The Greats

[luckyeddie]

L. E. G. Ames -- England's premier wicket keeper throughout the 1930s and a superb batsman -- the only wicket keeper to score 100 first class centuries -- he was a leading figure in WW2 cricket in England where, as RAF Squadron Leader Ames, he organized and participated in hundreds of armed forces charity cricket matches.

I used to deliver newspapers for him.

 

[jamesicus]

Originally Posted by jamesicus
L. E. G. Ames -- England's premier wicket keeper throughout the 1930s and a superb batsman -- the only wicket keeper to score 100 first class centuries -- he was a leading figure in WW2 cricket in England where, as RAF Squadron Leader Ames, he organized and participated in hundreds of armed forces charity cricket matches.

I used to deliver newspapers for him.

Please tell more, luckyeddie.

 

[SJS]

"I will base my nominations on those players who, in my eyes and experience, have achieved greatness by elevating and enhancing the game in extraordinary ways -- not necessarily just on-field accomplishments -- although I do include some players (or collection of players) strictly because of the sheer enormity and excellence of their career performance."

My list to date:

D. G. Bradman
J. B. Hobbs
L.N. Constantine
G. A. Headley
E. D. C. Weekes
G. S. Sobers
B. C. Lara.
C. E. L. Ambrose
M. A. Holding
M. D. Marshall
F. M. M. Worrell
C. L. Walcott
I. V. A. Richards

More of my English nominations:

W. G. Grace -- the formidable doctor was mainly responsible for elevating cricket from a village green and local club game to one of national and international prominence.

Wally Hammond -- the backbone of English county and test cricket batting during the 1930s, he was a great stroke maker and producer of runs -- and a fine captain.

L. E. G. Ames -- England's premier wicket keeper throughout the 1930s and a superb batsman -- the only wicket keeper to score 100 first class centuries -- he was a leading figure in WW2 cricket in England where, as RAF Squadron Leader Ames, he organized and participated in hundreds of armed forces charity cricket matches.

Sydney F. Barnes -- regarded by many as one of the best bowlers of all time, his test bowling statistics are phenomenal -- he captured all ten wickets in first class matches more times than any other bowler -- on 7 occasions.

.... more English nominees to come later -- I am a little woozy from dental surgery today.

My updated list of nominees:

D. G. Bradman
J. B. Hobbs
L.N. Constantine
G. A. Headley
E. D. C. Weekes
G. S. Sobers
B. C. Lara.
C. E. L. Ambrose
M. A. Holding
M. D. Marshall
F. M. M. Worrell
C. L. Walcott
I. V. A. Richards
W. G. Grace
W. R. Hammond
L. E. G. Ames
S. F. Barnes

Hello James,

I am a bit intrigued that you are by and large 'enamoured' by older greats amongst batsmen and more recent ones amongst bowlers.

If we take the bowlers of the eighties an early ninetes to be the greatest bowlers,it should also imply that the batsmen who performed with distinction duing he same peiod against these bowlers must rank amonst the greatest too.

I am from the school of thought that firmly believes that standards in cricket rise and fall with bowling standards. It is the great bowlers who bring out the best amongst batsmen and lower standards in world cricket are invariably due to falling/fallen bowling standards.

Do you think you are a bit more influenced by those amongst the greats who played in the leagues in England in the middle of the last century because you got to see more of them?

I am talking non-English greats here.

 

[Beleg]

Lara's 400* - NO
Ganguly (people have nominated him based on his one day batting ability) - YES
Trueman - YES
Jones' 200 - YES
Neil Harvey - YES
Frank Worrell -YES

 

[Robertinho]

Lara's 400* - No
Ganguly - No
Trueman - Yes
Jones' 200 - N/A
Neil Harvey - N/A
Frank Worrell - Yes

 

[jamesicus]

..... Do you think you are a bit more influenced by those amongst the greats who played in the leagues in England in the middle of the last century because you got to see more of them? .....

