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Viv Richards v Sunil Gavaskar

Who was greater?


  • Total voters
    60

Dissector

International Debutant
I think I just made a calculating error; for some reason I thought Viv had played 28 innings instead of 23. It would be nice if there was a consolidated statistics table for every test played in the Packer series over the two years. Would shed some extra light on many of the great players of that era.
 

The Sean

Cricketer Of The Year
I think I just made a calculating error; for some reason I thought Viv had played 28 innings instead of 23. It would be nice if there was a consolidated statistics table for every test played in the Packer series over the two years. Would shed some extra light on many of the great players of that era.
I made one a few years ago but stupidly didn't save it properly and lost it when I moved countries. Cricinfo had one (don't know if it still does) but theirs didn't include the Australia v World XI match in NZ which is generally counted among WSC stats by those who played.
 
Last edited:

Sanz

Hall of Fame Member
Richards also played a lot more than Greg both Tests and ODIs. Richards huge success in ODIs (which had global audience as opposed to Test matches during his playing days) put him well ahead of his peers.

IMO when fans rate him as a greatest player they saw it is also because he is the one they watched most and mainly i nODIs and he rarely let them down there. I am one of Richards biggest fans and I would be lying If I said I watched him play much in Test matches.
 

SJS

Hall of Fame Member
I made one a few years ago but stupidly didn't save it properly and lost it when I moved countries. Cricinfo had one (don't know if it still does) but theirs didn't include the Australia v World XI match in NZ which is generally counted among WSC stats by those who played.
You can find all of them HERE for 1977-78 season
 
Last edited:

asty80

School Boy/Girl Captain
I think this is an invalid comparison..Since they both were 'greats', it might come down to who played more attractively , and Sir Viv wins hands down.. The only ppl voting for Gavaskar would be test match connoisseurs who enjoy a grit rather than a biff.
 

bagapath

International Captain
I think this is an invalid comparison..Since they both were 'greats', it might come down to who played more attractively , and Sir Viv wins hands down.. The only ppl voting for Gavaskar would be test match connoisseurs who enjoy a grit rather than a biff.
asty. this is so close to what I have said so many times on this forum. real cricket fans ignore numbers beyond a point and stick to who was more attractive (or more gritty, depending on your own trip) while comparing players whose records are very similar.
 

SJS

Hall of Fame Member
Here are the batting averages for the super tests held in Australia and West Indies between 1977 and 1979.

Code:
[B]Player        	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	Ave	100	50	0[/B]

BA Richards	5	8	1	554	79.1	2	2	1
GS Chappell	14	26	1	1415	56.6	5	4	2
IVA Richards	14	25	2	1281	55.7	4	4	0
LG Rowe   	9	15	2	570	43.8	2	2	0
KC Wessels	4	8	1	291	41.6	1	0	0
DW Hookes	12	22	2	771	38.6	1	7	1
CH Lloyd	13	21	3	683	37.9	1	3	0
CG Greenidge	13	23	2	754	35.9	1	4	1
IM Chappell	14	27	2	893	35.7	1	5	1
RC Fredericks	10	18	0	621	34.5	0	4	0
Majid Khan	2	3	0	101	33.7	0	1	0
Zaheer Abbas	4	7	0	214	30.6	0	1	0
MJ Procter	4	7	1	182	30.3	0	2	0
CEB Rice	3	5	0	151	30.2	0	1	0
Javed Miandad	2	3	0	89	29.7	0	1	0
DL Murray	10	15	2	377	29.0	0	2	1
CL King     	8	12	0	316	26.3	1	0	0
Asif Iqbal	5	8	0	209	26.1	1	0	0
RS Langer	2	4	0	104	26.0	0	0	0
RB McCosker	6	12	0	304	25.3	1	1	3
BM Laird	13	26	1	630	25.2	3	1	2
MF Kent    	10	20	0	428	21.4	0	2	4
Imran Khan	5	8	2	127	21.2	0	0	0
RW Marsh	15	28	1	531	19.7	1	1	2
IC Davis	5	10	0	161	16.1	0	1	2
APE Knott	6	9	2	111	15.9	0	0	1
AW Greig	4	6	0	71	11.8	0	0	2
KD Walters	1	2	0	21	10.5	0	0	0
DL Haynes	4	7	0	70	10.0	0	0	0
IR Redpath	2	3	0	16	5.3	0	0	0
DL Amiss	1	2	0	6	3.0	0	0	1
The two Richards and the younger Chappell dominated.
 
