Quote:
Originally Posted by Monk
I can't go past Jack Hobbs as first choice opener. I'm not sure how Hutton was a better technician, from what I've read, Hobbs was an absolute master batsman.
My other favourites, like yours, are Hutton, Gavaskar, B. Richards (and Greenidge).
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Hutton is regarded in many quarters as the most technically correct batsman of his time in the sense of having a sound defence, at the same time having a touch of genius. Hobbs and Hutton are obviously the two best English openers. Most people would vote for Hobbs and I get it. I do too. Hobbs is much more like the minimalist defence and footwork model that Bradman, Tendulkar, Barry Richards and Graeme Pollock (among many others) use and which is more attacking (and more awesome to watch) than the Hutton, Gavaskar, Dravid style of batting. Hutton was reserved in his showmanship, and took his role as a defensive opener seriously, having been under the tutelage of Sutcliffe in his early years. Hobbs is the superior batsman in standalone without a doubt, but I guess my question was basically along the lines that if you had to reserve a place for Barry Richards in the XI, who would be an ideal partner for him? Sir John Hobbs, who is very much from the same school of batting, or Sir Len Hutton, who might be more complementary.