Sangakkara on Lara

[vcs]

I had my class X Math final board exam next night... Went to **** alright but I gotta see possibly the greatest test knock of my generation ?

LOL.. fortunately I was in XIth going to XIIth.. no major exams that year.

 

[YorksLanka]

Lara for me simply by the way he could (and did) just take the game away from the opposition and also with the way he batted too..Sachin was an amazing player-and a fabulous role model and should always be right up there with everything he has achieved..

 

[Gob]

****ing clarke. not on the same planet guys. take it to the australian circle jerk thread.

Now you know how it feels eh?

 

[Arachnodouche]

The brilliant thing about Lara is that he was constantly exposed to the new ball against bowlers with their tails up. The likes of Tendulkar and Ponting had world class openers ahead of them taking the new ball and putting runs on the board before they came in... Lara never had this.

Remarkable batsmen. Best player in the last 25 years.

Ponting certainly did. Tendulkar was mostly out there with Dravid with ****all on the board. Until Sehwag came along i.e. For the first eight years or so, he had Siddhu, Prabhakar, Mongia, WV Raman, Vikram Rathore, and other assorted opening champs to count on.

Lara's my pick, too, but people like this poster tend to forget that Tendulkar played for a quarter of a century at the highest level. His style may not have been as elegant as Lara's (or as M. Waugh, VVS Laxman, or Azhar, as right handers go), but he was every bit as imperious/impetuous for an eight year bracket in the 90s. All over the world.

 

[NZTailender]

Ponting certainly did. Tendulkar was mostly out there with Dravid with ****all on the board. Until Sehwag came along i.e. For the first eight years or so, he had Siddhu, Prabhakar, Mongia, WV Raman, Vikram Rathore, and other assorted opening champs to count on.

Lara's my pick, too, but people like this poster tend to forget that Tendulkar played for a quarter of a century at the highest level. His style may not have been as elegant as Lara's (or as M. Waugh, VVS Laxman, or Azhar, as right handers go), but he was every bit as imperious/impetuous for an eight year bracket in the 90s. All over the world.

Only after Hayden and Langer retired.

In fact, after Langer retired Batting records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPN Cricinfo And then after Hayden called it quits Batting records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPN Cricinfo


Yes I realise this is stat cherry picking without going through each innings played to see his scores when he came in at 1 for not many.

 

[Zinzan]

Only after Hayden and Langer retired.

In fact, after Langer retired Batting records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPN Cricinfo And then after Hayden called it quits Batting records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPN Cricinfo


Yes I realise this is stat cherry picking without going through each innings played to see his scores when he came in at 1 for not many.

Nah, classic way to misinterpret stats. I think you'll find that has more to do with Ponting simply declining as a batsman in the twilight of his career than it can be attributed to the retirement of the openers.

For me Ponting's greatest attribute as a batsman was his incredible hand-eye and especially his ability to pick up the length earlier than almost anyone else in his era ( only Lara aside).

So unlike other great bats who late in their careers could fall back onto a great technique or their great levels of concentration as their main strengths to maintain their average, Ponting was always going to struggle to maintain those incredible heights once that amazing hand/eye starting to decline slightly, as happens with many of the best of them. I put Viv in that same category.

 

[zaremba]

Enormous respect for Sachin but I'm with Sanga on this, essentially for the same, subjective, half-articulated reasons that he gives. I'd be happy with a 3, 4, 5 of Ponting, Lara, Tendulkar. Softening up the bowling for Capel at 6.

 

[Burgey]

Sachin would never move from four....

Pretty decent line up though, isn't it?

 

[NZTailender]

Nah, classic way to misinterpret stats. I think you'll find that has more to do with Ponting simply declining as a batsman in the twilight of his career than it can be attributed to the retirement of the openers.

For me Ponting's greatest attribute as a batsman was his incredible hand-eye and especially his ability to pick up the length earlier than almost anyone else in his era ( only Lara aside).

So unlike other great bats who late in their careers could fall back onto a great technique or their great levels of concentration as their main strengths to maintain their average, Ponting was always going to struggle to maintain those incredible heights once that amazing hand/eye starting to decline slightly, as happens with many of the best of them. I put Viv in that same category.

Well I was responding to the statement Ponting had to come in following a poor opening stand due to numpty openers, which wasn't really true for most of his career. But you're right. Ponting started declining around the time Langer and Hayden retired. In the year before Langer called it quits he averaged 88.

 

[Zinzan]

Sachin would never move from four....

Lol, Not sure Sachin could be quite that precious when it comes to Z picking his world XI of the era as he could be with the Indian selectors.

 

[zaremba]

Sachin would never move from four....

Pretty decent line up though, isn't it?

Ponting the perfect 3.

Sachin a bit more solid than Lara. Lara a bit more attacking than Sachin and a perfect 4. Seems to me Sachin goes 5 and if he doesn't like it there are plenty of others who can take his place.

 

[Days of Grace]

Why should a number 5 be more solid and a number 4 be more attacking? Can it not be the other way around?

 

[harsh.ag]

Plus Lara was known to prefer the number 5 spot.

 

[honestbharani]

When?

 

[harsh.ag]

He said so at one point. Couldn't tell you when though.

 

[Top_Cat]

For me, your ideal number 3 should be a counter-attacker. Their game built around defence and dealing with the moving ball but, once they get through a tough period, can play some shots. Your ideal 4 should be 50/50 attack defence and ideal 5 the bloke who can take the game away in a session without the need to be terribly consistent.

1 and 2 Who cares
3 Ponting
4 Sachin
5 Lara
6 Work experience kid
7 Anyone other than Nevill
8-11 McGrath

 

[NZTailender]

For me, your ideal number 3 should be a counter-attacker. Their game built around defence and dealing with the moving ball but, once they get through a tough period, can play some shots. Your ideal 4 should be 50/50 attack defence and ideal 5 the bloke who can take the game away in a session without the need to be terribly consistent.

1 and 2 Who cares
3 Ponting
4 Sachin
5 Lara
6 Kallisball
7 Sanga+
8-11 McGrath

agreed tbh

 

[DriveClub]

Will be a dream team, ponting, sachin, Lara playing in one team. Cricket should have fun all star tests, it will be so entertaining, can easily generate money as well.

 

[Top_Cat]

Watching Ponting and Lara bat together in the World XI ODI years ago was one of the more interesting pieces of cricket I've ever seen. Would kill several people to have seen more.

 

[Gnske]

I think Warne both wins best player and human being in cricket for the last 25 years.