Not sure if this is Mandela effect but I remember a previous slippy thread about Ian Salisbury
Andy Flower would have murdered Salisbury1. He had very limited control and generally bowled one full toss or long hop per over, thus releasing any pressure.
2. He didn't have a good googly or any real variety.
3. He didn't really have much luck in Tests and was unfortunate not to have the opportunity to run through a tail.
4. He didn't play any matches against minnows like Zimbabwe, against whom he could definitely have improved his stats.
It's not necessary to be successful against all opposition batsmen to improve an average of 76. To take an extreme example, in West Indies 2001 tour of Sri Lanka, Brian Lara had enormous success against Murali and Vaas with 688 runs in a 3 match series, yet they took a combined 50 wickets @ 18.54 and won the series 3-0. Salisbury wouldn't have done that well against Zimbabwe, but with a bit of luck he probably could have averaged 35-40 against them.Andy Flower would have murdered Salisbury
This I think is the prime reason. Arguments around his potential to perform at test level were, I think, largely based on excitement around his being an English leg spinner, he being the first elected at rest level for around 25 years.A lot of English players could not replicate County Cricket form at test level during the 90's , guys like Salisbury , Nick Knight , Ramprakash, Hick etc , perhaps the step up was far too big .
He was definitely not the worst Test bowler. Better than Rubel Hussain, Asoka de Silva, Andy Whittall amongst others.He was still better than Rubel Hossain
There might be an element of truth to this, but several of England's long standing 90s batsmen (Atherton, Stewart, Hussain, Smith) were barely more successful in county cricket than Tests. Also Knight and Hick did have successful ODI careers and were amongst the leading English ODI batsmen of their generation.A lot of English players could not replicate County Cricket form at test level during the 90's , guys like Salisbury , Nick Knight , Ramprakash, Hick etc , perhaps the step up was far too big .
This. My recollection is that he had an action that always spelt out him likely not being able to land the ball consistently and he didn't.1. He had very limited control and generally bowled one full toss or long hop per over, thus releasing any pressure.
2. He didn't have a good googly or any real variety.
3. He didn't really have much luck in Tests and was unfortunate not to have the opportunity to run through a tail.
4. He didn't play any matches against minnows like Zimbabwe, against whom he could definitely have improved his stats.