Coming back to cricket.

Probably a topic that's been discussed so often..afterall who is the best batsman of all time. Mind u , I'm not going at just satistics, I'm looking at their contribution to the game, the dominance they had on the cricket field everytime they walked onto the field..and overall...the RARE ELEGANCE AND EXCEPTIONAL TALENT THAT THEY..AND ONLY THEY ..POSSESSED.

Rounding up top 5.

1. Donald Bradman ( Australia)  : Never seen him play live coz he retired in 1948. Has an average of 99.94 and 29 hundreds in 52 games. Hit a century in two overs ( 8 ball over) in  a local game. Scored 334 in a day and considered the best batsman by almost anyone who knows cricket.

2. Viv Richards ( Antigua, West Indies) : His swagger to the crease and the now famous chewing gum that he chew all the time and the look around him to see where the fielders are placed sent shivers down the spine toeven the  best of bowlers. Never wore a helmet, never got hit on the head. Probably the MOST ATTACKING batsman ever to have played the game. Scored century of 56 balls in test cricket. They say Ian Botham (England allrounder ) didn't dare bowl at him on that day. For an attacking batsman as such, average of 50 something in tests and high 40's in one dayers.

3. Brian Charles Lara ( west Indies) : My favourite..by far. Probably there was never ever and there will be never ever other like him in terms of elegance, masterful artistry and extremely eye pleasing strokes all over the park. I can write a book on him. The day he retired I lost interest in cricket. The most famous being the way he mauled Muralitharan in Srilanka where his team lost 3-0. Hit 45 ball century in one dayers but 501 not out against Warwickshire, 375 and 400 not out against England. But the best of all is 277 against Australia in Sydney as well as 153 not out against the same opposition in which West Indies won by one wicket.

4. Sachin Tendulkar ( India) : If u love cricket, and just the sports u would realize how blessed u were to see both Brian Lara and Sachin to play at the same time. Never before the game has seen a more complete player than Sachin. At his peak he was phenomenal. He ruled 1990s. I rate him slightly behind Lara just because Lara is little bit more attacking and he never changed his style. Lara plays with a finesse that looks totally out of the world. But Sachin tendulkar is the perfect role model for any budding cricketer..both on and off the field. His twin centuries in Sharjah against Australia and his attack on Shane Warne are probably the best phase of his career. Warne considers him to be the best he has ever bowled to and admitted to having nightmares of sachin coming down the track and hitting him for a six. Bradman considered Sachin to be the one who reminded him of his own glory days.

5.Inzamam ul Haq ( Pakistan) : He has won games for his country many more times single handedly than any player I can remember, even the great Steve Waugh. He has to be the most underrated batsmen ever but even Imran Khan rated him the best player of fast bowling at the time. Against the spinners he could butcher them at will. His 136 not out against Bangladesh where Pak barely won by 1 wicket is an all time classic for me. There are numerous occasions where he won the ganes for his country from the brink of defeat. Besides that he has to be the most talented batsman Pakistan has ever produced. Both subtle and attacking. Both copy book classic shots and butchering attacks. He was at his best when the team had no chance to win. After he is gone, the good days of Pakistan cricket seems to have gone.

I can write a book on these people if time permits. Have ur say. If u want. It will be most welcome.

Thanks.

prabhat...

i have question for u...how do you rate a batsman...u dont even want to go with average..not even with centuries they score and most surprisingly u dont even considered those players who has won more games for the country to be the greatest...so whats your opinion on the greatest..u haven't seen bradman or viv richard play and yet put them on top two..talking about bowlers and batsman...i dont think they had quality bowlers like wasim waqar walsh around those time too...bradmans era was almost the new era of cricket....during vivs time windies was reigning the world..so obviously he had some confident on attacking like gilchrist had when aussies were reigning..that way gilchrist will pass out on vivs...agree with you on lara sachin and inzmam..and yeah talking about inzamam being underrated how about andy flower...isnt he the most talented batsman and also underated considering the fact that he had to play for the underdogs. why you rate ricky ponting as the best..after all he has all the quality that lara has..he is explosive and has always been explosive. what about yousuf youhana...and taking the fact for statistic..just look at the strike rate of lara and tendulkar...

and yes even all cricket pundits and people who knows cricket considers michael as one of the all time best in the business

To start with  Sehwag is the best Indian batsman every. I don't like Indian team but when I see Sehwag I feel awe and admiration.


