Was Sehwag the greatest player of spin in the hisory of the game ??

[Bolo]

Hammond worth a shout from players I haven't seen mentioned.

Hammond-sobers-lara-sehwag all seem reasonable answers to me.

 

[Starfighter]

You read but still bring up Vaas stats like he was a spin bowler

That was AMZ, and in any case you rubbished the whole attack in your statement then mentioned the spin bowling aspect in your second sentence afterwards. You don't want to be criticised? Write more clearly.

 

[OverratedSanity]

One great spinner is enough to make it a great spin attack in favourable conditions. He'll bowl basically half the overs.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

One great spinner is enough to make it a great spin attack in favourable conditions. He'll bowl basically half the overs.

Bangladesh team of the 00's can attest to this

 

[OverratedSanity]

Not been another player with such amazing footwork against spin but also such woeful footwork against the pacers.

 

[a massive zebra]

It is not but that’s for a different thread. Vaas being good in that series doesn’t make it a great spin bowling unit. 1 Lilee and 3 Ashwins don’t make a great pace bowling attack.

This is a different argument to your original post. Your original sentence "That SL attack consisted of 3 okaish to rubbish bowlers and 1 great spinner." is a negative judgement on the quality of the entire attack excluding Murali, not an analysis of their spin bowling capabilities. Chaminda Vaas was not an okaish to rubbish bowler, particularly in that series.

 

[a massive zebra]

You read but still bring up Vaas stats like he was a spin bowler

No. You said the SL attack excluding Murali was okaish to rubbish. The fact that Vaas was not a spinner bowler is irrelevant.

 

[Slifer]

That SL attack consisted of 3 okaish to rubbish bowlers and 1 great spinner. That was hardly a great spin bowling unit.

Bro so what. Lara took Warne and Macgill apart in 99 is that better?? !!

 

[ImpatientLime]

you see the mistake you've made here is expecting akilana to say something positive about somebody who isn't from south africa

 

[Slifer]

Oh wait he's south African?? Ok....

 

[weldone]

Has anyone ever split Bradman's average? One average versus pace and one versus seam? That would be interesting. It would be nice if a stats site could do a breakdown like that for every player.

Ball-by-ball data isn't available from Bradman's time - it's not even available for the first few decades of ODI cricket.

 

[Chrish]

Yes, Tendulkar for me.

Absolutely nothing between him and Lara though. I'd probably pick Lara if I wanted a more attacking option.

He was great against big names but went missing against part-timers like Giles.. I rate Lara higher at playing spin. From Indian team alone, other than Sehwag I thought guys like Sindhu and Azharuddin were better.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Sidhu played some brilliant attacking knocks against great spinners but that alone doesn't make you better than Sachin. Tendulkar could attack and tear apart the spinners as well as Sidhu, and could also work the ball into gaps at will and just survive with solid defence if needed. I think the fact that Sachin was so damn good against all types of bowling, he gets the short end of the stick when people talk about great batting against individual bowling disciplines. He was too compete for his own good it seems.

 

[nightprowler10]

Sidhu played some brilliant attacking knocks against great spinners but that alone doesn't make you better than Sachin. Tendulkar could attack and tear apart the spinners as well as Sidhu, and could also work the ball into gaps at will and just survive with solid defence if needed. I think the fact that Sachin was so damn good against all types of bowling, he gets the short end of the stick when people talk about great batting against individual bowling disciplines. He was too compete for his own good it seems.

Yeah I think it becomes kind of a meme when we start saying guys at Sidhu's level were great against spin or whatever else. That was their strongest suit so it becomes magnified to the point that a couple of decades later they magically become one of the best ever at that one thing. Same with Salim Malik and spin, Inzi with fast bowling, etc.

 

[Chrish]

Sidhu played some brilliant attacking knocks against great spinners but that alone doesn't make you better than Sachin. Tendulkar could attack and tear apart the spinners as well as Sidhu, and could also work the ball into gaps at will and just survive with solid defence if needed. I think the fact that Sachin was so damn good against all types of bowling, he gets the short end of the stick when people talk about great batting against individual bowling disciplines. He was too compete for his own good it seems.

It's a fair point. Although Indian team during that time produced several ATG-level spin players and it's really difficult to pick who was better other than Sehwag (for me). Even the guy like Gangualy whom I don't really rate as a test batsman, was a brilliant player of spin.

 

[ankitj]

Siddhu vs. spin myth has been quite persistent here. He played a few good knocks against Warne but they were not the ATG knocks like Tendulakar, Laxman, Sehwag and Dravid played. And I don't recall Siddhu doing very well against other good spinners like Murali and Saqlain. He doesn't have the resume to belong in this discussion.

 

[ankitj]

Sidhu played some brilliant attacking knocks against great spinners but that alone doesn't make you better than Sachin. Tendulkar could attack and tear apart the spinners as well as Sidhu, and could also work the ball into gaps at will and just survive with solid defence if needed. I think the fact that Sachin was so damn good against all types of bowling, he gets the short end of the stick when people talk about great batting against individual bowling disciplines. He was too compete for his own good it seems.

Agree with the bolded fully. Sehwag was significantly better against spin than pace. But Tendulkar was better than Sehwag against both.

You'll similarly see Tendulkar not being mentioned as best defensive and best attacking player because he was equally great at both.

 

[Cruxdude]

Was too young to judge how good Sidhu was against all spinners but I recall his assault on Warne at Chennai and there was this poster in the crowd saying Aussies keep your fielders in the marina (beach near the ground). Will be more useful that way. It was just awesome

 

[_00_deathscar]

Agree with the bolded fully. Sehwag was significantly better against spin than pace. But Tendulkar was better than Sehwag against both.

You'll similarly see Tendulkar not being mentioned as best defensive and best attacking player because he was equally great at both.

Yea agree with that.

Maybe it's a perception thing, but it does seem like Sachin did struggle more against part time spinners than he should have though. Can anyone confirm/debunk this myth?

 

[Migara]

Probably Bradman I guess but that's not really fair

Bradman never played O'Riely or Grimmett in tests.