Cricket - Best ever etc
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Smith is a bit of an outlier rating him against other Aussie batsman - I'm not sure whether he is a scrapper or a natural. He has way more fight in him than other naturals (Ponting, Gilchrist), but a lot more flair than some of the other scrappers (Waugh, Border etc).
Like ACT I don't enjoy watching him bat but how much of that is his technique and how much of it is that he produces runs for Australia with annoying regularity I'm not sure. He is special though.
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@rotated said in Modern batting averages:
@MN5 said in Modern batting averages:
yeah but you could say the same about Kallis, Border, S Waugh, Dravid......all undoubted greats but none particularly thrilling to watch.
Speak for yourself this innings from Dravid was one of the more thrilling I've seen in person.
I’m fairly sure during a Boxing Day test some years back I fell asleep when Dravid was on 3 not out and woke up about 45 minute later ( on of those classic old man on the couch sleeps, snoring loudly and dribble everywhere ) and his score was unchanged.
But.....teams need those ‘bat for your life’ guys and he along with others I mentioned was terrific.
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@MN5 said in Modern batting averages:
But.....teams need those ‘bat for your life’ guys and he along with others I mentioned was terrific.
To bat for my life on a good day I'd take Canterbury legend Rahul Dravid... on a bad one Chris Martin looks like a good option.
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@rotated said in Modern batting averages:
@MN5 said in Modern batting averages:
But.....teams need those ‘bat for your life’ guys and he along with others I mentioned was terrific.
To bat for my life on a good day I'd take Canterbury legend Rahul Dravid... on a bad one Chris Martin looks like a good option.
it's a really good question that goes past averages, and brings in those mentally tough folk who just refuse to be beaten.
SWaugh was up there for me. Remarkable player, and the mental strength to lead a team to a new place was fantastic
on the players I'd pay to watch bat, there's Tendulkar, Lara, RIchards (by reputation) and Sehwag. Arguably Chris Martin makes the list as well ... not there for a long time
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@nzzp said in Modern batting averages:
@rotated said in Modern batting averages:
@MN5 said in Modern batting averages:
But.....teams need those ‘bat for your life’ guys and he along with others I mentioned was terrific.
To bat for my life on a good day I'd take Canterbury legend Rahul Dravid... on a bad one Chris Martin looks like a good option.
it's a really good question that goes past averages, and brings in those mentally tough folk who just refuse to be beaten.
SWaugh was up there for me. Remarkable player, and the mental strength to lead a team to a new place was fantastic
on the players I'd pay to watch bat, there's Tendulkar, Lara, RIchards (by reputation) and Sehwag. Arguably Chris Martin makes the list as well ... not there for a long time
Even a guy like Mike Atherton and our very own pairing of John Wright and Bruce Edgar deserve a mention for this.
I remember reading about Jeff Thomson sledging Edgar and telling him ‘he’ll never die of a stroke’ after he continually blocked or left every delivery.
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@nzzp said in Modern batting averages:
@rotated said in Modern batting averages:
@MN5 said in Modern batting averages:
But.....teams need those ‘bat for your life’ guys and he along with others I mentioned was terrific.
To bat for my life on a good day I'd take Canterbury legend Rahul Dravid... on a bad one Chris Martin looks like a good option.
it's a really good question that goes past averages, and brings in those mentally tough folk who just refuse to be beaten.
SWaugh was up there for me. Remarkable player, and the mental strength to lead a team to a new place was fantastic
on the players I'd pay to watch bat, there's Tendulkar, Lara, RIchards (by reputation) and Sehwag. Arguably Chris Martin makes the list as well ... not there for a long time
Saw both these guys, in the flesh, make a hundred on McLean Park.
Tendulkar v Central Districts in a warmup one-day game before the 1994/95 Centenary Series and Richards in a three-day match in 1986/87 on the West Indies tour.
Tendulkar's was elegance, Richards' was force.
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@Number-10 said in Modern batting averages:
@nzzp said in Modern batting averages:
@rotated said in Modern batting averages:
@MN5 said in Modern batting averages:
But.....teams need those ‘bat for your life’ guys and he along with others I mentioned was terrific.
To bat for my life on a good day I'd take Canterbury legend Rahul Dravid... on a bad one Chris Martin looks like a good option.
it's a really good question that goes past averages, and brings in those mentally tough folk who just refuse to be beaten.
SWaugh was up there for me. Remarkable player, and the mental strength to lead a team to a new place was fantastic
on the players I'd pay to watch bat, there's Tendulkar, Lara, RIchards (by reputation) and Sehwag. Arguably Chris Martin makes the list as well ... not there for a long time
Saw both these guys, in the flesh, make a hundred on McLean Park.
Tendulkar v Central Districts in a warmup one-day game before the 1994/95 Centenary Series and Richards in a three-day match in 1986/87 on the West Indies tour.
Tendulkar's was elegance, Richards' was force.
I think Richards would easily average north of 60 in test cricket ( and very possibly ODI ) if he played today. As it was he was a massive hitter with far inferior bats. The game now would be tailor made for him.
He’s another whose legacy exceeds his figures. His record is obviously excellent but on paper others of his era like Gavaskar, G Chappell, Miandad and Border averaged the same or more.
But he’d be ahead of all of them in a world XI.