Last edited:

The Sean

Cricketer Of The Year
Here are the batting averages for the super tests held in Australia and West Indies between 1977 and 1979.

Code:
[B]Player   	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	100	50	0[/B]

BA Richards	5	8	1	554	207	79.1	2	2	1
GS Chappell	14	26	1	1415	321	56.6	5	4	2
IVA Richards	14	25	2	1281	400	55.7	4	4	0
LG Rowe   	9	15	2	570	322	43.8	2	2	0
KC Wessels	4	8	1	291	126	41.6	1	0	0
DW Hookes	12	22	2	771	201	38.6	1	7	1
CH Lloyd	13	21	3	683	347	37.9	1	3	0
CG Greenidge	13	23	2	754	198	35.9	1	4	1
IM Chappell	14	27	2	893	354	35.7	1	5	1
RC Fredericks	10	18	0	621	163	34.5	0	4	0
Majid Khan	2	3	0	101	77	33.7	0	1	0
Zaheer Abbas	4	7	0	214	100	30.6	0	1	0
MJ Procter	4	7	1	182	72	30.3	0	2	0
CEB Rice	3	5	0	151	83	30.2	0	1	0
Javed Miandad	2	3	0	89	59	29.7	0	1	0
DL Murray	10	15	2	377	137	29.0	0	2	1
CL King     	8	12	0	316	188	26.3	1	0	0
Asif Iqbal	5	8	0	209	142	26.1	1	0	0
RS Langer	2	4	0	104	84	26.0	0	0	0
RB McCosker	6	12	0	304	220	25.3	1	1	3
BM Laird	13	26	1	630	392	25.2	3	1	2
MF Kent    	10	20	0	428	156	21.4	0	2	4
Imran Khan	5	8	2	127	43	21.2	0	0	0
RW Marsh	15	28	1	531	109	19.7	1	1	2
IC Davis	5	10	0	161	130	16.1	0	1	2
APE Knott	6	9	2	111	11	15.9	0	0	1
AW Greig	4	6	0	71	38	11.8	0	0	2
KD Walters	1	2	0	21	16	10.5	0	0	0
DL Haynes	4	7	0	70	26	10.0	0	0	0
IR Redpath	2	3	0	16	9	5.3	0	0	0
DL Amiss	1	2	0	6	6	3.0	0	0	1
The two Richards and the younger Chappell dominated.
Not sure what happened in that HS column - Barry's 207 is right but those triple and quadruple centuries never happened!

Chappell's record gets even better when the one-off match between Australia and World XI in NZ is counted - he got 50s in both innings, taking his record to 1578 runs at 58. Viv didn't play in that match.
 

SJS

Hall of Fame Member
Not sure what happened in that HS column - Barry's 207 is right but those triple and quadruple centuries never happened!

Chappell's record gets even better when the one-off match between Australia and World XI in NZ is counted - he got 50s in both innings, taking his record to 1578 runs at 58. Viv didn't play in that match.
Just forget that column. I added the stats for the different years and forgot to delete that column where all the highest scores of the different tables have got added up. :)

Here are the bowling figures. Again no surprises.

