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.

By the way, if you see at Ricky Ponting record in test matches he will easily surpass Sachin by a long distanc if he plays similar number of test matches. 

However, even after playing for million years, I doubt Sachin or Ponting can break some of the records made by Brian lara. Thats where the difference lies.

No quiero,

I am a die hard Lara fan, but at the same time just keeping cricket in mind I wanna debate with u on few things.

Well I hope u agree that we were fortunate to see Lara and Sachin play at the same time. See how they regard each other. They consider other GREATS and themselves mortals.

Until 1990, the game had seen either attacking players like Viv ( who had such good hand eye coordination that few clitches in his technique, like a lot of cross batted shots never caused a problem for him..not before he was forced to retire just before 92 world cup) or very compact players like Sunil Gavaskar ( don't go for his 36 n.o. , see his record against West Indies of that time, he scored runs at will, never wore a helmet, and to me he was one of the finest opening batsman ever). He is very highly regarded by Andy Roberts, Marshall, Croft, and almost everyone.

Things changed when this kid Tendulkar came up. He was just so talented and brave. He was knocked down by a Waqar bouncer but still batted to make a fighting 50. Hit Qadir for many sixes and then came the hundred at Perth in 91-92, one of the finest hundreds u can ever see..if u truly understand cricket.

Lara started at 1,2, and sometimes 3..but his moment came in 94, when the world took notice of him for 375 and 501 n.o.

Then debate started who is better?

First of all it's not Lara's or Tendulkar's fault that there team was so weak and in fact WI was declining. In 90s India would go to ashes if Sachin got out. Same with Lara, after Hooper left Lara became almost one man army ( not discounting Chanderpaul and others.).

We r not talking about mere statistics here. We r talking about the skills they had, the influence they had on world cricket. Lara and Tendulkar captured imagination of cricket lovers in 90s like never before. Bevan may have higher ODI average, Ponting may make more 100s, but ask any cricket pundit, a cricketer, or anyone who follows cricket closely..these guys are ONCE IN A GENERATION CRICKETERS.

Sachin was more consistent. Lara more mercurial. But what Lara has achieved and the rate he would score runs were breathtaking. Tendulkar..if u have witnessed his game in 90s..would always appear if he was playing in totally different wicket than others. Sachin changed his style after 2003..he became more defensive..perhaps due to injury. But Lara never changed his style. Sachin more cautious, Lara more devastating. Sachin more technically compact, Lara more flamboyant and more elegant also.

To me watching Lara bat was one of the greatest pleasure I could get from sports. Mesmerizing to say the least.

Top 5 batsmen of my times.
1) Sachin Tendulkar
2) Ricky Ponting
3) Brian Lara
4) Sanath Jayasuriya
5) Andrew Symonds.

I haven't seen Don Bradman playing .......

Imran Khan was there, what can a coach do? Is a coach mad to be speaking in front of Imran?

Wasim Akram 'I have my doubts about Shoaib Malik' Five years since he quit the game, Wasim Akram is as sharp with a provocative opinion as his bowling used to be in his heyday Interview by Sidharth Monga July 11, 2008

