Best match saving innings you have seen

[Uppercut]

This thread is N0T About match saving innings.
To answer OP.
The reason why Atherton ave 37 was due to
a) burden of captaining a very average to mediocre England side
b) having to face 4 teams that at various times during the 90s had good to outstanding bowling attacks.
Those attacks were
I - McGrath & Warne.
II - Ambrose & Associates
III - Wasim, Waqar & friends
IV - Donald & partners

Gah, hate the use of that phrase. It makes no sense!

 

[_Ed_]

Gah, hate the use of that phrase. It makes no sense!

You're a bit unique.

 

[Uppercut]

Special, some might say.

 

[GIMH]

Atherton is easily better than Trescothick imo, in tests anyway. Always thought Trescothick looked like he scored runs in tests by accident tbh. As for Cook, well, I think he's massively over-rated tbh (not on here btw). Nicks it for a living. Would have Atherton over him in a heartbeat.

How important is that though? He generally did score them, isn't that what matters?

I'd have Athers over Cook at the minute though, no doubts. Cook still young enough to rectify that mind you.

Strauss over Athers is a call I make with complete confidence, however.

 

[Burgey]

How important is that though? He generally did score them, isn't that what matters?

I'd have Athers over Cook at the minute though, no doubts. Cook still young enough to rectify that mind you.

Strauss over Athers is a call I make with complete confidence, however.

Well it's not as important as his output obviously, I just never felt confident in his (Tres) stickability is what I'm saying I guess. When he scored a ton against us in 05 (iirc he did at least once) it was confirmation that the Gods truly were against us.

Yeah, I'd have Strauss > Athers too. Cook's still very much a work in progress though.

 

[GIMH]

Well it's not as important as his output obviously, I just never felt confident in his (Tres) stickability is what I'm saying I guess. When he scored a ton against us in 05 (iirc he did at least once) it was confirmation that the Gods truly were against us.

Yeah, I'd have Strauss > Athers too. Cook's still very much a work in progress though.

He only tonned up against you lot in the ODI series

 

[bagapath]

all this obvious mediocrity makes athers' 185 n.o. a truly special match saving knock; not as freaky as border taking a ten fer to beat windies but something like that. a truly odd moment in test cricket history.

 

[slippyslip]

Lots of good examples already given.

One that sticks out in my mind is Mark Greatbatch against Australia in 1989/90 in Perth. 146* off 485 balls. Boring as hell but effective. NZ were following on. Didnt help that Australia dropped him about 10 times.

I think Chris Gayle's 165* at the Adelaide Oval is a match savings innings or sorts. Despite a strong 1st innings total no one else go over 30 in the West Indies 2nd innings. If Gayle had got out for even 50 or so I think Australia would have won that match.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

How does the "burden" of captaincy account for Atherton's middle-of-the-road batting average? He did significantly better as captain with the bat, IIRC.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

How important is that though? He generally did score them, isn't that what matters?

This. You'd never teach a kid to bat like Chanderpaul, but he scores runs against the odds. Same with Trescothick. If he's producing, it doesn't matter how he looks.

 

[Goughy]

Atherton was a decent player and a good long standing servant of the English game.

He, of course, had technical issues and more than one. I dont think it is a stretch to say that his career was treated kindly and that he had admirers in the game due to his MCC coaching defend first approach, his Oxbridge background and that he looked like a nice chap. None of which helps you score runs but probably helps behind the scenes.

 

[aussie]

Athers used to nick out to McGrath for toffee tbh. Suggestive of some technical flaw I'd have thought.

So did Ambrose. Fact is McGrath got all top order batsmen out that way TBF.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

So did Ambrose.

In fairness, Ambrose wasn't much of a batsman.

 

[GIMH]

Spank the rubbish! If he'd middled that, it would have gone for nine.

 

[aussie]

Um, no. Atherton was mediocre, there is little doubt about that. Strauss is comfortably better than he was, I would have Trescothick and maybe even Cook ahead of him too TBH - although the latter is still young.

To call Atherton a very good opener is non-sense of the Richard-kind. Something you have becoming increasingly accustomed to Aussie.

HAAA....the fact you are rating Trescothick, Cook & Strauss over him tells me pretty safely that you have not followed Atherton's career in depth. MY GOD

I love you CWers like to put siding with an opinion of Richard as something out of the norm, the man is 100% right on Atherton.


Trescothick is by no means superior to Atherton, Trescothick game as a test opener was fileld with technical flaws, which was exposed ALOT by Australia in 2001 & 2002/03 (this should be pretty obvious to you). The only he did well vs AUS was in 05 when the pace attack was bowling crap after the Lord's test. He scored runs in more batting friendly conditions that he did in bowler friendly conditions. I dont like dissing Trescothick since if it weren't for his mental issues he would still be opening for ENG today, but its pretty obvious Atherton was his superior.

Trescothick's 40+ average flatters him, while Atherton's average 37 although as i said before he played in a tough era for batting so he never had much easy runs to get, he was good enough to average 40+ in his era especially when you consider the effect his back injury had on his career.


Strauss by the end of his career could match up with Atherton. But ATM IMO i am still giving Athers the little edge since Atherton was superior technically & Strauss has yet to real score any notable runs againts a quality pace attack in tough batting conditions.


Cook is by noooo means comparable with Atheron, what the hell is really going here???. Cook has spent the last 4 years of his career since Ashes 06/07 being technically exposed by quality pace attacks, while cashing in on roads (although he has tentatively eased fears of him being dropped with some tough batting in South Africa). This is who are going to say is better than Atherton who had a career a battling for tough runs???. Like Trescothcik, Cook average of 42 flatters him ATS...

haaa, really i got to question how much of some of you have seen Atherton bat.

Just to put a further historical context to how good Atherton was, in the cricinfo panel that picked the England All-time XI, Atherton was considered as one of the contenders. See here (not sure what Brearley was doing there). But these guys rated Atheron high enough to put him over Edrich (John & Bill) & Amiss, behind the BIG "5" (Hobbs, Hutton, Sutcliffe, Gooch, Boycott) so you people oughta chill..

 

[G.I.Joe]

Anyone up for Hussain vs Atherton?

 

[Uppercut]

Are we including captaincy? What about commentating?

 

[G.I.Joe]

Are we including captaincy? What about commentating?

Well, obviously anything but run scoring.

 

[Richard]

How is an average of 29 over 9 years and 14 tests remotedly "fine production"?

Because that wasn't Atherton's average - he averaged 41 when fit over 98(?) Tests between 1990 and 2000/01.

 

[Richard]

Atherton was a decent player and a good long standing servant of the English game.

He, of course, had technical issues and more than one. I dont think it is a stretch to say that his career was treated kindly and that he had admirers in the game due to his MCC coaching defend first approach, his Oxbridge background and that he looked like a nice chap. None of which helps you score runs but probably helps behind the scenes.

So when, at any point between 1993 and 2001, was there the remotest of cases for someone being preferred to him?