Am I a better Batsman than Chris Martin?

[Migara]

I think Chris Martin is a better batsman than me, because I cannot play anything over 130k with any confience. May be against a top class spinner I may last longer than him.

 

[Prince EWS]

I think Chris Martin is a better batsman than me, because I cannot play anything over 130k with any confience..

Neither can he though.

 

[Jono]

You know what guys, I'd normally agree with you, but surely this is a lighthearted thread. Its hardly as if we can give a critical appraisal of his technique versus that of Chris Martin. I reckon some of the problems we've had here recently are because people are taking things too seriously and too much to heart; and as soon as someone makes a little gag (at no one's offense) in cricket chat, they're leapt upon.

It would be a pretty sad day if we couldn't have a laugh at each other or ourselves. Today, I played indoor cricket for the first time in a while and got smacked in the knackers by the cricket ball bowled by a quicky. You'd think an indoor cricket ball wouldn't hurt, but no it shattered the box I was wearing and I was walking around in the field like a crab (not much change there these days) for the rest of the game, and I've had the enjoyable task of picking bits of plastic out of my pubic hair for the rest of the evening. So, you know what, when I open a thread about comparing one's technique and ability with Chris Martin, I would quite like to see a few things that'd make me laugh.

And, for the record, I suspect Chris Martin is a better bat than I.

Yeah but your Hayden post wasn't funny

 

[GuyFromLancs]

I can't believe that even this thread is turning into a he said/she said tit-for-tat fiasco.

Even if the Mart-meister was reading this thread himself, he would be shaking his head at this point.

 

[wfdu_ben91]

I doubt you'd see sixes anywhere near as big as this one in the local Lancashire cup.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

I should add that having now experienced the outcome of the Iain O'Brien patented box-defensive stroke, my respect for that man and his literal 'putting his balls on the line' when he batted for New Zealand has grown immeasurably.

 

[Hurricane]

I think this is a seriously good question. How good would a player who averages 18 in a local league do vs Chris Martin.

In your case you say that ex ODI players play in your league - so it sounds like it is a really high standard. If you have bowlers who can bowl 130kms + in your league and you average 18 then I am sure you are much better than Martin.

In my leagues I have played in I think I have faced bowlers in the high 120s but probably not 130 kms plus just judging on how far back the wicket keeper was standing. I averaged 20. I am sure that I would look like Chris Martin or worse in international cricket.

A story for you - The best bowler I have faced is former international Salim Jaffer. He said that he couldn't bowl it fast because we were playing on artificial pitches and he needed spikes and grass wickets to get secure footing.
When I faced him each ball was an adventure because he could move it both ways. I just tried to see him off. When I played him a couple of years later it was sad because he had changed his bowling and had lowered himself to our level. He just tried to bowl yorkers and full balls on the stumps because he was so used to clean bowling people in our league. So the second time around facing him I found him much easier.

 

[Migara]

I averaged about 8.5 in 12 games in division 2 of SL, with highest score of 46*, opening as night watchman. So definietly worse than Martin.

 

[Himannv]

I think it might be tough initially but if you many opportunities then I'd bet that you would be better than him.

As for me, I would be a bunny to anyone who bowls reasonably quick and can move the ball away from me. Rubbish against quality away swing.

 

[GuyFromLancs]

I think this is a seriously good question. How good would a player who averages 18 in a local league do vs Chris Martin.

In your case you say that ex ODI players play in your league - so it sounds like it is a really high standard. If you have bowlers who can bowl 130kms + in your league and you average 18 then I am sure you are much better than Martin.

In my leagues I have played in I think I have faced bowlers in the high 120s but probably not 130 kms plus just judging on how far back the wicket keeper was standing. I averaged 20. I am sure that I would look like Chris Martin or worse in international cricket.

A story for you - The best bowler I have faced is former international Salim Jaffer. He said that he couldn't bowl it fast because we were playing on artificial pitches and he needed spikes and grass wickets to get secure footing.
When I faced him each ball was an adventure because he could move it both ways. I just tried to see him off. When I played him a couple of years later it was sad because he had changed his bowling and had lowered himself to our level. He just tried to bowl yorkers and full balls on the stumps because he was so used to clean bowling people in our league. So the second time around facing him I found him much easier.

The quality ranges from very high to fairly poor from team to team and also ranges as such within each team. The nature of cricket in Lancashire is that you can have high quality, often former international, players alongside dunderheads.

It's great.

 

[zaremba]

Phil Tufnell opened the batting for his school. This suggests that he might well have played decent-ish club cricket as a batsman. And yet he wasn't much better than Chris Martin as a Test batsman.

I often wonder how Devon Malcolm would fare in club cricket. He was one of the most hopeless Test batsmen England has ever produced and yet he could hit the ball a long way when he happened to make contact with it. I reckon he'd have done ok as a club player. And obviously with the ball he would have been everyone's worst nightmare - lightning fast and a bit wild.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Phil Tufnell opened the batting for his school. This suggests that he might well have played decent-ish club cricket as a batsman. And yet he wasn't much better than Chris Martin as a Test batsman.

I often wonder how Devon Malcolm would fare in club cricket. He was one of the most hopeless Test batsmen England has ever produced and yet he could hit the ball a long way when he happened to make contact with it. I reckon he'd have done ok as a club player. And obviously with the ball he would have been everyone's worst nightmare - lightning fast and a bit wild.

Tufnell was a big girl though. That's why he was relatively useless at Test level. Malcolm would still be hit or miss at club level.

 

[Hurricane]

The quality ranges from very high to fairly poor from team to team and also ranges as such within each team. The nature of cricket in Lancashire is that you can have high quality, often former international, players alongside dunderheads.

It's great.

Do you do ok against bowlers 130kms plus? Are they in your league?

Edit: I don't understand why you don't have divisions. It must be very frustrating for the good teams to play the weak teams. And embarrassing for the weak teams to play the good teams.

 

[zaremba]

Tufnell was a big girl though. That's why he was relatively useless at Test level. Malcolm would still be hit or miss at club level.

True.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Didn't Devon Malcolm score a century for Suffolk? I saw him hit three sixes at Chelmsford in about 1995-ish - shots he intended, so he was considerably better than Martin.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Hmmm. Doesn't appear that he did score a century for Suffolk, but he came very close in club cricket

Devon Malcolm's finest innings?

The Home of CricketArchive

 

[marc71178]

Specialist batsmen playing at 9 & 10 seems an odd one.

 

[Son Of Coco]

The quality ranges from very high to fairly poor from team to team and also ranges as such within each team. The nature of cricket in Lancashire is that you can have high quality, often former international, players alongside dunderheads.

It's great.

I think that's the nature of a number of leagues in the UK. Was the same in Devon. There was a former county player in our league, fortunately he was a spinner so no one got killed.

 

[Flem274*]

Martin is easily better than me. I can block and I can cover drive, and I average about five in school cricket.

If I miraculously played tests for NZ in their next series, Martin would get a promotion in the batting order.

 

[Xuhaib]

there is a guy in Pakistan FC Sarmad Anwar I rate him worse then Martin rate his bowling quite a bit so fingers crossed we might just see him in int colours one day.