Wasim Akram has a presence, and you react when you first see him. Bright-coloured shirts, designer glasses, the dense long hair - he retains every bit of flair that went with being perhaps the greatest left-arm fast bowler of them all. Not many former players manage to keep the charm they had as players: Viv Richards, for instance, has, and so has Wasim. When he was playing, it didn't matter how many wickets he had taken: every new wicket brought him a child-like joy. Talk to him about how he would adjust in today's batsman-dominated cricket and the eyes light up. He has learned how to bowl slow bouncers, no matter that he doesn't need to bowl them; he gets excited when he sees a young talent; and he is still a funny young man, as this conversation - where he ranges from the art of reverse swing to captaincy to cricket politics in the subcontinent - shows. 'You take a ball, rough it up on one side, and practise with it. It has got nothing to do with your wrist or your action. The ball will go with the shine. Simple as that, but you have to master it' © AFP Everybody wants to know how Wasim would have adjusted to Twenty20. I would have enjoyed Twenty20. A couple of things: it would have suited my batting style, and of course, it would have suited my bowling too. Because you need a lot of varieties in Twenty20. Only yorkers and slower balls won't do. Nowadays you can bowl the slower bouncer... How difficult is it to bowl the slower bouncer? It is quite difficult. You have to be very confident of yourself. You have to be accurate, otherwise you will probably get hit for six. You have to be brave. These pitches [Asia Cup] are not helping bowlers. How would you deal with them? We played on these pitches every time we played one-day cricket in Pakistan; I don't want to blame the wickets. We all played on these tracks only, and we managed. Considering the way the game is heavily loaded against the bowlers. Don't you think there should be some rule changes to make it more even? For 50-over cricket, the ICC has to sit down, the cricketing brains have to sit down, and do something about the over numbers 20 to 40 - find out what they can do for the bowlers. Any ideas you have in mind? For instance, should ball-tampering be made legal? I haven't sat down. I am not playing, so I am hardly bothered. Had I been playing I would have come up with some solution, I suppose, eventually. Why haven't you got into coaching, shared your knowledge? Coaching is a very different skill. You need patience, you need a lot of organisation. I don't have any. I can make a good consultant, I can fine-tune bowlers, give them mental toughness, talk about how to bowl under pressure, how to bowl with the old ball. But I can't make a good full-time coach. Who are the bowlers going around that excite you? Brett Lee, of course. He is the best bowler in the world right now. Ishant Sharma - but he has to learn quickly. He has been very average in the Asia Cup. His length has to change in one-day cricket. He is a wicket-taking bowler, he has to get the new ball. You can't have your third seamer bowling with the new ball. Indian bowlers bowl well in helpful conditions in England, Australia and South Africa, but they struggle in the subcontinent. Unlike Waqar Younis and You, who were actually better in the subcontinent than outside. What are they missing? The simple answer is: reverse swing. Either they don't practise with the old ball or they don't have confidence in it. It's not rocket science. You take a ball, rough it up on one side on concrete, put it in your bag, and practise with it every day. It has got nothing to do with your wrist or your action. The ball will go with the shine. Simple as that, but you have to master it. It's things that you find difficult as a bowler in matches that you have to practise more. Some people don't, they just think line and length and forget about other things. I think that is where they are lacking.     When the coaches come to India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, they have meetings for two hours. They should know that the attention span in our part of the world is 14 minutes. If you get into the 15th minute, they will forget what you told them in the first 14   You have said earlier that the most important thing about reverse swing is how you look after the ball. What are the secrets of looking after the ball? I am not giving that away so easily. Not in a freebie interview! Everyone in our team knew what we had to do. And we even had to change Saqlain Mushtaq's action. He used to rub the ball in a manner that used to soften the rough side. As a captain, I had to tell him, "Saqlain don't do that." In team meetings we used to go after him. That much detail? That much detail. Even if while throwing the ball from the outfield, if the rough side comes in touch with the grass, it will become soft. Sometimes bowlers used to stop the ball played back at them with their foot. If the boot spikes hit the rough side, it was Christmas. If it didn't, you shone the ball and moved on. We just took our time. It all depended on the wicket, the weather, the dryness of the outfield. If the wicket is dead and the square grassy, it's not going to happen. If one drop of sweat falls on it, the reverse swing won't happen. And now with this rule to change the ball after 34 overs, you have taken reverse swing out of the one-day equation. Once you have seen talent in a young fast bowler, how do you go about nurturing it? If I see an exceptionally good fast bowler, I would pick him right away. Batsmen probably need more time and experience to mature, but if bowlers have pace, swing, and they are physically and mentally strong, just back them and play them. I picked Shahid Nazir, Saqlain Mushtaq, I picked Shoaib Malik out of the blue in Sharjah 1997. I saw him play one game for PIA and I fought for him and he was on the touring team. Mohammad Aamer is being rated highly by experts in Pakistan. He is only 16: would you pick him pick right away? I would. Is he that good? He is quite talented. The 1992 World Cup final: 'Botham's a very good friend of mine now and he still says he didn't nick it' © Getty Images Waqar has spoken how half of his wickets were thanks to you. Can you elaborate on that and the partnership? We had a love-hate relationship when we were playing. We used to hate each other's guts at times. There was always competition on the field. If he was taking wickets, I wanted to take more. Not that he shouldn't take wickets, just that I should take more than him. In the end Pakistan benefited from that healthy competition. Were there ever times with the two of you when you felt a particular batsman was taking runs off you, and you'd tell the other to somehow get him out? It never happened with us. When we were at our peak, I don't think we ever faced such a situation. We could take on anyone and everyone. How do you fight the chucking problem? It's a difficult question made even more difficult. The rules have been mended or bended or whatever, for the sake of I don't know who. The thing is simple: if somebody chucks, he chucks; if somebody doesn't chuck, he doesn't chuck. There shouldn't be any 15-degree rule. It's just making things complicated. Do you think chucking actually gives a bowler an unfair advantage? It does, it definitely does. I have tried, when I was playing, to chuck, but I couldn't. It's difficult to chuck - it's an art. But it does give an unfair advantage. What do you think the essential qualities for a good Pakistan captain are? With any cricket team in the world, you pick the XI first, and then the captain. As simple as that. Selection in Pakistan is highly