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5 Most Influential Cricketers of All Time

smash84

smash84

The Tiger King
Howe_zat said:
I don't think anyone can really compare Qadir to Warne in terms of what they achieved as bowlers. But I do think that any fan of Warne would have to acknowledge Qadir as a huge part of legspin's resurgence from its nadir. For me, Qadir was a massively influential cricketer.
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Yeah. That was the point I was trying to make.
 
archie mac

archie mac

International Coach
shashy said:
1. WG Grace
2. Bradman
3. Tendulkar
4. Constantine
5. Lillee
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Good list mate, I especially like the last two. Constantine, what a life! Perhaps the best fielder ever. Ground breaking in tearing down prejudice in cricket and in England as well. Just to top it all he became a Lord

Lillee had all of the modern fast bowlers weapons and with his new dedication to fitness and perfecting his technique he became the role model for a number of great fast bowlers, including Hadlee and Marshall.
 
smash84

smash84

The Tiger King
archie mac said:
Lillee had all of the modern fast bowlers weapons and with his new dedication to fitness and perfecting his technique he became the role model for a number of great fast bowlers, including Hadlee and Marshall.
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Add Imran to that list. Lillee inspired other fast bowlers across the world like no other.
 
Black_Warrior

Black_Warrior

Cricketer Of The Year
mrcheek said:
The most influential man in English cricket history may be Tom Cartwright.

He was the man who withdrew from the England squad to South Africa, and was replaced by D'Oliveira. And suddenly history changed.

Also, he was doing some coaching at Somerset when he came across a young all rounder named Botham, who lacked any kind of discipline or commitment. Without Cartwright's guidance, Botham would never have even played first class cricket.

But seriously:
WG Grace
Ranjitsinghi
Don Bradman
Imran Khan
Shane Warne (surprised nobodys mentioned him. Leg spin had been written off until he arrived on the scene)
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Abdul Qadir says hi
 
zaremba

zaremba

Cricketer Of The Year
Most of the most influential players were English, for obvious historical reasons. That was the main place the game was played for most of its formative years.

Grace obviously some way ahead of anyone else in influence - in a way that puts both Warne and Sachin, and even Bradman, in the shade.

After him you're looking really at the pioneers, such as the early legspinners around the turn of the 20th Century; Trumper; Bart King; Bradman; Larwood.

Then you look at those whose "influence" was to a large extent related to the advancement or recognition of their countries / regions / races: Constantine; Ranji; Headley; Hanif; Richards; Sobers; Lloyd; Gavaskar; Imran; Tendulkar.

Wisden not a bad call although not mainly as a player; also the likes of milords Harris and Hawke.
 
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Spikey

Spikey

Request Your Custom Title Now!
bradman had a greater influence on the game than sachin imo tbh iirc jus saying
 
Black_Warrior

Black_Warrior

Cricketer Of The Year
Its truly shocking to read people list Sarfraz Nawaz as one of the 5 most influential cricketers of all time. He might have introduced reverse swing before Imran but whatever Pakistan cricket achieved, the 6-7 very good to great players that they had in the late 80s and early 90s is all because of Imran Khan. Wasim, Waqar, Inzamam, Saeed Anwar, Aamer Sohail, Mushtaq Ahmed, Aaquib Javed. Every young cricketer in Pakistan today wants to play cricket because of Imran Khan. The reason Pakistan produces fast bowlers is because they want to be like Imran Khan.
 
S

shrikanthk

Cricket Spectator
WG Grace
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Daylight
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Ranjitsinhji
DG Bradman
Dennis Lillee
Muthiah Muralitharan (for better or worse)

and yeah. How about Joginder Sharma? (just kidding)
 
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