Gooch vs Laxman

[Thala_0710]

Better test batsman

 

[Johan]

Gooch comfortably

 

[capt_Luffy]

Laxman for me.

 

[BazBall21]

Gooch easy

 

[capt_Luffy]

Honestly, saying Gooch easy is an easy strech. Definitely gets overrated sometimes due to some admittedly great runs at the end of his career; as people forgets how fluctuating his majority of career was.

 

[PlayerComparisons]

Gooch I think

 

[BazBall21]

Honestly, saying Gooch easy is an easy strech. Definitely gets overrated sometimes forget some admittedly great runs at the end of his career; as people forgets how fluctuating his majority of career was.

'Easy' was a tongue in cheek remark, but Gooch was a successful opener in English conditions and Laxman was vulnerable v the moving ball. Gooch was a good player of spin so didn't share the same level of weakness in Laxman's home conditions.

Gooch suffered inconsistency before becoming the best batsman in the world for a few years, but his underwhelming productivity pre-captaincy is exaggerated by facing Australia a lot; the team that generally had the best swing bowling resources and were the only side he experienced struggles against. Still a good player before his big late peak and finally had a couple of very good Ashes series too (home and away) so it's not as though that is a box he never ticked.

I would take Gooch. Ploughed a tougher role in a tougher era and slightly more versatile. Laxman himself was a player of marquee innings, but Gooch has an impressive array of gun knocks v quality attacks. The best batsman against the WI juggernaut.

 

[capt_Luffy]

'Easy' was a tongue in cheek remark, but Gooch was a successful opener in English conditions and Laxman was vulnerable v the moving ball. Gooch was a good player of spin so didn't share the same level of weakness in Laxman's home conditions.

Gooch suffered inconsistency before becoming the best batsman in the world for a few years, but his underwhelming productivity pre-captaincy is exaggerated by facing Australia a lot; the team that generally had the best swing bowling resources and were the only side he experienced struggles against. Still a good player before his big late peak and finally had a couple of very good Ashes series too (home and away) so it's not as though that is a box he never ticked.

I would take Gooch. Ploughed a tougher role in a tougher era and slightly more versatile. Laxman himself was a player of marquee innings, but Gooch has an impressive array of gun knocks v quality attacks. The best batsman against the WI juggernaut.

Gooch certainly has plenty of arguments. I will take Laxman for his record vs Australia and turning up when it mattered the most. Gooch was a good player of spin but certainly not in Laxman's class and well, he definitely would had benefited by that form vs Australia. My point being, it's overall quite close to me.

 

[BazBall21]

Gooch certainly has plenty of arguments. I will take Laxman for his record vs Australia and turning up when it mattered the most. Gooch was a good player of spin but certainly not in Laxman's class and well, he definitely would had benefited by that form vs Australia. My point being, it's overall quite close to me.

Yeah Gooch obviously wasn't in Laxman's class v spin but he was a better player of spin than Laxman v swing. Gooch himself had his issues v swing, but built together a very good record opening in England.

 

[Majestic]

Gooch but it's close.

Gooch being an opener has some disadvantages and is obviously a better batsman than his stats suggest.

However, same rule applies for VVS also who was a better batsman than what stats suggested.

Overall, I will pick Gooch.

 

[Johan]

I don't think Gooch wins easily either, when I said comfortably I meant moreso that even though they're close, I believe Gooch to be superior batsmen by most metrics.

 

[HouHsiaoHsien]

Very close. Maybe Gooch for being brilliant against Holding, Garner, Croft and a raw Marshall in the 1980 series and against peak Marshall in the 88 series. Also was brilliant against peak Waqar and Wasim in 92(both were in the form of their lives in that series). Plus Gooch also played Warne very well in the 93 series(start of Warne’s peak). Also Gooch being an opener makes me favour him slightly here.

 

[ma1978]

Lol@Gooch

exaggerated because of a late career peak