saeed anwar wasted potential?

[smash84]

I too rate him quite highly but as TC mentions it was really irritating how he would fish for the delivery angled across the left hander. It was extremely irritating to watch and got the number of him countless times.

 

[smash84]

but I do agree with subs that had he been around in the 00s he would have easily gone up to 50. He was very good. 90s was a terrible time to be an opener

 

[subshakerz]

I rate him too but two of the three tons you mentioned came on the flattest decks imaginable. The pitches in that series were heart-breakers. Brisbane knock was a good'un but, again, was a fast-scoring pitch.

For such a gun looking player, could be awfully loose outside off-stump. That's what prevents me from saying he'd have averaged 50+ even in easier times, tbh. 45 for an opener is still a hell of a record, though.

Your right, he had a tendency to edge to first slip or the keeper more than any opener I can remember.

However, like I said, there is an entire list of batsmen who bumped their averages from the 40s or below into the 50s transitioning from the 90s to the 2000s. I can think of Mohd. Yousuf, Inzimam, Jaywardene, Hayden, Kallis, Ponting, Andy Flower. I don't see why Anwar couldn't. Playing more against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh alone would bump him up a few points.

I say this given that you can have an opener like Sehwag, who averages less than 30 in NZ, SA, and England, and still have a final average of 50+. You dont need to play swing bowling well in the 2000s to have a good final average, but Anwar was more capable against swing so I dont see why he can't do as good if not better.