The title says all. Please keep the discussion on topic plz.
In no particular order...
Lance Klusener :
He burst into a cricket in 97 as a tearaway who could strike the ball hard. But his peak was from 98 to 2000 when he couldnt do a thing wrong. His performances in the 99 world cup are unforgettable. While bevan might have won more matches for aussie than lance he will never match kluseners awesome presence. ( sort of a lara vs tendulkar comparison here with lance being lara)
With one of the highest strike rates and a cool head klusener is no slogger. At his peak i dont think any other player was more intimidating than him
But for some wierd reason he has run out of form and confidence while the media and fans seem to think abt him as a fluky player who just got lucky for a while.
Biggest Achievement: The spine of SA during thier peak with the bat and a very useful support bowler
Dean Jones :
One of the Pioneers of complete oneday cricket. Politics and his own mouth may have forced him out of international cricket which is another reason why he never got much credit for his performance.
But make no mistake abt his performance. He should find a place in any of the top 10 batsmen in ODI's. Complete allround cricketer and excellent runner. No slouch in test cricket too. And a amazing stamina too boot.
May be until two yrs ago he still could have made the aussie team which tells a lot abt his talents
Biggest Achievement : Boasts one of the highest ODI averages, and his sheer aggression both while batting and running between the wickets was a treat to watch. One of australia's most talented and least appreciated cricketers.
Krish Srikkanth :
This man was the reason i got into cricket. The original buccaneer. Before all the afridis and jayasuriyas he was the trendsetter. A quality cricketer he had all the shots in the book and a sound technique. But lacked temperament to build a innings. Along with gavaskar formed one of india's few opening partnerships that lasted a while. A thinking captain too.But politics and regional preferences nipped his captaincy in the bud.
Biggest Achievement : Sheer aggression. First indian to score 4000 ODI runs. On his day could tear any attack apart as he showed many times. Was dismissed 5 times in the 90's. with some selfishness and discipline he could have been recognized as a all time great ODI opening batsman.
Javed Miandad :
If there was a cricketer who could be called street fighter it was this man. You just dont get into a cat fight with him and win as dennis lillee found out. A very talented cricketer. With one stroke destroyed india's spirit for years to come. Original pioneer of percentage one day batting with the nudges, steers, dabs and quick running.
Biggest Achievement : His test avg never went below 50!!!. In his heyday easily one of the world's top 3 batsment both in one day and tests. A good thinking captain too boot. Throw in his fighter mentality ...it is easy to understand why his competitors respected him so much.
Arjuna Ranatunga :
He was what Gavaskar was to india. Fearless, willing to use every tactic in the book and a few more, clever,cunning and willing to stand up and fight. In a country where batsmen oozed with talent and were flashy he was the pauper. But he played within his limitations. Despite his size was one of the best judges of a single. Western media might have portrayed him as a villain but he can take a significant applause for Sri lankas progress.
Biggest Achievement : Putting sri lanka on the cricket map. Showing a couple of moronic umpires what happens when u meet a assertive and pro active captain. Saving the career of one of the greatest spinners and a world cup to boot!!
Andy Flower :
His run with the bat against india and SA does not have many parallels. Sure he didnt play that much against all teams. But whenever they played andy showed he is special. But when a man stays behind the wicket for 2 days and then in front of the wicket for 3days and repeats the feat you have to doff ur hat to him. If he had been playing in a diff team he would have been hailed the next bradman.
Biggest achievement: Check out his stats. In this case they tell the story.
Nathan Astle :
Yeah he can bat as well as any one in the world. He is a decent change bowler who can actually be termed a allrounder in ODI's.Yet he is not the most famous player. Plays for one of the weakest teams. Recently against ENG he showed what he could do when on song. At times nz's only performing batsman.
Biggest Achievement : Putting the Gilly hype is perspective. For the last 6 yrs has been New zee's Batting order. Take him out and u find a batting order that rivals zimb and a big match player to boot.
