Best bowling and batting performances of 2011

[Teja.]

What do you reckon they are?

For me,

Best bowling innings performance - 5-75 vs India, Dale Steyn in Newlands. Bowled like a ****ing champion. Moved it incredible amounts. The over where he got Pujara and bowled the above linked ball to Harby was the best fast bowling over in years. Most people felt he deserved a couple more despite getting five. He was that good.

Best batting innings performance - Michael Clarke - 151 of 176 balls coincidentally in Newlands again. Was playing on another level completely. The second highest in a team total of 284 was Marsh's 44 which required grafting for 101 balls in stark contrast.

Best match bowling performance - 8-76 by Stuart Broad v India in Nottingham. Took me by surprise on so many levels. Reminded me of McGrath tbh. and with a Bothamesque all-round performance in the same match.

Best match batting performance - 161 and 109* by Jack Kallis again at Newlands. Harby was looking very very dangerous and the pitch seemed perfect for spin bowling, the score was 5 for about 90, Jaques Kallis scored a big ton in the first innings and was injured. Didn't stop him from scoring an even better unbeaten match-saving ton which took SA to 341. Harbhajan ended up with 7 wickets for his efforts but Kallis left SA in a dominant position. Kallisball

Best match all-round performance - Much as Ashwin was incredible in Mumbai with 9-190 and a century to top it off with, This has to be Stuart Broad in Nottingham again for 8-76, 64 and 44. He scored twice as much as anyone else in the first innings with 64/224(Strauss 32),bowled amazingly to trigger an Indian collapse from 5-276 to 288 allout in the second innings with a career best performance of 6-46, smashed 44 of 32 balls in the third innings and contributed to Tim Bresnan's destruction of the Indian line-up in the fourth innings with a couple more wickets.

Best series bowling performance - Stuart Broad - 25 wickets @ 13.8 in 4 tests vs India in England.

Best series batting performance - Rahul Dravid - 461 runs @ 76.8 in 4 tests in England.

 

[Xuhaib]

Great choices.

Comeback of the Year: Misbah

An aging First Class cricket great who had mainly choked at the big stage gets called up one last time to captain a broken side. The entire cricketing world calling it another joke decision by a joke cricket board. The man comes back gives his team their respectability back and leads them from the front by scoring 900 runs at an average of 80.

 

[ankitj]

Still a few matches to go this year, but good calls there.

 

[Nomanculture]

The first knock that came to mind was the Clarke ton at Newlands.

 

[Furball]

Best batting performance - Virender Sehwag at Edgbaston. A stunning performance in both innings which proved beyond doubt his ability in conditions where the ball moves off the straight.

Best bowling performance - Harbhajan Singh at Lord's. World's number 1 spinner indeed.

 

[Nomanculture]

Best batting performance - Virender Sehwag at Edgbaston. A stunning performance in both innings which proved beyond doubt his ability in conditions where the ball moves off the straight.

Best bowling performance - Harbhajan Singh at Lord's. World's number 1 spinner indeed.

Expect some performances of similar levels from the Sri Lankans on this South African tour...

 

[ganeshran]

Prior 103 at Lords

Chanderpaul's match saving knock in the 3rd test

Sanga's match saving knock in the first match against Pakistan

 

[Howe_zat]

Can't really contest anything Teja has said.

Best debutant? Quite a few bowlers to pick from but will go for Pat Cummins.

The lad's first runout in Jo'burg would also get my neutral's pick for match of the year - Trent Bridge was phenomenal but objectively speaking, turned into a steamrollering after tea on the third day. The Newlands Test in January also had some great contests but rather petered out towards the end.

 

[Furball]

Can't really contest anything Teja has said.

Best debutant? Quite a few bowlers to pick from but will go for Pat Cummins.

The lad's first runout in Jo'burg would also get my neutral's pick for match of the year - Trent Bridge was phenomenal but objectively speaking, turned into a steamrollering after tea on the third day. The Newlands Test in January also had some great contests but rather petered out towards the end.

Australia v England at Sydney the clear winner for me.

On a serious note, the England v India Test at Lord's was a great occasion and match. Tough batting conditions on day 1, KP domination on day 2, great innings from Dravid to save the follow on day 3, an England wobble before the lower order blasting their way to a declaration and Dravid and Laxman somehow surviving some amazing fast bowling day 4, and a fifth day that ebbed and flowed before being settled in the final session.

 

[Howe_zat]

Yeah, Lord's was a cracking Test, especially the occasion that the final day turned out to be. I remember people were saying after that (and after the first two days of the second Test) that the series could rival 2005 if it kept going like that.

 

[Cabinet96]

Can't disagree with anything Teja said to be honest.

Best Test would have to be the Johannesburg one in November or the Lords one against India, Trent Bridge was pretty good too.

 

[KiWiNiNjA]

Trent Boult - 7/18, vs Australia at Hobart, tbh

 

[Jacknife]

Dravid's first two tons in England, 103* at Lords & 117 at Trent Bridge were crackers, given the attack, the conditions and in the second one he was opening, they were 2 awesome knocks.

 

[Jono]

Best batting innings performance - Virat Kohli - 200* at the MCG on Boxing Day

 

[ret]

Best batting performance - Virender Sehwag at Edgbaston. A stunning performance in both innings which proved beyond doubt his ability in conditions where the ball moves off the straight.

Best bowling performance - Harbhajan Singh at Lord's. World's number 1 spinner indeed.

I remember there used to be a posted called 'aussie' who used to write such stuff .... are you v2?

 

[Burgey]

Was Martin's spell in India this year or last? That was a cracker.

 

[Furball]

Was Martin's spell in India this year or last? That was a cracker.

Last year. Was at least a good couple of weeks before Johnson's Perth heroics.

 

[Jono]

Still say Martins spell was the best of 2010. Gets overlooked because Vettori and co. Couldn't finish India off.

 

[ankitj]

Vettori and co. Couldn't finish India off.

 

[Spark]

Hard to argue with Teja's list. Although I reckon that had England learned to catch properly Broad's post-lunch spell at the India Lord's test would be up there.