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Most aesthetically pleasing batsmen
- Thread starter Red
- Start date
SJS
Hall of Fame Member
Interesting point.
I do not have an issue with Lara;s backlift. In fact I admire both his backlift and his very decisive footwork both while going forward or right back onto the stumps - which is where he was better than Sachin. But that backlift does stand out because he moved very very quickly onto that backfoot and then seemed to wait a fraction of a second before launching into that great handspeed shot which is awesome. There is no batsman one can recall from the last half a century besides Sobers who moved that quickly and had that high bat speed. However the short pause that Lara had between the tie time the bat reached its zenith in the pick up and the launching into the stroke broke the continuity of the shot. Most of the batsmen we admire for their elegance, beauty and grace seem to play a seamless stroke from the time of the first pick up till the end of the stroke. Lara's seemed a bit of a 'two-part' thing because of that nano second pause. It is a fabulous technique mind you and made him a much better judge of the length of the ball and the position of his off stump as compared to Sachin but it looked a trifle less than fluid and 'in-one-motion' if you see what I mean.
Good point I must say although my personal take is slightly different :o)
vic_orthdox
Global Moderator
Haha, I know exactly what you're referring to, SJS. And, although not related to aesthetics, I used to love it. It was like he had the time to wait, with his bat perched in the air, and decide exactly where he'd put this delivery you'd sent down to him. It was dismissive.
BoyBrumby
Englishman
"Dismissive" is a good word for BCL's batting, to my way of thinking. Becuase he took the ball so very late (and the perception was probably exaggerated by that backlift of his) one got the impression that he seemed to be considering which of his array of shots he would deploy to crack the ball away to the boundary.
I loved Lara's batting because it was, it the literal sense, awesome. He had the kind of grace that only the preternaturally gifted possess and seemed to play cricket with the apparent effortlessness of a god.
Currently I personally think Ian Bell is in a class of his own where it comes to a batting beauty contest. As he's matured he's added strength to his natural timing and now his lofted straight drive is just as glorious as his cover drive.
Young Jonny Bairstow is also very easy on the eye, with rather more than a suggestion of Bell in his batting too.
I loved Lara's batting because it was, it the literal sense, awesome. He had the kind of grace that only the preternaturally gifted possess and seemed to play cricket with the apparent effortlessness of a god.
Currently I personally think Ian Bell is in a class of his own where it comes to a batting beauty contest. As he's matured he's added strength to his natural timing and now his lofted straight drive is just as glorious as his cover drive.
Young Jonny Bairstow is also very easy on the eye, with rather more than a suggestion of Bell in his batting too.
in terms of pure batting perfection, i have to give it to tendulkar. marginally ahead of kallis.
in terms of just beautiful strokes, i must say that my list would be
martyn
moyo
vvs
gower
amla
waugh
jayawardene
with amla slowly and steadily climbing the list.
and lara and richards (b) also, but they could be thrillingly savage.
in terms of just beautiful strokes, i must say that my list would be
martyn
moyo
vvs
gower
amla
waugh
jayawardene
with amla slowly and steadily climbing the list.
and lara and richards (b) also, but they could be thrillingly savage.
SJS
Hall of Fame Member
Oh I loved it too. I got fed up of arguing with people, particularly Indians, about why I thought Lara was a wee bit better than Sachin. This early judgement of length and quick and decisive feet movement were what made the difference between the two great men for me. You may not have seen Sobers live but just look up any of his innings one can now see on you tube and you will see the same type of quick and decisive footwork, high backlift and lightening hand speed. I invariably end up slowing Sober's video's down to appreciate the nuances of the stroke play. Sobers was just a few notches higher than all others in the quality and surety of his stroke play :o)
You know, he didn't believe in stepping out of his crease and hardly ever did so during his career. He strongly believed and said that if you saw the ball early and moved your feet forward to the pitch of it or right back to shorten its length, you could deal with any ball, irrespective of where it pitched.
Another thing remarkable about his batting philosophy was that he advocated never playing a defensive stroke to a ball if it was not on its way to hit the stumps. A batsman, according to him, should be able to tell if the ball is going to go on to hit the stumps or not. If not then play it only if you can do so to make runs !
Solid sensible advise but you need to be too damn good to be able to implement it.
He was by far the best batsman I laid my eyes on and perhaps one of the troika of greatest of all time in the august company of Bradman and Hobbs.
kingkallis
International Coach
When it comes to EASE, nobody can beat Andy Flower, Mark Waugh, Martyn, Gibbs, VVS, Ian Bell, Mohammad Yousuf..
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IamSpartacus
Cricket Spectator
Mitchell Johnson's cow corner shot, one of the most graceful slog shots going around and
much more aesthetically pleasing than his bowling.
much more aesthetically pleasing than his bowling.
Jos Buttler.
Weird selection, I know, but watching that 32(10) innings was fantastic - not just from a T20 batting 'whack the ball into Row Z' perspective, but from a legitimate technical angle as well. I'll run through the over against Parnell.
