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Sobers vs Viv vs Lara

The Best WI Batsman

  • Sobers

    Votes: 28 43.1%
  • Richards

    Votes: 17 26.2%
  • Lara

    Votes: 12 18.5%
  • Headley

    Votes: 8 12.3%

  • Total voters
    65

subshakerz

International Coach
Genuinely interested in who Cricketweb considers the greatest WI batsman and why. Respect to Headley but I assumed he wont be picked ahead of these three.
 

subshakerz

International Coach
Sobers and Richards were the hands down best bats of their eras so I would want to choose between them. Lara is behind them to me.
 

kyear2

Cricketer Of The Year
All 3 were touched by brilliance, though all in different ways.

I think without his ridiculous bowling work load and batting down the order as a result, Sobers numbers would have been much higher.

At his very best though I believe Lara was the greatest ever, also think he consistently faced the better attacks of anyone bar Sachin who shared the era. Greatest player of spin ever.

It's between those two for me.
 

cricketsavant

U19 12th Man
Only 2 votes for Viv? He is arguably the greatest WIs batsman. Lara has good stats but he was in a team which failed consistently and barely won anything.

Sobers could potentially be regarded as the best but he never had to face a new-ish ball while Viv did.
 

Calm_profit

State Vice-Captain
Only 2 votes for Viv? He is arguably the greatest WIs batsman. Lara has good stats but he was in a team which failed consistently and barely won anything.

Sobers could potentially be regarded as the best but he never had to face a new-ish ball while Viv did.
Sobers batted as an opener and at no 3 and did the great job.
 

cricketsavant

U19 12th Man
Sobers batted as an opener and at no 3 and did the great job.
You mean the 18/93 matches where he averaged under 30 against England, NZ and Aus, while feasting on a hapless India bowling line up, when the WI won 3 back-to-back tests and the series in 1959? A season earlier, he feasted on a pretty average Pakistan side (better than the Indian one granted) and after his world record score, he never established himself as a top order batsman because he just was not good enough against seam and swing.
 

subshakerz

International Coach
All 3 were touched by brilliance, though all in different ways.

I think without his ridiculous bowling work load and batting down the order as a result, Sobers numbers would have been much higher.

At his very best though I believe Lara was the greatest ever, also think he consistently faced the better attacks of anyone bar Sachin who shared the era. Greatest player of spin ever.

It's between those two for me.
What about Richards between 1976 to 1980? Would argue his peak was better than theirs.
 

subshakerz

International Coach
Only 2 votes for Viv? He is arguably the greatest WIs batsman. Lara has good stats but he was in a team which failed consistently and barely won anything.

Sobers could potentially be regarded as the best but he never had to face a new-ish ball while Viv did.
The team losing is hardly only Lara's fault. My problem with Lara is that I felt he was shaky against express pace and a bit loose when he first came to the crease. He was also owned by McGrath in the mid-90s in a way I have never seen an ATG humbled, except maybe Ponting in India. But he was still my favorite to watch.
 

subshakerz

International Coach
You mean the 18/93 matches where he averaged under 30 against England, NZ and Aus, while feasting on a hapless India bowling line up, when the WI won 3 back-to-back tests and the series in 1959? A season earlier, he feasted on a pretty average Pakistan side (better than the Indian one granted) and after his world record score, he never established himself as a top order batsman because he just was not good enough against seam and swing.
Is that the real reason he was down the order or your take?
 

Calm_profit

State Vice-Captain
You mean the 18/93 matches where he averaged under 30 against England, NZ and Aus, while feasting on a hapless India bowling line up, when the WI won 3 back-to-back tests and the series in 1959? A season earlier, he feasted on a pretty average Pakistan side (better than the Indian one granted) and after his world record score, he never established himself as a top order batsman because he just was not good enough against seam and swing.
First thing Newzealand were an average side,Secondly he didnt hit his peak until 1958.And based on 6 matches against England and Australia(most were from before 1958) you are judging him as failed top order.
 

Nikhil99.99

U19 Cricketer
It’s G.A headley for me.Batted in a side where nobody was up to that standard.Despite the 1930s having some real good/great batsman he was arguably the 2nd best.
Australia had ponsford,McCabe
England had Hutton,Hammond
Sa had Nouse,Mitchell
Nz had Dempster
Ind had Merchant
But still G.A headley was probably no.2.He scored 26 percent of runs for Wi in 1930s.In the limited opportunity headley got he showed he was as good as any player in the world.And apart from the don himself, probably better than everyone.
 
Last edited:

ankitj

Hall of Fame Member
This has been done before.

 

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