politicised. Things work differently here, don't they? Of course they do. Fourteen boys went to the Kitply Cup; they won the tournament, but two have been dropped. They didn't even play and are dropped. What they must be going through, I can only imagine. That's where Shoaib Malik has to be strong. As a leader and as a player he has to be positive. In the beginning I thought he had the skills; now I have my doubts. Against Zimbabwe he bowled ten overs in almost every match, against Bangladesh he bowled a little less. But in big matches he is not bowling. Do you think nobody notices? People do. Most of all, players notice how the leader is doing. You had a lot of difficult players to handle when you were captain. Man management is very important. You can't just become a captain and have a group of your own. That's the worst thing you can do as a captain. In cricket teams you have to be friendly with everyone. I had Aamer Sohail, Waqar Younis, Javed Miandad, Ramiz Raja, Saleem Malik, Ijaz Ahmed - they were all different characters, they were all difficult, but they were all match-winners. I learned to listen to them and back them up when they were not doing well. I knew as a captain that when they came back to form they would win me a match.     The thing is simple: if somebody chucks, he chucks; if somebody doesn't chuck, he doesn't chuck. There shouldn't be any 15-degree rule. It's just making things complicated   Shoaib Malik has to learn that. [Abdur] Rauf gets three wickets in one match, but doesn't get to play in the next. This is the captain's fault, not the selectors'. Now he says the XI is given by selectors, but I know that in Pakistan if you are a strong captain there is no way the selectors can do that to you. We have all been through this: me, Inzamam, Imran [Khan], Miandad, we all did that but we always had our XIs. Maybe in the 14-15 you can have a compromise... Who do you think has been Pakistan's best captain? Of course, Imran was the best ever. He led from the front, with the bat, with the ball. Under pressure he went in at No. 3 in the 1992 World Cup. No other captain from India or Pakistan could ever have done it. I couldn't have done such a brave thing, because I'd think: what if I failed? He was never scared. In the mid-nineties Pakistan had so much talent that they could have dominated world cricket like Australia have been doing. Were politics and infighting to blame? Politics is very much there. Infighting is less between the boys, but yes it is there. But if the cricket board is consistent, then we can talk. Today there is somebody running Pakistan, tomorrow there will be somebody else. With cricket boards, teams change, captains change, coaches change, team managements change. Everybody has to become a politician then. What were the unique problems you faced as a bowler-captain? A bowler-captain, in my book, is always a better captain. A keeper-captain, if he is exceptional, can be at par with a bowler-captain. Because you have to know the bowler's psyche. Some captains - I am not naming any - say that you have got a wicket with an inswinger; why don't you bowl a similar ball every time? If I could bowl every ball like that, then am I mad to not bowl it every ball? One bowler can bowl only a six-over spell, if you bowl him for seven, he is finished for the day. He has to bowl six only. Maybe get him just before lunch for two-three overs. You have to know your bowlers completely, and that a bowler-captain can do better. But if you are bowling a spell, isn't it difficult for you to think of field placings, strategy, etc, when actually you want to rest a bit between overs? You get used to that. It's just a habit. Initially you think, 'I have to think of my bowling, there is a match tomorrow, the team has to be selected, the coach has to be spoken to, players have to be spoken to, there's a team meeting, media has to be spoken to.' But you get used to it. 'I can fine-tune bowlers, but I don't have the patience to be a full-time coach' © Getty Images Who was the toughest batsman to bowl to, for you? Sunil Gavaskar. I only got him twice in one-day matches. I played four Tests against him - he never gave me his wicket. I remember bowling him reverse swing, round-the-wicket stuff, bouncers, in the Chennai Test of 1987, but he swayed away easily, seeing the ball into the keeper's gloves. And that was towards the end of his career. Martin Crowe. Sachin [Tendulkar] - I played against him for ten years, but it is very difficult to rate him in that period, when you are at your peak. No doubt he was a great batsman. Brain Lara. Another batsman I hated to bowl to was Mark Waugh. In ODIs, Adam Gilchrist, Sanath Jayasuriya, Aravinda De Silva. Which were your favourite wickets? Of course, Ian Botham in the 1992 World Cup final. He still doesn't admit he edged it. He is a very good friend of mine now, and he still says he didn't nick it. Allan Lamb in the same game was special too. Test matches, I don't remember many. There were so many. How did your run-up develop, and the whippy action? It was natural. Run-up I shortened in 1987 with the help of Imran. He helped me a lot. I had an angle too, but I thought I wasn't losing on pace, running in straight, so why run in from the side? Didn't coaches interfere with your approach? Imran Khan was there, what can a coach do? Is a coach mad to be speaking in front of Imran? Do you think there is a problem of over-coaching in today's cricket? It has become a bit too complicated. Bowling coach, batting coach, fielding coach... At this level you don't need a coach. How will you coach [Mohammad] Yousuf? You can't correct his back-lift. You can just give him confidence. We have to go by culture. When the coaches come to India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, they make sure they have meetings for two hours. They should know that the attention span in our part of the world is 14 minutes. If you get into the 15th minute, they will forget what you told them in the first 14. I went through this as a captain, and I realised that the shorter the meeting, and the more to the point it is, it stays in their minds for longer. Coaches now keep talking, players go to sleep. Doesn't matter how experienced or how alert, inside they are asleep.     Shoaib Malik has to learn. Rauf gets three wickets in one match, but doesn't get to play in the next. This is the captain's fault, not the selectors'   What was the lowest moment in your career? Quite a few. The match-fixing allegations, losing the World Cup final in 1999. Losing wasn't so bad, but when we came back to Pakistan, I got called by the National Accountability Bureau. They kept me in Islamabad and questioned me day in and day out. Before that the prime minister, the chief minister of Punjab, used to call me every day. Suddenly, after we lost they all disappeared. And people started saying the match was fixed. It's hilarious that people can still think that the World Cup final was fixed. That much pride - the money comes afterwards - you can't feel anywhere else. There is no comparison. I eventually learned that the only way to answer it was with performances. How long did it affect you mentally? For a long time. Had I not gone through that stage I would have probably got 500 wickets in Test cricket [he ended with 414]. General Tauqir Zia asked me to retire in 2000 or they would drop me. I have been through a lot. Cricket has been through a lot. How did you deal with it on the field? Well, when I was on the field I shut it out. Just go, perform, enjoy the game, back the boys, enjoy their company. If you look at the records, we were the most successful side Pakistan ever had.

