Presence at the crease

[G.I.Joe]

Dwayne Leverock.

 

[Uppercut]

Seems very closely related to how good you are, almost all of those listed so far have been among the best batsmen of the last 20 years. Any crap batsmen with lots of presence, or greats with none? Gayle's always had presence even when batting terribly and Langer was kinda the opposite.

 

[Flem274*]

Vettori and Taylor aren't great batsmen but I always sigh in relief when they're in. Especially Vettori.

Taylor looks like he is batting with the weight of the world on his shoulders but conquers it regardless.

Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey aren't seen as greats I don't think, but they have presence.

He doesn't really, yet he quite obviously does. I can't really explain it better than that.

Glenn McGrath would be the bowling equivelant.

I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of players disagreed with the idea that Tendulkar didn't have a great presence at the crease.

However, I can sort of understand the comments, because he's a picture of serenity most of the time when he is batting. With the head tilted slightly backwards, not making eye contact with anyone, he's almost separating himself from the contest; whereas others seek to dictate and control what is going on.

I'm not saying it's a rational or even agreeable vibe I get at all, just some other batsmen scare me more I guess.

Ponting, for example. Even when he was in that horror run if he was playing against NZ or foreign bowler I wanted to do well, I was always keen to see him back in the shed.

 

[Cabinet96]

I don't think Tendulkar holds the same presence as someone like Ponting as a player, but when he comes out to bat in India it must be pretty daunting for the bowling side, simply because of the atmosphere. That's something you can't quite experience to the same extent watching it on the tele.

 

[Red]

He doesn't really, yet he quite obviously does. I can't really explain it better than that.

Glenn McGrath would be the bowling equivelant.

The thing about both those guys is their consistency and lack of obvious flaws.

Against Tendulkar, a bowler knows he has to bowl really well, as Tendulkar has all the shots.

Batting against McGrath means risk taking, because you are going to have to back your eye against his accuracy and seam in order to score.



Very rarely to you see McGrath get taken to by a batsman, very rarely do you see Tendulkar look in trouble against any bowler.

 

[uvelocity]

Very rarely to you see McGrath get taken to by a batsman, very rarely do you see Tendulkar look in trouble against any bowler.

As much as I love and rate Glenn, I reckon batsmen had a bit of success when they actually did go after him. Trying to survive didn't work so much as trying to hit out against him. Maybe his presence prevented them.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Seems very closely related to how good you are, almost all of those listed so far have been among the best batsmen of the last 20 years. Any crap batsmen with lots of presence, or greats with none? Gayle's always had presence even when batting terribly and Langer was kinda the opposite.

Shiv is one of the latter, I'd say. Because he's so meek looking (even in his late 30s he still looks like a kid who's borrowed his dad's kit) and has such an ugly technique he doesn't dominate the crease like Gayle does. There's also (and this is partly a reflection of the team he's played in) the idea that even if he stays in for a while he won't hurt the oppo like a Gayle would because his main thought is always survival.

I'd say Afridi has presence too. Wouldn't go so far as to call him crap, but he seems to command a respect that his record doesn't justify. I think it's partly the knowledge of what he can do if he stays in for a while. Ditto Freddie, actually, now I think about it.

 

[JBMAC]

As batsmen go.....Ted Dexter,Ken Barrington,Alvin Kallicharan(small in stature LARGE in presence),Norm O'Neill,Greg Chappell,Colin Cowdrey all strong at the crease.

As far as bowlers go,......Warne,Lillee,Ambrose,Trueman,.....you just felt when they were thrown the ball by the dkipper then something was bound to happen

 

[Debris]

If we are considering bowlers, then Lillee is a very good call.

 

[Son Of Coco]

Lacking a bit of presence at the crease myself at the moment...I think it's called 'being married'.

 

[uvelocity]

marriage: betting somebody half your **** that you'll love them forever.

 

[nightprowler10]

Seems very closely related to how good you are, almost all of those listed so far have been among the best batsmen of the last 20 years. Any crap batsmen with lots of presence, or greats with none? Gayle's always had presence even when batting terribly and Langer was kinda the opposite.

Brian Close? Going off the yout00bs of course.

 

[doesitmatter]

Seems very closely related to how good you are, almost all of those listed so far have been among the best batsmen of the last 20 years.

My previous comment was along the same lines as well. Presence is overrated. It's the talent or the manner in which you play slow or fast intimidates the bowler. Viv was intimidating because of the swash-buckling nature of his game not because he looked like smoking joe..Atherton's innings of 185* .The manner in which he played gave an impression to the bowlers that this guy is rock solid and his defence cannot be breached which ended up giving him a presence ..Same goes for bowlers as well..Ambrose would have had this "I talk to no man" serious attitude but if he had bowled s.h.it deliveries forget others nobody from his team would have talked to him .

 

[Pup Clarke]

Maybe his presence prevented them.

Ya think?

 

[Pup Clarke]

And to answer the question, Inzamam is one that springs to mind.