Code:
[B]Player   	Mat	Wkts	Ave	SR	5	10[/B]

DK Lillee	14	67	26.9	46.8	4	0
AME Roberts	13	50	24.1	50.1	1	0
RJ Bright	15	42	29.7	60.0	2	0
J Garner	7	35	24.8	48.7	1	0
MA Holding	9	35	23.1	43.7	1	0
CEH Croft	7	30	28.9	58.3	1	0
LS Pascoe	9	30	32.0	48.4	0	0
MHN Walker	7	28	25.4	40.9	2	0
Imran Khan	5	25	20.8	35.2	0	0
GJ Gilmour	7	23	34.1	66.5	0	0
DL Underwood	5	16	27.6	70.5	0	0
JR Thomson	5	16	29.8	49.9	1	0
AL Padmore	5	15	36.8	92.2	1	0
WW Daniel	7	15	32.1	50.7	0	0
MJ Procter	4	14	16.1	32.5	0	0
CL King     	8	13	45.1	81.7	0	0
RA Austin	4	9	32.7	82.2	0	0
AW Greig	4	7	41.4	58.6	0	0
CEB Rice	3	7	24.1	57.4	0	0
GS Chappell	14	6	26.0	49.0	1	0
IM Chappell	14	6	29.0	47.4	0	0
MF Malone	1	3	36.3	80.0	0	0
W Prior      	2	2	116.0	123.0	0	0
 

SJS

Hall of Fame Member
Not sure what happened in that HS column - Barry's 207 is right but those triple and quadruple centuries never happened!

Chappell's record gets even better when the one-off match between Australia and World XI in NZ is counted - he got 50s in both innings, taking his record to 1578 runs at 58. Viv didn't play in that match.
Thats this match.

I couldn't get the stats for that match in table form and it is too much hassle adding them up :)

It also give Lillee another 12 wickets for the match !!
 

SJS

Hall of Fame Member
Here you are. the bowling figures with the Test in NZL included. Just imagine adding another 79 wickets to Lillee's tally of Test wickets in just 15 more Tests against the finest batting the world had to offer.

Code:
[B]Player        	Mat	Wkts	Ave	SR	5	10[/B] 

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]DK Lillee	15	79	23.9	42.1	5	1[/COLOR][/B]
AME Roberts	13	50	24.1	50.1	1	0
RJ Bright	16	43	29.2	59.0	2	0
J Garner	7	35	24.8	48.7	1	0
MA Holding	9	35	23.1	43.7	1	0
MHN Walker	8	33	23.7	38.4	2	0
CEH Croft	7	30	28.9	58.3	0	0
LS Pascoe	9	30	32.0	48.4	1	0
Imran Khan	5	25	20.8	35.2	2	0
GJ Gilmour	8	24	33.6	65.8	0	0
AL Padmore	6	17	33.1	82.8	1	0
DL Underwood	5	16	27.6	70.5	1	0
JR Thomson	5	16	29.8	49.9	0	0
WW Daniel	7	15	32.1	50.7	0	0
CL King     	9	14	43.7	78.4	0	0
MJ Procter	4	14	16.1	32.5	0	0
CEB Rice	4	9	27.7	59.3	0	0
RA Austin	4	9	32.7	82.2	1	0
AW Greig	5	8	41.1	56.6	0	0
Hadlee      	1	7	8.4	15.4	1	0
GS Chappell	14	6	26.0	49.0	0	0
IM Chappell	14	6	29.0	47.4	1	0
Snow        	1	4	20.0	33.6	0	0
MF Malone	1	3	36.3	80.0	0	0
Julien	1	3	16	40.2	0	0
W Prior      	2	2	116.0	123.0	0	0
 
Last edited:

aussie

Hall of Fame Member
Thats this match.

I couldn't get the stats for that match in table form and it is too much hassle adding them up :)

It also give Lillee another 12 wickets for the match !!
Those World series matches in NZ are quite odd. Those most of been some serious bowler friendly pitches & conditions.
 

Dissector

International Debutant
Are your sure about those figures? For example Garner's figures of 10 wickets in 10 games at an average of 11 doesn't seem right.
 