 

Prabhat, I like your post comparing Lara and Sachin.  Both of these are great batsmen and will be on my top 5, but many who put  Sanjaya Maanjekar, Jack Kalis, Mark Waugh, Laxam on their to but no Sachin should really watch some of his mid 90’s innings and late 90’s innings when he punished Shane Warne.  Love him or hate him he is one the greatest Cricket World has ever seen. 

Don Bradman
Len Hutton
Walter Hammond
Tendulkar
Lara

Most entertaining cricketers:

Viv Richards

Afridi

Akram-woqar(when together)

Symonds

Jayasurya

Allrounders:

Imran Khan

kapil pazi

botham the bad man

kallis

sir Hadlee

sir garry sobers

pollock

and little bit Wasim Akram....cant forget his 257*

Batsmen:

bradman

sachin

ricky ponting

kallis

sobers

Bowlers:

murali

hadlee

Malcom Marshall

warne

Imran Khan

Mcgrath

 

most entertaining cricketers:

afridi

Viv richards

Jayasurya

Wasim-Waqar

Allrounders:

Imran khan

botham

Kallis

sobers

hadlee

kapil

pollock

a littli bit Wasim...cant forget his 257*

batsmen:

bradman

sachin

Viv richards

ponting

kallis

sobers

lara

Bowlers:

Murali

Hadlee

Mcgrath

Imran khan

warne

Malcom Marshall

Amrose

Donald

Waqar-Wasim

kumble

Captains:

Imran Khan

Mark Tailor

Ponting

Wasim Akram

Fleming

 

 

 

 

As far as 50 over one day matches are concerned my favorite is Michael Bevan. Yea he wasnt as explosive and didnt always make the front pages - but when he came he sticked around for a long - long time and always maintained an exceptional strike/run rate.
I liked his simple philosophy. Excluding exceptional cases there are 3 ways you can get out 1) bowled 2) caught 3) run. There is not much you can do about 1. However, if you dont hit the ball in the air as often and beat a horse running between wickets you pretty much eliminate 2 and 3.
I dont know if any team has ever had such a strong batsman come in at 5th-6th down.

Michael Bevan to me has to be THE MOST VALUABLE PLAYER in one dayers. True, he had limitations as far as skills and technique is concerned but he has won Australia games countless times from totally unwinning situations. I remember a game where Aus was chasing some 250 + score and Aus was 80 odd for 6 down against SA or NZ I don't remember..but he scored a century ( probably undefeated) and won the game for Aussies. He has done this so many times that u can say almost all his innings are the ones where he has won games for Australia from hopeless situations. I think it was in early 90s when he hit last ball for 4 to win against then strong West Indies bowling attack and that's when people took notice of him.

