Most Unluckiest Players

[luckyeddie]

Barry Richards (SA)

The only batsman who has ever looked like coming close to the Don, had his career cut short by Apartheid....

If you have a look at the front page or click here you will find a feature article about the team which had the potential to become maybe the greatest of all time (or close to it) - the 1970 South Africans. The Pollock brothers, Barry Richards, Eddie Barlow and Mike Proctor were the big five, but some of the lesser lights weren't bad either.

 

[Neil Pickup]

Oh, you can't have "Most Unluckiest".

It's either "Unluckiest" or "Most Unlucky"

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Picky. :P

 

[Anon2]

Nick Knight was unlucky not to get a call-up for the test side last year. He averaged just under 100 in the County Championship and still doesn't get picked by the selectors.

 

[Slats4ever]

Michael Bevan
He is a true champion
For ages he was best one day batsman in the world yet barely got a run in tests

 

[marc71178]

Nick Knight was unlucky not to get a call-up for the test side last year. He averaged just under 100 in the County Championship and still doesn't get picked by the selectors.

I disagree.

He'd been tried and proven to be lacking the little something in Test Cricket.

Averages in County Cricket mean diddly squat, and besides that, would you break up Trescothick and Vaughan?

(And I post this as a very big Warwickshire fan!)

 

[Kenny]

Stuart MacGill is possibly a lttle unlucky to be in the same era as Warne - I've little doubt he would have played 100 tests, and at his current rate of 5 wickets per test, he would be right up there with the great Courtney Walsh.........
Many other countries would love to have a leggie of his quality. It will be interesting to see what the selectors do when Warne comes back.

 

[Bazza]

I agree with Richards.

Many Englishmen consider Stuart Law to be very unlucky. He tore up county cricket in the late 90s but only go one test. He got a not out 50 I think but was never given another opportunity.

How about Andy Gauteaume - scored 112 in his only innings in test cricket, for WI against England back in the thirties. Don't know any specifics of why he didn't get another game but must be unlucky?

 

[luckyeddie]

Almost incredible that Australia should have two leggies of that quality available (well, almost available) at the same time.

Nearly as good as Salisbury and Schofield.

 

[Langeveldt]

If you have a look at the front page or click here you will find a feature article about the team which had the potential to become maybe the greatest of all time (or close to it) - the 1970 South Africans. The Pollock brothers, Barry Richards, Eddie Barlow and Mike Proctor were the big five, but some of the lesser lights weren't bad either.

Cheers eddie! Although i wasnt around then! i reckon that politics did rob the world of one of the greatest ever cricketing sides, although the whole issue of isolation was as it turned out completely justified..

Who was that England pace bowler whos knee just fell apart mid over in Christchurch, was it Sid Lawrence? Thats got to be painful, and unlucky... I remember something like that happening to my back muscles two years ago, i think i heard it happening as well :rolleyes:

 

[luckyeddie]

Cheers eddie! Although i wasnt around then! i reckon that politics did rob the world of one of the greatest ever cricketing sides, although the whole issue of isolation was as it turned out completely justified..

Who was that England pace bowler whos knee just fell apart mid over in Christchurch, was it Sid Lawrence? Thats got to be painful, and unlucky... I remember something like that happening to my back muscles two years ago, i think i heard it happening as well :rolleyes:

Ah, made another friend for life. Now to praise the 1960's West Indians and get Liam on my side.

David Lawrence was on Tuffers' programme last Friday night - cracking show. He was my type of bowler - a strike bowler and a real trier - reminded me so much of Dev. Never let his head drop.

 

[royGilchrist]

There was this guy in Pakistan cricket named Aftab Balouch, many years back who had the making s of a great batsman. He played a magical innings of 400 plus in the domestic cricket but then got hit on the head by a bouncer, and was never the same again.

As for Parsanna, I had the chance to skim through Miandad's autobiography (which is both interesting, and whimsical, just like the man himself), and he related that on that famous Indian tour to Pakistan, when the trio of Parsanna, Chandra and Bedi came in with a formidable reputation, the Pakistani batsmen found Parsanna the easiest to play (and Chandra the most difficult). Zaheer who was the senior batsman then compared with Javed, would tell Javed to give him as much strike against Parsanna, as he was looking to make big scores.

 

[luckyeddie]

I've read that too, Roy. It's worth pointing out that by then Prasanna was past his sell-by date.

Chandra was always difficult to read because of his handicap (maybe a perverse blessing) - he had polio as a child and his bowling arm was badly deformed by the disease.

 

[royGilchrist]

Oh ok.

As for other things I have heard about Parsanna his arm ball might have been the pre-cursor to Saqlain's doosra, as it used t turn the other way. Unfortunately I was too young to have seen parsanna bowling live.

 

[royGilchrist]

And Miandad said that it was difficult to handle Chandra, due to the skiddish pace he could generate.