How good could Gilly have been if he never kept

[mr_mister]

People really like using that uncle aunt line lol

 

[Lillian Thomson]

I don’t see any problem with a bit of idle speculation that can’t be proven. Besides that, there is one former poster who is often mentioned who reckoned that Gilchrist was the equal of Viv Richards, if not superior.

 

[Starfighter]

If my uncle had balls, he'd be my aunt and all that. Yesterday a friend sent Barry Richards' famous pic comparing old bats with modern clubs and said imagine what Viv could've done with the new hardware. My reply was would he have even remained the Viv we knew? He would've been as impetuous no doubt, but a bat that heavy surely has to change how you wield it in fundamental ways.

Warner's bat weighs 2 lb 10 oz (I have seen 2 lb 12 for him as well, but 2 lb 10 is specifically associated with that photograph). B. Richards' in that photo 2 lb 7 oz (though he is holding Warner's slightly closer to the camera, which exaggerates the size difference). I don't know how big Viv's was but I doubt it was lighter than Warner's - though I read once he carried multiple weights.

The difference is that bats now are made of much drier wood and pressed very little, so have a much larger volume and higher moment of inertia, making the 'sweet spot' much bigger. Weight is probably the least important factor. Clive Lloyd used a 3 lb 4 oz bat yet didn't hit the ball further than the big hitters today.

 

[TheJediBrah]

I don't know if he would have been much "better", he was pretty incredible as it was, but he probably would have been better statistically if he was playing as a specialist batsman up the order.

I'm also surprised by the attitude that he's not in the same league as Viv, I think he definitely was

 

[TheJediBrah]

If my uncle had balls, he'd be my aunt and all that. Yesterday a friend sent Barry Richards' famous pic comparing old bats with modern clubs and said imagine what Viv could've done with the new hardware.

**** I hate that picture. The new bat is a lot bigger it wasn't necessary to hold it so much closer to the camera to accentuate it. One of those small things that really grinds my gears, like they must think people are idiots.

 

[Daemon]

If my uncle had balls, he'd be my aunt

Erm

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

People really like using that uncle aunt line lol

They should stop as well because it's ****ing dumb.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

I don't know if he would have been much "better", he was pretty incredible as it was, but he probably would have been better statistically if he was playing as a specialist batsman up the order.

I'm also surprised by the attitude that he's not in the same league as Viv, I think he definitely was

Viv debuted as a 22 year-old and batted 3 on dodgy pitches with no helmet; Gilly debuted about a week before his 28th birthday and batted 7 behind a gun top 6.

 

[mr_mister]

Gilly was facing Shoaib, Wasim and Waqar that series though.

Who'd Viv put to thr sword in '76? Tony Greig?

Point is two can play that game so best not to play it

The fact is their actual career test records are pretty close.

 

[aussie tragic]

Gilly was facing Shoaib, Wasim and Waqar that series though.

Who'd Viv put to thr sword in '76? Tony Greig?

Viv played against Lillee and Thomson at their peak pace in 1975/76 series (with Max Walker as 3rd pacer)

 

[TheJediBrah]

Viv debuted as a 22 year-old and batted 3 on dodgy pitches with no helmet; Gilly debuted about a week before his 28th birthday and batted 7 behind a gun top 6.

here we go lol

nah MM is spot on. Pretty easy to turn this into a stat cherry-picking contest.

 

[h_hurricane]

The bowling lineup which Gilchrist faced in his debut series was a diabetic Wasim, end of the road Waqar and a very good Shoaib (never an ATG).

Gilchrist had the luxury to bat in the easiest era for batting in history. Not that he wasn't awesome btw.

 

[mr_mister]

Didn't he get two test hattricks in his previous series? Diabetic or not he was still obviously bowling well before it

 

[h_hurricane]

Yep, early 1999. Hs best days as a test bowler were over from then on though. From the beginning of Australian series 1999 till the end of his career, he played 16 matches, took 36 wickets at 33.47. He did have a 11 wicket haul against a Lara-less WI in 2000.

 

[mr_mister]

So maybe Gilly during that series had something to do with his decline

 

[TheJediBrah]

The bowling lineup which Gilchrist faced in his debut series was a diabetic Wasim, end of the road Waqar and a very good Shoaib (never an ATG).

Gilchrist had the luxury to bat in the easiest era for batting in history. Not that he wasn't awesome btw.

Yep, early 1999. Hs best days as a test bowler were over from then on though. From the beginning of Australian series 1999 till the end of his career, he played 16 matches, took 36 wickets at 33.47. He did have a 11 wicket haul against a Lara-less WI in 2000.

funny that you can make posts like this on one hand and make fun of Stephen for doing the same thing with Warne on the other

 

[trundler]

Wasim was definitely past it by that point though. Was in the 16th year of his international career. The general consensus is that he was past it by '96ish.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Wasim was definitely past it by that point though. Was in the 16th year of his international career. The general consensus is that he was past it by '96ish.

and every excuse Stephen makes about Warne is usually true too, it's still an excuse

 

[trundler]

and every excuse Stephen makes about Warne is usually true too, it's still an excuse

lol sure

 

[Daemon]

Based on my spreadsheet, I have come up with the following standardised average for Gilchrist

Umpires make errors 31% of the time.
Of this 31%, roughly 62% are in the batsman's favour.
This percentage increases to 93% when it comes to Australian batsmen (15% is purely due to '08 Sydney).
Gilchrist walked a total of 42 times in his career.
0.31*0.93*42 = 12.11 innings where Gilchrist would have continued batting had he not walked.

After running the figures Gilchrist's average would increase by 2.64, putting him ahead of Viv by 0.01.