Arko kura, we cannot select 5 best batsman of all time because we have pretty little kowledge of the past batsman. I feeel Sir Jack Hobbs should be there as well.

Jack hobbs could well be second best batsman of all time.  I was just going through his record and was really amazed by his feat. Many of his record even sir Bradman could not match, let alone Lara or Tendulkar.

He has scored 199 first class hundred. We have seen Sachin playing for last twenty years or so, still he only have 68 first class hundred. Lara I think have 63 first class hundred. This is simply incredible. Over
60,000 runs. At the current rate Sachin needs to play probably next 40 years to get so many runs. Just shows where he stands above everybody. Even great sir Bradman have 117 first class hundred. His test record is
also very impressive at an average of 56 considering he played in uncovered pitches. Nowadays it is easier to get 50+ average. Considering his time his current average could well be around 65-70.


Herbert Sutcliffe is always the forgotten man - 50+ tests with a 60.73 average ...... but yes even I will concede that Hobbs has stats that can never be broken .... unless someone makes their debut at 13 and retires at 49!


My ranking.....

1. Don Bradman
2. George Headley (the black bradman)
3. Jack Hobbs
4. Herbert Surcliffe
5. Brian lara/Virender Shewag/Sachin Tendulkar/Ricky ponting.......or any other modern day great.

Let me remind you guys again, 40 years there was only one form of cricket and was played in hardly 3/4 countries and against similar opponents. The kind of pitches and and weather they faced did not varied alot. In contrary, now the players needs to change their style, techniques and the approach of games every day against every team and against different format of games. A player is expected to change overnight from test match mode to 20/20 mode.

deshbhakta nepali , dont joke. Do you see wickets nowadays. So many runs are scored now easily, blowers are seem to toil hard. Run scoring is ridiculously easy nowadays. Every team has few players with average over 50. This thing was rare 20 years ago. You don't need to go back too long. Just see recent Sri Lanka Pakistan series. Both teams made over 600 runs in both the test. 3 double century in single test including one triple.  West Indies- England series was also same. England made 600 runs and west indies replied with 750. Again in next test both England westindies scored over 500 runs. India made 394 in one day match.....and NZ were well set to overhaul that total.  Just few years earlier south africa successfully chased 434 in one day matches.

Cricket is turning to batmans game mainly due to the kind of modern wicket. Even once the Fast Bowlers paradise of Perth- Western Australia is turning out to be slow and low. Barbados once fastest wicket in the world turned out to be a farce with ordinary batsman scoring hundreds.

Secondly , the conditions didnt varied 40 years ago?  Those players used to play in uncovered pitches. Uncovered pitches assist bowlers alot. And by then there were no protective equipments and gear that the batsman enjoy now adays. Another thing is that the cricket rule has been greatly modified now in favor of batsman.