They say Hussey is next Bevan, I beg to differ coz Hussey is not facing Wasim Akram, Coutney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose and Allan Donald on those fast pitches and Muralitharan and Kumble on minefields as often as Bevan did. All these players were at their peak when he played. Murali and Kumble still play but conditions are far easier for batsmen nowadays than in 90s.

To me, Bevan was the best ODI player to have ever played the game in terms of winning matches on his own. Truly a superb player.

If ur life depended on one innings..u will turn to Steve Waugh in Tests and no one but Bevan in one dayers. Full stop!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But my thread was not about match winning abilities or averages..It's about the most skillful batsman, one who revolutionised the game and one who changed the game for ever. And there comes names like Lara, Tendulkar, Viv.

 

To Prabhat_K,

I guess we share similar views on cricket. You seem to have better understanding about the game. I cannot comment on players I've not seen, but hey if the world says Bradman and Richards were the best in their times, I have no argument.
As far as Lara and Tendulkar goes.... I love them both.I used to think Tendular was a step ahead of Lara, but then as time passed by, I saw both of them evolve into a much better player, more the responsibility better they performed. Both did not have luck with captaincy but were excellent players

While lara Stayed the same, charasmatic, agressive batsman, tendulkar ( probably with age) slowed down. Now when you compare the modern Tendulkar with modern Lara, you would think Lara is a Step ahead and makes you think Lara was always a step ahead.

The only Complain I have against Tendulkar is he aims for the hundreds, slows down as soon he reaches the 80s, 90s... while lara Hit a six to Regain his 375 Record... How Gutsy do you have to be.... Then he scores a boundary to reach is 400..... He never Played for records, I guess if he cared for Hundreds like Sachin There probably would not be much of a difference in hundreds.

The Tendulkar that I see is not the Tendulkar I know, He should have retired like lara did. I don't think I can watch him struggle to get runs, His 100s these days are far less entertaining thatn the 40s he used to score.

As a Kid as a teenager, both were my role models, I thank them for that.

Well somebody put the name of kallis as the most entertaining batsman and I couldnot stop laughing.

As far as Lara is concerned he is an entertainer. Even in his last speech in his last international match he asked the crowd " Did I entertain you?" and the answer was a resounding Yes.  I agree with Yellow Tendulkar has lagged behind and became less of a entertainer since he Gavaskared his batting style. 

Yellow you say about lara hitting six to join Haydens record. One shouldnot forget lara hitting 28 runs in the second last over of the day. Most of the batsman would have been happy defending and seeing off the day.

Imagine if Brian Lara was an Indian. Where would indian media would have put him. I am sure he would have been hyped above sir don bradman.

Even Kallis and Dravid scores runs. But very very great players dominates the bowling attack.

Coming back to Sachin and Lara..two of the modern batting greats.

Sachin of today is nowhere what he was in 90s, specially 94-98 season. He literally ruled the 90s when Lara was battling personal and mental problems from the unexpected success and fame. He was attacking and yet consistent. Bowlers in those days wouldn't like to bowl  at him. He would butcher any attack. I have seen those days, so I can tell. Post 2000, the only innings I think worth remebering is his assault against against Shaib Akhtar in particular in 2003 world cup against Pakistan. That was the innings only he could have played. I still remember how he shielded Sehwag against Wasim..coz Wasim was bowling so well that day.

The fact is that the world has seen him at his best, and they love him all over..in England, in Australia they love him as if he is a citizen over there. They want their home team to do well but deep inside they come to see another Sachinlike innings which doesn't happen these days.

I m sure it's the injury, that has forced him to cut down many of his shots. He is not as attacking as he used to be. He won't hit the fast bowlers over their head anymore, the booming off drives off the back foot are gone and he more than often plays those maneuvering kind of shots rather than his own free flowing shots. But..yet..Sachin playing like this is still..skillwise...far better than any contemporary batsman. Ask Ponting, ask Jayasuriya, ask Inzamam.

Lara..the greatest ever..never ever changed his game. His batsmanship was so amazingly attractive..as if u were glued to that high back lift and him jumping around the crease..those glorious off drives..those careless shots off the pads...and the disdainful shots dispatching any great spin bowler over there head..as if he was to say..GO FETCH 'EM.

