Official Cricket thread (17 Viewers)

[WΏΏdy?]

I knew you'd be a fan of that as well

I think i remember more memorable test matches than ODIs and T20s combined. The recent Eng-IND test seemed like heading for a different result every day and even at the end of a dull last 2 days and the draw, it was still a great game.

The reason Cricket suddenly came to my attention now is a while ago there was this debate among friends about who is the greatest player of our generation, needless to say i was ganged up on when i said Brian Lara over Tendulkar any day of the week.

 

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[Red]

Kallis.

The England v Sri Lanka series just past was great. Both matches decided in the final over of the fifth day. And England lost.

And it featured Sangakkara, who is probably my favourite among the batsmen who'd be considered modern greats.

 

[WΏΏdy?]

Well Kallis can be considered among the same league as Tendulkar or Warne or Sangakara but Lara was so elegant, so stylish. Others i mentioned including Kallis were great ambassadors of the game along with being effective but Lara would always be the romantic's choice.

Think of him as Gilles Villeneuve with Senna's achievements.

Btw i can never be a fan or any Sri Lankan player not named Muralitharan or back in the day, Arvind De Silva. That piece of tar was a monster!

 

[Red]

Substance over style for me, so not interested in the romantic choice.

Which is exactly why I may have greater admiration for Dravid than Tendulkar.

I want someone who scores runs in all conditions and gets tough runs when the team really needs them.

And F1 comparisons are wasted on me - don't know enough about it.

 

[WΏΏdy?]

I have great admiration for Dravid, who as a Indian fan i know was unfairly treated by the board both on and off the field. He could have achieved much more, but then again that was the dying golden generation for cricket. They just don't make them like that anymore. Argument can be made that i feel that way since we grew up we are not passionate about the game anymore as we are as kids. Show me a bowler today who might be in the same class as Waqar, Wasim, Walsh, Ambrose, Donald, Warne or Muralitharan. Show me ODI greats that come close to the generation of Anwar, Bevan, Dravid, Gilly, Astle, Flower brothers (always loved him for some reason), De Silva or old school all rounders like Klusner, Pollock, Kallis, Chris Cairns/Harris.

This generation does have a lot of all rounders as compared to the past, just not enough style.

Who are your favourites from this crop of cricketers? For me it would be Kohli (who i think will break all records), AB De Villers, Amla. Not a single bowler i would watch a match for.

 

[Red]

No doubt this generation is a relatively weak one.

Dale Steyn is worth watching, as is Mitchell Johnson if he bowls like he did during the last Ashes series. Anderson was good, but is a couple of years past his best now.

Yeah, I like the batsmen you mention. Would add Michael Clarke to them.

My issue is with the lack of players who actually play like Test batsmen. It's all very well having guys like Kevin Pietersen or David Warner or Chris Gayle who will score 100 in a session every now and then but can't be relied upon to play responsibly or to remember that it can be every bit as important to simply occupy the crease rather than just play in 20/20-mode all the time.

Get really fed up of watching players like them with huge talent but without the temperament and intelligence to back up that talent.

Warner seems to be showing signs of learning, unlike the other two.

 

[Salvo]

RIP Phillip Hughes. Horrible.

 

[ZoSo]

Pretty bad luck, sad.

 

[icemaη]

Such a tragic end. You don't expect this in a non contact sport. Can't help but feel how devastated Sean Abbott must be feeling now.

 

[CaesarCod]

Sucks big time.

 

[Zé Tahir]

Very tragic. RIP.

 

[Salvo]

Just reminds me of Simoncelli, that same feeling I had. He was a fantastic guy by all reports as well.

- - - Updated - - -

Thoughts with Sean Abbott as well

 

[Bianconero_Aus]

Absolutely terrible news. RIP.

 

[JuveJay]

Really shocking.

 

[Marty]

I don't know or follow the sport but that's just tragic. How unlucky.

 

[campionesidd]

Very sad to hear about Phil Hughes.
@Salvo. Yes I remember feeling the same about Marco Simoncelli

 

[Ahmed]

was in a daze over the past few days, could not believe he had actually passed away.

was a smashing, flamboyant batsman with a huge career ahead of him, such a tragedy.

RIP Hughesy

 

[Xperd]

Dhoni retires from test cricket.

Think he was largely mediocre as a batsman in the test arena.I just felt he dint have the technique to excel here,very unorthodox and often struggled abroad as a result of that.You'll see there'd be a big difference between his test avgs in India and abroad.

As for captaincy,think it was about time to pass the mantle on to Kohli.There've been some embarrassing displays in the last
couple of yrs.We've played like minnows when it has come to overseas tours imo,thats got to change.

 

[Xperd]

Nobody watching the wc ?!

 

[Martin]

germany won it