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Strongest Batting combination

Best Batting combination


  • Total voters
    18
  • This poll will close: .

Sunil1z

International Regular
Which 4 players according to you are the best batting combination?
Assume all players in their best form
 

Spark

Global Moderator
But replacing Gilly with Martyn would make the Australian quartet much weaker....
Well yeah but it's then a like for like comparison. Frankly I think including Gilchrist in these things breaks most comparisons, not so much because of how good he was - though he was very very good - but of how much of a cheat code it is to have such a ridiculously good batsman at 7. Vanishingly few teams have had that luxury and makes direct comparisons of this kind somewhat pointless because the answer will always be "the team with the extra bloke averaging 50" - in which case the true measure of the strength of that quartet is, paradoxically, how good the guys not listed in the quartet were.
 

capt_Luffy

International Captain
Well yeah but it's then a like for like comparison. Frankly I think including Gilchrist in these things breaks most comparisons, not so much because of how good he was - though he was very very good - but of how much of a cheat code it is to have such a ridiculously good batsman at 7. Vanishingly few teams have had that luxury and makes direct comparisons of this kind somewhat pointless because the answer will always be "the team with the extra bloke averaging 50" - in which case the true measure of the strength of that quartet is, paradoxically, how good the guys not listed in the quartet were.
I mean, definitely. If you look at that Indian line-up of 2000s and see this 4 alongside Sourav, you would think damn, that's a good line-up, better than the best 4 of Australia. Then you will remember the passengers, the another opener akin to Akash Chopra and a Wicketkeeper like Sameer Dighe or Deep Dasgupta. While Australia had others in Langer, Martyn and Mark Waugh.....
 

Fuller Pilch

Hall of Fame Member
I mean, definitely. If you look at that Indian line-up of 2000s and see this 4 alongside Sourav, you would think damn, that's a good line-up, better than the best 4 of Australia. Then you will remember the passengers, the another opener akin to Akash Chopra and a Wicketkeeper like Sameer Dighe or Deep Dasgupta.
This but that Indian batting quartet (or quintet with Ganguly) also played with Gambhir opening and Dhoni keeping.
 

Coronis

International Coach
Curious as to how India is winning this tbh. Whilst Pakistan wins the bowlers thread, both are meant to be based on peak form.

Peak Ponting > Peak Sachin
Peak Waugh > Peak Dravid
Peak Hayden >= Peak Sehwag
Peak Gilchrist >= Peak Laxman
 

capt_Luffy

International Captain
Curious as to how India is winning this tbh. Whilst Pakistan wins the bowlers thread, both are meant to be based on peak form.

Peak Ponting > Peak Sachin
Peak Waugh > Peak Dravid
Peak Hayden >= Peak Sehwag
Peak Gilchrist >= Peak Laxman
Wasn't BGT 2001 right in the middle of Ponting's peak?? I won't necessarily call his peak to be better than Sachin's.
 

shortpitched713

International Captain
Usually don't have time for such complicated hypothetical comparisons, but let's give this one a go.

Assuming that we're only looking at hypothetical lineups where these 4 are the strongest 4 on their teams, and not the actual team lineups they played on, because that skews things, and you have to consider things like Gilly's role, as Spark mentioned, or Kallis' bowling, etc.. So nah, let's just go with these being your top 4 batsmen, and everyone else on the team is a weaker batsman, and not considering any non-batting considerations for any player. Also, not going for longevity in this comparison, just output quality in case you're thinking things don't exactly match the consensus of Tendulkar >>>>> everyone, getting that out of the way.

Given that, I think the 4 Aussies are very clearly the strongest, followed by the Indians, then the South Africans.

Hayden > Sehwag => G. Smith
Ponting < Tendulkar = Kallis
Gilchrist < Dravid > DeVilliers
Waugh >>> Laxman << Amla

Indian 4 could possibly have been competitive or possibly better than Australians, but for me Laxman is very clearly the odd man out in this whole comparison and a step down in quality from any of the others. Clutch at times, but I don't think has anywhere near the consistently excellent career runs that the rest have under their belts. And although India have rarely lacked for quality bats in the last 4 decades or so, during the "Sachin-Dravid-Sehwag" era there really is no 4th who isn't a major step down.

In practical terms there is a caveat to Australia too though. Waugh didn't really play in the other 3s true combined hayday of the mid 2000s, so there's that. Also to note the SA batting lineup was truly dire outside of this "big 4" during their era ( which also didn't exactly neatly line up for all of them, the lynchpin Kallis only played half of his matches with deVilliers, for instance ).
 

Sunil1z

International Regular
Wrong comparison. Amla should be compared to Dravid and Laxman should be compared to Gilchrist because of their batting position

So Hayden Sehwag Smith
Ponting Dravid Amla
Steve Sachin Kallis
Gilly Laxman Devilliers
 

Sunil1z

International Regular
Here is my rating

Smith > Sehwag> Hayden
Ponting > Dravid > Amla
Sachin >Kallis > Steve Waugh
Devilliers > Laxman > Gilchrist

SA = 1+1+2+3 = 7
IND = 2+2+1+2 = 7
AUS = 3+1+3+3 =10

So IND = SA > AUS
 

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