My Post WWII Test Top 10

[Coronis]

I keep saying it's not all about stats. Look at some of the remarkable work Kohli has put in, centuries in places Indian batsmen have usually found difficult, much better to watch, a wider range of shots and someone who revamped test batting similar to AB or Viv before him.

I rate Root highly but he isn't at Kohli's level. Maybe sheer stack of runs could have him rated higher at some point.

I should honestly just stop trying to have the serious discussions at this point in time.

 

[trundler]

I should honestly just stop trying to have the serious discussions at this point in time.

Go back to feuding with mr_mister pls

 

[Xix2565]

Lol at stats not mattering unless they're the stats I like. Steyn is comfortably ahead of Anderson both by stats alone and with context included.

 

[Line and Length]

@jayjay I appreciate that you are adding some depth of discussion to these threads but, if I have a criticism, it is your apparent obsession with your lists. To put your rankings, no matter how hard you try to justify them, against lists based on members' polls is totally self-centred and arrogant.

 

[jayjay]

Lol at stats not mattering unless they're the stats I like. Steyn is comfortably ahead of Anderson both by stats alone and with context included.

Please quote where I said "stats do not matter".

I guess I'll be waiting as long as you probably wait for a date

 

[jayjay]

My project looks to be heading towards closure. I'm adding a further ten...which will top the list out at 50 and then I may, as the demand is popular add to my myth as one of the ATG posters by writing a few summaries on certain players and why they were ranked where they were (I doubt I will do all 50 though).

Here we go cricket webbers:

1. Garry Sobers WI
2. Viv Richards WI
3. Sachin Tendulkar IND
4. Imran Khan PAK
5. Muttiah Muralitharan SL
6. Glenn McGrath AUS
7. Wasim Akram PAK
8. Sunil Gavaskar IND
9. Shane Warne AUS
10. Brian Lara WI
11. Malcolm Marshall WI
12. Jacques Kallis SA
13. Dennis Lillee AUS
14. Richard Hadlee NZ
15. Ricky Ponting AUS
16. Ian Botham ENG
17. Adam Gilchrist AUS
18. Javed Miandad PAK
19. Michael Holding WI
20. Curtly Ambrose WI
21. Kapil Dev IND
22. Steve Smith AUS
23. Allan Donald SA
24. Rahul Dravid IND
25. Allan Border AUS
26. Younis Khan PAK
27. Gordon Greenidge WI
28. Anil Kumble IND
29. Waqar Younis PAK
30. Joel Garner WI
31. Virat Kohli IND
32. James Anderson ENG
33. Inzamam ul Haq PAK
34. Len Hutton ENG
35. Shaun Pollock SA
36. Lance Gibbs WI
37. Richie Benaud AUS
38. AB de Villiers SA
39. Ray Lindwall AUS
40. Keith Miller AUS
41. Kumar Sangakkara SL
42. Kevin Pietersen ENG
43. Dale Steyn SA
44. Mohammad Yousuf PAK
45. Joe Root ENG
46. Matthew Hayden AUS
47. Bob Willis ENG
48. Virender Sehwag IND
49. Mahela Jayawardene SL
50. Ken Barrington ENG

 

[ankitj]

Still no sign of 4 Ws: Waugh plus 3 from WI

 

[jayjay]

So, by nation we have:

Australia - 11
West Indies - 9
England - 7
India - 7
Pakistan - 7
SA - 5
SL - 3
NZ - 1

A lot of that shouldn't be a surprise, Aus are historically the best at cricket, WI were dominant for an extended period through the mid 70s to the mid 90s, whereas Eng, Pak and India hav had various periods of great teams. SA obviously missed a chunk of cricket because of their terrible human rights record but have produce some great cricketers since (and recently overtaken Pak W/L ratio in tests).

 

[Xix2565]

Please quote where I said "stats do not matter".

I guess I'll be waiting as long as you probably wait for a date

Great question and it was a tough one.

For this exercise, I have put together lists of batsmen, bowlers, keepers and all rounders. I then rank them across their play areas and then across one another.

Those rankings are based on skill set, importance to the team, performances vs contemporaries, longevity and so on.

Originally, I ranked Steyn higher in my list of fast bowlers but the more I delved deeper, the greater Anderson's body of work. He has more wickets in many weaker sides whereas Steyn played in the greatest ever saffer teams of the 00s and early 2010s.

Having said that, considering I myself once rated Steyn higher, it goes to show a certain element of subjectivity and lists can change over time. But I'm comfortable as is now, but there really isn't much in it. Each of the 10 sections is a give and take between the best players. Remember these are all great players, so it's about deciding who is THAT much better.

Stats aren't everything though but I'm not going to deny, there's a great case for Steyn. But Jimmy is severely underrated and if you were to dive into his matches, performances, the poor quality of england attacks he had to drag along at times, you'd see he has a great case also.

Stats wise Anderson is inferior and his only strength is longevity and abusing green pitches.

 

[jayjay]

Stats wise Anderson is inferior and his only strength is longevity and abusing green pitches.

I'm still waiting "stats do not matter".

Unless english is a second or 3rd language etc then it's forgiven, otherwise you're clearly spewing nappy rash!

 

[Xix2565]

I'm still waiting "stats do not matter".

Unless english is a second or 3rd language etc then it's forgiven, otherwise you're clearly spewing nappy rash!

If you cannot read that's not my problem lol. Clearly just one of the long list of problems you seem to have.

 

[kyear2]

It's quality. You feed someone twice and all they come up with is that. Time to unban Precam and Watson.

Why was Watson banned btw? Was surprised to see that he was

 

[trundler]

Why was Watson banned btw? Was surprised to see that he was

He was very, very racist.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Why was Watson banned btw? Was surprised to see that he was

He spewed white supremacist bile for a few years. Mostly outside of CC

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Watson was probably a bad example, but I didn't see his writing outside of CC. A decent troll has to be either funny or annoying rather than just displaying obnoxious low level stupidity. He could be both in the early days when discussing cricket stats. I didn't read the forum for a couple of years and I assume he deteriorated.

 

[kyear2]

He spewed white supremacist bile for a few years. Mostly outside of CC

Honestly shocked by this. Wow.

 

[Xuhaib]

Sobers
Sachin
Warne
Imran
Lara
Ambrose
Mcgrath
Gavaskar
Kallis
Wasim

 

[Line and Length]

A list of 10 from 10 different Test playing nations:

England - L. Hutton
Australia - S. Warne
South Africa - J. Kallis
West Indies - G. Sobers
New Zealand - R. Hadlee
India - S. Tendulkar
Pakistan - Wasim Akram
Sri Lanka - M. Muralitharan
Zimbabwe - A. Flower
Bangladesh - Shakib Al Hasan

 

[jayjay]

Sobers
Sachin
Warne
Imran
Lara
Ambrose
Mcgrath
Gavaskar
Kallis
Wasim

Pretty good list that!

 

[jayjay]

A list of 10 from 10 different Test playing nations:

England - L. Hutton
Australia - S. Warne
South Africa - J. Kallis
West Indies - G. Sobers
New Zealand - R. Hadlee
India - S. Tendulkar
Pakistan - Wasim Akram
Sri Lanka - M. Muralitharan
Zimbabwe - A. Flower
Bangladesh - Shakib Al Hasan

Akram over Khan?