Well to put things into perspective, i totally disagree with your statement Prabhat. Well there are different forms of cricket these days but back in the days there were ONE DAY & TEST cricket.
For both forms of these games one needs different tactical approach or skill set. Ofcourse i will put Don bradman on top of my Test cricketers list without a second thought. I didnt get to see
Bradman bat but everybody in the media or any former cricketer acknowledge this so i would defenitely second them.  You put Bradman and Viv number 1&2 , i wouldnt mind it
at all but dont  jump hop LARA ahead of Sachin. Sure Lara is and always will be one of the best if not the best not by any means better than Sachin, being an avid cricket fan and having
played the game myself i cant fathom LARA over Tendulkar. And i see you mentioning all the numbers that Lara put up against Muralitharan and Australia but i dont see you mentioning
tendulkars accomplishments in such manners. Well let me remind you of one such instance; 2003-2004(In Australia) - Australians setup the fielding positions in such a manner that they
wanted to get tendulkar out while have him take his best shot which is cover drive. Tendulkar already knew about this strategy of Australian fielders and bowlers so in this game he ended
up scoring 248 without hitting a single cover drive. Well i could go on and on and on. He played under incredible weight of expectations and didnt blink a second under any circumstances.
You have to put Sachin ahead of Lara because he is slightly tougher mentally. By the way when Don Bradman saw Sachin bat he told his wife to watch him carefully because it reminded him
of his batting style and the exact batting prowess he had. Later on Bradman mentioned all this in his biography and concluded that only Tendulkar could surpass him and Tendulkar is the only
player of the current generation to be included in Bradmans Fabulous Eleven.
And funniest thing you have Inzamum on number 5, are you kidding. Well he had the tools to be one of the best but dude never played with passion and interest and lacked conditioning.
While you put Inzamum number 5, did you forget the likes of Mark Waugh, Andy Flower(Most Underrated Batsman ever), Ricky Ponting(how can you forget him).
I am a big South African cricket fan but i give credit to where its due even though i dont like indian team.
So my top 5
1. Don Bradman( cant disrespect the Legend)
2. Viv Richards  (with him windies were on top)
3. Sachin Tendulkar (One man show for india through the 90's, if only india had the likes of Wasim Akram type bowler to team up with him during that time, sachin would have been even grander)
4. Lara       (One of the best Test cricketer world has and will ever see, has always played exceptionally well against South Africa and Australia)
5.Ricky Ponting  (Reminds me of Lara, but wont surpass lara)

"Do you see wickets nowadays.", no_quiero says. Yes I do. But I didn't see what wickets were like 40 years ago. I am only 29 now and started to watch cricket only since I was 9.

 

no_quiero here is more for you. Scores were made even 100 years ago. You needed batsman with guts to score runs not just body armour to protect themself.

Test no. 42

The Ashes - 1st Test Australia v England

1894/95 season

Played at Sydney Cricket Ground on 14,15,17,18,19,20 December 1894 (timeless match) Result England won by 10 runs

	Australia 1st innings			R	M	B	4s	6s	SR
		JJ Lyons	b Richardson	1	8		0	0
		GHS Trott	b Richardson	12	22		1	0
		G Giffen	c Ford b Brockwell	161	254		22	1
		J Darling	b Richardson	0	1	1	0	0	0.00
		FA Iredale	c Stoddart b Ford	81	146		12	0
		SE Gregory	c Peel b Stoddart	201	243		28	0
		JC Reedman	c Ford b Peel	17	31		1	1
		CE McLeod	b Richardson	15	23		0	0
		CTB Turner	c Gay b Peel	1	14		0	0
		JM Blackham	b Richardson	74	86		8	0
		E Jones	not out	11	10		2	0
		Extras	(b 8, lb 3, w 1)	12
		Total	(all out; 172.3 overs)	586	(3.39 runs per over)

Fall of wickets1-10 (Lyons), 2-21 (Trott), 3-21 (Darling), 4-192 (Iredale), 5-331 (Giffen), 6-379 (Reedman), 7-400 (McLeod), 8-409 (Turner), 9-563 (Gregory), 10-586 (Blackham)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	T Richardson	55.3	13	181	5	3.26
	R Peel	53	14	140	2	2.64
	J Briggs	25	4	96	0	3.84
	W Brockwell	22	7	78	1	3.54
	FGJ Ford	11	2	47	1	4.27
	AE Stoddart	3	0	31	1	10.33
	WH Lockwood	3	2	1	0	0.33

	England 1st innings			R	M	4s	6s
		AC MacLaren	c Reedman b Turner	4	12	0	0
		A Ward	c Iredale b Turner	75	166	10	0
		AE Stoddart	c Jones b Giffen	12	34	2	0
		JT Brown	run out	22	28	3	0
		W Brockwell	c Blackham b Jones	49	143	3	0
		R Peel	c Gregory b Giffen	4	8	1	0
		FGJ Ford	st Blackham b Giffen	30	43	2	1
		J Briggs	b Giffen	57	118	3	0
		WH Lockwood	c Giffen b Trott	18	40	3	0
		LH Gay	c Gregory b Reedman	33	71	3	0
		T Richardson	not out	0	2	0	0
		Extras	(b 17, lb 3, w 1)	21
		Total	(all out; 140.3 overs)	325	(2.31 runs per over)