Yes, I think I am.

 

[jamesicus]

"I will base my nominations on those players who, in my eyes and experience, have achieved greatness by elevating and enhancing the game in extraordinary ways -- not necessarily just on-field accomplishments -- although I do include some players (or collection of players) strictly because of the sheer enormity and excellence of their career performance."


English nominations -- continued.:

Harold Larwood -- his association with the infamous bodyline bowling affair against the Australians in 1932 has immortalized his name. However, IMO he was one of the greatest fast bowlers posessing great accuracy and stamina. I only saw him when he was past his prime as a League professional with Blackpool, but he still had phenomenal pace -- as fast as any bowler I have seen.

Hedley Verity -- one of the greatest left arm bowlers who may have achieved much greater fame but for years lost in WW2 -- as was the case with many other great players of his generation. Verity had the greatest variety of bowling deliveries of any bowler I ever saw with exceptional flight, spin and variability of speed. Captain Verity eschewed soft assignments as a sporting celebrity during WW2 and died in a prisoner of war camp from wounds suffered while leading his men of the Green Howard regiment (8th Army) during the battle for Sicily.

My updated list of nominees:

D. G. Bradman
J. B. Hobbs
L.N. Constantine
G. A. Headley
E. D. C. Weekes
G. S. Sobers
B. C. Lara.
C. E. L. Ambrose
M. A. Holding
M. D. Marshall
F. M. M. Worrell
C. L. Walcott
I. V. A. Richards
W. G. Grace
W. R. Hammond
L. E. G. Ames
S. F. Barnes
H. Larwood
H. Verity

 

[Pedro Delgado]

I'll second:

Grace
Hammond
Barnes
Larwood

 

[Pratters]

I do not have much time till tonight. I will tabulate the votes and put in the next set of people tonight or tomorrow morning. Till then keep the nominations coming and bear.

Cheers.

 

[SJS]

My Nominations :

Australia :

• Bradman
• Trumper
• Grimmett
• Orielly
• Lillee
• Lindwall
• Miller
• Tallon
• Oldfield

England :

• Hobbs
• Hammond
• Ranji
• Compton
• Grace
• Barnes
• Bedser
• Tate
• Larwood
• Laker
• Evans
• Ames

West Indies :

• Headley
• Sobers
• Weekes
• Worrell
• Walcott
• Viv Richards
• Andy Roberts
• Holding
• Marshall
• Garner

South Africa :

• Barry Richards
• Graeme Pollock
• Proctor
• Bruce Mitchell
• Tayfield
• Donald
• Nourse
• Bruce Mitchell
• Faulkner

Sub-continent :

• Merchant
• Gavaskar
• Kapil Dev
• Hazare
• Vishwanath
• Zaheer Abbas
• Imran Khan
• Hanif Mohammad
• Waqar
• Wasim

I have intentionally not included any currently active players.

 

[Slifer]

I think the WI are missing Ambrose and Walsh.

 

[archie mac]

My Nominations :

Australia :

• Bradman
• Trumper
• Grimmett
• Orielly
• Lillee
• Lindwall
• Miller
• Tallon
• Oldfield

England :

• Hobbs
• Hammond
• Ranji
• Compton
• Grace
• Barnes
• Bedser
• Tate
• Larwood
• Laker
• Evans
• Ames

West Indies :

• Headley
• Sobers
• Weekes
• Worrell
• Walcott
• Viv Richards
• Andy Roberts
• Holding
• Marshall
• Garner

South Africa :

• Barry Richards
• Graeme Pollock
• Proctor
• Bruce Mitchell
• Tayfield
• Donald
• Nourse
• Bruce Mitchell
• Faulkner

Sub-continent :

• Merchant
• Gavaskar
• Kapil Dev
• Hazare
• Vishwanath
• Zaheer Abbas
• Imran Khan
• Hanif Mohammad
• Waqar
• Wasim

I have intentionally not included any currently active players.

