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Why do you want to find who is the best ??

SJS

Hall of Fame Member
Its ridiculous. This urge to find the best/the greatest across years, decades eras and then for comparison we have nothing solid. In what is essentially a team game we want to compare individuals ! How do you expect to do it ? And why ?

Here is what the legendry English bowler Frank Tyson said when he was asked "Who is the best?"

The Best ! You might as well ask me 'Who is the best musician you have heard?' Menuhin? The lead guitarist of Air Supply? Rubinstein? Benny Goodman? Or who is the best singer you have listened to? Pavarotti? Michael Jackson? Domingo? Phil Collins? Comparisons, as Mrs Malatrop remarked, are odorous, but if they are to be made, one should not compare chalk to cheese. Would you not baulk at making a judgement between Boycott and Ian Botham? The only things their games have in common are their equipment and their lip service to the laws of cricket.

Compare like with like. Dont be content with ONE BEST. Have a whole host of them: the best defensive batsman; the best attacking batsman; the most complete batsman; the fastest fast bowler; the most versatile fast bowler; the best match-winning all-rounder; the most versatile all-rounder; the best wrist spinner; the best finger spinner; and the best wicket keeper.Even within these categories there are sub-divisions: the best soft wicket and the best hard-wicket finger spinners, the best keeper to fast bowling, the best keeper to slow bowling....

It is appropriate that cricket should have such a wealthof diverse specialist expertise, for in Shakespearean terms, it is a game of infinite variety which age has been unable to whither or custom make stale.
 
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SJS

Hall of Fame Member
garage flower said:
Who gave the best answer to the question: "Who is the best?"?

Was it Frank Tyson?
Yes. This quote is what Tyson said in reply.
 

Langeveldt

Soutie
If we werent having an argument about whether Jehan Mubarak is better than Riaan Walters, we would probably be watching TV... hence the reason we are here :(
 

honestbharani

Whatever it takes!!!
SJS said:
Its ridiculous. This urge to find the best/the greatest across years, decades eras and then for comparison we have nothing solid. In what is essentially a team game we want to compare individuals ! How do you expect to do it ? And why ?

Here is what the legendry English bowler Frank Tyson said when he was asked "Who is the best?"

The Best ! You might as well ask me 'Who is the best musician you have heard?' Menuhin? The lead guitarist of Air Supply? Rubinstein? Benny Goodman? Or who is the best singer you have listened to? Pavarotti? Michael Jackson? Domingo? Phil Collins? Comparisons, as Mrs Malatrop remarked, are odorous, but if they are to be made, one should not compare chalk to cheese. Would you not baulk at making a judgement between Boycott and Ian Botham? The only things their games have in common are their equipment and their lip service to the laws of cricket.

Compare like with like. Dont be content with ONE BEST. Have a whole host of them: the best defensive batsman; the best attacking batsman; the most complete batsman; the fastest fast bowler; the most versatile fast bowler; the best match-winning all-rounder; the most versatile all-rounder; the best wrist spinner; the best finger spinner; and the best wicket keeper.Even within these categories there are sub-divisions: the best soft wicket and the best hard-wicket finger spinners, the best keeper to fast bowling, the best keeper to slow bowling....

It is appropriate that cricket should have such a wealthof diverse specialist expertise, for in Shakespearean terms, it is a game of infinite variety which age has been unable to whither or custom make stale.
I agree. I don't think there is a single best cricketer out there.
 

SJS

Hall of Fame Member
vic_orthdox said:
geez, bradman is stiff then
Well, I suppose if one wanted to say who is technically the best batsmen ever, the DON wouldnt figure or even who is the best player on a bad wicket.

But, of course, in the case of the Don, his statistics do really show him to be what he was, head and shoulders above anyone before or since in his overall mastery of the game.
 

JASON

Cricketer Of The Year
Langeveldt said:
But he isnt the best player ever.. Sobers stands out
I am reminded of the incident recalled in one of the news items on Keith Miller's death.

Miller had been watching Television with one of his sons (posibly in his teen years then), when a Famous Cricket Match in which Bradman had played was shown, and the commentator reading the score card had upon reaching Bradman's name had said, " The greatest cricketer ever scored ....".

Miller's son recalled how his father had got up from his seat gesticulating and repeating to himself 'Greatest cricketer ... not the greatest cricketer ... the Greatest batsmen ever . Greatest cricketer's Gary Sobers !!"
 
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SJS

Hall of Fame Member
Langeveldt said:
But he isnt the best player ever.. Sobers stands out
Yes I would agree. Or WG maybe :D

Doesnt matter :)

PS : Sobers could also keep wickets , so he gets the vote. :p
 

FaaipDeOiad

Hall of Fame Member
Langeveldt said:
But he isnt the best player ever.. Sobers stands out
Sobers is undeniably the most complete cricketer to ever play the game, but he did not dominate in the way Bradman did.
 

SJS

Hall of Fame Member
Langeveldt said:
But he isnt the best player ever.. Sobers stands out
This is EXACTLY what Tyson is saying. Why do you need one to be the best ?? They are different.

Just to stretch a point to the limit of the ridiculous, howsoever gifet Sobers was, and howsoever great a batsman Bradman was, they couldnt have provided a team with what a Syd Barnes or an Alan knott could do if that is what the team wanted at that time.

So why MUST we compare apples and oranges ? Let alone apples and oranges grown in different countries, on different soils, in different weather conditions, using different (if any fertilisers), with or without genetic modification ?? :p
 

SJS

Hall of Fame Member
Buddhmaster said:
It is impossible to compare, but you would have to say that Sobers ANd Bradman are the best.
I think there is almost universal agreement on that.
 

BoyBrumby

Englishman
I think we like order, us humans. Things to be black & white & easily classifiable.

All "who's the best" arguments (be it best cricketer, best novel or best fruit!) are ultimately pointless & maybe slightly anal, but they can be jolly good fun!
 

vic_orthdox

Global Moderator
i think tatenda taibu deserves a mention...if not for being the best player ever then at least as one of the best named cricketers of the ages
 

Langeveldt

Soutie
vic_orthdox said:
i think tatenda taibu deserves a mention...if not for being the best player ever then at least as one of the best named cricketers of the ages
Nah.. Not bad though but beaten by the likes of

Arnoldus Mauritius Blignaut
Hamilton Masakadza
Klaas-Jan Jacob van Noortwijk
 

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