Fall of wickets1-14 (MacLaren), 2-43 (Stoddart), 3-78 (Brown), 4-149 (Ward), 5-155 (Peel), 6-211 (Ford), 7-211 (Brockwell), 8-252 (Lockwood), 9-325 (Briggs), 10-325 (Gay)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	E Jones	19	7	44	1	2.31
	CTB Turner	44	16	89	2	2.02
	G Giffen	43	17	75	4	1.74
	GHS Trott	15	4	59	1	3.93
	CE McLeod	14	2	25	0	1.78
	JC Reedman	3.3	1	12	1	3.42
	JJ Lyons	2	2	0	0	0.00

	England 2nd innings (following on)			R	M	4s	6s
		AC MacLaren	b Giffen	20	53	0	0
		A Ward	b Giffen	117	224	11	0
		AE Stoddart	c Giffen b Turner	36	63	3	0
		JT Brown	c Jones b Giffen	53	130	3	0
		W Brockwell	b Jones	37	70	2	0
		R Peel	b Giffen	17	57	1	0
		FGJ Ford	c & b McLeod	48	76	4	0
		J Briggs	b McLeod	42	76	6	0
		WH Lockwood	b Trott	29	45	4	0
		LH Gay	b Trott	4	22	0	0
		T Richardson	not out	12	10	1	0
		Extras	(b 14, lb 8)	22
		Total	(all out; 181.4 overs)	437	(2.40 runs per over)

Fall of wickets1-44 (MacLaren), 2-115 (Stoddart), 3-217 (Ward), 4-245 (Brown), 5-290 (Brockwell), 6-296 (Peel), 7-385 (Ford), 8-398 (Briggs), 9-420 (Gay), 10-437 (Lockwood)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	E Jones	19	0	57	1	3.00
	CTB Turner	35	14	78	1	2.22
	G Giffen	75	25	164	4	2.18
	GHS Trott	12.4	2	22	2	1.73
	CE McLeod	30	6	67	2	2.23
	JC Reedman	6	1	12	0	2.00
	JJ Lyons	2	0	12	0	6.00
	FA Iredale	2	1	3	0	1.50

	Australia 2nd innings (target: 177 runs)			R	M	4s	6s
		JJ Lyons	b Richardson	25	17	2	0
		GHS Trott	c Gay b Peel	8	50	0	0
		G Giffen	lbw b Briggs	41	135	4	0
		J Darling	c Brockwell b Peel	53	80	5	1
		SE Gregory	c Gay b Peel	16	32	2	0
		FA Iredale	c & b Briggs	5	17	0	0
		JC Reedman	st Gay b Peel	4	8	0	0
		CE McLeod	not out	2	24	0	0
		CTB Turner	c Briggs b Peel	2	6	0	0
		E Jones	c MacLaren b Briggs	1	4	0	0
		JM Blackham	c & b Peel	2	11	0	0
		Extras	(b 2, lb 1, nb 4)	7
		Total	(all out; 68 overs)	166	(2.44 runs per over)

Fall of wickets1-26 (Lyons), 2-45 (Trott), 3-130 (Darling), 4-135 (Giffen), 5-147 (Iredale), 6-158 (Gregory), 7-159 (Reedman), 8-161 (Turner), 9-162 (Jones), 10-166 (Blackham)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	T Richardson	11	3	27	1	2.45
	R Peel	30	9	67	6	2.23
	WH Lockwood	16	3	40	0	2.50
	J Briggs	11	2	25	3	2.27

After seeing Sachin Tendulkars 163 the other day, it still is visible that he hasn't lost the "touch". Sure he doesn't go chasing leather early in his inning these days, but he sure can score those runs. Fast! And that is why he is my number 1 :) :)

i cant believe some people even rate kumar sangakkara, mike hussey and andrew symonds as the best..

Has there ever been another like Sehwag?

