Prince Lara vs King Viv

[Xuhaib]

I am with Marc let them bat together for one full day reckon the forum will be full of jizz by the time the voting takes place.

 

[Xuhaib]

Didn't Lara score a century against WW in 1993 when Pak toured WI?

no.

Lara was troubled by the W's in tests mainly Waqar but totally killed them in odi's.

Waqar vs Lara is an underrated battle though I reckon the reason for it is not many of these forums have seen it live.

 

[salman85]

no.

Lara was troubled by the W's in tests mainly Waqar but totally killed them in odi's.

Waqar vs Lara is an underrated battle though I reckon the reason for it is not many of these forums have seen it live.

I still remember that yoker Waqar bowled to Lara.He was floored,quite literally.

The ODI thing is correct.5 of his 19 centuries were made against Pakistan,and one of Wasim or Waqar,or both,played in 4 of those century making games.

 

[bagapath]

what a sight it would be to watch them bat together in a test match, against akram and warne; i think one session of these four cricketers at their peaks would represent everything good about cricket.

 

[MrIncredible]

Im not really a fan of making comparisons between players of different eras, but Im going to bite here. For me Lara's record will always be tainted for what was a very moderate period between 96-2001. The other issue with Lara was that he never really scored a century against against Wasim and Waqar or against Donald and generally one thought that he struggled against the best of quicks.

Viv on the other hand was well known by everyone as the best of his generation. Perhaps you can argue the likes of Gavaskar, Border and Miandad in there as competition, but almost everybody that bowled to Viv as well as most experts who watch him play live have rather unanimously considered him as the best batsman of his generation. Its not really comparable with Lara tbh, Viv was just a tad greater.

Thats a very good point actually. Viv also nosed dived towards the end of his career but at

some point during his career he made runs against the best bowlers of his time. And by

making runs I mean he either scored a hundred and/or averaged 50+ in a series. Imran,

Qasim, Lillee, Hadlee, Chandra, Underwood, Willis, Botham, Qadir, Thommo, Snow etc

all at some point felt the weight of Viv's bat. Like u said, cant say the same about Lara vs

a few of his contemporary great fast bowlers.

 

[ankitj]

what a sight it would be to watch them bat together in a test match, against akram and warne; i think one session of these four cricketers at their peaks would represent everything good about cricket.

I think the two batted together (i.e. shared a partnership) in an ODI once. There was an article mentioning that on Cricinfo.

 

[salman85]

I think the two batted together (i.e. shared a partnership) in an ODI once. There was an article mentioning that on Cricinfo.

20 run partnership vs England,1991.

The only time they played together at international level.Test or ODI.

 

[smash84]

I think the two batted together (i.e. shared a partnership) in an ODI once. There was an article mentioning that on Cricinfo.

Wasim has bowled to both Lara and Viv. I wonder who Wasim rates higher???

Warne bowled only to Lara.

 

[shivfan]

There is a story about Viv and Lara during that tour of Pakistan and Viv's final series as captain, in England, and I've been trying to find written authentication about it, but without luck so far. Viv doesn't even refer to it in his autobiography. But, here goes....

Lara was made 12th man by Viv, and he didn't like it. In a fit of temper (surprise, surprise), Lara confronts Viv and demands to play, claiming he's a better batsman than the Master Blaster himself. Viv then benches him for the entire series, preferring to play Hooper and Lambert ahead of Lara....

 

[robelinda]

I'd heard that story too.....my memories are of Richie Richardson playing a big role in Lara's early life as a WI cricketer. Not sure if Lara worshipped Viv as much as other guys.

 

[smash84]

There is a story about Viv and Lara during that tour of Pakistan and Viv's final series as captain, in England, and I've been trying to find written authentication about it, but without luck so far. Viv doesn't even refer to it in his autobiography. But, here goes....

Lara was made 12th man by Viv, and he didn't like it. In a fit of temper (surprise, surprise), Lara confronts Viv and demands to play, claiming he's a better batsman than the Master Blaster himself. Viv then benches him for the entire series, preferring to play Hooper and Lambert ahead of Lara....

