The "What If " Game

[Richard]

The Harmison case made me think of Brett Lee's whose is exactly the same. But that made me think of something else... the man they call Shane Warne\BingLeeElectric shoulda quit when he was ahead. That first post of his made more sense than any since.

 

[aussie tragic]

TBH, have thought "it's gotta start going down now" with Hussey all the time... and I'm still thinking it.

If and when it does, that, of course, is when he should retire.

Well it has gone down 0.15 in his last 10 tests

 

[pasag]

How on EARTH could I have forgotten...

Stephen Waugh really did debut rather too early, if we're honest, and went on a bit longer than, in hindsight, perhaps he might... but he still had one hell of a career.

 

[Richard]

What was it that surprised you about that?

 

[pasag]

What was it that surprised you about that?

Didn't think the statistical peak was that high tbh.

 

[Richard]

Haha, yeah. Waugh was an unbelievable batsman. Only reason I don't consider him on a full par with Tendulkar is that Tendulkar faced Australia's mostly first-rate attacks in that period, and Waugh didn't.

Waugh's one of my most-admired players in history, even if he can't quite fit the "favourites" palette.

 

[Pup Clarke]

And what is that "favourites palette" eh Rich?.

 

[Richard]

Just players I like to watch their strokes as well as like to wake-up or turn-on and see they've scored runs.

Aravinda de Silva top of the pile, as most people know.

 

[Burgey]

How on EARTH could I have forgotten...

Stephen Waugh really did debut rather too early, if we're honest, and went on a bit longer than, in hindsight, perhaps he might... but he still had one hell of a career.

SHows how little there was statistically betwen Waugh and Tendulkar in their pomp periods.

Averaging 60 over 90 tests - that's just bloody ridiculous!!!

 

[GIMH]

What if Flintoff wasn't picked until 2003, and then retired after the India tour in 06?

Here's the answer

 

[Richard]

SHows how little there was statistically betwen Waugh and Tendulkar in their pomp periods.

Averaging 60 over 90 tests - that's just bloody ridiculous!!!

Yep, and that against the mostly first-rate attacks of the 1990s (with a few Mark Ilott\Martin Bicknell-led ones thrown in there). Just imagine what those two might do against the nonsense that has been most of the last 5 years.

(Tendulkar, of course, has played in that time but has been below-par)

 

[Richard]

What if Flintoff wasn't picked until 2003, and then retired after the India tour in 06?

Here's the answer

That's a mighty strange display choice you've picked.

Me, I'd have gone a different time-period, anyhow. And frankly, I only care about games for England, not World XIs, nor those against Bangladesh.

 

[GIMH]

I was just playing round with the displays tbh. The Bangladesh/World XI games don't make much difference to his stats anyway IIRC

 

[Richard]

Do, TBH, would be a fair bit better with those games added in. But I don't classify them as Tests, myself.

 

[GIMH]

Hmmm. He didn't bat against Bangladesh, and I seem to remember Hoggard taking the most wickets

 

[Richard]

Everyone - even Harmison - ended-up with some decent figures, though. It's hard not to against such abysmal opposition.

 

[GIMH]

9-138 for the series, fair enough then

 

[aussie tragic]

SHows how little there was statistically betwen Waugh and Tendulkar in their pomp periods.

Averaging 60 over 90 tests - that's just bloody ridiculous!!!

What if Ponting wasn't picked until November 24th 1999.....

filtered: 80 tests, 7707runs @ 67.01 29 centuries

 

[Richard]

Even better from August 2001 onwards, TBH.

 

[Poker Boy]

Good thread. Here is a "what if"? the other way round.Its the end of the 1989 season and Mike Gatting announces that he turned down a chance to captain the England rebel tour to SA. A greatful TCCB make him captain for the West Indies tour instead of Gooch (remember some people had wanted him to be captain in the 1989 Ashes). The selectors then decide to drop Gooch for the tour (not far fectched. He had averaged 20 in the 1989 series, was 36 years old and had dropped himself for a Test because he was off from).The selectors decide to look to the future and take Mike Atherton and John Stevenson instead. A dissapointed Gooch retires from Test cricket. Had he done so, this would have been his record:
74 matches, 4724 runs, average 36.90 HS 196 with 8 centuaries.
With his talent I reckon he'd have been considered an underachiever not unlike Hick or Crawley. As it happened he got the captaincy, it turned out to be the making of him and he became our highest ever Test runscorer, but it could have gone the other way...