Cricket
is a non-contact sport, but watching Virender Sehwag bat is as visceral
an experience as watching Muhammad Ali dominate the ring in his prime

S Aga

December 3, 2009

Arguments about Muttiah Muralitharan's declining effectiveness can wait
for another time. This was a day instead to marvel at the magnificence
of a man who defies any sort of categorisation or pigeon-holing.
Cricket is a non-contact sport, but watching Virender Sehwag bat is as
visceral an experience as watching Muhammad Ali dominate the ring in
his prime. On Thursday afternoon, Sehwag toyed with the greatest
offspinner to play the game as though he were some glorified net
bowler. He might as well have been, as India overhauled Sri Lanka's
total of 393 in 67.5 overs. But for back spasms that restricted him to
a more mortal scoring-rate in the last half hour, Sehwag might have
become only the second batsman after Sir Donald Bradman to score 300
runs in a day.

Each monumental Sehwag innings has left a trail of destruction in its wake. At the MCG in 2003, it was Stuart MacGill's turn to look like a pie-thrower as he galloped to 195 in just five hours. In Multan, Shoaib Akhtar was reduced to feeble sledges. Sehwag's response was just to compare him to a beggar. In Chennai
against the best Australian side ever, he careered to 155 on a pitch
where few others had managed any sort of fluency. In front of the
imposing Galle Fort last year,
he dictated the course of a Test with an innings that combined absolute
control and appetite for destruction with admirable restraint.

Has there ever been another like him? Matthew Hayden could pillage
bowlers too, but his strike-rate looks pedestrian next to Sehwag's.
Adam Gilchrist scored marginally quicker but how often did he have to
face the new ball? Even the King, Sir Vivian Richards, never went after
bowlers with such menacing intent, day in, day out.

Traditionally, bowlers have been the game-breakers, setting up
victories with inspired spells that reduce sides from positions of
comfort to misery. Sehwag scores at such a clip that he can transform a
game in the same way. India batted only 79 overs on the second day. Yet
they already lead by 50. Even if they feel like batting right through
day three, the bowlers have all the time in the world to force a
result.

Thursday's tour de force brought to mind a
remarkable night in Kingston when Richards' hero, Smokin' Joe Frazier,
was knocked down five times in the space of two rounds by the
giant-fisted George Foreman. Boxing had never seen a puncher like
Foreman, just as cricket has never seen a destroyer like Sehwag.

In cricketing terms, the only apt comparison would be with Gordon Greenidge at Lord's
in 1984. On the final day of that Test, England thought they were in
with a more than decent chance of victory. Today, Sri Lanka must have
taken the new ball feeling fairly secure. On both occasions, the
illusions were rudely shattered. Greenidge cut and drove with awesome
power as 342 was reeled in from just 66.1 overs. His contribution was
214 from 241 balls. Quick by any standard, but nothing outrageous for
someone who is batting's answer to Usain Bolt.

And to think that India started the day with survival on their minds.
Sri Lanka's 393 looked decent enough on a pitch where the ball had
turned from the first session. Surely, Murali and Rangana Herath would
pose serious questions and be far more of a threat than they had been
in Ahmedabad and Kanpur. That was conventional wisdom. When Sehwag's
batting though, such logic is just bunkum.

At Multan just over five years ago, he pretty much ended the career of
one very special offspinner, Saqlain Mushtaq. Saqlain had gone into
that series speaking of a surprise ball, the teesra
[the third one]. After much discussion in the media box, it was decided
that it was the delivery that Sehwag kept whacking over midwicket for
fours and sixes.

Murali tried plenty of variations at the CCI, perhaps too many. One
moment summed up the uneven nature of the contest. Sehwag was on 248
when Murali pitched one on middle stump. The response was a reverse
paddle-sweep, a stroke that few could have imagined leave alone seen.
As the ball sped to the rope, past where conventional slip might have
stood, Murali just half-flinched and looked away.

Even as fatigue took over, the level of improvisation didn't drop.
Spotting a slower one from Angelo Mathews, Sehwag quickly decided that
a booming drive wasn't the answer. A deftly angled bat and the ball
raced away past the vacant first-slip position. For Kumar Sangakkara,
the man entrusted with the task of stopping a deluge with a teacup,
that was the quintessential dilemma. When remotely attacking fields
were set, Sehwag just shifted his feet and cleared the infield with an
ease that bordered on contempt. When the fielders then fanned out, he
was free to pick gaps at will.

