• Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.

Best old time players in a modern setting

mr_mister

mr_mister

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Clarrie Grimmet the "miser" you'd think would translate well to LO stuff where his economy rate has extra value
 
P

Patience and Accuracy+Gut

State Vice-Captain
O’Reilly should run havoc in Tests. How can one possibly deal with a 6 ft 2 guy bowling spin near medium pace and as accurate as any human has ever done? No wonder despite all the differences, Bradman declared him as the best bowler to have ever walk the earth.

Would have loved to watch Larwood though.That arm speed especially from 2.15-2.30 always surprises me.

 
Silver Silva

Silver Silva

International Regular
I would say Aubrey Faulkner would be great also ..
Legspinners are in hot demand in modern day cricket , especially in T20 and ODI cricket ..Faulkner would have made a killing ..There aren't many genuine batsmen that can bowl proper legspin in the history of international cricket ..
Maybe the closest today is Shadab Khan and Wanindu Hasaranga off the top of my head that can bat in the top 7 and bowl full quota of overs, but Faulkner was even comfortable batting in the top order , he got a double hundred in Test cricket batting at no.3 ...So his skillset would be gold dust.
 
karan_fromthestands

karan_fromthestands

State Captain
Silver Silva said:
I would say Aubrey Faulkner would be great also ..
Legspinners are in hot demand in modern day cricket , especially in T20 and ODI cricket ..Faulkner would have made a killing ..There aren't many genuine batsmen that can bowl proper legspin in the history of international cricket ..
Maybe the closest today is Shadab Khan and Wanindu Hasaranga off the top of my head that can bat in the top 7 and bowl full quota of overs, but Faulkner was even comfortable batting in the top order , he got a double hundred in Test cricket batting at no.3 ...So his skillset would be gold dust.
Click to expand...
Agree, Aubrey Faulkner was such an exciting player. Would definitely do better than the likes of Rashid in T20s. Isn't he your favourite player @ankitj ?
 
karan_fromthestands

karan_fromthestands

State Captain
Coronis said:
lol wouldn’t surprise me if he was playing today if he only ended up with the same amount of tests as he did back then. Would be the highest wicket taker ever in T20’s though.
Click to expand...
There's no question about that.

The guy was a wizard with the ball, swinging and cutting it both ways. He would've been an absolute nightmare for any batsman in the T20 format. His adaptability to different conditions would've been a game-changer. T20 cricket is all about adapting quickly, and Barnes had that in spades. Plus, the guy had a psychological edge; he knew how to get into a batsman's head. In a format where one over can change the game, having Barnes could be the difference between a win and a loss. I totally think he would've been the highest wicket-taker in T20s if he were playing today. The man was just too good and way ahead of his time.
 
M

ma1978

International Debutant
Learie Constantine would be a atg short form player

George Headley the best test bat in the world across conditions
 
shortpitched713

shortpitched713

International Captain
I don't know why people think that old-time spinners would just "translate" their game into the modern day. In addition to some of their styles being extinct (medium pace spin, like Barnes), it's not like spin is a purely mental activity that doesn't improve from physical improvements of professionalism.

These days emphasis on revolutions, accuracy, and speed through the air (and subsequent changes of) keep improving, and techniques against spin bowling keep improving as well. A dude just flighting it up, depending on an uncovered pitch against a hapless batsman who can't see or pick up **** he's doing, isn't really the norm (this is hyperbole, but the point is that spin isn't the same either).
 
P

Patience and Accuracy+Gut

State Vice-Captain
shortpitched713 said:
I don't know why people think that old-time spinners would just "translate" their game into the modern day. In addition to some of their styles being extinct (medium pace spin, like Barnes), it's not like spin is a purely mental activity that doesn't improve from physical improvements of professionalism.

These days emphasis on revolutions, accuracy, and speed through the air (and subsequent changes of) keep improving, and techniques against spin bowling keep improving as well. A dude just flighting it up, depending on an uncovered pitch against a hapless batsman who can't see or pick up **** he's doing, isn't really the norm (this is hyperbole, but the point is that spin isn't the same either).
Click to expand...
Here’s what O’Reilly thought.He pretty much bowled the modern way and probably better than anyone has ever done.His writing in 1982 when many thought spin was gonna die.


By Bill O’Reilly

Spin bowling's return is bound to take lots of time. To regenerate spin bowling in Australia and to have it functioning as it did in the thirties one starts thinking about the year 2000.

For instance, I read with great interest of the opening of a new cricket school in Sydney's southern suburbs just the other day, and cheerfully thought of the prospects lying ahead for the ambitious boys of that district. It struck me however as a lopsided event when I read that youngsters interested in fast bowling will be coached free of charge by a leading international, Len Pascoe.

But there you are - what silly boy would waste his time thinking about anything else but speed these days.

None do, but the time will come - let me assure you - when many will.

It is refined cruelty for a leg spinner of other days to watch batsmen brought up on a diet of fast bowling sending out all the signals that induced a slow bowler to get his hands on the ball as quickly as he could catch the captain's eye.

I have written it often - with Clarrie Grimmett at one end and myself at the other we could "do" all the international sides I have seen in the past without raising a sweat.

Footwork has gone without a trace. Backfoot defense is not even a memory. How then in the name of all that's precious can a batsman expect to cope with a bowler who has length , direction, change of pace and leg spin, supported by a wrong 'un. What hope has he for survival ?

I envy the first young man who shapes up with all those bowling tricks in his armoury to revive the lost art.

His rewards will be gigantic.

I can see for him a programme which will rewrite the bowling record book.
 
shortpitched713

shortpitched713

International Captain
Patience and Accuracy+Gut said:
I envy the first young man who shapes up with all those bowling tricks in his armoury to revive the lost art.

His rewards will be gigantic.

I can see for him a programme which will rewrite the bowling record book.
Click to expand...
Yeah, Murali did turn out to be pretty great, and that is prescient of him.

Still, O'Reilly is hardly the first old timer who thought he could've "done" them young whippersnappers in the modern game. Maybe he could, maybe he couldn't, but the way of the game is certainly evolution. Even throughout a player's career, if they don't improve their abilities and "toolbag" of techniques their performance tends to decline. O'Reilly would undoubtedly need to pick up a lot of new things from the new era of the game, and quick, if he hoped to make good on his threat to modern sides in that given "time machine" scenario.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Top