So in other words, we have to take Willis as a success on number of wickets, but you don't have to take McGrath or Lee because you're changing the rules.Richard said:Well, obviously (if you can) judge on how many of the wickets were earned through good deliveries. Surely that goes without saying?
Yet you slagged Waqar off for being uneconomical when he took his wickets at 23 last season...Richard said:But averages are far more important than number of wickets.
And nothing changes the basic fact that he did better overall in domestic First-Class cricket that in Test-matches. Whatever the season-by-season figures of the later part of his career, the fact is Bob Willis' domestic record, overall, is better than his Test record. In this instance, this is what counts.Swervy said:taken from wisden 1985
Bob Willis-An assessment by David Frith
'he was not always quite a universal favourite at Edgbaston.many warwickshire supporters were resentful because he seemed to be giving more for his country than his county'
'Willis took 285 Championship wickets for his county (Warwickshre) at an average of 25.51.Clearly, with 325 test wickets at 25.20 he takes his place in the Hall Of fame as an England bowler of immense stature,but with relatively scant county acheivement to go with it'
For warwickshire:
1979 11wickets at 36.45
1980 35wickets at 27.40
1981 13wickets at 28.53
1982 26wickets at 34.30
1983 21wickets at 37.38
1984 9wickets at 42.22
For england
season 1978/79 20wickets at 23.05
season 1979 10wickets at 29.80
season 1979/80 3wickets at 74.66
season 1980 14wickets at 29.07
season 1981 29wickets at 22.96
season 1981/82 15wickets at 30.06
season 1982 25wickets at 22.08
season 1982/83 18wickets at 27.00
season 1983 20wickets at 13.65
season 1983/84 14wickets at 25.14
season 1984 6wickets at 61.16
they kinda look like the figures of a man who maybe wasnt so successful in domestic cricket but very successful at test level..for those last few seasons at least...hence Warwickshire fans attitude towards him.
i dont think he meant it like that, but that was the kind of person he was..same with Gower, and really Botham,and probably a number of players....the rush one must get from playing test cricket seems to gee these players up
PS willis actually had a lower bowling average in tests than he did in championship cricket for warwickshire
what am i on about???ReallyCrazy said:What?? What the hell u on about?? You have to get through me first!
What has that to do with anything? Did any part of my post mention economy-rates? In any case I didn't slag him off, I simply said I was disappointed he hadn't taken the opportunity to improve his economy-rates, and had in fact made them worse.marc71178 said:So in other words, we have to take Willis as a success on number of wickets, but you don't have to take McGrath or Lee because you're changing the rules.
Yet you slagged Waqar off for being uneconomical when he took his wickets at 23 last season...
Rubbish...Willis probably at his peak a few mph slower and didnt swing the ball around like Lee does(but was more accurate)...but was a few mph faster than McGrath but maybe not so accurate.Richard said:However, given that our analysis does indicate that Willis was a multi-skilled bowler who could get batsmen out in many ways, it is safer to assume that the average tells an accurate story as it does with the like of Donald and Ambrose. With Lee and McGrath, we know otherwise.
So the average only tells us how good a player is if you decided beforehand that that player is indeed good, and in other cases it cannot be trusted?Richard said:However, given that our analysis does indicate that Willis was a multi-skilled bowler who could get batsmen out in many ways, it is safer to assume that the average tells an accurate story as it does with the like of Donald and Ambrose. With Lee and McGrath, we know otherwise.
McGrath and Gillespie certainly do on seaming wickets.Swervy said:Rubbish...Willis probably at his peak a few mph slower and didnt swing the ball around like Lee does(but was more accurate)...but was a few mph faster than McGrath but maybe not so accurate.
You cannot pick and choose which figures are more of a better indication of a bowlers skill levels.
I know that averages arent everything,but they do indicate how successful a bowler has been, and when it comes down to it that is the ONLY thing that matters. You are saying that Lee and McGrath, two leading players in the worlds most successful team (probably the most dominant team since the WI's of the late 70's/early 80's or possib. since the 48 Aussies) dont deserve the wickets they have taken. can I ask,who on the Australian team has deserved the wickets then??????
Strike the beforehand and you're getting there.marc71178 said:So the average only tells us how good a player is if you decided beforehand that that player is indeed good, and in other cases it cannot be trusted?
I never said they weren't thinking it - I said they weren't justified in thinking it. And I didn't guess, I looked at the facts and found it to be untrue.You appear to guess that Warwickshires supporters were unjustified in their thoughts about Willis not playing to his potential for his county (you werent even born when Willis was playing first class cricket, how on this planet do you know what people were thinking...you have dismissed that idea solely down to the fact that you probably havent read it in the last couple of months worth of Wisden Cricketer magazine)
I dismissed it because it obviously was. No-one makes the ball "fizz" as it goes down the wicket, even MacGill, and I highly doubt it's possible to spin it more than he does.you appear to guess that Laker was as good as Croft and Giles these days(an assumption which is quite frankly laughable, you dont have any evidence to back that up,you dismissed what i said about what old test cricketers said about his bowling as exaggeration)
No, I've guessed that the period prior to the one I've seen (almost all of 2000\01 onwards) is likely to be no different to that which I have. And in that which I have, I observe that McGrath hardly ever bowls wicket-taking deliveries on wickets that don't offer seam or uneven bounce.you appear to have guessed that a lot of McGraths wickets have been undeserved (although I seem to remember you saying you havent really seen that much of him playing anyway, so how do you make such a judgement)
No, I base my way of thinking on the statistics I have found. Sometimes I also use observations about the statistics, relative to their worth.You may well analyse but i would question your data interpretation skills , you choose the statistics that will apply in order to fit your way of thinking
So the average only tells us how good a player is if you decided that that player is indeed good, and in other cases it cannot be trusted?Richard said:Strike the beforehand and you're getting there.
What the facts that show that once he became an England regular his figures for Warwickshire were not as good as when he played for England?Richard said:I never said they weren't thinking it - I said they weren't justified in thinking it. And I didn't guess, I looked at the facts and found it to be untrue.
me neithetPrince EWS said:I dont see what Bob WIllis, Warwickshire, England and Graeme Hick have to do with Yuvraj Singh.........
um, a TAD bit biased! i agree he is EXTREMELY important 2 the team, and should NOT get dropped (ganguly should b the next batsman they drop), but 2 say better then hayden?Anyway, theres no way in the world Chopra should be dropped! Hes a great player. I rate him a better opener than Hayden.
and yet he made his test debut in the series just before? in the FINAL test of the seris b4 if i remember correctlyI dont even think its in the slectors minds at all. He didnt even make the test SQUAD against Australia.
So you're calling me biased towards Indian players despite the fact that I live in Australia. :rolleyes:deeps said:me neithet
um, a TAD bit biased! i agree he is EXTREMELY important 2 the team, and should NOT get dropped (ganguly should b the next batsman they drop), but 2 say better then hayden?
and yet he made his test debut in the series just before? in the FINAL test of the seris b4 if i remember correctly
i agree that yuvraj isn't needed in the test side but saying that Chopra is better than hayden??!!!!Prince EWS said:I dont see what Bob WIllis, Warwickshire, England and Graeme Hick have to do with Yuvraj Singh.........
Anyway, theres no way in the world Chopra should be dropped! Hes a great player. I rate him a better opener than Hayden.
And there is always the option of getting Dravid to keep in tests, and although I think its a bad idea, I was shocked no-one eve mentioned it.
But really, I dont think there is any need to put Yuvraj Singh in the test side for India. Their batting is just fine. I dont even think its in the slectors minds at all. He didnt even make the test SQUAD against Australia.