Generation of top class Aussie openers Taylor, Hayden, Slater, Langer, Elliot.

aussie · 21-04-2006, 05:28 PM

Who do you reckon is the best & who would you rank them?, from what i have seen since the 97 ashes i would say Hayden, Slater, Langer, Taylor, Elliot. Here is how i did it:

HAYDEN: For me he has got to be the best, his dominance over attacks even if most of it has been done in a time when pitches around the world have been flat & bowling attacks poor cannot be totally looked down on. Add to that the way he has come back & changed his game (mainly againts his weakness againts the swinging ball in bowler friendly conditions) since the ashes has been equally superb IMO, so for this i made him my number 1.

SLATER: Superb player on his day, just thrilling to watch especially on his trademark pull where he used to squat down and hit in front of square

.Made runs againts some top attacks in tough conditions. Disappoitingly he made all those 90s he could have & should have had 20 test hundreds. Him and Hayden together would be my dream aussie opening pair of this generation. Second for me.

LANGER: Played the quicks easy early on it seems but spinners coming around the wickets mainly off-spinners used to knock him over. But since the Oval test of 2001 he has really changed him game especially againts the spin (his monumental 178 vs SRI in colombo 2004 proves this) & has become a well respected top class opener. Not the most orthodox obviously but he still scores his runs & at a good rate. Third for me

TAYLOR: Looking at his early days as an opener pre 95 when he became captain he seemed to be one of Australia top batsmen since he made runs againts the best in testing conditions. But i dunno if captaincy affected his batting or what but he seemed to have fell away after that and wasn't as consistent (I remember commentators talking about the trott he was in a lot during the 97 ashes). But in the 18 months or so i saw him he was like Langer of today only with a a better technique and less shots. His 334 though was one of the best innings i've ever seen though. My number 4

ELLIOT: Obviously he would be last. I thought he was fairly good up to the 99 series vs WI when he looked so dumb outside off-stump againts Walsh & Ambrose. But Elliot definately is in the category of unlucky aussies like Lehmann, Law, MacGill, Bevan, Miller who would have played 50 test matches for most other countries.

andyc · 21-04-2006, 07:19 PM

Bit harsh having Taylor so low.

aussie · 21-04-2006, 08:09 PM

well not really, i think overall Hayden, Slats & JL were better than him.

Dasa · 21-04-2006, 08:36 PM

Langer
Slater
Hayden/Taylor

Elliot.

Francis · 21-04-2006, 08:48 PM

Hayden's the best - he gets unfairly criticised for being a flat-track bully. He's batting back to his best now and as I said in another thread, he's been making centuries lately on some really tough pitches. People don't give him credit for being able to get his front foot in the right place damn near 95% of the time. He can bat on seaming wickets and swing as well.

It's weird, Hayden gets bowled by some great English bowling and suddenly he's been "found out". Graeme Smith nicks ball after ball by Brett Lee in Australia and oh it's great Lee bowling... which it is. My point is that all batsmen have problems against late swing? Someone explain to me, when the ball it pitched on the stumps, and you have to play a shot, a ball is going 85 miles an hours, it deviates suddenly, and your bowled... how are you supposed to play it?

This whole "found out" term isn't one I believe in a whole lot. More often than not their just deliveries you expect to get anybody out. Hoggard did it to India in India and got 8... yet with similar balls nobody there was "found out!"

James90 · 21-04-2006, 08:55 PM

1. Hayden
2. Taylor
3. Langer
4. Slater (sorry matey)
- - - - - - - - - - -
5. Elliott
6. Blewett
7. Hussey
8. Jaques

*Hussey is a better batsman than most of the above listed but has not proven himself as an opening batsman for Australia.

Hoggy31 · 21-04-2006, 10:25 PM

1. Hayden
2. Langer
3. Taylor
4. Slater
5. Elliot

aussie · 21-04-2006, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Francis

It's weird, Hayden gets bowled by some great English bowling and suddenly he's been "found out". Graeme Smith nicks ball after ball by Brett Lee in Australia and oh it's great Lee bowling... which it is. My point is that all batsmen have problems against late swing? Someone explain to me, when the ball it pitched on the stumps, and you have to play a shot, a ball is going 85 miles an hours, it deviates suddenly, and your bowled... how are you supposed to play it?

This whole "found out" term isn't one I believe in a whole lot. More often than not their just deliveries you expect to get anybody out. Hoggard did it to India in India and got 8... yet with similar balls nobody there was "found out!"

very good points this, i'm definately not the one to answer this but blokes like Richard and TEC who have regularly bashed Hayden for this reason, could answer it i guess.

Matt79 · 22-04-2006, 12:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aussie

very good points this, i'm definately not the one to answer this but blokes like Richard and TEC who have regularly bashed Hayden for this reason, could answer it i guess.

We look forward to some 4000 word essays on the subject.

oz_fan · 22-04-2006, 01:16 AM

I'd have the same list as Aussie. Australia have been lucky to have such great openers over the past ten years, especially when you consider the talent of some of the opners that missed out (Elliot, Blewett, etc). Jaques is coming through the ranks to and looks to be a quality opener. It will be interesting to see who partners him when Langer and Hayden move on.

Matt79 · 22-04-2006, 01:19 AM

You would think Hussey, at least initially.

GotSpin · 22-04-2006, 01:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James90

1. Hayden
2. Taylor
3. Langer
4. Slater (sorry matey)
- - - - - - - - - - -
5. Elliott
6. Blewett
7. Hussey
8. Jaques

*Hussey is a better batsman than most of the above listed but has not proven himself as an opening batsman for Australia.

how can you even put jaques on that list yet when he has played two test matches.