Dissector

International Debutant
And yes that game in NZ seems to have been played on a real minefield of a wicket though that makes Greg Chappell's two fifties all the more impressive; no one else from either side managed a fifty.
 
Last edited:

Fusion

Global Moderator
Just forget that column. I added the stats for the different years and forgot to delete that column where all the highest scores of the different tables have got added up. :)

Here are the bowling figures. Again no surprises.

Code:
[B]Player   	Mat	Wkts	Ave	SR	5	10[/B]

DK Lillee	14	67	26.9	46.8	4	0
AME Roberts	13	50	24.1	50.1	1	0
RJ Bright	15	42	29.7	60.0	2	0
J Garner	7	35	24.8	48.7	1	0
MA Holding	9	35	23.1	43.7	1	0
CEH Croft	7	30	28.9	58.3	1	0
LS Pascoe	9	30	32.0	48.4	0	0
MHN Walker	7	28	25.4	40.9	2	0
Imran Khan	5	25	20.8	35.2	0	0
GJ Gilmour	7	23	34.1	66.5	0	0
DL Underwood	5	16	27.6	70.5	0	0
JR Thomson	5	16	29.8	49.9	1	0
AL Padmore	5	15	36.8	92.2	1	0
WW Daniel	7	15	32.1	50.7	0	0
MJ Procter	4	14	16.1	32.5	0	0
CL King     	8	13	45.1	81.7	0	0
RA Austin	4	9	32.7	82.2	0	0
AW Greig	4	7	41.4	58.6	0	0
CEB Rice	3	7	24.1	57.4	0	0
GS Chappell	14	6	26.0	49.0	1	0
IM Chappell	14	6	29.0	47.4	0	0
MF Malone	1	3	36.3	80.0	0	0
W Prior      	2	2	116.0	123.0	0	0
Though they played relatively fewer games, Imran's and Proctor's figures are impressive.
 

SJS

Hall of Fame Member
Are your sure about those figures? For example Garner's figures of 10 wickets in 10 games at an average of 11 doesn't seem right.
Okay here it is....

Code:
[B]Player        	Mat	Wkts	Ave	SR	5	10[/B] 

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]DK Lillee	15	79	23.9	42.1	5	1[/COLOR][/B]
AME Roberts	13	50	24.1	50.1	1	0
RJ Bright	16	43	29.2	59.0	2	0
J Garner	7	35	24.8	48.7	1	0
MA Holding	9	35	23.1	43.7	1	0
MHN Walker	8	33	23.7	38.4	2	0
CEH Croft	7	30	28.9	58.3	0	0
LS Pascoe	9	30	32.0	48.4	1	0
Imran Khan	5	25	20.8	35.2	2	0
GJ Gilmour	8	24	33.6	65.8	0	0
AL Padmore	6	17	33.1	82.8	1	0
DL Underwood	5	16	27.6	70.5	1	0
JR Thomson	5	16	29.8	49.9	0	0
WW Daniel	7	15	32.1	50.7	0	0
CL King     	9	14	43.7	78.4	0	0
MJ Procter	4	14	16.1	32.5	0	0
CEB Rice	4	9	27.7	59.3	0	0
RA Austin	4	9	32.7	82.2	1	0
AW Greig	5	8	41.1	56.6	0	0
Hadlee      	1	7	8.4	15.4	1	0
GS Chappell	14	6	26.0	49.0	0	0
IM Chappell	14	6	29.0	47.4	1	0
Snow        	1	4	20.0	33.6	0	0
MF Malone	1	3	36.3	80.0	0	0
Julien	1	3	16	40.2	0	0
W Prior      	2	2	116.0	123.0	0	0
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
I never knew Albert Padmore had such success in WSC. :laugh:

Also never knew Kepler Wessels played in it. He must've been, what, 19? 20? Quite some sign-up, an unknown 20-year-old from an isolated country.
 

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