The 'real' Steven Smith question...

[stephen]

If he does then Australia would have the top three batsmen, 1 The Don, 2 Smith, 3 Ponting.

Lol

Ponting has to work hard to make an AT Aus XI. He's certainly not ahead of Sobers or Viv or Tendulkar. G Chappell is probably better than him as well.

 

[stephen]

Oh and Waugh who averaged around 57 from 1993-2003 against some of the best attacks of all time, or Border who was one of the few batsmen who could take it to the Windies quartets.

Ponting was amazing in his pomp but it's hard to put him in the top 10 batsmen of all time, let alone #3.

 

[Spark]

Yeah Ponting's tail-end to his career, plus his struggles in India, means he's slipped well below his 2005 peak.

 

[stephen]

Really there's two possibilities with Smith.

1) He's an ATG batsman who is in a purple patch and will be remembered as one of the most dominant batsman ever.

2) He's legitimately the second best of all time.

How he goes over the next 5 years will determine how he's remembered.

 

[stephen]

Yeah Ponting's tail-end to his career, plus his struggles in India, means he's slipped well below his 2005 peak.

Yeah Pointing really needed a second patch of averaging ~55 in the tail of his career to be placed higher. But he fell away after the 06/07 Ashes and never climbed back to the same heights, unlike Tendulkar or Waugh.

 

[Slifer]

Anybody have the video of Steve Smith's 100 in RSA VS Steyn and Co

 

[Burgey]

Ponting was a better bat than Waugh and as good as Chappell.

 

[Gob]

Anybody have the video of Steve Smith's 100 in RSA VS Steyn and Co

Was on youtube not anymore. I'd really like to watch the cape town knock though that was entertaining as ****

 

[Gnske]

Yeah Ponting's tail-end to his career, plus his struggles in India, means he's slipped well below his 2005 peak.

That image of him getting absolutely demolished by Kallis is still traumatic

 

[Spikey]

Ponting's issue* was that his previously stellar conversion rate turned to **** after the SA series in 08/09 (37 tons and 43 fifties going into the 09 new years test, finished with 4 more tons and 19 more fifties). Smith's dominance has been built on a similar conversation rate and it stands to reason he could have a similar bad run, indeed he had that in the 12-18 months prior to his recall where I think he made 7 fifties and 0 tons. That's the only run like that though in his career so far though, even his early FC career he was going at a 1:1 ratio and he was not out/last man out in over half the fifites he didn't convert

*and he couldn't play Kallisball

 

[Spikey]

gnske dont look

 

[fredfertang]

Not seen that before - seriously x-rated stuff

Can't see that happening to Smith in my wildest dreams, not by any of our bowlers anyway

 

[Gnske]

Was there anyone who didn't know immediately it was all over for him after this?

At least Kallis got wounded right after this happened.

 

[Spark]

It's so silly how often we were 3/****-all in those two summers.

iirc benchmark valiantly held the line on Ponting even after that dismissal.

 

[Coronis]

Ponting's issue* was that his previously stellar conversion rate turned to **** after the SA series in 08/09 (37 tons and 43 fifties going into the 09 new years test, finished with 4 more tons and 19 more fifties). Smith's dominance has been built on a similar conversation rate and it stands to reason he could have a similar bad run, indeed he had that in the 12-18 months prior to his recall where I think he made 7 fifties and 0 tons. That's the only run like that though in his career so far though, even his early FC career he was going at a 1:1 ratio and he was not out/last man out in over half the fifites he didn't convert

*and he couldn't play Kallisball

**** does this mean Root might eventually start converting?

 

[Furball]

It's so silly how often we were 3/****-all in those two summers.

iirc benchmark valiantly held the line on Ponting even after that dismissal.

This surprises me, Murphy was well known for admitting when he was wrong.

 

[Prince EWS]

Was there anyone who didn't know immediately it was all over for him after this?

I believe I may have tried to argue at the time that it just proved Kallis was too good and in fact one of the best five bowlers in the world, as I do, but I'm not sure if that really counts.

 

[Furball]

Too much is made of averages, not enough of big series performances (and no, that's not the same thing as "average in a country")

People on here do this all the time with Anderson.

 

[Spark]

People on here do this all the time with Anderson.

I'm aware, I've argued against it myself.

 

[GotSpin]

Ponting knew better than anyone else that he was on the decline. He could have retired with fantastic figures and gone into legendary status but the bloke was anything but selfish.