I was very pleased to see Faulkner on your list, but was surprised you found no place for Len Hutton?

 

[jamesicus]

"I will base my nominations on those players who, in my eyes and experience, have achieved greatness by elevating and enhancing the game in extraordinary ways -- not necessarily just on-field accomplishments -- although I do include some players (or collection of players) strictly because of the sheer enormity and excellence of their career performance."


And a trio of volatile, but extremely talented, English cricketers::

A batsman -- Geoffrey Boycott: a premier opener for England and Yorkshire.

A bowler -- Freddy Trueman: one of the all-time great quickies.

An all-rounder -- Ian Botham: many great accomplishments.

My updated list of nominees:

D. G. Bradman
J. B. Hobbs
L.N. Constantine
G. A. Headley
E. D. C. Weekes
G. S. Sobers
B. C. Lara.
C. E. L. Ambrose
M. A. Holding
M. D. Marshall
F. M. M. Worrell
C. L. Walcott
I. V. A. Richards
W. G. Grace
W. R. Hammond
L. E. G. Ames
S. F. Barnes
H. Larwood
H. Verity
G. Boycott
I. T. Botham
F. S. Trueman

 

[roseboy64]

"I will base my nominations on those players who, in my eyes and experience, have achieved greatness by elevating and enhancing the game in extraordinary ways -- not necessarily just on-field accomplishments -- although I do include some players (or collection of players) strictly because of the sheer enormity and excellence of their career performance."


English nominations -- continued.:

Harold Larwood -- his association with the infamous bodyline bowling affair against the Australians in 1932 has immortalized his name. However, IMO he was one of the greatest fast bowlers posessing great accuracy and stamina. I only saw him when he was past his prime as a League professional with Blackpool, but he still had phenomenal pace -- as fast as any bowler I have seen.

Hedley Verity -- one of the greatest left arm bowlers who may have achieved much greater fame but for years lost in WW2 -- as was the case with many other great players of his generation. Verity had the greatest variety of bowling deliveries of any bowler I ever saw with exceptional flight, spin and variability of speed. Captain Verity eschewed soft assignments as a sporting celebrity during WW2 and died in a prisoner of war camp from wounds suffered while leading his men of the Green Howard regiment (8th Army) during the battle for Sicily.

My updated list of nominees:

D. G. Bradman
J. B. Hobbs
L.N. Constantine
G. A. Headley
E. D. C. Weekes
G. S. Sobers
B. C. Lara.
C. E. L. Ambrose
M. A. Holding
M. D. Marshall
F. M. M. Worrell
C. L. Walcott
I. V. A. Richards
W. G. Grace
W. R. Hammond
L. E. G. Ames
S. F. Barnes
H. Larwood
H. Verity

I'll second or third:
J. B. Hobbs
G. A. Headley
C. E. L. Ambrose
M. A. Holding
W. G. Grace

 

[jamesicus]

"I will base my nominations on those players who, in my eyes and experience, have achieved greatness by elevating and enhancing the game in extraordinary ways -- not necessarily just on-field accomplishments -- although I do include some players (or collection of players) strictly because of the sheer enormity and excellence of their career performance."


India has produced some great all-rounders over the years and two of the greatest to grace the world scene in my opinion were Lala Amarnath and Vinoo (A. M.) Mankad. Amarnath was a cricketer of consummate grace and style and the pre-eminent leader of Indian cricket for many years. Vinoo Mankad is considered by many to be the greatest of all Indian all-round cricketers.

Vijay Hazare and Sachin Tendulkar are two of the best batsmen I have seen. Hazare was actually also a superlative all-rounder -- a fine fast/medium bowler and spectacular fielder. But it was his batting that secured his reputation -- his stroke play was beautiful to behold. Tendulkar is surely one of the world's great batsmen, possessed of a masterful array of strokes and superb footwork..