Cheers
[Edited on 7/24/02 by Neil Pickup]
In no particular order...
Lance Klusener :
He burst into a cricket in 97 as a tearaway who could strike the ball hard. But his peak was from 98 to 2000 when he couldnt do a thing wrong. His performances in the 99 world cup are unforgettable. While bevan might have won more matches for aussie than lance he will never match kluseners awesome presence. ( sort of a lara vs tendulkar comparison here with lance being lara)
With one of the highest strike rates and a cool head klusener is no slogger. At his peak i dont think any other player was more intimidating than him
But for some wierd reason he has run out of form and confidence while the media and fans seem to think abt him as a fluky player who just got lucky for a while.
Biggest Achievement: The spine of SA during thier peak with the bat and a very useful support bowler
Dean Jones :
One of the Pioneers of complete oneday cricket. Politics and his own mouth may have forced him out of international cricket which is another reason why he never got much credit for his performance.
But make no mistake abt his performance. He should find a place in any of the top 10 batsmen in ODI's. Complete allround cricketer and excellent runner. No slouch in test cricket too. And a amazing stamina too boot.
May be until two yrs ago he still could have made the aussie team which tells a lot abt his talents
Biggest Achievement : Boasts one of the highest ODI averages, and his sheer aggression both while batting and running between the wickets was a treat to watch. One of australia's most talented and least appreciated cricketers.
Krish Srikkanth :
This man was the reason i got into cricket. The original buccaneer. Before all the afridis and jayasuriyas he was the trendsetter. A quality cricketer he had all the shots in the book and a sound technique. But lacked temperament to build a innings. Along with gavaskar formed one of india's few opening partnerships that lasted a while. A thinking captain too.But politics and regional preferences nipped his captaincy in the bud.
Biggest Achievement : Sheer aggression. First indian to score 4000 ODI runs. On his day could tear any attack apart as he showed many times. Was dismissed 5 times in the 90's. with some selfishness and discipline he could have been recognized as a all time great ODI opening batsman.
Javed Miandad :
If there was a cricketer who could be called street fighter it was this man. You just dont get into a cat fight with him and win as dennis lillee found out. A very talented cricketer. With one stroke destroyed india's spirit for years to come. Original pioneer of percentage one day batting with the nudges, steers, dabs and quick running.
Biggest Achievement : His test avg never went below 50!!!. In his heyday easily one of the world's top 3 batsment both in one day and tests. A good thinking captain too boot. Throw in his fighter mentality ...it is easy to understand why his competitors respected him so much.
Arjuna Ranatunga :
He was what Gavaskar was to india. Fearless, willing to use every tactic in the book and a few more, clever,cunning and willing to stand up and fight. In a country where batsmen oozed with talent and were flashy he was the pauper. But he played within his limitations. Despite his size was one of the best judges of a single. Western media might have portrayed him as a villain but he can take a significant applause for Sri lankas progress.
Biggest Achievement : Putting sri lanka on the cricket map. Showing a couple of moronic umpires what happens when u meet a assertive and pro active captain. Saving the career of one of the greatest spinners and a world cup to boot!!
Andy Flower :
His run with the bat against india and SA does not have many parallels. Sure he didnt play that much against all teams. But whenever they played andy showed he is special. But when a man stays behind the wicket for 2 days and then in front of the wicket for 3days and repeats the feat you have to doff ur hat to him. If he had been playing in a diff team he would have been hailed the next bradman.
Biggest achievement: Check out his stats. In this case they tell the story.
Nathan Astle :
Yeah he can bat as well as any one in the world. He is a decent change bowler who can actually be termed a allrounder in ODI's.Yet he is not the most famous player. Plays for one of the weakest teams. Recently against ENG he showed what he could do when on song. At times nz's only performing batsman.
Biggest Achievement : Putting the Gilly hype is perspective. For the last 6 yrs has been New zee's Batting order. Take him out and u find a batting order that rivals zimb and a big match player to boot.
Cheers
[Edited on 7/24/02 by Neil Pickup]