Players Who You Predicted Would Be Great................

[Langeveldt]

Still early days, but I thought Mark Vermeulen would be the biz-ness...

 

[Neil Pickup]

I don't think the double fractured skull helped his progress.

 

[Smudge]

Is he? Any good? He was on TV a lot on Saturday mornings here in SA. He was a riot, the byplay between him, Neil Andrews & Haysman was hillarious.

He's pretty straight up and down on Trackside - although has the odd bit of repartee with the on-course presenters.

Ed,

Tipping anything for the Kelt Capital Stakes yet? Starcraft should be tough to get past. Very good field all the same.

 

[marc71178]

were you one of those people then Richard who analysed Hick back in the mid 80's then.

At the age of 3, he was indeed (in between Captaining England to successive 5-0 wins over the West Indies with a line-up including Mark Ramprakash)

 

[Eclipse]

Still early days, but I thought Mark Vermeulen would be the biz-ness...

He still can be but he needs proper coaching and to be given a fair go by selectors.

You can see he has talent I would say he has as much talent as say Michael Clarke for example but he needs to improve technicaly.

 

[steds]

At the age of 3, he was indeed

Child genius?!!?!?!??!

 

[deeps]

Alex Tudor, Shahid Afridi, Mohammed Wasim, Vinod Kambli, SS Das, Sairaj Bahutule, Tinu Yohannen, the late ben hollioke aand even adam

 

[Craig]

Craig McMillan, Michael Bevan (in Tests), Ian Ward anyone?

 

[Richard]

You've got a friend in me, as I thought he would be pretty good. I never thought he'd be great though.

Still, when he played that lovely cover drive to get off the mark with a boundary in Test cricket (his first ball I believe), he looked a class player.

Says something about judging a player on a single delivery, then, doesn't it!

 

[Richard]

were you one of those people then Richard who analysed Hick back in the mid 80's then.

Don't be ridiculous - but to say there was no-one who did is wrong.

I can tell you there was very little talk of Hick having problems vs fast bowling when he smashed the 88 WI's team for a massive hundred. Back in the mid to late 80's Hick was going to be Englands saviour and I cannot remember one journo/commentator or whoever saying otherwise...of course you will probably get those who use the benefit of hindsight to say that they were right all along.

fact of the matter was back then, Hick was the most dominant batsman to have played at county level for years...and most people would have thought he would improve with age..alas he didnt.

Most people said that, quite true - but my Dad, always a Hick fan, showed me an newspaper article in 1996 about Hick, written in 1990, predicting that he'd struggle in Test-cricket against consistent short-pitched bowling due to his flat-footedness. Nothing to do with hindsight.
I'll dig it out if you want.
Of course, you can always say I've written it myself.

 

[tooextracool]

Only to those who didn't take the time to analyse his technique and identify a palpable weakness with heavy-footed dominance and the planting of the back leg.
Those who actually noticed that upon seeing him play realised that it was always going to lead to problems with the short-ball at the Test level. And they weren't too surprised when he failed time and again against the better attacks.

and the fact that the best players can in fact work around their weaknesses means nothing? im assuming you were one of those people that believed that gary kirsten and steve waugh wouldnt succeed at the international level then?

 

[tooextracool]

a few players that i thought had potential but for whatever reasons didnt succeed were shane thompson,basit ali, aquib javed and marlon samuels(i still believe that he can be great).

 

[Swervy]

Don't be ridiculous - but to say there was no-one who did is wrong.

Most people said that, quite true - but my Dad, always a Hick fan, showed me an newspaper article in 1996 about Hick, written in 1990, predicting that he'd struggle in Test-cricket against consistent short-pitched bowling due to his flat-footedness. Nothing to do with hindsight.
I'll dig it out if you want.
Of course, you can always say I've written it myself.

feel free to post the article...would be interested to see it..who is it written by,what publication is it from???

 

[Legglancer]

Taibu !

 

[steds]

Taibu !

He still has time, though

 

[marc71178]

Most people said that, quite true - but my Dad, always a Hick fan, showed me an newspaper article in 1996 about Hick, written in 1990, predicting that he'd struggle in Test-cricket against consistent short-pitched bowling due to his flat-footedness. Nothing to do with hindsight.

So in 1996, when he'd already proven to be suspect to it, you read an article and decided he was suspect to it.

What great insight to the game you undoubtedly possess.

 

[Richard]

and the fact that the best players can in fact work around their weaknesses means nothing? im assuming you were one of those people that believed that gary kirsten and steve waugh wouldnt succeed at the international level then?

I haven't a clue - never saw either of them at the important times.
There are limitations that are easy to work around (eg Graeme Smith - plenty, some on this board, refuse to accept that as limited a player can be so brilliant).
There are weaknesses that are far less so (eg heavy-footedness).

 

[Richard]

So in 1996, when he'd already proven to be suspect to it, you read an article and decided he was suspect to it.

What great insight to the game you undoubtedly possess.

It doesn't matter when I read it, I wasn't claiming credit for anything.
What matters is that someone had noted that something could cause problems for someone who almost everyone else was talking-up without relent.

 

[tooextracool]

And they weren't too surprised when he failed time and again against the better attacks.

oh really?
yet he managed to average nearly 43 in the ashes in 93,60 against SA in 94, 41 against australia in 95, 50 against the WI in 95, and 49 against SA in 95-96.

 

[tooextracool]

I haven't a clue - never saw either of them at the important times.
There are limitations that are easy to work around (eg Graeme Smith - plenty, some on this board, refuse to accept that as limited a player can be so brilliant).
There are weaknesses that are far less so (eg heavy-footedness).

there have been many primary front foot players, viv richards for one had to plant his front food forward to be able to play his game. almost every weakness can be played around, including heavy footedness.