My updated list of nominees:

D. G. Bradman
J. B. Hobbs
L.N. Constantine
G. A. Headley
E. D. C. Weekes
G. S. Sobers
B. C. Lara.
C. E. L. Ambrose
M. A. Holding
M. D. Marshall
F. M. M. Worrell
C. L. Walcott
I. V. A. Richards
W. G. Grace
W. R. Hammond
L. E. G. Ames
S. F. Barnes
H. Larwood
H. Verity
G. Boycott
I. T. Botham
F. S. Trueman
M. Amarnath
A. M. Mankad
V. S. Hazare
S. R. Tendulkar

 

[Blaze]

SJS - I assume you forgot Hadlee.

 

[Slats4ever]

My Nominations :

Australia :

• Bradman
• Trumper
• Grimmett
• Orielly
• Lillee
• Lindwall
• Miller
• Tallon
• Oldfield

England :

• Hobbs
• Hammond
• Ranji
• Compton
• Grace
• Barnes
• Bedser
• Tate
• Larwood
• Laker
• Evans
• Ames

West Indies :

• Headley
• Sobers
• Weekes
• Worrell
• Walcott
• Viv Richards
• Andy Roberts
• Holding
• Marshall
• Garner

South Africa :

• Barry Richards
• Graeme Pollock
• Proctor
• Bruce Mitchell
• Tayfield
• Donald
• Nourse
• Bruce Mitchell
• Faulkner

Sub-continent :

• Merchant
• Gavaskar
• Kapil Dev
• Hazare
• Vishwanath
• Zaheer Abbas
• Imran Khan
• Hanif Mohammad
• Waqar
• Wasim

I have intentionally not included any currently active players.

Read the site mate. don't just come in here and post a long list. Half ur playesr have already been nominated

 

[jamesicus]

"I will base my nominations on those players who, in my eyes and experience, have achieved greatness by elevating and enhancing the game in extraordinary ways -- not necessarily just on-field accomplishments -- although I do include some players (or collection of players) strictly because of the sheer enormity and excellence of their career performance."


Imran Khan was certainly one of the greatest all-rounders to grace the game. His incredible skills were augmented by his leadership abilities and his influence as a teacher and political leader in his country.

Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram have secured their place in cricket history as one of the greatest Test match fast bowling tandems. Each was a master of consistency and bowling excellence in his own right..

My updated list of nominees:

D. G. Bradman
J. B. Hobbs
L.N. Constantine
G. A. Headley
E. D. C. Weekes
G. S. Sobers
B. C. Lara.
C. E. L. Ambrose
M. A. Holding
M. D. Marshall
F. M. M. Worrell
C. L. Walcott
I. V. A. Richards
W. G. Grace
W. R. Hammond
L. E. G. Ames
S. F. Barnes
H. Larwood
H. Verity
G. Boycott
I. T. Botham
F. S. Trueman
M. Amarnath
A. M. Mankad
V. S. Hazare
S. R. Tendulkar
Imran Khan
Waqar Younis
Wasim Akram

 

[wpdavid]

Nothing to do with the thread James, but I see you're dipping into uk.sport.cricket too. How long do you reckon you'll put up with the irrelevant nonsense being spoutewd by RH & others there?

 

[jamesicus]

Nothing to do with the thread James, but I see you're dipping into uk.sport.cricket too. How long do you reckon you'll put up with the irrelevant nonsense being spoutewd by RH & others there?

I do check out many different online Forums in order to keep up with what is going and see if I can learn anything new or make useful contributions to the community. If I am well received and determine the Forum is a wholesome environment, I become a regular participant -- if not, I move on.

I mostly only participate in substantive "on topic" threads. I have so many wide ranging interests and pursuits (Please check out my Home Page) that I don't have the time to do otherwise -- my calligraphic and bookbinding committments alone consume several hours each day.

I avoid controversial or venemous postings/interchanges -- life is far too short for acrimony and mean spiritedness -- the nature of online Forums means that you seldom win an argument anyway -- now that I am older and wiser I just let things go.