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*Congratulations* Brian Lara 10,000 Test Runs!
- Thread starter lord_of_darkness
- Start date
Revelation
U19 Debutant
Lara averages 53.50 vs 58.61 for Smith (the highest for the group). That aside, how do they compare??? The simple answer: They don't.
viktor
State Vice-Captain
i m prolly the biggest fan of sunny gavaskar and he currently has more runs ans centuries than Lara. He facedmore potent attacks and he was for quite a while the only Wclass performer.. but i don't think he'd make the top five in any list.....roseboy64 said:
ok... that really was meaningless ....hadn't seen sunny's name up there for a while....
Revelation
U19 Debutant
viktor, what a superbly uninformed comment
lord_of_darkness
Cricket Web XI Moderator
yep.. just have to see how haydens future goes.. and depends how much he can carry on.. because he is a potential to make a mark is what im feeling..
Many of you seem to be forgetting that longevity is probably the most important component of "greatness".
Lara has been "great" for over a decade while the others are merely flash in the pans in comparision.
Two or three years of great performance doesnt mean your great,it just means your playing great.
I know many look back at the past greats with rose tinted glasses but fact of the matter is that the game has evolved since then and so have the players.The game is played at a far higher standard and the players are better atheletes so i personallly dont really have a lot of time for the players of yesteryear.
I mean just look at the footage from back then and its clear how much simpler and amatuerish the play was.Apart from bradman who himself is overrated i dont see how any of them compare to a number of modern era players let alone a master like lara who played in an era of fantastic bowlers as opposed to the school boys from 50 years ago.
Lara is easily top 5 and as imran khan recently suggested,you should wonder if hes the best ever.
Its interesting to ponder how he would of fared with the windies team of the 80s,playing without the weight of his teams success solely on his shoulders.
Lara has been "great" for over a decade while the others are merely flash in the pans in comparision.
Two or three years of great performance doesnt mean your great,it just means your playing great.
I know many look back at the past greats with rose tinted glasses but fact of the matter is that the game has evolved since then and so have the players.The game is played at a far higher standard and the players are better atheletes so i personallly dont really have a lot of time for the players of yesteryear.
I mean just look at the footage from back then and its clear how much simpler and amatuerish the play was.Apart from bradman who himself is overrated i dont see how any of them compare to a number of modern era players let alone a master like lara who played in an era of fantastic bowlers as opposed to the school boys from 50 years ago.
Lara is easily top 5 and as imran khan recently suggested,you should wonder if hes the best ever.
Its interesting to ponder how he would of fared with the windies team of the 80s,playing without the weight of his teams success solely on his shoulders.
Deja moo
International Captain
Sachin played in a weak team for around 6-7 years too , so why mention just lara and the Windies ?
Gavaskar was the lone Wclass batsman in his side too , and playing the Windies , he scored 13 centuries against them . How many has Lara scored vs Australia ?( I am not suggesting that Gavaskar is a top 5 candidate )
I do not think any of the other greats took a couple of years off from the game just because they felt like it .
Gavaskar was the lone Wclass batsman in his side too , and playing the Windies , he scored 13 centuries against them . How many has Lara scored vs Australia ?( I am not suggesting that Gavaskar is a top 5 candidate )
I do not think any of the other greats took a couple of years off from the game just because they felt like it .
tooextracool
International Coach
dravid might if he maintains his form, but i doubt anyone could make a clear cut case for him.marc71178 said:
tooextracool
International Coach
that really is a stupid comment......look at laras record from 96-00 and you'll see why at the time he went from being a great to just another good player(his average fell from 60 to around 47). of course since then hes done a lot to pull that back but theres no way you can tell me that hes been 'great' for over a decade.Arrow said:
1990 24.50
1992 32.50
1993 58.60
1994 71.14
1995 67.89
1996 25.11
1997 40.90
1998 43.43
1999 59.43
2000 29.24
2001 63.94
2002 35.10
2003 74.67
2004 67.31
contrast that with someone like dravid, the only time his average in a year fell below 45 was in his debut year. as underrated as you can get IMO.
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tooextracool
International Coach
because individual milestones dont matter as much as you make them out to be? by your count courteney walsh should be the best fast bowler ever.Revelation said:
Revelation
U19 Debutant
marc, that is ONE STAT. The average. and by the way, Samaraweera's average just fell below Lara's. Goes to show what playing only 27 innings can do. Over Lara's career, there have been more than jsut that one STAT. In addition, and this isn't just me, soem folks at Wisden also thought so, Lara has 3 of the top 100 innings EVER played in Test cricket. Sachin has none.Of course this was up to 2001 or so. His 241* may now make that list, but guess what, Lara's 400* may also make the list again. The point is that Lara's achievements have far outshone his counterparts. True he had a bad patch for a couple years in the mid nineties but the hallmark of a great player is to stop that slide and rebound which is exactly what Lara did, starting in SL in 2001. 2002 apart, when he only played something like 5 Tests and hampered very much by injury, he has been second to none. Even PWC can vouch for that. Check how many times he's breached the 900 point barrier and check the opposition aainst which he did it. Australia in '99, SA in '03 and there have been a few more (SL as well if i am not mistaken. ) Sachin is yet to get to 900. So has Dravid. Only Hayden and Ponting have gotten there. Now i've provided the information, given you the souces and based my opinion on fact. I have yet to see anyone (tooextracool aside, who simply provided a list of Lara's averages) do something similar to disprove what i am saying.
Revelation
U19 Debutant
what utter rubbish!
There is a debate as to if Lara should be reagarded in the top 5 batsmen of all time. If you are going to support it then you provide reasons and evidence to back yourself and vice versa. I have done that. The others have simply stated that he shouldn't be there.....on what basis??? Anti-WI sentiments??Anti-Lara Sentiments???
There is a debate as to if Lara should be reagarded in the top 5 batsmen of all time. If you are going to support it then you provide reasons and evidence to back yourself and vice versa. I have done that. The others have simply stated that he shouldn't be there.....on what basis??? Anti-WI sentiments??Anti-Lara Sentiments???