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@nzzp said in Modern batting averages:
@rotated said in Modern batting averages:
@MN5 said in Modern batting averages:
But.....teams need those ‘bat for your life’ guys and he along with others I mentioned was terrific.
To bat for my life on a good day I'd take Canterbury legend Rahul Dravid... on a bad one Chris Martin looks like a good option.
it's a really good question that goes past averages, and brings in those mentally tough folk who just refuse to be beaten.
SWaugh was up there for me. Remarkable player, and the mental strength to lead a team to a new place was fantastic
on the players I'd pay to watch bat, there's Tendulkar, Lara, RIchards (by reputation) and Sehwag. Arguably Chris Martin makes the list as well ... not there for a long time
I'd add Mark Waugh. I don't think there was a better late cutter of the ball. Imagine if he had the mental toughness of his twin!
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@antipodean said in Modern batting averages:
@nzzp said in Modern batting averages:
@rotated said in Modern batting averages:
@MN5 said in Modern batting averages:
But.....teams need those ‘bat for your life’ guys and he along with others I mentioned was terrific.
To bat for my life on a good day I'd take Canterbury legend Rahul Dravid... on a bad one Chris Martin looks like a good option.
it's a really good question that goes past averages, and brings in those mentally tough folk who just refuse to be beaten.
SWaugh was up there for me. Remarkable player, and the mental strength to lead a team to a new place was fantastic
on the players I'd pay to watch bat, there's Tendulkar, Lara, RIchards (by reputation) and Sehwag. Arguably Chris Martin makes the list as well ... not there for a long time
I'd add Mark Waugh. I don't think there was a better late cutter of the ball. Imagine if he had the mental toughness of his twin!
I fucken loved ‘junior’ or ‘Afghanistan’. Beautiful to watch.
I think my favourite quote about him is someone mentioning he had the same talent as Steve but after an hour batting he started thinking about horse racing.
He still had a bloody good test career though ( 8000 runs and 20 tons would be the best record in most families ) and was one of the best ODI batsmen Oz ever produced.
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@Godder Most aggressive batsman I've ever seen. Coupled with such natural talent he just took good bowling attacks apart at will.
Having said that I have always wondered how the great WI batsmen of the 80's would have fared against the four man pace attacks thir own side could consistently put out.
A quick google suggests for Richards at least not that great
Viv Richards: How did he perform against the West Indian quicks? - Cricket Country
Despite the greatness of contemporaries like Chappell, Gavaskar, and Miandad, Richards’ impact was the most.
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Mark Waugh off his pads through midwicket was a thing of absolute beauty.
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@barbarian said in Modern batting averages:
In terms of batsmen, I'd pick this as the 'batting lineup you'd travel to see' of the 2000s.
- Hayden
- Sehwag
- Ponting
- Lara
- Pietersen
- VVS Laxman
- Gilchrist
Honourable mentions to Mike Hussey, Andrew Flintoff, AB de V, Chris Gayle, BMac.
I think you just triggered about a million Indians with this post and who you’ve left off.
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@barbarian said in Modern batting averages:
@MN5 Yep. But I never thought Tendulkar was a beautiful batsman, and that was the only criteria I was using. Great batsman, sure, but in terms of watchability he's below Sehwag and VVS in my opinion.
Fair enough. Bradman said Tendulkar reminded him of himself. I guess there are guys who look better when they do it.
Great call on Pietersen. I’ve never seen someone so tall bat as elegantly as he did. I loved watching him play. Very good record too.
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@barbarian said in Modern batting averages:
In terms of batsmen, I'd pick this as the 'batting lineup you'd travel to see' of the 2000s.
- Hayden
- Sehwag
- Ponting
- Lara
- Pietersen
- VVS Laxman
- Gilchrist
Honourable mentions to Mike Hussey, Andrew Flintoff, AB de V, Chris Gayle, BMac.
2-7 I can live with, but not 1. I might be out on my own but I thought Hayden looked awkward. He’s on the bigger side for a test opener and to me he never looked comfortable out there.
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@ACT-Crusader said in Modern batting averages:
@barbarian said in Modern batting averages:
In terms of batsmen, I'd pick this as the 'batting lineup you'd travel to see' of the 2000s.
- Hayden
- Sehwag
- Ponting
- Lara
- Pietersen
- VVS Laxman
- Gilchrist
Honourable mentions to Mike Hussey, Andrew Flintoff, AB de V, Chris Gayle, BMac.
2-7 I can live with, but not 1. I might be out on my own but I thought Hayden looked awkward. He’s on the bigger side for a test opener and to me he never looked comfortable out there.
Very definition of the flat track bully too
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@mariner4life said in Modern batting averages:
@ACT-Crusader said in Modern batting averages:
@barbarian said in Modern batting averages:
In terms of batsmen, I'd pick this as the 'batting lineup you'd travel to see' of the 2000s.
- Hayden
- Sehwag
- Ponting
- Lara
- Pietersen
- VVS Laxman
- Gilchrist
Honourable mentions to Mike Hussey, Andrew Flintoff, AB de V, Chris Gayle, BMac.
2-7 I can live with, but not 1. I might be out on my own but I thought Hayden looked awkward. He’s on the bigger side for a test opener and to me he never looked comfortable out there.
Very definition of the flat track bully too
30 test tons against everyone ( except Bangladesh when they were truly shit so no padding stats there ), overall averaging 50 ( as an opener ) in over 100 tests ?
That's a lot of flat tracks.
