Fuller Pilch
Hall of Fame Member
I'd say Atherton by a quite a margin. Atherton vs John Wright would be a closer comparison (Wright was better, but not by much)
okI'd say Atherton by a quite a margin. Atherton vs John Wright would be a closer comparison (Wright was better, but not by much)
Wright challenged Gooch as the best opener of the early 1990s, whereas Atherton was never one of the two best openers in the world.
They had Streak and not much else. It was their batting I feel that was closer to test class back during their 90s peak. Also if we dig a bit further we see that Attapattu got 170 and 249 against them in '04 , when Streak was gone and Douglas Hondo was their pace spearhead. They were about as good as a Sydney Grade team at that stageI don't really get the minnow bashing argument. If atherton was much better than attapatu then why didn't he also score so high against Zimbabwe? He only averaged 39 against them. And were Zimbabwe even that bad a team and bowling unit back then?
Fair call. Unfortunately for Attapattu the one test he played against Brandes he scored 0 and 6.Eddo Brandes was a very good bowler, had a few too many injuries to have a substantial Test career, but at his best he was a very difficult proposition to face. Surprisingly sharp
Wasn't he really badly injured for a series against them?I don't really get the minnow bashing argument. If atherton was much better than attapatu then why didn't he also score so high against Zimbabwe? He only averaged 39 against them. And were Zimbabwe even that bad a team and bowling unit back then?
I doubt that. Many people try to find excuses to explain why Atherton didn't average more. Yes, he did have a dodgy back, but that was part of what made him the player he was. He finished up with a moderate record partly due to his bad back but also due to some technical flaws that consistently made him easy prey for certain top quality fast bowlers such as Curtley Ambrose and Glenn McGrath. Atherton's considerable technical weaknesses included:Atherton would average 45+ in today's game.
It is really very simple; just take the ratio of average vs non-minnows and average vs minnows.I don't really get the minnow bashing argument.
Full Scorecard of Australia vs Sri Lanka 2nd Test 2004 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.comStill remember Marvan making a flawless 130 odd against Warne and McGrath at Hobart i think. Athers is better but not by much
mr_mister;4180315 I think it's quite interesting that against NZ and India(who certainly had some decent bowlers they just weren't McWarne/Ambrose/Donald/Wasim level) he flourished.[/QUOTE said:He actually scored big runs against Hadlee in the latter's final test series (when he was still the best in the world at 38/39) in 1990.