Most underrated and overrated players in the world?

[tooextracool]

I'm amazed at those two, though I wouldn't disagree with the rest.

inzamam is too inconsistent a player to be worth of the 'great player' tag, which so many people seem to give him so easily. its no surprise that his average goes down when he plays in india, SA and australia.
brad hogg couldnt be more underrated IMO.

 

[tooextracool]

Namely watching him bowl..

with his oh so brilliant ODI record of 30 @ 5.18. i'd be extremely surprised if bravo took wickets at anywhere near the same price he did in england, in conditions that couldnt have suited him more.

Haha, that's a good one! McCullum could become a good player, and no more than that, and that's certainly not guranteed.

why not? if smith has the potential to be bradman# 2 despite his obvious flaws, im fairly sure mccullum has the potential to be a very very good player. lets hear you name me one weakness either technical or temperamental that mccullum has shown in his short career so far?

 

[tooextracool]

His bowling is overrated in ODIs, and he always seems to start with a stack of wides, but in Tests he's closer to the finished article than anything to come out of West Indies for the last 10 years - purely as a bowler, never mind his batting. If he weren't having to bat too high in the order it might help.

based on 1 series

 

[Richard]

Yep, because presently that's all we've got to work with.
After the upcoming South Africa series, I may or may not have changed my mind.

 

[Richard]

with his oh so brilliant ODI record of 30 @ 5.18. i'd be extremely surprised if bravo took wickets at anywhere near the same price he did in england, in conditions that couldnt have suited him more.

And I've mentioned ODIs where...?
He's not good enough to be playing ODIs ATM, that's now pretty clear (I always thought it was a possibility, as I usually do when bowlers come in and take wickets despite being expensive) but I do think he could improve.
In Tests, where his tendency to start by spraying it a bit matters much less because the wides are more lenient, it's not so significant.

why not? if smith has the potential to be bradman# 2 despite his obvious flaws, im fairly sure mccullum has the potential to be a very very good player. lets hear you name me one weakness either technical or temperamental that mccullum has shown in his short career so far?

None - his shot-selection just isn't anywhere near good enough.
I'm not saying he shouldn't be playing Tests, because he's shown some potential there, but his ODI record is a joke.

 

[tooextracool]

It's interesting that Richard says McGrath can only bowl well on seaming or uneven tracks, and also manages to juggle that with saying that most tracks in the world are too flat and batsmen's paradises. I don't really understand how McGrath can be so overrated with an average of around 22 when most wickets in the world are flat-tracks.

and thats despite the fact that he(richard) has missed both tours to india, the tour to pakistan, and basically the first 8 years of mcgrath's career. englands tour is an anomaly, as was the trans tasman series, as well as the series vs pakistan. so he judges mcgrath based on the series against SA(01-02), NZ(01), and WI (03).

 

[tooextracool]

for someone who rates damian fleming, dion nash, javagal srinath, geoff allot as great bowlers of their time, i fail to realise how mcgrath isnt' seen as above them by a country mile?

i believe he rates allott as an all time great based on the wc 99, regardless of the fact that he was hammered in every other series before and after, and even by quality teams during the world cup. apparently his test average of 58 makes him an all time great too.

 

[Richard]

inzamam is too inconsistent a player to be worth of the 'great player' tag, which so many people seem to give him so easily. its no surprise that his average goes down when he plays in india, SA and australia.

Hopefully he might correct the disparity in India. And I reckon he might have done in Australia had he not missed the two Tests that gave the batsmen a decent chance. No, he's maybe not quite as good as some think, but he's nothing like as overrated as Youhana, who's nothing more than an average Test-match batsman.

brad hogg couldnt be more underrated IMO.

Why? It sure can't be because of his fantastic ODI record (even if you only take it from after the 9-75-0(3nb) spell it's still only 28.54 at 4.54-an-over), and it certainly can't be because of his Test-bowling.
About the only thing I can think of about Hogg that's underrated is his batting, and that's only slightly.

 

[Richard]

i believe he rates allott as an all time great based on the wc 99, regardless of the fact that he was hammered in every other series before and after, and even by quality teams during the world cup. apparently his test average of 58 makes him an all time great too.

Despite the fact I've never called him an all-time great.

 

[Richard]

and thats despite the fact that he(richard) has missed both tours to india, the tour to pakistan, and basically the first 8 years of mcgrath's career. englands tour is an anomaly, as was the trans tasman series, as well as the series vs pakistan. so he judges mcgrath based on the series against SA(01-02), NZ(01), and WI (03).

No, I just don't take it as simply as that.

 

[Langeveldt]

What a wonderful comeback again!
If you can provide any evidence to counter the statement that McGrath mostly tends to take wickets with poor strokes when the pitches don't offer seam or uneven bounce, you might actually be getting somewhere.

Maybe he induces poor strokes through being such a hard bowler to get away? Thats a wicket earnt, why should the bowler not be credited when he makes a batsman f*** up?

 

[Richard]

Explain it away - wasn't talking about venues.

Eh?

Utter twaddle.

No, it's not, it's fact. How people choose to explain it is the place where opinion comes in.

 

[Richard]

Maybe he induces poor strokes through being such a hard bowler to get away? Thats a wicket earnt, why should the bowler not be credited when he makes a batsman f*** up?

Because he can't make the batsman fuc*-up.
He can only try to encourage it, and I don't believe he deserves credit for it.

 

[Richard]

Mark my words Dickie

I will - and I'll wait for them to come back and bite you.

 

[Langeveldt]

The "authorities" have changed the rule to accommodate Murali for purely political purposes - it's a disgrace.

Oh for sure... Im wondering what would have happened to the laws if Murali was from Zimbabwe or somewhere else.. Diddly squat probably.

 

[Richard]

Hamish Marshall must be one of the most underated oneday players around. Nobody really rates him but he has an excellent one-day average and strike rate. Not to mention his fielding (and his hair )

I've thought ever since I thought about it that it's because of the small number of boundaries he tends to hit.
People routinely struggle to accept batsmen who can score quickly without having to hit boundaries.

 

[Richard]

Oh for sure... Im wondering what would have happened to the laws if Murali was from Zimbabwe or somewhere else.. Diddly squat probably.

Wouldn't matter, because Mad Bob would probably have sent him to self-exile by now.

 

[Langeveldt]

Agreed on Marshall.. He does look good

 

[Richard]

It's no secret that McGrath doesn't do a huge amount with the ball; what he does do though, is not provide the batsmen with easy scoring opportunities. After a while, frustration leads to brain explosions, and there you have what makes McGrath so special: the ability to bang the ball in at a length delivery after delivery until the batsman commits suicide.

If he had any less control, the batsmen could just sit back and wait for the ball that gets away; the fact that it comes less often than Hailey's Comet says that McGrath is a good bowler and doubtlessly something special.

Frustration leads to brain-explosions in Test-cricket only for those who've got the wrong mental approach. It doesn't matter how quickly you score in Tests - you've got as long as you want.

 

[Langeveldt]

Wouldn't matter, because Mad Bob would probably have sent him to self-exile by now.

That isn't the point though...