I kinda agree Root is a better player of spin than Kohli, but imo not that significantly. Lyon still did well in India and a young Kohli did quite well in SL vs Herath. O'Keefe was actually quite a good spinner though, the only reason he played so less, probably even behind Lyon as well, was his alcoholism.
Root is not quite bad in Australia, it is not like he is averaging 20-25 there. He got 9 fifties in Australia and averages 35 in Australia. He has excellent record in tough conditions in India and South Africa. Additionally, excellent record in New Zealand and Sri Lanka too.
Yes, and that reason is more so there hardly has been many great English bats. The best after Root, KP and Cook both really averages where they should playing for most other teams. VK only played 4 matches in NZ, much too small of a sample size to form a consensus really. And nowhere is Root as good as Kohli in SA, and arguably even Australia.
Point 1 - okay but de Villiers still remains an all formats great due to his perception of a great T20 player. If I have to pick between de Villiers and Williamson in a T20I match, I will pick de Villiers and most others would also I believe.
I agree yeah. I feel that Root is closer to bats such as ABD and Kohli than he is to Smith in tests, and hence his place in the top tier while leaving out the others seems unjust. However his Post COVID peak cannot be ignored, in what has essentially been a bowling friendly era, and imo is what puts him above the likes of Kohli.
That's a good argument, but imo Virat's much superior record in Australia and South Africa, him having an ATG series in England (his weakness, something Root couldn't pull off in Australia) and his pre 2019 peak puts him slightly ahead. Definitely not in separate tiers though.
No, Root has series defining performance in South Africa, that hundred he got in Wanderers was a tough wicket. In Australia, Kohli is better. Remember the 2021 series at home vs India, Root got 750+ runs while second runs scorer was Rohit Sharma with 350+ runs. Root has several such performance at home which Kohli lacks.
South Africa Kohli is better bro. Not one tough wicket hundred, Kohli performed time and time again against Steyn, Rabada, Philander, Morkel and othe top tier bowlers in some of the hottest of pitches. Kohli is definitely much ahead in SA. And they are around equal in SL. Post Herath, Lankan bowling has been terrible. At home, Kohli also has some plenty good series.
You can tell he’s just looking at statsguru and hasnt actually watched these series.
Kohli is definitely an ATG in SA and is clear of Root. However, I disagree with them being almost equal in SL. Even without Herath, SL produce decent spinners for their home series on some absolute turners. Winning a series single handedly in SL while averaging 100+ cannot be written off. Kohli has a decent record in SL, and while the last time IND toured SL was quite a while back, several players batted better than Kohli on the tour. Herath only got Kohli out once. Yet Kohli managed only one good innings and was troubled by the other bowlers. In a hypothetical post Herath series in SL, I can't see Kohli replicating what Root did for ENG, especially with his post COVID slump in form.
That's fair. Root is ahead in SL.
Root's hundred was a quality one in South Africa in 2016 too. The series was on line, conditions were overcast. Remember Broad ran through SA batting which boosted Amla and ABD. But it was Root's hundred in 1st innings which really set up the game for England. They won that series in South Africa.
Possibly just forgotten or people thought he debuted in 99.
Lyon’s last two tours of India have been really good haven’t they? Averages less overall there than he does over his career
Also a bit of **** to his team mates by some reports so not as fondly remembered, and came into his prime as Aus stopped being number on when we had one of our rare blips across history before being restored to rightful ascendancy.
He does tbf, 2 8fers included. Maybe my memory is a bit biased against him because most of his contributions came in losing causes for Australia.
Probably more to do with the fact that Clarke was a bit of a HTB. A home vs away avg of 62 vs 39 doesn't paint him in the best picture, whilst playing on some of the more batting friendly pitches this century. Would definitely make the top 15 though.
