5 Most Influential Cricketers of All Time

[smash84]

 

[hatrick]

i cant say about the others but u should add Sanath Jaysuria to that list because he utterly changed the way first 15 overs are played in ODIs, cuz i still remember that we did not used to watch initial overs of the game back in 80s and early 90s because it was too boring, then you can add Jhonty Rhodes who changed the oulook of fielding and made everyone realize the true imoportance of fielding

 

[hang on]

actually greatbatch and co. had done it circa 91-2....long before jayasuriya and kaluwitharana. perhaps they took it to another level, and they deserve credit for it, but they certainly didn't come up with the idea of the blitzkrieg at the beginning.

 

[hatrick]

i agree with you that the idea was not new ..... but previously it was practiced ocasionally .... what Jaysuria and co did was they remaind consistent on the idea and therefore giving it a life ....

 

[smash84]

and did it successfully too.

 

[L Trumper]

Pretty hard to shorten to just 5.
Some good choices thrown around
My additions will be

John Wisden (w/o him no wisden, no extended reports, no profiles, no statistics, no history-- impossible to imagine)
Edgar Wilsher (Generally considered as pioneer of over-arm, can't believe no one mentioned him)
Harry Trott (Some one mentioned Armstrong as the first real captain, but I'm sure trott is before him and introduced pretty much everything regarding captaincy: field placements, bowling changes, resting bowlers etc.)

Apart from above mentioned three more usual suspects
WG Grace (a little love for Spofforth)
Bradman (a little love for Jardine)
Sobers (You can make a case for Worrell or Headley or Constantine, I think sobers is the crown jewel among them)

In modern era its pretty much about selecting favorites and insulting others

 

[wpdavid]

and did it successfully too.

... albeit not in the 1996 WC. One of the great myths of our time is that SL's success owed anything at all to their openers. Fact is, apart from a group match against India and having fun chasing down an inadequate total posted by a feeble England side, their significant wins happened despite the openers, not because of them.

And yes, Greatbach had led the way 4 years previously.

 

[Migara]

Very good point. Wicketkeepers who were great batsmen used to be the exception. Now, no international side would dare pick a weak batsman behind the stumps. Although many overlook what a brilliant keeper Gilchrist was, and think they just need to pick somoen who can bat.
Would Dhoni, Matt Prior, Kamran Akmal or McCullum have managed to keep their places so long if not for Gilchrist?

SL is the exception I could think of. But Kaushal Silva is right up there in pecking order with PJ. One disastrous tour with gloves may see PJ losing his place to a better batsman who keep.

 

[vcs]

I think PJ is skating on thin ice. Had a poor series last year against India with the bat and dropped a crucial catch off Tendulkar as well.

 

[Migara]

I think PJ is skating on thin ice. Had a poor series last year against India with the bat and dropped a crucial catch off Tendulkar as well.

It was not the first time that he kept dropping double centurions BTW

 

[Camo999]

Greatbatch played a few cameos in '92 but surely he wasn't the first guy to play some shots early in a one dayer? Steve Small was doing a similar job for NSW at that time for example.

I'd definitely have Jaya in there as extremely influential because he played almost exclusively in this attacking manner in both tests and ODIs for well over a decade. He's probably the one who made it 'acceptable' for the likes of Sehwag and Gayle to open a test innings in this way.

 

[archie mac]

Pretty hard to shorten to just 5.
Some good choices thrown around
My additions will be

John Wisden (w/o him no wisden, no extended reports, no profiles, no statistics, no history-- impossible to imagine)
Edgar Wilsher (Generally considered as pioneer of over-arm, can't believe no one mentioned him)
Harry Trott (Some one mentioned Armstrong as the first real captain, but I'm sure trott is before him and introduced pretty much everything regarding captaincy: field placements, bowling changes, resting bowlers etc.)

James Lillywhite might have something to say to Mr Wisden, in fact I thought his Annual the better of the two publications when both were on offer. I think international cricket coverage may have given Wisden the edge

Harry Trott, glad you mentioned him a fine captain and maybe Aust. first great one

 

[axxebond]

1. Sir. Don Bradman
2. Sachin Tendulkar
3. WG Grace
4. Sarfraz Nawaz
5. Shane Warne

 

[archie mac]

1. Sir. Don Bradman
2. Sachin Tendulkar
3. WG Grace
4. Sarfraz Nawaz
5. Shane Warne

Glad you mentioned SN one of my favourites when I was a kid, except for when he appealed against the Aussies for handle the ball Although they did not call it reverse swing in those days

 

[salman85]

Jardine should be up there too.Simply because of how bodyline changed the way the game was going to be played in the future.

Edit : He's already been mentioned.Good call.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Do we define "most influential" by the effect they've had on the playing of the game, the game itself as a whole or the world at large? Or any combination thereof?

Anyway, my tuppence worth:

1) WG Grace - founder of the modern game and all that. Cricket could well have remained a bucolic English pasttime rather than becoming a major international sport were it not for the Good Doctor.

2) Sachin Tendulkar - whatever his merits as a cricketer (and they're many), Sachin is a demi-god in the biggest cricketing nation on earth. When he plays, India watches. His emergence as India's greatest player (with apologies to Kapil & Sunny) co-incided with the devlopement of the information age and is in no small part responsible for the sport being the multi-billion dollar industry it now is.

3) Donald Bradman - he was that good. Even American sportswriters occasionally use his dominance over his peers and generations past and future as an analogy. I once saw him namechecked in an article about Tiger Woods.

4) Muttiah Muralitharan - However one regards him as a player, his influence on the sport is undeniable. As much as some would seek to disingenuously deny it he's been the catalyst for a whole raft of changes, not all of them necessarily for the better.

5) Adam Gilchrist - Has largely killed off the specialist keeper. Never again will we see keepers selected without some ability with the bat.

Pretty much agree with all 5 of your choices there. Only other ones could be the cheating Aussie who instructed the underarm ball or Jardine for Leg Theory as both are so controversial.

 

[juro]

there's a fat english guy with a goofy beard who says hello

I don't think Gatting was that influential...

 

[salman85]

Warne has obviously been the most infulential leg spinner of all time,and arguably the most influnetial spinner of all time,but would there have been a Warne had there not been a Qadir to revive the art of leg spin in the 80's?

I don't know who Warne was influenced by,but since the 80s would be the time where he would start following cricket,i'm sure Qadir would have been an inspiration to pick up the ball.

 

[vicleggie]

Still no my friend. Warne did inspire youngsters outside SC, but the inspiration for leg break in SC was there much earlier even Warne touched a cricket ball. Warne was a great bowler for sure, but not a trend setter for taking up leg spin, at least in SC (which accounts for about 75% of FC cricketers in the world).

he definately inspired those in australia, england and non sc countries for doing it. I think , regardless of whether from sc or not, he did things with the ball that no other leggies could do, and pushed the boundries of what was possible. Kumble, murali and harbhajan have all said what warne has done with the ball is amazing and inspirational.

And i'd wager the fact that there are a lot of spinners in sc countries (ie india and lanka) were that they had very few good pacemen. in terms of quality, there were a few , but not a ridiculous amount, and not many at all who could come close to warne. I think he definately made a name for himself, revolutionalised it, and made it fashionable.

In terms of him being a 'media beast', his record speaks for itself. He is just as influential as murali.

 

[smash84]

In terms of him being a 'media beast', his record speaks for itself. He is just as influential as murali.

what do u mean by media beast?