Best young Batsman in World Cricket today

[Richard]

I was referring to everything that he has to cope with off the field. The South Africa job must as difficult in that respect as any in international cricket. Shane Warne would be a fantastic onfield captain, but I doubt many would suggest that he is the model of someone who has reached full maturity.

In the limitless-over game, maybe, but I've watched him several times in one-dayers and he's a terrible captain - so often makes bowling-changes far, far too late.

 

[Richard]

It wasn't G Smith LBW Hoggard by any chance was it?

I love the way (not) something that happened a sum-total of 3 times is talked-of as if it was a never-ending theme.

 

[Richard]

Why hasn't Murali ever captained?

Because in Ranatunga Sri Lanka had their best-ever captain and in Jayasuriya they had a man who was quietly pretty decent at the job.
Why did Tillikeratne get the job ahead of him? Err... they wanted him to concentrate on his bowling?
(FTR - Tillikeratne is comfortably the worst captain I've ever seen)

 

[Richard]

At 20 years old, Alastair Cook is definitely up there. By the time he is 25 he will be in the test team and doing very nicely thank you very much.

Or he might have a dreadful 2006 and disappear completely.
(Remeber Michael Gough?)

 

[Richard]

The other one I've thought of in the mean time is that it can be very hard to captain while bowling, and seeing that Murali bowls so many of his side's overs, it'd make the job even more difficult.

Bowlers rarely make good captains.
Simple as, IMO.
And for that precise reason.

 

[Richard]

The best young batsman, I reckon, is Mohammed Ashraful. A 100 against Australia at 20 is very little worth sneezing at.

Certainly the most overrated player I've ever seen. Nothing more than a glofiried slogger. How on Earth he scored so many runs in NWS 2005 while playing so terribly is totally beyond me.

 

[Richard]

If only he could be more consistent...

Bangladesh have alot of good young talent in their side now, with Aftab Ahmed, Mohammed Ashraful and Sharihar Nafees.

No, they have a lot of young players.
Aftab, Ashraful and Ahmed may very well come to precisely nothing, just as about every other Bangladesh player has so far.

 

[marc71178]

Or he might have a dreadful 2006 and disappear completely.

I seem to remember you wrote him off before the 2005 season.

At least you're being consistent.

 

[Richard]

No, I never wrote him off.
I merely pointed-out that far more young players who are hyped-up than not come to nothing.
Cook may come to something. He may not.

 

[a massive zebra]

No, they have a lot of young players.
Aftab, Ashraful and Ahmed may very well come to precisely nothing, just as about every other Bangladesh player has so far.

Aftab and Ahmed are now two different players.

 

[Richard]

Aftab Ahmed and Shahriar Nafees Ahmed.
Two different players.
Must confess Shahriar Nafees Ahmed plays in a way no other Bangladesh batsman does - he plays as if he has some sense, something no other player has ever done for them.

 

[a massive zebra]

Aftab Ahmed and Shahriar Nafees Ahmed.
Two different players.
Must confess Shahriar Nafees Ahmed plays in a way no other Bangladesh batsman does - he plays as if he has some sense, something no other player has ever done for them.

Oh yeah my bad, I thought you confused Aftab Ahmed with himself.

Any chance you could come on MSN briefly I want to ask you something.

 

[tooextracool]

I love the way (not) something that happened a sum-total of 3 times is talked-of as if it was a never-ending theme.

thats like saying hayden is not incapable of playing the inswinger because he only got himself out to an inswinger 3 times in the ashes series.

 

[tooextracool]

Aftab Ahmed and Shahriar Nafees Ahmed.
Two different players.
Must confess Shahriar Nafees Ahmed plays in a way no other Bangladesh batsman does - he plays as if he has some sense, something no other player has ever done for them.

aftab ahmad has a pretty good technique IMO, as does Nafees who looks far more capable than most other b'deshi players. ashraful has a horrible temperament, and his dismissal in the africa vs Asia game was just disgraceful.

 

[Eclipse]

Ashraful has a LOT of talent when it come's to ball striking and probably overall hand eye cordination and ability to pick the ball early.. but as somone has said his temperamant is shocking..

 

[Richard]

Any chance you could come on MSN briefly I want to ask you something.

Our computer is playing-up rather a lot ATM so I may not be able to come on MSN much but will do my best.

 

[Richard]

thats like saying hayden is not incapable of playing the inswinger because he only got himself out to an inswinger 3 times in the ashes series.

Yet Hayden has spent his career getting out to inswingers, and I've said that since long before The Ashes 2005.
I have, as you may remember, acknowledged the fact that Smith has had trouble against the inswing of Shabbir Ahmed and I've pointed-out several times that the only thing that troubled him in 2003 was Martin Bicknell's inswing. What I was saying in that post was not a denial of Smith and inswing, it was pointing-out that Hoggard's success against him in that series was a little overplayed. Whereas in The Ashes 2005 his success against Hayden was spectacularly underplayed, as he should have had him lbw at least twice more than he did, as Kyle Mills should have had him lbw about 5 times more than he did between Sept04 and Mar05.

 

[Richard]

aftab ahmad has a pretty good technique IMO, as does Nafees who looks far more capable than most other b'deshi players. ashraful has a horrible temperament, and his dismissal in the africa vs Asia game was just disgraceful.

Ashraful generally is disgraceful, has utterly shocking shot-selection (as evidenced by his decision to play a pre-meditated sweep at a seamer in the 13th over with 3 wickets down) and not a very good technique to boot. As with so many, the fact that he's young and plays lots (and lots, and lots) of shots gives people a misleading impression of his ability.
Aftab Ahmed's technique may be reasonable but he's still got a hell of a lot to do if he's to become an international-standard player, whereas Shahriar Nafees Ahmed looks like he might just be Bangladesh's best ever batsman within a year.

 

[Maison]

Definetly Pietersen

(yay my english ODI shirt arrived today! with his name and number on the back... im so happy, took a good 3 weeks to get here)

I don't like sehwag.

Clarke isnt too bad. he should be doing better than he is though...


Tait's a pretty good batsman lol

 

[Pratters]

Why is he perceived so talented?
That he is young, pretty-faced and plays lots of strokes.
It sure ain't because he scores lots of runs.

Clarke is talented. As you mentioned, playes a lot of strokes - so comfortably/with such ease.

Scoring a lot of runs has more to do with application of talent, honing skills, maturity than just talent itself.