Mahmudullah Riyad vs Sean Williams

[jimmy101]

vs

Similar types of players who fulfill similar roles in their respective teams. Both players burst on to the international scene at a young age as genuine all-rounders, but are now viewed more so as batsmen who bowl a little bit of part-time spin. Who would you prefer?

 

[the big bambino]

Both would be excellent candidates for Dr. Who?

 

[Athlai]

Marma has more of an x factor but Williams is probably better overall

 

[Chubb]

Williams is the better player, but he doesn't get as many opportunities. Both have performed against the best but struggled for consistent impact, Williams possibly could have been a consistent top level player if Zim had played as much as Bang.

He also had personal behavioural issues earlier in his career that affected his opportunities. Alan Butcher mentions getting assurances Williams was "clean" before selecting him in 2011:

"Williams ... was under a cloud of suspicion about his commitment and he was surrounded by rumours of alcohol and drug abuse. I stuck my neck out for him after he assured me he was clean and offered to take a drug test."

 

[honestbharani]

Williams, as of now.

 

[jimmy101]

Believe he also had personal behavioural issues earlier in his career that did affect his opportunities. Alan Butcher mentions getting assurances Williams was "clean" before selecting him in 2011.

That's interesting. I have never head about that. Would like to hear more on what him being "clean" prior to being selected in 2011 was all about.

 

[Chubb]

That's interesting. I have never head about that. Would like to hear more on what him being "clean" prior to being selected in 2011 was all about.

Added a quote from Alan Butcher's book. Implies recreational drug use. To be fair to Williams he has matured a lot since then, got married, became a dad.

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

Mahmudullah

2015 WC, played a crucial role in taking BD to quarter finals (two centuries against England and NZ)
Finished crucial games for BD many times eg 2011 WC vs Eng,
2017 Champions trophy vs NZ

 

[cnerd123]

Mahmudullah obviously superior in Test cricket because he's played a lot more. Williams has just 12 Tests vs 5 nations, Mahmudullah has 49 Tests against everyone except Ireland.

In ODIs you can make a case for Sean Williams being the slightly better batter, thought they played different roles in that format. Williams has more 50s and 100s in fewer innings, but his batting average is only 1 run higher because he batted higher up the order more often than Mahmudullah did (ie less not outs). Williams has played most of his innings at 5 while 'dullah bats at 6 and 7.

Mahmudullah's strike rate at 6/7 is pretty poor tho, and his best performances have come higher up the order. Averages 50 at 4 and 2 of his 3 hundreds have come there. Williams on the other hand actually has his best stats at 6, where he averages 42 wit a SR of 87 and five 50s in 16 innings. Both of them suck at 3 tho.

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

Haven’t been following Sean Williams recently but Mahmudullah’s bowling degraded to some serious extent over the years. None of the bd captains had enough confidence in him to begin with to throw the ball to him. I think he figured it out quickly and concentrated on improving his batting more as his career progressed. Unless its some franchise cricket, he does not bowl anymore.

 

[jimmy101]

Could come down to team makeup/which roles are required from individual players. Clearly BD have a wealth of spinners of a higher caliber than Mahmudullah these days, which would explain his focus on batting. Whereas his bowling would have been more useful for the team in his early years.

 

[cnerd123]

Mahudullah was criminally underbowled early in his career. Was a legit good spinner and always seemed to perform when he got the chance to bowl.

Has faded away in recent times while his batting has become more reliable.

 

[jimmy101]

Has faded away in recent times while his batting has become more reliable.

This is probably a good indicator of what his training regime has been like over the past few years. Bangladesh for a while have been searching for some top-quality middle order batsmen. I'd say he was turned into a specialist batsmen by the coaching staff more than anything else.

Either that or he pulled a Collins Obuya & just lost the knack for bowling.

 

[cnerd123]

Apparently Mahmadullah recorded the best bowling figures for a Bangladeshi spinner on debut.

He had a shoulder injury as well for a while that kept him from bowling. Had surgery for it in 2019 and returned to bowling for a bit, but I guess now he's just shelved it.

 

[jimmy101]

Yeah, shoulder surgery can basically stop you in your tracks as a bowler. Explains the Mahmudullah situation pretty well. On a personal note, I once had DVT in my right shoulder a couple of years ago which required surgery (albeit rather minor). Still, I ended up losing about 50% of my pace & it basically put an end to my bowling prospects.