World Cricket II

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Originally Posted by Puliyan_Biryani

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Originally Posted by Puliyan_Biryani

My WORLD XI

Sir Jack Hobbs
Sunil Gavaskar
Sir Donald Bradman
Sachin Tendulkar
Brian Lara
Sir Viv Richards
Adam Gilchrist
Shane Warne
Malcolm Marshall
Wasim Akram
Dennis Lillee [McGrath unlucky to miss out]

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9 peru correct. Hutton for Gavaskar and Sobers for Lara. Hutton-aarai pathi innum neraiya padichu therinjukkanum pola.

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PB,
Your's is a kood pick, I say. 8-)

Hutton and Hobbs (quite deservingly) take the openers slot. Ellam nAmba porakuradhukku munaadiyE vilayAdi retire-um aagithaainge. So vera vazhi ille, othukithu thein aaganum. But a batting genius himself, Gavaskar is extremely "unlucky" enough to miss the XI by a whisker. But no shame - as Hobbs/Hutton (as we would have read or heard from our grand parents) are legends in cricket history.

But in my playing XI, I would have picked Imran over Akram and Murali over Warne.

Moviecop, you the man.

Akram - the biggest nerudal I have with him is the Azharuddin connection - I mean the match fixing connection. I think it is almost proven that he was involved in match fixing - this doesnt get half as much disapproval as Murali's action, which is a matter of lasting shame for Cricketing classicists.

What happened to SS Das. He had a couple of good knocks in his kitty.

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Originally Posted by Plum

Moviecop, you the man.

Akram - the biggest nerudal I have with him is the Azharuddin connection - I mean the match fixing connection. I think it is almost proven that he was involved in match fixing - this doesnt get half as much disapproval as Murali's action, which is a matter of lasting shame for Cricketing classicists.

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Agree Plum on your take on Akram's selection.

But more than the match fixing controversy, even in terms of skill and sheer joy to watch for a cricket lover - Imran is > Akram. Andhe sorching inswinger (actually bannana inswinger they call it), unsettling/spine chilling express pace, classic run up and delivery stride - Imran Khan truely "romanticized" the art of fast bowling. If Safraz Nawaz invented reverse swing, Imran Khan took it to the next level and passed it on to the next generation greats like Wasim & Waqar to exploit. Akram is a great bowler in his own right but the truth is that Imran is even greater. Match fixing controversy or not, Wasim Akram shouldn't be playing in a Test XI that does not have Imran Khan as a first/default saaice, I say. :)

MC sir, I didn't have the privilege of watching the quartet of all-rounders in their pomp. By the time I started watching, Kapil looked like a spent force and was hanging on for the bowling record. If time permits, avangalai rate pannunga. 5 points for batting and 5 for bowling. Kapil, Imran, Hadlee & Botham-la yaaru best-nu therindhu kolla aasai :).

Sorry to intervene. :) :P

My ratings:

1) Ian Botham the genuine all-rounder than other three. His talent with the bat and ball more or less the same. He has single-handedly won more matches both bat and ball among these four. No one can forget his extraordinary act of brilliance with both bat and ball in the golden jubilee test at Bombay during 1979/80 (Year exactly not known) against Indians. Most devastating batsmen as well as good swing bowler and the best fielder among the four. He was a good footballer and Motor race driver too.

2) Imran Khan more reliable all-rounder and he was most devastating with the ball than the bat. He has developed his batting skills in his later stages of his career. He was a more controlled and calculative batsman than attacking. He was the best Captain among these four as well as one of the all time great Captains.

3) Talentwise Kapil Dev is next to Ian Botham but he was inconsistent. He was the most devastating batsman among these four but not same with the ball. On those days, he had a habbit of destroying the Windies bowling attacks. Of these four, only Ian Botham had dominated the Windies bowling attacks other than Kapil Dev. Kapil never justified his talent with the bat else he would have been the top batting all-rounder among these four. When it comes to attacking his hitting prowess is parallel to Richards. He was the second good fielder among these four. He was not an attacking bowler but nearly a Mcgrath type of bowler. He was the best outswing bowler that I have ever seen in my entire life. (He is almost a fast-medium Warne.) He was a footballer, a good golfer and a good tennis player.

