Who was a better batsman? Hansie Cronje or Jonty Rhodes

[mr_mister]

Not asking who's a better bloke. Just who could bat better.

I find a lot of similarities between these 2. Along with Donald these 2 were the biggest stars of SA's early readmission years. Absolute staples of SAs top 6 through the 90s without ever really possessing super impressive batting stats.

Obviously extra factors like captaincy, some bowling ability and elite fielding made them both vital members of the team, but who contributed more in their (arguably) primary roles in the side?

In tests:

Cronje: avg 36.4, 6 tons and 23 fifties in 111 innings
Jonty: avg 35.7, 3 tons and 17 fifties in 80 innings

Not too much separating them here. Cronje did ton up a bit more but Rhodes made it to 50 more often

In ODIs:

Cronje: avg 38.6, s/r 76.5, 2 tons and 39 fifties in 175 innings
Jonty: avg 35.1, s/r 80.9, 2 tons and 33 fifties from 220 innings

Again it's close. Cronje with the higher avg, Jonty with the tremendous strike rate for the era, and the 50s stat has decreased relevance due to one usually batting a good 2 spots higher than the other


Honestly I can't split them. What say you CW?

 

[Starfighter]

Cronje imo.

 

[vcs]

Cronje used to play the occasional knock which made him look like an outrageous talent, where he seemed to be batting on a completely different pitch to the others. Can't recall exactly which match, but a few of those low-scoring early '90s ODIs in SA come to mind.

 

[jimmy101]

My vote goes to Hansie, but I seem to have more than one of those against-the-wall type of knocks by Jonty in the back of my mind.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

Initially thought that this was a slippy888 thread.

Neck and neck..
I'd say Cronje (as a kid, I pronounced it as 'Crunjee').

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Cronje for me but it is hard admitting that given he was a ****

 

[Burgey]

Yeah, same

 

[Neil Young]

Cronje comfortably for me.

 

[CricAddict]

Cronje easily.

 

[NUFAN]

If you picture Rhodes batting what shot is he hitting?

For me its a clip through or over mid wicket for a couple.

Cronje was better

 

[ankitj]

They both seemed better than their stats. Especially Cronje.

 

[stephen]

Yeah Cronje comfortably IMO. Jonte always seemed better than a mid 30s average though.

 

[StephenZA]

In pure batting ability Cronje was better.

I think that Jontys ability to put pressure on the field and help rotate strike for his partner added something extra when he was in the middle.

 

[Dendarii]

Jonte always seemed better than a mid 30s average though.

He did have something of a late revival, average well over 40 for the last few years of his career,

 

[honestbharani]

Jonty... **** Cronje. I know OP says we should only judge them on their batting but when someone lets you down that hard, and he was a bit of a hero for you as a new teenager, it stays with you for life.

 

[mr_mister]

There's always one

 

[OverratedSanity]

Cronje easily imo. Treated some quality spinners with disdain at times. Jonty is underappreciated as an odi batsman though. His fielding overshadows the fact that he was a pretty good short format batsman.

 

[honestbharani]

If you picture Rhodes batting what shot is he hitting?

For me its a clip through or over mid wicket for a couple.

Cronje was better

The pull shot..

 

[honestbharani]

There's always one

I highly doubt I am the only one.

 

[mr_mister]

I highly doubt I am the only one.

What do you think I'm referring to exactly?