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Worst specialist batsman of all time

a massive zebra

International Captain
A bit of info about Benjamin Aislabie, surely the worst specialist 'batsman' ever to play first-class cricket:

"Aislabie, who is immortalised in Tom Brown's Schooldays, was one of the great characters of cricket. He became honorary secretary of the M.C.C. in 1822, and never was a club secretary more popular. He was an enormous man, who was only around 5ft 6ins in height, but weighed nearly twenty stone; when batting he always had a runner, who however seldom had much to do. Aislabie radiated charm and good humour, was the author of a number of cricket songs, and used to sing them at club dinners. He seldom made a run, never bowled, and was much too baulky to be of any use in the field; but he was so devoted to the game that he played whenever he got the chance, and went on playing until he was sixty-seven. His achievements were summed up in some contemporary verses, in which affection shines clearly through the ridicule:

'Tis Aislabie's boast to form most of the matches,
In this way at cricket; he makes but few catches,
But still he's contented some money to pay,
For the sake of encouraging excellent play.

He doats on the game, has played many a year,
Weighs at least seventeen stones, on his pins rather queer;
But still he takes the bat, and there's no better fun
Than to see him when batting attempting to run."

:)
 

SpaceMonkey

International Debutant
a massive zebra said:
A bit of info about Benjamin Aislabie, surely the worst specialist 'batsman' ever to play first-class cricket:

"Aislabie, who is immortalised in Tom Brown's Schooldays, was one of the great characters of cricket. He became honorary secretary of the M.C.C. in 1822, and never was a club secretary more popular. He was an enormous man, who was only around 5ft 6ins in height, but weighed nearly twenty stone; when batting he always had a runner, who however seldom had much to do. Aislabie radiated charm and good humour, was the author of a number of cricket songs, and used to sing them at club dinners. He seldom made a run, never bowled, and was much too baulky to be of any use in the field; but he was so devoted to the game that he played whenever he got the chance, and went on playing until he was sixty-seven. His achievements were summed up in some contemporary verses, in which affection shines clearly through the ridicule:

'Tis Aislabie's boast to form most of the matches,
In this way at cricket; he makes but few catches,
But still he's contented some money to pay,
For the sake of encouraging excellent play.

He doats on the game, has played many a year,
Weighs at least seventeen stones, on his pins rather queer;
But still he takes the bat, and there's no better fun
Than to see him when batting attempting to run."

:)
I'm impressed he lived to 68 weighing 20 stone lol :-O
 

Waughney

International Debutant
luckyeddie said:
He tended to be a bit slow, but a FC average well over 40 tended to indicate that he had some talent.

Much better than say, Craig Spearman.
6 months and a triple century on have you changed your mind?
 

southern man

U19 Cricketer
About McCullum, He was only 20 and abit when he first got selected on 'potential', after having a good half a first class season and being so domiant it wasnt funny in a U19 series against SOuth Africa.
But now all has seemed to of worked now as he is finally showing his potential in international cricket.
 

Sehwag309

Banned
ALL ENGLISH-SO CALLED BATSMEN..........................Whatever

and b4 the Old farts complain...don't u guys think so
 
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Langeveldt

Soutie
Cloete said:
*Awaits eagerly for the English contingent to rip Sehwag309 to shreds*
People like that tend to rip themselves to shreds whenever they open their mouth..
Saves us a job, we don't even need to come up with an argument!
 

Top_Cat

Request Your Custom Title Now!
I personally always liked Craig Spearman. Berate him for being inconsistent or having not fulfilled potential but it's undeniable that he has oodles of talent.

Worst specialist batsman; at international level I'm tempted to say Dave Joseph from the WI.
 

luckyeddie

Cricket Web Staff Member
Sehwag309 said:
ALL ENGLISH-SO CALLED BATSMEN..........................Whatever

and b4 the Old farts complain...don't u guys think so
Sorry. Did someone speak?

No-one. No-one at all.
 

Mr Mxyzptlk

Request Your Custom Title Now!
Top_Cat said:
I personally always liked Craig Spearman. Berate him for being inconsistent or having not fulfilled potential but it's undeniable that he has oodles of talent.

Worst specialist batsman; at international level I'm tempted to say Dave Joseph from the WI.
Yes, he was pretty out of his league at Test level.

He did score a 50 against Australia in his first Test innings though and averaged 20.14 in 7 innings. Not the worst... better than 3podd.

Poor yes, the worst? A bit of an exaggeration?

Dave Joseph
 

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