SJS
Hall of Fame Member
Its ridiculous. This urge to find the best/the greatest across years, decades eras and then for comparison we have nothing solid. In what is essentially a team game we want to compare individuals ! How do you expect to do it ? And why ?
Here is what the legendry English bowler Frank Tyson said when he was asked "Who is the best?"
The Best ! You might as well ask me 'Who is the best musician you have heard?' Menuhin? The lead guitarist of Air Supply? Rubinstein? Benny Goodman? Or who is the best singer you have listened to? Pavarotti? Michael Jackson? Domingo? Phil Collins? Comparisons, as Mrs Malatrop remarked, are odorous, but if they are to be made, one should not compare chalk to cheese. Would you not baulk at making a judgement between Boycott and Ian Botham? The only things their games have in common are their equipment and their lip service to the laws of cricket.
Compare like with like. Dont be content with ONE BEST. Have a whole host of them: the best defensive batsman; the best attacking batsman; the most complete batsman; the fastest fast bowler; the most versatile fast bowler; the best match-winning all-rounder; the most versatile all-rounder; the best wrist spinner; the best finger spinner; and the best wicket keeper.Even within these categories there are sub-divisions: the best soft wicket and the best hard-wicket finger spinners, the best keeper to fast bowling, the best keeper to slow bowling....
It is appropriate that cricket should have such a wealthof diverse specialist expertise, for in Shakespearean terms, it is a game of infinite variety which age has been unable to whither or custom make stale.
Here is what the legendry English bowler Frank Tyson said when he was asked "Who is the best?"
The Best ! You might as well ask me 'Who is the best musician you have heard?' Menuhin? The lead guitarist of Air Supply? Rubinstein? Benny Goodman? Or who is the best singer you have listened to? Pavarotti? Michael Jackson? Domingo? Phil Collins? Comparisons, as Mrs Malatrop remarked, are odorous, but if they are to be made, one should not compare chalk to cheese. Would you not baulk at making a judgement between Boycott and Ian Botham? The only things their games have in common are their equipment and their lip service to the laws of cricket.
Compare like with like. Dont be content with ONE BEST. Have a whole host of them: the best defensive batsman; the best attacking batsman; the most complete batsman; the fastest fast bowler; the most versatile fast bowler; the best match-winning all-rounder; the most versatile all-rounder; the best wrist spinner; the best finger spinner; and the best wicket keeper.Even within these categories there are sub-divisions: the best soft wicket and the best hard-wicket finger spinners, the best keeper to fast bowling, the best keeper to slow bowling....
It is appropriate that cricket should have such a wealthof diverse specialist expertise, for in Shakespearean terms, it is a game of infinite variety which age has been unable to whither or custom make stale.
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