous. A hundred before lunch on the first day. Australia winning a...
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    DoG's Test Innings and Bowling Performances. Updates thread.

    Some old innings, highly rated at the time, that do not appear to have been mentioned so far. Shewsbury 164 v Australia, Lord's, 1886. The first bad-wicket classic. Missed at slip and for a possible leg-side stumping. Ranji 154* v Australia, Old Trafford, 1896 Jimmy Sinclair 104 v Australia...
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    What is your definition of a match-winning innings?

    Hundreds for winning team when margin of victory fewer than 10 runs: Trumper 104 in 115 minutes v England, Old Trafford, 1902 Klusener 118* v Sri Lanka, Kandy, 2000 Kane Williamson 132 v England, Wellington, 2023 Other notable ones: Won by 11 runs. Jack Ryder 201* and 88 v England, Adelaide...

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