LARA REMAINED THE SAME. WHEN BOTH WERE AT THEIR PEAK, BOTH WERE EQUALLY GREAT. SACHIN COULDN'T SUSTAIN. LARA DID. Again I m not talking about batting averages. I m talking about sustaining their natural game. I don't care much about batting averages. As l,ong it's around or over 50, u r good.

LARA to me is the most skillful batsman I have ever watched. There was no better entertainer than him. LARA TO BATTING WAS WHAT SHANE WARNE WAS TO SPIN BOWLING. THEY NOT ONLY SCORED RUNS, THEY WOULD BRING BUZZ TO THE FIELD..AN ANTICIPATION OF SOMETHING SPECIAL EVERYTIME THEY WOULD WALK ON THE CRICKET FIELD.

My interested in cricket waned comsiderably since Lara ( and Warne ) retired. I don't love the game as much..coz it's much poorer without players like Warne and Lara.

Sehwag decodes Mendis mystery

Jamie Alter in Galle

July 31, 2008

	The stand-out feature was the effortless manner in which Virender Sehwag handled Ajantha Mendis, who was virtually unplayable in Colombo © AFP

"He is talented, very talented, but has no brains," was Geoff Boycott's on-air verdict after Virender Sehwag's attempt to hook a ball from outside off stump found the fielder at deep square leg and triggered a first-innings collapse at the SSC.

Sehwag's response to a question regarding his approach after his maverick innings - a 15th Test century at a strike-rate of 104.91 - was deadpan. "How can I stop the way I've played?" he said. "Yes, there is pressure if wickets fall and you think 'What if I go for a shot and get out too?' But if that happens you're never going to score runs."

After two batting collapses in the first Test it was imperative that India got a solid start. Sehwag provided that by using a simple mantra: if the ball is there to be hit, hit it. Circumstances rarely affect Sehwag and he put the pedal to the metal. A whip off the pads past midwicket got him started, a wild sweep that was unsuccessfully referred didn't stall him, and when he charged Ajantha Mendis and swung him over cow corner for six, Sehwag was at full throttle.

The stand-out feature was the effortless manner in which Sehwag handled Mendis, who was virtually unplayable in Colombo. The key, in his own simple words, was that here Sehwag "picked him [Mendis] off the track, from where the ball pitched", something only he and and Sachin Tendulkar have managed to do in this series.

When Mendis tossed the ball up on middle and off, Sehwag smothered the spin, and when the bowler drifted on to middle, he went back and turned it fine. If it spun in sharply, Sehwag adjusted his back leg and brought his bat down quickly to kill the ball. Sehwag also picked the two-fingered googly and moved back to cut or punch through the off-side. He failed to beat cover with the drive once but replayed the shot two balls later with more power and placed it to perfection. Mendis' first four overs cost 29.

Sehwag accelerated and yet remained in control with Gautam Gambhir, fleet-footed against spin, in the passenger seat. There were cracks at one end of the pitch and Nuwan Kulasekera asked a few questions but Sehwag steered clear of them. He cut Muttiah Muralitharan's first ball, a doosra from around the stumps, to reach his half-century off 50 balls. His strike rate, like a speedometer, fluctuated from 60 to 98 and beyond. India's 100 came from 115 balls and Sehwag's contribution was 59.

Like Sri Lanka did at the SSC, he and Gambhir ran hard, hustling for the second, and constantly looking for scoring opportunities. Sehwag and Aakash Chopra, another Delhi team-mate, did this effectively during the majority of their 19 partnerships, notably in Australia in 2003-04. Some of today's singles were risky but the intent was obvious and it frustrated Sri Lanka.

In the over before lunch, Sehwag put his arm around Gambhir's shoulder and had a word. Gambhir reached his fifty off the next ball and a beaming Sehwag rushed to congratulate him. When Sehwag dabbed a single behind point to raise the 150 partnership, he punched gloves with Gambhir as they crossed. How many batsmen can power a side to 150 for 0 at lunch? The camaraderie was plain to see.

After a four-hour rain delay, Mendis tested Gambhir with his variation but at the other end Sehwag disdainfully smashed Vaas over cow corner off his second ball after the resumption. Two balls later he played a booming straight drive to reach his century, which he celebrated with a proud wave of the bat to the dressing room and an embrace from his partner. His 15th hundred took only 87 balls with 15 fours and two sixes but the message was deeper.

