Line and Length
Cricketer Of The Year
Over the next week I will post the results of interviews with players regarding their childhood heroes (batting and bowling) and their idea of the perfect batsman and perfect bowler.
Being an English 1984 publication used as a source, there is a heavy emphasis on English players being interviewed. I have, therefore, selected non English players whenever they were available.
I will group the contributors according to their category, starting today with openers. The following days will feature middle order batsmen, all-rounders. wicket-keepers, spinners and fast bowlers. I will aim to have 3 or 4 players interviewed in each category.
LEN HUTTON
My Childhood Batting Hero: Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe. Hobbs made everything seem so simple yet was a classical player. Sutcliffe was my Yorkshire hero.
My Childhood Bowling Hero: Wilfred Rhodes. He could bemuse the best batsmen with his subtle left-arm spin and flight. He would have walked into any team on his bowling alone but was also one of the best batsmen of his era.
My Idea of the Perfect Batsman: Walter Hammond - and I speak with the advantage of often having been at the other end watching him in smooth, elegant action.
My Idea of the Perfect Bowler: The two that I select from the many I was lucky to play with and against are Hedley Verity and Keith Miller. Both were as near perfect as you can get, not only with their ability but also their approach to the game.
SUNIL GAVASKAR
My Childhood Hero: Only batsmen took my eye as a youngster. It never occurred to me to take too much notice of the bowlers. One player stood out for me above all others and that was Rohan Kanhai. He scored 538 in 5 Tests in the 1958/59 series including a splendid 256 at Calcutta. From then on I was a Rohan Kanhai fan.
My Idea of the Perfect Batsman: I must stick with my boyhood hero, Rohan Kanhai. I had the pleasure of playing against him in the 70/71 Test series in the West Indies when I made my debut for India. He had real class and could dominate any attack.
My Idea of the Perfect Bowler: Bishen Singh Bedi, India's master of slow left-arm orthodox bowling, is the cricketing genius that comes nearest to that description of being perfect. He had a smooth, easy run-up, a lovely action and follow-through and all the guile in the world.
GRAHAM GOOCH
My Childhood Batting Hero: Keith Fletcher. I always looked forward to seeing him bat for Essex. He was a player of the highest quality and now that I have the pleasure of playing under him at Essex I can vouch for the fact that he is maintaining that standard. With Keith, team priorities always came first.
My Childhood Bowling Hero: Fred Trueman. He was a real character and one of the great fast bowlers who had the ability to swing the ball at high speed. To my eyes he looked a giant out there on the field.
My Idea of the Perfect Batsman: Barry Richards is without question the best batsman I've played against. He had all the shots and made batting look easy. His timing was perfect and he had power and precision all round the wicket.
My Idea of the Perfect Bowler: Mike Procter, who was a truly aggressive fast bowler with the ability to bowl devastating in-swingers from around the wicket. He was deadly accurate as well and on a fast wicket he was almost unplayable.
Tomorrow: Middle order batsmen. I hope you enjoy this thread and feel free to comment at any stage.
Being an English 1984 publication used as a source, there is a heavy emphasis on English players being interviewed. I have, therefore, selected non English players whenever they were available.
I will group the contributors according to their category, starting today with openers. The following days will feature middle order batsmen, all-rounders. wicket-keepers, spinners and fast bowlers. I will aim to have 3 or 4 players interviewed in each category.
LEN HUTTON
My Childhood Batting Hero: Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe. Hobbs made everything seem so simple yet was a classical player. Sutcliffe was my Yorkshire hero.
My Childhood Bowling Hero: Wilfred Rhodes. He could bemuse the best batsmen with his subtle left-arm spin and flight. He would have walked into any team on his bowling alone but was also one of the best batsmen of his era.
My Idea of the Perfect Batsman: Walter Hammond - and I speak with the advantage of often having been at the other end watching him in smooth, elegant action.
My Idea of the Perfect Bowler: The two that I select from the many I was lucky to play with and against are Hedley Verity and Keith Miller. Both were as near perfect as you can get, not only with their ability but also their approach to the game.
SUNIL GAVASKAR
My Childhood Hero: Only batsmen took my eye as a youngster. It never occurred to me to take too much notice of the bowlers. One player stood out for me above all others and that was Rohan Kanhai. He scored 538 in 5 Tests in the 1958/59 series including a splendid 256 at Calcutta. From then on I was a Rohan Kanhai fan.
My Idea of the Perfect Batsman: I must stick with my boyhood hero, Rohan Kanhai. I had the pleasure of playing against him in the 70/71 Test series in the West Indies when I made my debut for India. He had real class and could dominate any attack.
My Idea of the Perfect Bowler: Bishen Singh Bedi, India's master of slow left-arm orthodox bowling, is the cricketing genius that comes nearest to that description of being perfect. He had a smooth, easy run-up, a lovely action and follow-through and all the guile in the world.
GRAHAM GOOCH
My Childhood Batting Hero: Keith Fletcher. I always looked forward to seeing him bat for Essex. He was a player of the highest quality and now that I have the pleasure of playing under him at Essex I can vouch for the fact that he is maintaining that standard. With Keith, team priorities always came first.
My Childhood Bowling Hero: Fred Trueman. He was a real character and one of the great fast bowlers who had the ability to swing the ball at high speed. To my eyes he looked a giant out there on the field.
My Idea of the Perfect Batsman: Barry Richards is without question the best batsman I've played against. He had all the shots and made batting look easy. His timing was perfect and he had power and precision all round the wicket.
My Idea of the Perfect Bowler: Mike Procter, who was a truly aggressive fast bowler with the ability to bowl devastating in-swingers from around the wicket. He was deadly accurate as well and on a fast wicket he was almost unplayable.
Tomorrow: Middle order batsmen. I hope you enjoy this thread and feel free to comment at any stage.
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