4) Richard Hadlee the best bowler among the four but least dependent with the bat. Hadlee's bowling needs no introduction since everyone knows that he is the best in business when it comes to swing or control or accuracy.

If you take statistics, the result will be:
1) Imran,
2) Botham,
3) Hadlee and
4) Kapil Dev.

In ODIs, Kapil Dev was the front runner with some distance followed by Imran, Botham and Hadlee.

Steve, thangalin intervention engal baakkiyam. periyavanga (:wink:) yaaru venaalum sollunga. kettu therinjukkaren :P.

Nice writeup Steve. Test matchesla Kapil-dhaan last-a :-(? Or due to his batting prowess, 3rd place varuvaaplaya (above Hadlee)?

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/con...ry/483620.html

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Team-wise bowling averages in Tests since Jan 2008 Team Tests Wickets Average Strike rate 5WI/ 10WM
South Africa 28 462 30.58 57.2 15/ 2
England 36 571 31.67 61.4 29/ 3
Australia 35 601 32.79 61.8 20/ 3
New Zealand 25 381 34.99 69.7 10/ 0
Pakistan 17 254 35.35 63.8 12/ 0
Sri Lanka 20 302 36.66 67.4 15/ 3
India 30 447 38.46 72.4 12/ 2
Bangladesh 19 231 44.11 76.7 12/ 0
West Indies 24 299 44.60 81.1 10/ 0

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India is just above bangla and WI in bowling averages in last 3 years in Tests

This clearly proves how much of our test record owes it solely to our great batting machine and not any other aspect

To me even saying that the batting machine is ONE of the reasons for India's ascension to #1 is deeply insulting. Or even saying that they are only 60% or 70% responsible is also insulting.
Clearly, they are the sole reason we are top.

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Originally Posted by Puliyan_Biryani

Test matchesla Kapil-dhaan last-a :-(? Or due to his batting prowess, 3rd place varuvaaplaya (above Hadlee)?

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W.r.t. statistics,

Batting contribution analysis

Player----------Pl's ave.---------- Team's ave.---------- Pl. /Team's ave.--------- % of Country's runs
I.T. Botham------- 33.55------------27.82---------------------- 1.21------------------------- 11.6
Imran Khan------- 37.69------------32.80-----------------------1.15-------------------------9.7
Kapil Dev------- 31.05------------ 33.58---------------------- 0.92------------------------- 8.9
R.J. Hadlee------- 27.16------------ 26.52---------------------- 1.02------------------------- 8.8

Bowling contribution analysis
Player-------Pl's ave..---------- Team's ave..----------Pl. /Team's ave..--------- % of wickets by team
R.J. Hadlee------- 22.30------------ 37.26----------------------- 1.67------------------------- 35.7
Imran Khan------- 22.81------------ 33.24----------------------- 1.46------------------------- 27.9
I.T. Botham------- 28.40------------ 32.65----------------------- 1.15------------------------- 25.9
Kapil Dev--------- 29.65------------ 37.36----------------------- 1.26------------------------- 25.1

When it comes to All-round performances, it is Ian Botham who simply stands out than others.

Ian Botham had scored a 100 and taken 10 wickets (Golden Jubilee test during 1980) in a match once in his career. He had scored a 50+ and taken 5 wickets in an innings 11 times in his career. He has taken 120 catches which is high among these four great all rounders.

Imran Khan too had scored a 100 and 10 wickets only once in a match like Botham. But he had scored a 50+ and taken 5 wickets in an innings only thrice in his career. Catches held by him is 28 which is lowest among these four.

For Richard Hadlee and Kapil Dev, no 100 + 10 wkts in a match. But Hadlee had scored 50+ runs and taken 5 wickets half-a-dozen times, while the figure for Kapil Dev is only 4 slightly better than Imran Khan. Kapil Dev took 64 catches in his career while for Hadlee it is only 39.

But if you want to see the all-rounders action(in terms all round (bat+ball+fielding)performances), then the contest is certainly between Ian Botham and Kapil Dev. They are the two best entertainers among the world's leading all-time great all-rounders.