Worst specialist batsman of all time

[dsk]

Ken Rutherford. No one that bad lasted for so long

 

[THE MINGSTER]

Richard Jones and all the Kiwi batsmen.

 

[luckyeddie]

Spearman "played with a kind of casual genius all year" according to several people last year for Gloustershire...

I saw him a couple of times - and he sometimes played like a cross between Shahid Afridi and Sachin. Quite wonderful to watch - slogging with style.

Still, so did Ian Blackwell v Derbyshire - probably the most devastating innings in the championship for a few years.

As they say, every dog has his day - and for a number of years, Spearman's been a puppy.

 

[luckyeddie]

I'll go with Mike Brearley.......and from the same era, Dennis Amiss (when facing Lillee)

Ah, Dennis Amiss. Now you're talking, Kenny.
I remember when he played a brilliant innings at Melbourne (90 or so on a really difficult surface - the best draw I've ever seen) and I thought 'yup, he's finally laid the ghost'.

Then the pair at Adelaide rocked me back to reality.

Yeah, I'll go with Amiss.

 

[Rik]

One of the worst has to be Sri Lanka's Naveed Nawaz. Ok his Test record is good because he played against Bangladesh in his only Tests, but anyone who saw him over here a few years ago would have to wonder why on earth he's even near the side. Makes schoolboy errors, isn't young, and he walked out to bat with pads and a bat that looked like they belonged to a Village 2nd XI player, then played a Village 2nd XI shot...

 

[Rich2001]

Jehan Mubarak.

Sri Lanka must be desperate for batsmen because he was crap. I see he is captaining Sri Lanka 'A' at the moment, but god knows why?.

I remember in the VB Series, a commentator said Mubarak was an exceptional fielder, but everytime he went near the ball he made a mess of it.

And to think I nearly forgot about this bloke... iam with Tim, he might not be the worst of all-time just yet... but his making a damn good effort at it!

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Craig Evans

Evans is not a specialist batsman.

 

[Neil Pickup]

Mike Brearley was picked as a specialist captain. Without his tactical efficiency, he wouldn't have made it near the Test team. He was not picked as a specialist batsman.

I think you'll find he played a few Tests as a specialist batsman before being made captain.

Mark Dekker.
Saleem Elahi.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

I think you'll find he played a few Tests as a specialist batsman before being made captain.

He was picked with the captaincy in mind.

 

[V Reddy]

One of the worst has to be Sri Lanka's Naveed Nawaz. Ok his Test record is good because he played against Bangladesh in his only Tests, but anyone who saw him over here a few years ago would have to wonder why on earth he's even near the side. Makes schoolboy errors, isn't young, and he walked out to bat with pads and a bat that looked like they belonged to a Village 2nd XI player, then played a Village 2nd XI shot...

I remeber his innings against India in the Natwest series. He really struggled against Ganguly and was out caught in the slips of Ganguly .

 

[Richard]

Some interesting ones here:
Salim Elahi, with a List-A one-day average in the 50s and an ODI average in the high 30s.
Craig Spearman, with a First-Class average of over 40.
Shiv Sundar Das, with a Test average in the 30s (OK he did score most of his runs against Zimbabwe, but I have seen him several times and so often his concentration is phenominal until he reaches 30 then it goes completely, just like Elahi in Tests).
Michael Brearley, with a First-Class average in the high 30s, and Mark Ramprakash, with one comfortably in the 40s. Brearley might have been a Test failure but he failed for exactly the reason that Ramprakash did pre-1998 - temperament, not lack of ability.
Devang Gandhi, with a First-Class average over 40 and a good debut Test-series to his name. That's like saying Akash Chopra. And I can't help suspecting they'll get similar opportunities.
And what's more it's impossible to say "ever" as who knows how many specialist batsmen have played top-level cricet? For me the vote has to go to McCullum, he did play as a specialist batsman in his early ODIs despite a List-A average in the teens. OK, his First-Class average is in the 20s but that's still hardly impressive.
And whoever said Dennis Amiss needs to have their head examined.

 

[Neil Pickup]

Saleem Elahi, 6 ducks in 24 Test Innings, 436 runs @ 18.96

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Michael Brearley, with a First-Class average in the high 30s, and Mark Ramprakash, with one comfortably in the 40s. Brearley might have been a Test failure but he failed for exactly the reason that Ramprakash did pre-1998 - temperament, not lack of ability.

That's not the impression I get after reading 'The Art of Captaincy'.

 

[marc71178]

That's not the impression I get after reading 'The Art of Captaincy'.

But what would the author of that book know?

 

[luckyeddie]

And whoever said Dennis Amiss needs to have their head examined.

Not at all.

I congratulate you for taking a name and using it totally out of context.

Kenny mentioned Dennis Amiss 'When Dennis Lillee was bowling'. Now I watched Amiss from before the start of his test career, heard the clamour for his inclusion and watched his career develop with interest - right up to the point where he came up against a SERIOUS quick.

Amiss was found wanting in both technique and temperament - in short, a fish out of water - it appeared that he couldn't handle it.

Now I appreciate that Amiss did make one of his top scores in tests against a West Indies side which included Mikey, but all his other big scores came against one-man or no-man pace attacks.

15-0 to Kenny.

 

[Langeveldt]

Ive got one word for you....

Moniruzzaman

 

[Neil Pickup]

Ive got one word for you....

Moniruzzaman

We have a winner.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

But he's a Bangladeshi, so he doesn't count.

 

[Neil Pickup]

But he's a Bangladeshi, so he doesn't count.

Racist!

 

[Kenny]

Not at all.

I congratulate you for taking a name and using it totally out of context.

Kenny mentioned Dennis Amiss 'When Dennis Lillee was bowling'. Now I watched Amiss from before the start of his test career, heard the clamour for his inclusion and watched his career develop with interest - right up to the point where he came up against a SERIOUS quick.
15-0 to Kenny.

Shucks - Thanks Eddie!!
I only ever saw Amiss play in that 74-75 series in Australia, and he had no idea. He was totally psyched out.
It was only meant to be a humurous post really, I mean, I'm sure he was a good player.