Over-rated things in cricket

[Furball]

What was that statistic of WG's where he scored more than half the total number if centuries in an FC season? Was something ridiculous. 1878 was the year unless I'm mistaken

IIRC it's to do with First Class centuries. When he'd hit 50 of them, nobody else had scored more than 10 or something.

There was another season where he scored 800 and something runs in the space of 8 days in May, nobody else scored over 1,000 for the entire season or something like that.

fertang knows these stats, he'll confirm.

 

[Agent Nationaux]

WG, like almost everyone who has made a living from playing cricket, had a tendency to try it on - if he's overrated on that score then so is everyone else - for another example by all accounts it was all but impossible to get an LBW decision against the Don in Adelaide, and Cec Pepper saying as much put an end to his chance of a Test career, and it was even harder to get one against Javed Miandad in Pakistan, but I don't think you can really say either of them were overrated as a result

Quality stuff.

 

[fredfertang]

He was a doctor but it took him ages to qualify. When he did, he was very........laid back in his approach to his work! As a cricketer he was allegedly an amateur but was paid more than most professionals.

There weren't any pros who came remotely close to the good Doctor's income from the game - in particular he got paid huge amounts for the two trips he made to Australia, but he certainly knew how to live well, as evidenced by his waistline and the modest amount he had left when he turned his toes up

IIRC it's to do with First Class centuries. When he'd hit 50 of them, nobody else had scored more than 10 or something.

There was another season where he scored 800 and something runs in the space of 8 days in May, nobody else scored over 1,000 for the entire season or something like that.

fertang knows these stats, he'll confirm.

Yes I've trotted those out a couple of times before, and one or two more but I can't find the posts now - the search facility on CW is beyond me - I mentioned Harry Jupp in the posts I'm trying to find (he was the one who had 10 tons when WG got to 50) but searching for his name doesn't help me

 

[uvelocity]

here tangeh

WG scored his 50th first class century when he was 27 - in the time he got 50 everyone else managed 109 between them (Harry Jupp with 10 was "second") - has to be the greatest dominance of batting by one man ever - doesn't it?

 

[OverratedSanity]

Found this amazing post. Turns out the year was 1871

On reflection it is impossible to look past WG Grace in 1871.

In all first-class matches in 1871, a total of 17 centuries were scored and WG Grace scored 10 of them. Please consider for a moment about what a ridiculous statistic that is.

His run-scoring aggregate for the season was 2,739; the next best was 1,068. Grace also averaged virtually double what the next best batsman averaged.

Oh and Grace also took 79 wickets at 17, which is to say about 61 points lower than his batting average that season.

That is dominance-at-peak of a kind which can never have been seen - in any sport - before or since.

We can't help regarding Grace as a comically fat old man with an enormous stomach and a silly beard, but that's really just an accident of the history of photography: just about all the pictures we see of him are from the arse end of a ridiculously long career, 3 decades or more after his 1871 annus mirabilis. But in his un-photographed youth he was quite the athlete (famously winning the national 440 yards hurdles title in 1866, which is virtually impossible to imagine given his portly appearance in the photographs taken in his autumn years). I can't help thinking that if there were more photos of the great man in his youth, we'd tend to take him more seriously as what he quite possibly was, namely the greatest player in the history of the game.

But whether or not he eclipses Bradman or (hah!) Tendulkar as the greatest player ever when judged over an entire career, as for "dominance at peak", well, you can forget about the competition. The Grace of 1871 remains head and shoulders above them all.

Jesus that really is amazing

 

[Second Spitter]

He was a doctor but it took him ages to qualify. When he did, he was very........laid back in his approach to his work! As a cricketer he was allegedly an amateur but was paid more than most professionals.

A medical students expenses were very high in those days -- he needed to find other means to support himself when his father died.

the legend is (and I suspect the legend is quite true) he was quite the philanthropist as a doctor, treating poor patients for free, etc.

The reputation of WG Grace, his figures should be re-examined as he was such a cheat. He would be bowled and then put the bails back and say to the bowler, "The crowd has come to see me bat, not you bowl". Can you imagine the look on the faces of the likes of Glenn McGrath, Steve Waugh or Colin Croft if he'd done that to them.....!!!!!

The comment was directed at the umpire when given out LBW and was the genesis of Article 2.1.7 of the Code of Conduct (since popularised by David Warner).

 

[Furball]

1. South Africa's bowling attack.

c'd

 

[Watson33]

Ravi Bopara.

 

[Eds]

Not enforcing the follow on when 578 ahead on the first innings, then having a nine-down draw

http://tinyurl.com/krtx65l

Yeah, no idea why they batted second time around. Madness.

Hahaha, love the ninth wicket partnership for Rajshahi in the second dig. Looks like Delwar Hossain fancied the win.

 

[Riggins]

Hahaha, love the ninth wicket partnership for Rajshahi in the second dig. Looks like Delwar Hossain fancied the win.

"This is a great chance for me to get 20 or 30 not out"

 

[Ike]

Great discussion in this thread of W.G. Grace recently. I'm eager to learn of his reputation and evaluation among cricket fans. One comment to add: not all pictures of him are from his later years. Not sure I can show the picture here, but I'll try.

Bah, the image loader won't work for me. Anyway, here's the url to it: File:W G Grace, Jr.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

I hope it's legal to list that (site says it's public domain, at least in E.U. and Australia.)

Anyway, it gives a date of 1896, but that is actually the date of the book it is from; the picture of Grace is obviously of him when he was a young man, the one who won the 440 yd hurdles title in 1866.

 

[hendrix]

That's not the original WG Grace, that's his son. From what I've read, it doesn't seem like it would have been all that nice growing up as the sone of WG.

 

[Ike]

Oops! thanks for the correction.

 

[watson]

Morne Morkel: After bouncing Michael Clarke's head yesterday, and leaving his left arm battered, he kept bowling too short and forgot to bowl the wide half-volley while Clarke was too stunned to remember his footwork. End result - Clarke 92 no. A real ATG bowler would have finished the batsman off.

 

[hendrix]

well yes, that's what Michael Holding said, and to be honest he wasn't talking out his arse for once.

 

[Jono]

Morne Morkel: After bouncing Michael Clarke's head yesterday, and leaving his left arm battered, he kept bowling too short and forgot to bowl the wide half-volley while Clarke was too stunned to remember his footwork. End result - Clarke 92 no. A real ATG bowler would have finished the batsman off.

Number of people calling Morne Morkel an ATG bowler = 0

So he's not overrated then.

 

[Furball]

Morne Morkel: After bouncing Michael Clarke's head yesterday, and leaving his left arm battered, he kept bowling too short and forgot to bowl the wide half-volley while Clarke was too stunned to remember his footwork. End result - Clarke 92 no. A real ATG bowler would have finished the batsman off.

Finally someone actually discusses the OP.

 

[Jono]

Got 9 Australian wickets in a session.

Got major test nation teams all out for < 50 three times.

People constantly wanting to call Philander crap.

Not sure they are overrated that much tbh.

 

[paulted]

Overrated things??? Try some of the old journalists whose pretentious articles were sent down like sermons from the mount and whose ego's were greater than Bradman's average. Camp old duffers!

 

[fredfertang]

Overrated things??? Try some of the old journalists whose pretentious articles were sent down like sermons from the mount and whose ego's were greater than Bradman's average. Camp old duffers!

Who do you have in mind?