The better batsman the bettter #3 Ponting vs Dravid

[zaremba]

Perfectly happy with the idea of Kallis at 3. Somewhat surprised he hasn't played there more often.

 

[sumantra]

one thing to remember, i am not trying to compare mohider and vivian...we are talking about that most important no.3 slot here...and for me, if we consider the last 30 years or so, mohinder amarnath is a forgotten name who should be coming to that discussion and will hold a strong contender's position for me...

 

[sumantra]

yes zaremba, can't agree with you more, kallis is the best no. 3

 

[smash84]

one thing to remember, i am not trying to compare mohider and vivian...we are talking about that most important no.3 slot here...and for me, if we consider the last 30 years or so, mohinder amarnath is a forgotten name who should be coming to that discussion and will hold a strong contender's position for me...

Fair enough if you feel that Amarnath has played some very important innings at 3 and nor trying to make a comparison with Viv Richards. Interesting things you pointed out about Amarnath. Didn't know about all that stuff.

 

[marc71178]

you can go through two books, one is idols by sunil gavaskar, another all round view by imran khan, in which both of them said that mohinder is the best batsman that they have seen,

Interesting representation of Imran's words there. He said he was the best batsman in 1982/83, not quite the same as the best he has seen.

 

[weldone]

Interesting representation of Imran's words there. He said he was the best batsman in 1982/83, not quite the same as the best he has seen.

I think Gavaskar also might have said something similar. I'm sure that Gavaskar's favorite batsmen are Sobers, Tendulkar, Vishwanath, Kanhai and a few others..

He might believe that Amarnath was in the top echelon of batsmen, but can't believe that he implied Amarnath to be better than the above-mentioned batsmen and more...

Note: He named his son Rohan JayaVishwa Gavaskar because at the time of the birth of Rohan, Gavaskar's three 3 favorite batsmen were 'Rohan' Kanhai, ML 'Jaya'simha and Gundappa 'Vishwa'nath.

 

[DriveClub]

Punter anytime. Best counter attacking no3 after King Viv's days at no.3(not as good as the Viv)

 

[kyear2]

In a early crisis, Dravid. To pile on the pain, Ponting. But Ponting could do either if required, Dravid couldn't.

 

[weldone]

Australia news: Ricky Ponting on Rahul Dravid, India and Twenty20 cricket | Australia Cricket News | ESPN Cricinfo

 

[Outswinger@Pace]

Case I

Swing in the air and late movement off the deck with competent bowlers for such conditions: Rahul Dravid

Case II

Fearsome pace on a quick, truly bouncy track and genuinely fast men steaming in: Ricky Ponting

Not much to choose between them overall, though. Both aren't the best players of spin of their generation (very fine players, nonetheless). On the whole, I'd take Dravid over Ponting but the choice could be somewhat influenced by who my openers are.

A top 3 of Gavaskar, Boycott and Dravid, for instance could stall the scoring rate considerably and there's a chance that subsequent batsmen may feel the pressure to pile on some quick runs.

 

[smash84]

not a bad assessment outswinger.......from now on I'll call you OSP......your username is too long

 

[Outswinger@Pace]

not a bad assessment outswinger.......from now on I'll call you OSP......your username is too long

At least, I didn't try to make it alphanumeric.

 

[smash84]

umm yeah.......you made it worse using special characters

 

[weldone]

Case I

Swing in the air and late movement off the deck with competent bowlers for such conditions: Rahul Dravid

Case II

Fearsome pace on a quick, truly bouncy track and genuinely fast men steaming in: Ricky Ponting

Not much to choose between them overall, though. Both aren't the best players of spin of their generation (very fine players, nonetheless). On the whole, I'd take Dravid over Ponting but the choice could be somewhat influenced by who my openers are.

A top 3 of Gavaskar, Boycott and Dravid, for instance could stall the scoring rate considerably and there's a chance that subsequent batsmen may feel the pressure to pile on some quick runs.

Good post

 

[GotSpin]

Case I

Swing in the air and late movement off the deck with competent bowlers for such conditions: Rahul Dravid

Case II

Fearsome pace on a quick, truly bouncy track and genuinely fast men steaming in: Ricky Ponting

Not much to choose between them overall, though. Both aren't the best players of spin of their generation (very fine players, nonetheless). On the whole, I'd take Dravid over Ponting but the choice could be somewhat influenced by who my openers are.

A top 3 of Gavaskar, Boycott and Dravid, for instance could stall the scoring rate considerably and there's a chance that subsequent batsmen may feel the pressure to pile on some quick runs.

While I don't necessarily disagree with your whole assessment, I've always thought Ponting an excellent player of spin besides his bizarr weakness towards Bhaji

 

[Spark]

There is no way in hell he's anywhere near being the best player of spin of his generation though. I don't think he's even that close to being the best player of spin in his own team. At any stage of his career.

 

[Ikki]

The funny thing with Ponting is that despite never looking comfortable he has a fantastic record against spinners outside of India/Bhajji. Averages 50 IIRC in matches with Murali.

 

[centurymaker]

it's not always about figures. tendulkar nowadays looks ordinary against spinners too...

 

[ganeshran]

Bump

 

[silentstriker]

Doing badly now doesn't really change past ten years..