Most Underrated Cricketers in Cricket Chat

[karan_fromthestands]

Gianasha Mice

 

[Shady Slim]

There was a popular name for those runs back in the late noughties here, right? When you get runs just to rub it in or whatever...

wanker runs

 

[Nikhil99.94]

Good picks, although I do recall Hammond once being voted 3rd or 4th all-time batsmen in one of the 7659 batsmen polls.

Can you share the poll?

 

[Bolo.]

Pretty much everyone that is an AR but isn't elite in either discipline gets underrated. Cairns > Lara/Mcgrath isnt a completely ridiculous opinion, but I would imagine the suggestion is making blood boil.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Cairns > Lara/Mcgrath isnt a completely ridiculous opinion, but I would imagine the suggestion is making blood boil.

I don't know about blood boil, giggle maybe

 

[Bahnz]

Latham I think has been somewhat underrated. Bit of a poor man's Mark Richardson in that he's stickable, but doesn't really have the capacity to hurt bowling attacks with a big hundred and has never really had a career defining knock against one of the stronger sides (just 1 hundred against the big 3, and that coming v England in a high scoring bore draw). Leads to a lot frustration and head slapping when you see his mental process starting to unravel after a couple of hours of looking immovable at the crease. But that ability to resist pressure (for a while) and find a way to make it to lunch has been a major foundation of NZ's success over the past 4 years.

 

[mr_mister]

Cairns as a batsman : 6
Cairns as a bowler : 7

Total: 13

Lara as a batsman : 9
Lara as a bowler : 0

Total: 9

McGrath as a batsman : 1
McGrath as a bowler : 10

Total : 11


The math checks out

 

[Days of Grace]

Cairns as a batsman : 6
Cairns as a bowler : 7

Total: 13

Lara as a batsman : 9
Lara as a bowler : 0

Total: 9

McGrath as a batsman : 1
McGrath as a bowler : 10

Total : 11


The math checks out

And yet who would you choose to be in an Alltime XI?

I would rate Cairns as an allrounder 7/10 compared to Lara 9/10 as a batsman and McGrath 10/10 as a bowler.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Lara is atleast a 13 as a batsman

 

[subshakerz]

Pretty much everyone that is an AR but isn't elite in either discipline gets underrated. Cairns > Lara/Mcgrath isnt a completely ridiculous opinion, but I would imagine the suggestion is making blood boil.

Yeah that sounds good on paper but in reality for a team like NZ, they would have found a Lara or McGrath more useful. With Cairns you basically get to add an extra decent bowler or batsman to a lineup that is already filled with Cairns-level batsmen and bowlers. Mere utility cant replace worldclass quality.

Thats why allrounders like Sobers and Imran to me are simply more valuable than Botham and Miller. They are already greats in one discipline and add unto that.

 

[Burgey]

Except Miller's bowling average is practically identical to Imran's. If Imran's a bowling great so is Miller

 

[subshakerz]

Except Miller's bowling average is practically identical to Imran's. If Imran's a bowling great so is Miller

Philander has a better bowling average than Steyn. Nobody thinks he is an ATG. Neither is Miller as a bowler. Unless you think you just hand the ATG title to any bowler averaging less than 25.

 

[mr_mister]

Except Miller's bowling average is practically identical to Imran's. If Imran's a bowling great so is Miller

Expect his reply post to contain the phrase "WPM"

 

[Burgey]

Philander has a better bowling average than Steyn. Nobody thinks he is an ATG. Neither is Miller as a bowler. Unless you think you just hand the ATG title to any bowler averaging less than 25.

Yeah but people do think that of Miller. And have for decades.

 

[Bolo.]

And yet who would you choose to be in an Alltime XI?

I would rate Cairns as an allrounder 7/10 compared to Lara 9/10 as a batsman and McGrath 10/10 as a bowler.

Who you would pick in an AT XI is a pretty limited way of assessing quality.

Your ratings seem fine, but an AR should be getting a rating out of 20, and 7/20 is very low for Cairns.

Yeah that sounds good on paper but in reality for a team like NZ, they would have found a Lara or McGrath more useful. With Cairns you basically get to add an extra decent bowler or batsman to a lineup that is already filled with Cairns-level batsmen and bowlers. Mere utility cant replace worldclass quality.

Thats why allrounders like Sobers and Imran to me are simply more valuable than Botham and Miller. They are already greats in one discipline and add unto that.

Depends on the specific team. Cairns wasnt so useful to NZ, but he would have helped India more than someone like Lara. A player like Jadeja would have been a better addition to a lot of sides than a Lara/Mcgrath.

Yes, someone like Sobers is better, but he gets his dues and doesn't belong in this thread.

Anyway, if I was actually trying to argue that a player is bettter than the best specialists, I would have picked a better AR than Cairns. I just dont think the comparison is totally crazy.

 

[andruid]

Jamie How and Michael Vandort. In fact we need a How vs. Vandort thread to compare underrated ness

 

[Flem274*]

Latham I think has been somewhat underrated. Bit of a poor man's Mark Richardson in that he's stickable, but doesn't really have the capacity to hurt bowling attacks with a big hundred and has never really had a career defining knock against one of the stronger sides (just 1 hundred against the big 3, and that coming v England in a high scoring bore draw). Leads to a lot frustration and head slapping when you see his mental process starting to unravel after a couple of hours of looking immovable at the crease. But that ability to resist pressure (for a while) and find a way to make it to lunch has been a major foundation of NZ's success over the past 4 years.

If he could concentrate for 8 hours instead of 4 he would be on his way to becoming an ATG. It's unbelievably frustrating watching him move unruffled to 40-70 then do something unbelievably dumb.

 

[stephen]

Sehwag.

Yea everyone points to his home/Asia record, but the truth is he really lost it the last few years (including that horror year).

Here's his record up until end of 2010:
86 tests, 7,670 runs @ 54.01 at 82 S/R.
vs AUS: 17 tests @ 48.36
v PAK: 9 tests @ 91.14
vs NZ: 10 tests @ 44.41
v SA: 14 tests @ 53.41

Home bully you say?
in AUS: 7 tests @ 59.50
in ENG: 4 tests @ 39.50 (okay not great but not awful - it was to become awful later)
in PAK: 6 tests @ 91.50 (okay still subcontinent though)

He did have a horrible average in NZ and SA though.

All hindsight of course but if he had quit there and then, would he be rated much higher instead of clearly declining like he did?

Pretty much an identical argument can be made for Hayden who, like Sehwag, could have retired a year earlier with an average of 53.5 and who happens to be dramatically underrated on this forum.

 

[subshakerz]

Yeah but people do think that of Miller. And have for decades.

Really? People consider Miller an ATG bowler? His name comes up with McGrath and Lillee? I am aware of that for Lindwall but not Miller.

 

[stephen]

Really? People consider Miller an ATG bowler? His name comes up with McGrath and Lillee? I am aware of that for Lindwall but not Miller.

Generally in ratings comparisons Miller comes up somewhere in the top 30 bowlers of all time. A bit shy of the Ambrose and McGrath characters but firmly and resolutely ahead of the McDermott or Ntini tier bowlers.