Lara had some cheek........I wonder what would Imran have done to him had he done the same to Imran????

 

[honestbharani]

I'd heard that story too.....my memories are of Richie Richardson playing a big role in Lara's early life as a WI cricketer. Not sure if Lara worshipped Viv as much as other guys.

I think Lara had issues with both Viv and Richie.. Possibly inter-island rivalry and that sort.. IIRC, he was the first realy "great" batsman from T & T in a number of years....

 

[robelinda]

I remember some rumour of Lara pissing off someone during the 1991 series in WI vs Australia, he was 12th man for a lot of matches from memory, and maybe Tony Cozier mentioned on air that there was media talk of discontent in the WI camp.

 

[salman85]

Lara had some cheek........I wonder what would Imran have done to him had he done the same to Imran????

Probably something along the same lines.

I remember hearing about a Waqar Younis incident.He was late for practice once,and Imran told him to run 50 rounds around the Gaddafi Stadium field.The moment Waqar got done,hoping for a little rest, Imran gave him the ball and told him to bowl as fast as he could,and id if he bowls slow,he'll have to run another 50 rounds.

Amir Sohail was facing,and Waqar bounced the daylight out of him

Don't know if it's an urban legend,but it certainly makes for an interesting read.

 

[smash84]

Probably something along the same lines.

I remember hearing about a Waqar Younis incident.He was late for practice once,and Imran told him to run 50 rounds around the Gaddafi Stadium field.The moment Waqar got done,hoping for a little rest, Imran gave him the ball and told him to bowl as fast as he could,and id if he bowls slow,he'll have to run another 50 rounds.

Amir Sohail was facing,and Waqar bounced the daylight out of him

Don't know if it's an urban legend,but it certainly makes for an interesting read.

I can imagine Imran doing that. I remember the ESPN Legends of cricket series and in it Sambit Bal was saying that Ramiz Raja told him that Imran was like a dictator in the dressing room and expected all orders to be obeyed promptly.

 

[honestbharani]

Lara had some cheek........I wonder what would Imran have done to him had he done the same to Imran????

There is this great story I read about Lara after the 95/96 trashing in Australia, saying "we got them back in the caribbean in 2 years time and I can promise you we won't be losing that series".. Boy, was he right?

 

[vcs]

There is this great story I read about Lara after the 95/96 trashing in Australia, saying "we got them back in the caribbean in 2 years time and I can promise you we won't be losing that series".. Boy, was he right?

It was a shame they couldn't regain the Frank Worrell Trophy though. Lara just couldn't get them over the line single-handedly.

 

[bagapath]

Probably something along the same lines.

I remember hearing about a Waqar Younis incident.He was late for practice once,and Imran told him to run 50 rounds around the Gaddafi Stadium field.The moment Waqar got done,hoping for a little rest, Imran gave him the ball and told him to bowl as fast as he could,and id if he bowls slow,he'll have to run another 50 rounds.

Amir Sohail was facing,and Waqar bounced the daylight out of him

Don't know if it's an urban legend,but it certainly makes for an interesting read.

i wish salman butt had taken money to spot fix when imran was captain of pakistan. king khan would have handed him the life ban he so richly deserves.

 

[bagapath]

20 run partnership vs England,1991.

The only time they played together at international level.Test or ODI.

yeah. i remember reading that article too. wish we knew lara would be an ATG at that point.

we have seen some all time greats bat together; ponting & gilchrist. sachin & sehwag. sachin & dravid. miandad & inzi. all these are as good as watching donald & pollock or ambrose & walsh bowl from each end.

above all of these combos, richards & lara is the best pair if you are looking for a batting equivalent of so many cracking bowling partnerships we have been fortunate to enjoy over the last three decades. like mcgrath & warne. wasim & waqar and garner & marshall. this could very well be the greatest pair to have batted together in an international game since hutton and hammond.

 

[Blaze 18]

Wasim has bowled to both Lara and Viv. I wonder who Wasim rates higher???

Warne bowled only to Lara.

I think he rates Viv Richards higher.