First 6
He clears his front leg slightly, but not in an overtly ugly manner, and swings through the line of the ball to drop it well over the vacant long off boundary. The thing that got me about the shot, and what makes it so good to watch, was the stillness of his head. Sure, his foot is nowhere near where it should be (in pure technique terms), but his head is right over the ball; he doesn't resort to dragging the ball over cow corner either, picking the gap left for him by ABdV. And its all just a full swing of the bat - a very, very good lofted off drive. Never do you feel it was a swipe at a length ball, but that he's deposited it there on purpose - such a ball is not fit for his presence.
Second Six
Same shot again, only to a ball a bit wider. Not as good to watch, but the stillness of his head through the whole process is quality. But again, its just like he's placed the ball - timing carried it, not brute force.
First Four
Buttler recognises Parnell's intention to go full and wide to nullify the scoop, but moves across to play it anyway. His footwork is crisp, his head is incredibly still despite the whir of movement and he makes Parnell, once more, look decidedly pedestrian. The thought behind it is the best part - throughout the whole over he knows where the deep fieldsmen are, and manages to hit every ball to the area ABdV was forced to leave vacant.
Second Four
Another scoop, but this time to a ball he had no right to scoop - length ball angled across, pitching around middle and off. And yet he still manages to move across and get it to fine leg. His head is so incredibly still even as he skips across the pitch. Bloody impressive stroke.
Third Six
Beautifully hit pull shot over squarish mid wicket. It almost looks like the kind of pull you play against a spinner - only to Parnell bowling in the high 130s.
Even the front foot pull for two looked impressive. I couldn't get over how still his head was throughout the entire over, and the sense of ease that surrounded his shots; you never got the feeling he had to hit the ball hard to clear the fence easily.
He's one hell of a talent.
Weird selection, I know, but watching that 32(10) innings was fantastic - not just from a T20 batting 'whack the ball into Row Z' perspective, but from a legitimate technical angle as well. I'll run through the over against Parnell.
First 6
He clears his front leg slightly, but not in an overtly ugly manner, and swings through the line of the ball to drop it well over the vacant long off boundary. The thing that got me about the shot, and what makes it so good to watch, was the stillness of his head. Sure, his foot is nowhere near where it should be (in pure technique terms), but his head is right over the ball; he doesn't resort to dragging the ball over cow corner either, picking the gap left for him by ABdV. And its all just a full swing of the bat - a very, very good lofted off drive. Never do you feel it was a swipe at a length ball, but that he's deposited it there on purpose - such a ball is not fit for his presence.
Second Six
Same shot again, only to a ball a bit wider. Not as good to watch, but the stillness of his head through the whole process is quality. But again, its just like he's placed the ball - timing carried it, not brute force.
First Four
Buttler recognises Parnell's intention to go full and wide to nullify the scoop, but moves across to play it anyway. His footwork is crisp, his head is incredibly still despite the whir of movement and he makes Parnell, once more, look decidedly pedestrian. The thought behind it is the best part - throughout the whole over he knows where the deep fieldsmen are, and manages to hit every ball to the area ABdV was forced to leave vacant.
Second Four
Another scoop, but this time to a ball he had no right to scoop - length ball angled across, pitching around middle and off. And yet he still manages to move across and get it to fine leg. His head is so incredibly still even as he skips across the pitch. Bloody impressive stroke.
Third Six
Beautifully hit pull shot over squarish mid wicket. It almost looks like the kind of pull you play against a spinner - only to Parnell bowling in the high 130s.
Even the front foot pull for two looked impressive. I couldn't get over how still his head was throughout the entire over, and the sense of ease that surrounded his shots; you never got the feeling he had to hit the ball hard to clear the fence easily.
He's one hell of a talent.
Pup Clarke
Cricketer Of The Year
Gibbs, when in form, is a very good shout. His inside-out shot over extra cover for 6 played to spinners and medium-quicks was gloriously effortless and dismissive.
burr
State Vice-Captain
Martyn on the offside. I seriously doubt there have been many better looking shots in cricket than some of the back foot drives DM played in his time. He combined the grace of a Waugh with the technical precision of a Tendulkar. Mmmm, memories. On the on probably Waugh or Laxman (of those I've seen). But because I prefer offside play Martyn was, and always will be, my favourite.
doesitmatter
U19 Cricketer
also the "up periscope" put him in jeopardy against the bouncer mainly the one well directed towards his body.. he ended up being in an awkward position because the bat would come down late..other than that beautiful player to watch...
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AlanJLegend
U19 Vice-Captain
I am gonna say Matthew Hayden.
Not because he was anything close to aesthetically pleasing textbook-wise, but I could sit and watch him do this all day long;
Mathew HAYDEN Straight DRIVE - YouTube
Not because he was anything close to aesthetically pleasing textbook-wise, but I could sit and watch him do this all day long;
Mathew HAYDEN Straight DRIVE - YouTube
salman85
International Debutant
Muhammad Yousuf,Incredibly pleasing to watch.You could argue that there have been players better than him,but an onsong Yousuf was right up there was one of the most graceful batsmen to play the game.I've always been surprised that he gets ignored when it comes to aesthetically pleasing batsmen.