At the MCG, in 2003-04, India were 311 for 3 but collapsed for 366 after Sehwag was dismissed for 195 at the end of the first day. In Adelaide earlier this year Sehwag scored 151 out of India's 269 in the second innings. Today, Sehwag had driven India to a position of strength at 167 for 0 before four wickets fell in 20 balls for 11 runs. As he had done against England in Galle during the winter, Chaminda Vaas, rejuvenated after the rain delay, struck twice in an over. Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly were dismissed with the score on 178 and the morning's work had come undone.

"I didn't notice any change in my batting after the four-hour break in play," Sehwag said. "Every batsman has his own mindset with which he plays, but I just played my shots." Even as stumps approached, Sehwag relied on his base instinct. Mendis went around the stumps and Sehwag used his feet to smash him down the ground and hit two consecutive fours through cover.

Sehwag had fulfilled his responsibility of providing a sound start but the collapse meant that he had to hold the innings together. His unshakeable approach did not change. "I am not satisfied because there's plenty left in this game," was Sehwag's closing statement. "If I can convert this into a double-century or more tomorrow, get India above 400-500, apply pressure on Sri Lanka, then I will be satisfied."

Crushed in Colombo, India arrived in Galle needing to find a way to bounce back. Only a vivid imagination could have conceived of a fightback without it being led by Sehwag. Like the white breakers of the Indian Ocean, lashing across the rocks in the background of the Galle International Stadium, Sehwag has injected life into a one-sided series.

He has brains alright, and he's used them rather well.

Shewag is defnitely threat to Lara's 9 double and Bradman 12 Double.

What about Jaques Kallis. He is better cricketer then Lara , Sachin or Shewag overall and better value. for the team.

He has made 9681 runs as a batsman at an staggering average of 56.28. But like Sachin his average is well supported by not outs. But one should not forget his bowling.

With 236 Wickets in test matches. He has surpassed Sir Gary Sobers as the worlds premiere all rounder ( in terms of record).

no need to give five.

 

i will just give you one.

 

MICHAEL BEVAN.

 

AUssies rule

devallica...are you saying Michael Bevan is the best batsman ever in the world???

That is correct. all other batsmen that you guys are talking about are more about themself, he has won more game in the worst situation. look at his one day average. he knows how to play the game and he put his team ahead than himself.

 

sorry but its true.

 

You dont have to hit hundreds to be the best. You have to win the game and he does that with his batting abilities finds the gap get s the run and if you look closely the other batsmen is always a tailender and he knows how to use them.

 

you dont have to agree. it s my opinion.

 

aussies rule.

Batsmanship has taken a huge plunge these days. Specially with not many quality bowlers. That's where we see those high averages.

Remember, 90s had all the best bowlers. The best left armer ever- Wasim Akram, most lethal inswinging yorker at his peak- Waqar Younis, The white lightning- Allan Donald, One of the best fast bowling duo- Ambrose,and Walsh, McGrath, Best legspinner ever- Warne, best off spinner- Muralitharan.

All of those are all time greats. Today, u have Brett Lee, and Muralitharan. Rest are good but not as great as those guys.

That's where I think players like Bevan were great. His record against South Africa is awesome. Lara and Sachin played well against those guys and they are very highly regarded by those bowlers.

Well, after Lara, and specially Warne retired, I lost interest in this game. Sachin is shadow of himself, players score runs in docile pitches against substandard bowling attacks, the art and beauty of game is substituted by mindless rule changing and one dimensional batting styles.

The game is still cricket, but it's not the cricket I witnessed in the 90s. Cherish those wonderful games. The 99 semifinal Aus vs SA, the sharjah final and semifinal India vs Aus, Saeed Anwar in  Sharjah, Mark Waugh, Azharuddin, Akram.

I can't believe this topic dragged me to sajh one more time.

Yes, Sachin and Lara, at their peak ,were the two of the best batsmen the game has ever seen.

New Zealand v India, 4th ODI, Hamilton

It's very tough for NZ bowlers to stop me - Sehwag

Sidharth Monga in Hamilton

March 11, 2009

	Virender Sehwag: "They [the New Zealand bowlers] are bowling into my body, and I'm playing my hook and flick shots to get boundaries. There is no other [effective] way they can bowl to me" © AFP

Only Virender Sehwag can say that he felt sorry for the bowlers, without sounding arrogant when he says it. The arrogance is limited to the time he spends on the field with bat in hand, and he showed plenty of that against New Zealand at Seddon Park today.

It's almost like Roger Federer wearing a champion's jacket especially made for him by Nike, while walking out onto the centre court at Wimbledon. Anybody other than Federer would seem ridiculous in that. Anybody other than Sehwag would have sounded absurdly pompous saying that he left the bowlers helpless.

