Best left handed batsman of all time

[Prince EWS]

I'd pick McGrath and just ask him to bat left handed. Sure he'd get out for a duck but who cares?

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Ha ye i know. But do me need to be THAT precise in our line-up?

Call me Mr Fussy if you like, but in a thread about left-handed batsman I would prefer it if the candidates batted left-handed.

 

[bagapath]

I'd pick McGrath and just ask him to bat left handed. Sure he'd get out for a duck but who cares?

but dude, he should also bowl left handed. that is the issue.

 

[Blakus]

Can't help but feel that Bill Johnston is being underrated here. The man averaged over 100 in a ashes tour for Christ's sake.

 

[aussie]

jayasuriya
morris
sobers
border *
leyland
woolley
gilchrist +
akram
davidson
wardle
peel

replaced hayden, harvey and lara coz they bowled with their right hand!!!

You sure Morris bowled with his right hand??. I know for certain Trevor Goddard from South Africa did though..

Plus i think Wardle batted right handed, damn this is too hard limiting to just pure left handers . You could replace him with either Vaas, Vettori or Bill Johnston.

 

[bagapath]

You sure Morris bowled with his right hand??. I know for certain Trevor Goddard from South Africa did though..

Plus i think Wardle batted right handed, damn this is too hard limiting to just pure left handers . You could replace him with either Vaas, Vettori or Bill Johnston.

morris was a "pure" left hander, and so was wardle.

Arthur Morris | Australia Cricket | Cricket Players and Officials | Cricinfo.com

Johnny Wardle | England Cricket | Cricket Players and Officials | Cricinfo.com

 

[aussie]

Good good..

 

[Migara]

Odd that Sangakkara and Flower have no mention. So are Border, Lloyd and possibly Kanhai

 

[Avada Kedavra]

Odd that Sangakkara and Flower have no mention. So are Border, Lloyd and possibly Kanhai

You are right. I should have put Border and Sangakkara at the very least. I just figured that no one would go for Sangakkara over Lara. But he will definitely be an all time great by the time he retires. Amazing batsman, easily Sri Lanka's best.

 

[bagapath]

You are right. I should have put Border and Sangakkara at the very least. I just figured that no one would go for Sangakkara over Lara. But he will definitely be an all time great by the time he retires. Amazing batsman, easily Sri Lanka's best.

i always choose de silva first. may be that is just me.

 

[Avada Kedavra]

i always choose de silva first. may be that is just me.

To each their own I guess. For me it's a no contest in tests; I would have De Silva third after Sangakkara and Jayawardene.

 

[Hit_Wicket]

i always choose de silva first. may be that is just me

I tend to favour de Silva as well; hold him in very high esteem though I've never watched him bat live (on television).

Though IMO Sanga might eclipse him once his career finishes.

As for the poll, it's none other than Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers for me - a consummate cricketer and arguably the greatest ever (at least in an all-round sense).

 

[steve132]

Odd that Sangakkara and Flower have no mention. So are Border, Lloyd and possibly Kanhai

Kanhai was a right hander.

 

[Burgey]

Yes, by a fair margin, followed (in no particular order) by Pollock and Lara. Those three are the ONLY left handed batsmen who have ever been seriously considered for an all-time world XI.

How can you put Pollock in an all time XI (not saying you have BTW) when he played about 20 tests and had his career curtailed?

He was a great player, don't get me wrong, but for him to be considered for an AT XI strikes me as odd. Going off that sample size, it's fortunate that Jimmy Adams' career didn't end after 20-odd tests. IIRC he was averaging 70-odd.

Should say it'd be Sobers for mine, quite handily. But the lack of Border love on here is ****ting me no end

 

[SJS]

jayasuriya
morris
sobers
border *
leyland
woolley
gilchrist +
akram
davidson
wardle
peel

replaced hayden, harvey and lara coz they bowled with their right hand!!!

I like the look of this twelve.

1. Bert Sutcliffe
2. Arthur Morris
3. Garry Sobers
4. Brian Lara
5. Frank Woolley
6. Alan Border
7. Martin Donnelly
8. Adam Gilchrist
9. Alan Davidson
10. Wasim Akram
11. Bobby Peel
12. Bill Johnston

Against all popular opinion, I would probably drop Border from the final eleven

 

[bagapath]

Against all popular opinion, I would probably drop Border from the final eleven

interesting. sutcliffe over jayasuriya is fine. lara over leyland is also perfectly alright. but why donnelly over border?

 

[SJS]

interesting. sutcliffe over jayasuriya is fine. but why donnelly over border?

Donnelly played only seven tests but from all contemporary accounts he was one of the great batsmen of his time.

I am a bit biased in the case of Border I must admit. He has a fabulous record and he has it in-spite of not being a really great batsman. Border's great grit and determination are a great component of his batting. I tend to discount that a bit when choosing all time sides. I am not justifying what I do just explaining my personal methods. Its the same with being reluctant to chose bowlers with very unorthodox actions.

As I said, its a bias and a bias can never be justified

 

[bagapath]

Donnelly played only seven tests but from all contemporary accounts he was one of the great batsmen of his time.

I am a bit biased in the case of Border I must admit. He has a fabulous record and he has it in-spite of not being a really great batsman. Border's great grit and determination are a great component of his batting. I tend to discount that a bit when choosing all time sides. I am not justifying what I do just explaining my personal methods. Its the same with being reluctant to chose bowlers with very unorthodox actions.

As I said, its a bias and a bias can never be justified

fair enough sjs. i have sent you an email. check it out

 

[steve132]

How can you put Pollock in an all time XI (not saying you have BTW) when he played about 20 tests and had his career curtailed?

He was a great player, don't get me wrong, but for him to be considered for an AT XI strikes me as odd. Going off that sample size, it's fortunate that Jimmy Adams' career didn't end after 20-odd tests. IIRC he was averaging 70-odd.

Should say it'd be Sobers for mine, quite handily. But the lack of Border love on here is ****ting me no end

It's always difficult to rate players who for one reason or another played very little Test cricket. This applies not only to to the South Africans of Pollock's generation but also to other players like George Headley. I think, however, that if we were to ask cricketers, journalists and ordinary fans to list the greatest batsmen of all time Pollock would be named far more often than any left hander other than Sobers or Lara.

How highly you rate a player depends in part on how much you know about him. For example, I saw Pollock's contemporary Barry Richards, and I'm convinced that he was clearly a greater batsman than Gavaskar, since he was at least as sound technically and a much more brilliant strokeplayer as well. Richards did not have the chance to demonstrate this in Test cricket, and as such is rarely mentioned when openers for various all-time teams are chosen.

 

[Beleg]

I think, however, that if we were to ask cricketers, journalists and ordinary fans to list the greatest batsmen of all time Pollock would be named far more often than any left hander other than Sobers or Lara.

that's not a function of pollock's inherent quality itself but his reputation driven by the biased accounts of his admirers.