C_C
International Captain
Wouldnt give anyone apart from Harvey and Grimmett a second look from that list.FaaipDeOiad said:What about Hutton? Hobbs? Headley? Hammond? Sutcliffe? McCabe? Harvey? And for the bowlers, what about Larwood, Voce, Grimmett and Barnes?
I wouldnt include hobbs over Gooch,Greenidge, Haynes, Boycott etc. and i've said so why.Yes, he was a top quality batsman, but he's not in the same league as Hobbs. Gavaskar, Hutton and perhaps Sutcliffe are the only openers one could reasonably pick ahead of him.
And Grimmett apart, who are the bowlers he faced that deserve a second look ?Hobbs and Sutcliffe played together a bit, but they are basically from different eras. By the time Sutcliffe made his test debut, Hobbs was 42 and 16 years into his test career and declining as a player. Hobbs averaged 56 (not all that great, for an opener?!) over his whole career, but over 60 in the first quarter of the 20th century, an effort which nobody else even came close to.
no, seriously. He is even lower on my rung than Sutcliffe, Hammond, Hutton etc. since he didnt face any bowling attack like Braddle's invincibles like the rest did.
And ??? one criteria is rarely enough to impact the whole picture decisesively. FYI, Braddles couldnt match the prowess of many people on wet pitches....many many people...and that is the only chink in braddle's armour apart from a dislike of bouncers.And furthermore, Hobbs thrived in the most difficult conditions in which to bat - situations not even possible today in the time of covered wickets. Even Bradman could not match his prowess on a wet pitch.