"The wickets are good to bat on, and it's very tough for them to stop me," Sehwag said. "They are bowling into my body, and I'm playing my hook and flick shots to get boundaries. There is no other [effective] way they can bowl to me."

Imagine being a bowler. Check your limitations first: you can't hit 140kmph regularly, you don't have any help from the pitches, and the grounds are small. You start off with what you think is the best theoretical way to bowl to Sehwag: short and into the body. Sehwag clears his front leg, and pulls it ferociously into the stands over midwicket, sometimes from chest-high.

"I played some good shots, especially the hook and pull shots, which I never expected from myself on these tracks," he said. "I don't know how it comes or where it comes from, but I managed to hit the [short] ball."

So you try and bowl fuller, looking for some swing. If you are Iain O'Brien bowling your first over in your comeback match, you almost get badly injured - the ball whizzes past your ear for four. If you are Kyle Mills and you manage a perfect short-of-driving length and get some shape away, the bat faces opens a bit and the ball flies over extra cover. If you are Ewen Thompson, making your debut, and dibbly-dobblying onto Sehwag's pads, you get flicked over midwicket and then turned fine of fine leg. The backlift is high, the swing downwards clean and fast, and the ball makes its own way on the field.

So you try and slow things down. If you are Daniel Vettori, the canniest left-arm spinner in the world, you get some respect, and even get a forward defensive stroke. But soon enough Sehwag jumps down the track, is beaten in the flight, but still lofts you over long-off to get to his century. And later he says: "That was a mistimed six, the only mis-hit."

Sehwag also admitted to edging a ball after reaching his century, that was dropped by wicketkeeper Peter McGlashan. "Before the 100 there was no chance for any bowler."

Sehwag-speak On leaving a psychological scar on the bowlers Yes, because they are now worried about our opening partnership. Gautam [Gambhir] batted very well and we will open in Test matches, so they have to think twice or thrice about where to bowl to this opening pair. On this being the best line-up he has played in Yes, you can say that because we are a very young and talented side, and we can chase anything because we have belief in ourselves. If we chase around 350, we have batsmen who can hit the ball hard and score 50 in 30 balls or 100 in 60 balls, so we believe in ourselves. The psyche of such an explosive line-up We're not worried about getting out. If you're worried about getting out and how you'll get out, then you'll not make runs.

As a unit, you have what you think is a good plan - to not give Sehwag any width outside off. And you succeed, which shows how only six runs came behind square on the offside. But what you think is a weakness is not a frailty after all.

The biggest part of Sehwag's resurrection after being dropped from the 2007 World Cup squad has been his improved on-side play. The flicks during his hundred on Test debut in Bloemfontein are back. He has been hooking and pulling murderously. As a result you end up bowling a grand total of 20 dot balls to him.

It's obvious the opposition shoulders will droop. But that's not new for Sehwag. "I have felt it a couple of times against Australia and South Africa, and against England also," he says. "So it happens."

Just that it happens more often when Sehwag is batting. This is not the first time that it has been on display during this tour. But in the Twenty20s it happened for too brief a while. In the first two ODIs, when he scored match-winning half-centuries, he left the job unfinished. Today he finished his business, and because he came out unbeaten, he rated this as one of his best innings.

Sehwag's batting philosophy comes through from one of his old advertisements, where he professes, "The ball is supposed to live outside the boundary, send it there." It is a simple thought that he goes about implementing in his own inimitable way. Just like he hits what he sees, he tells what he sees.

He spoke what he saw today, and it didn't sound boisterous. He spoke plain facts. You indeed felt sorry for the bowlers (except that they watched the spectacle from the best seat). They were indeed helpless and they didn't know any effective way of bowling to him. On some days you just can't do anything, except live with it.

Sidharth Monga is a staff writer at Cricinfo

© Cricinfo

 

 

 

Virender Sehwag

India

Player profile

Full name Virender Sehwag
Born October 20, 1978, Delhi
Current age 30 years 142 days
Major teams India, Asia XI, Delhi, Delhi Daredevils, ICC World XI, India Blue, Leicestershire, Rajasthan Cricket Association President's XI
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	66	114	4	5617	319	51.06	7188	78.14	15	18	793	64	50	0
ODIs	204	199	8	6552	130	34.30	6445	101.66	11	35	899	104	79	0
T20Is	12	11	0	223	68	20.27	154	144.80	0	1	24	10	1	0
First-class	128	213	8	10094	319	49.23			29	36			109	0
List A	274	264	13	8505	130	33.88			12	52			103	0
Twenty20	36	35	3	831	94*	25.96	518	160.42	0	5	95	36	5	0