Each time he went aerial, the crowd in the stands appeared to jump as
high. It wasn't just bedlam though. Time after time, people turned to
those standing next to them, looking bemused. Each expression said the
same thing: 'Did you see THAT?'

Murali Vijay and Rahul Dravid deserve immense praise for the manner in
which they managed the situation. When a man's in such prime form, you
need to give him as much of the strike as possible, while making sure
that you don't leave the entire run-making burden on his shoulders.
Vijay played a superb innings till his little brain fade, and the
manner in which he was prepared to take on even Murali said much about
his state of mind.

As for Dravid, is there a more calming sight in the game than him
taking guard? When not defending with the straightest of bats or
watching the carnage from the other end, he played some beautiful
strokes, especially in the cover-point region. No one's likely to
remember them though, blinded as they were by Sehwag's dazzle.

There were a couple of near escapes at the end, with a tired heave off
Murali flying to third man, and a thick outside edge off Tillakaratne
Dilshan evading both Jayawardenes, Prasanna and Mahela. Those were mere
dust motes on a pretty perfect picture though. By the close Sehwag had
struck 40 fours and seven sixes, and taken an astonishing 78 from the
70 balls that Murali bowled to him. Only Brian Lara, back in that
halycon series of 2001, treated him with such disdain. But at least
then Murali was picking up wickets by the bushel at the other end.

Sehwag's energy levels are remarkable for a man who's hardly the most
svelte figure in the game. This was his 12th knock in excess of 150,
and the way he paces himself is exceptional. On Thursday, he didn't
just have to contend with the sun beating down, but also with extreme
humidity. The Arabian Sea is just a six-hit away, but instead of losing
focus he only made sure that Sri Lanka lost theirs. "It's not fat,"
said a friend later. "It's batting muscle."

Sri Lanka were so demoralised by the end of the day that it was hard to
fathom a route back into the match. When Chanaka Welegedara went off
injured with Sehwag in sight of his double-century, the ball was thrown
to Nuwan Kulasekara. A cut, flick, glance and midwicket-thump later, he
looked ready to cry. As he walked back to his fielding position, he
looked every inch the man who'd been asked to take his mate's place in
solitary confinement.

Sehwag now has five of the 10 fastest
double-centuries in history, including three of the first four. This
though is a man utterly insouciant when it comes to such landmarks. He
could well go on to obliterate Lara's record tomorrow. He certainly has
a great chance to put even Bradman in the shade and score a third
triple. None of those possibilities is likely to make him lose sleep
though. For someone who has reduced batting to its most elemental, only
the next ball matters. If it's there to be hit, regardless of whether
he's on 299 or 399, he'll go for it. Which is precisely why it's such a
bloody privilege to watch him play. Those that passed up a chance to
come to Churchgate on Thursday would be best off reading the Mishima
guide to seppuku.

Courtesy; www.cricinfo.com

I just happened to log in to sajha probably after a year and was pleasantly surprised to see one of my posts from back in 2008 on cricket. I stopped checking this website completely because of whole lot of senseless racist remarks being going on and I dont think I am going to log back again either coz there is a lot in life to enjoy and care rather than fending off this nonsense stuff.

However, I used to be a big fan of cricket..in fact I was in my entire teen age and adult life until the end of 2008. I dont know what happened, but priority changed, taste changed and I just dont follow the game at all. I have lost the interest in the game of cricket completely. It doesnt matter the least whoever the heck is the best batsman ever.

No queiro, I remember you. You were fantastic. Deshbhakta, I dont think I know an ounce better than you in cricket. You are pretty knowledgeable and every body else is knowledgeable as well. Good luck guys. Good luck sajha. God bless.

 

I'm sure Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Gary Sobers and Sir Vivian Richards must have been extraordinary batsmen in their own rights and their record makes this pretty evident. However, I never had the honor of watching them bat. Of the batsmen that I have watched over the years, I rate the following five as the best of the bests:

I don't know about cricket. But who are the top 5 batters in Baseball?