Matt79 · 22-04-2006, 01:35 AM

I think he was listing every Australian opener he could think of in the last ten years, hence Jacques inclusion. The original post was talking about a generation of players, however, and while generation is such an amorphus term that it can be stretched to include Hussey, I think Jacques' debut probably marks the start of a new generation. (Which I would define as "debuting players who haven't spent most of their playing careers unable to break into the team" - I suppose it would include Clarke, Tait and Dan Cullen)

James90 · 22-04-2006, 02:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoT_SpIn

how can you even put jaques on that list yet when he has played two test matches.

Because he's opened since 1997.

GotSpin · 22-04-2006, 02:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James90

Because he's opened since 1997.

he has played two test matches, and i gathered that Aussie was rating these openers on test performances- not FC.

21-04-2006, 05:28 PM	#1 (permalink)
aussie Hall of Fame Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Cricket Posts: 16,845	Generation of top class Aussie openers Taylor, Hayden, Slater, Langer, Elliot. Who do you reckon is the best & who would you rank them?, from what i have seen since the 97 ashes i would say Hayden, Slater, Langer, Taylor, Elliot. Here is how i did it: HAYDEN: For me he has got to be the best, his dominance over attacks even if most of it has been done in a time when pitches around the world have been flat & bowling attacks poor cannot be totally looked down on. Add to that the way he has come back & changed his game (mainly againts his weakness againts the swinging ball in bowler friendly conditions) since the ashes has been equally superb IMO, so for this i made him my number 1. SLATER: Superb player on his day, just thrilling to watch especially on his trademark pull where he used to squat down and hit in front of square.Made runs againts some top attacks in tough conditions. Disappoitingly he made all those 90s he could have & should have had 20 test hundreds. Him and Hayden together would be my dream aussie opening pair of this generation. Second for me. LANGER: Played the quicks easy early on it seems but spinners coming around the wickets mainly off-spinners used to knock him over. But since the Oval test of 2001 he has really changed him game especially againts the spin (his monumental 178 vs SRI in colombo 2004 proves this) & has become a well respected top class opener. Not the most orthodox obviously but he still scores his runs & at a good rate. Third for me TAYLOR: Looking at his early days as an opener pre 95 when he became captain he seemed to be one of Australia top batsmen since he made runs againts the best in testing conditions. But i dunno if captaincy affected his batting or what but he seemed to have fell away after that and wasn't as consistent (I remember commentators talking about the trott he was in a lot during the 97 ashes). But in the 18 months or so i saw him he was like Langer of today only with a a better technique and less shots. His 334 though was one of the best innings i've ever seen though. My number 4 ELLIOT: Obviously he would be last. I thought he was fairly good up to the 99 series vs WI when he looked so dumb outside off-stump againts Walsh & Ambrose. But Elliot definately is in the category of unlucky aussies like Lehmann, Law, MacGill, Bevan, Miller who would have played 50 test matches for most other countries.

21-04-2006, 10:25 PM	#7 (permalink)
Hoggy31 International Captain Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: alanis morrissette Posts: 6,177	1. Hayden 2. Langer 3. Taylor 4. Slater 5. Elliot __________________ penis Dream XI: M Hyder, J Linker, M Clock, S Wetsin, A Simms, A Golcrhist, B Hugg, S Worde, B Leap, J Giuseppe, G MacGrith

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21-04-2006, 08:09 PM	#3 (permalink)
aussie Hall of Fame Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Cricket Posts: 16,845	well not really, i think overall Hayden, Slats & JL were better than him.

21-04-2006, 08:36 PM	#4 (permalink)
Dasa International Vice-Captain Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Melbourne Posts: 4,955	Langer Slater Hayden/Taylor Elliot.

21-04-2006, 08:48 PM	#5 (permalink)
Francis State Vice-Captain Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: WELLYWOOD Posts: 1,032	Hayden's the best - he gets unfairly criticised for being a flat-track bully. He's batting back to his best now and as I said in another thread, he's been making centuries lately on some really tough pitches. People don't give him credit for being able to get his front foot in the right place damn near 95% of the time. He can bat on seaming wickets and swing as well. It's weird, Hayden gets bowled by some great English bowling and suddenly he's been "found out". Graeme Smith nicks ball after ball by Brett Lee in Australia and oh it's great Lee bowling... which it is. My point is that all batsmen have problems against late swing? Someone explain to me, when the ball it pitched on the stumps, and you have to play a shot, a ball is going 85 miles an hours, it deviates suddenly, and your bowled... how are you supposed to play it? This whole "found out" term isn't one I believe in a whole lot. More often than not their just deliveries you expect to get anybody out. Hoggard did it to India in India and got 8... yet with similar balls nobody there was "found out!"

22-04-2006, 01:16 AM	#10 (permalink)
oz_fan International Regular Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 3,977	I'd have the same list as Aussie. Australia have been lucky to have such great openers over the past ten years, especially when you consider the talent of some of the opners that missed out (Elliot, Blewett, etc). Jaques is coming through the ranks to and looks to be a quality opener. It will be interesting to see who partners him when Langer and Hayden move on.

22-04-2006, 01:19 AM	#11 (permalink)
Matt79 Global Moderator Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Colll----ingggg---woooooodddd!!!! Posts: 17,427	You would think Hussey, at least initially.

22-04-2006, 01:35 AM	#13 (permalink)
Matt79 Global Moderator Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Colll----ingggg---woooooodddd!!!! Posts: 17,427	I think he was listing every Australian opener he could think of in the last ten years, hence Jacques inclusion. The original post was talking about a generation of players, however, and while generation is such an amorphus term that it can be stretched to include Hussey, I think Jacques' debut probably marks the start of a new generation. (Which I would define as "debuting players who haven't spent most of their playing careers unable to break into the team" - I suppose it would include Clarke, Tait and Dan Cullen)

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