CRICKET GREATS: The ELITES Were Early BLOOMERS

* Excellent post Mappy.

* Listen! Batsmen like Shiv, Kallis, Dravid and SWaugh put up great NUMBERS but they were BORING.

* Kanhai, on the other hand, always looked like an ELITE and EXTRAORDINARY great, but the FACT is he did not put up the numbers.

* Kanhai's artistry as a batsman was matchless, but his NUMBERS were disappointing.


* Anyone who saw Kanhai bat would tell you he was a great batsman. But his NUMBERS were disappointing.

Rev

when it comes to Kanhai, numbers did not matter!  He cared less about numbers and so too his fans!

tell me which other batsman that ever played the game created such an electrifying feeling whenever he walks to the crease? !!!  none!  not even Richards!

which stats measure that? 

check 2 things Rev..bad outs due to the very same bad officiating I have already mentioned. 

also see how many near tons Kanhai made..and if you can where failure to convert coincided with bad officiating

6227 runs is nothing to sneeze at..neither is 47 average.

also consider how many of those innings saved west indies or won matches for the west indies..or set up wins..or took place under great pressure

remember the west indies and the world were not always like it is now..and Kanhai an' dem were born in and grew up under colonialism not all that far removed from actual slavery and the end of indenture.  all of that formed dem guys.  personality flaws ans scars from that experience are the order of the day with them guys, that must have acted to inhibit their full development as human beings

hell we..our generations.. suffer also  from that crap too far less for them, born and grew very near the core of the hell that has been our history.

I am loathe to consider our people in punitive and judgemental ways regardless.  I prefer to look  into the reality to see what took place and refrain from judging.  if someone had all the advantages and deliberately fcuks up, I have no sympathy. on the other hand...

Maps sounding like CLR dey....

really googs.  make my day eh!

yeah maps Really nice.  I like it! 

* The Rev has always maintained that Rohan Kanhai is the greatest batsman who ever played the game. Screw the numbers and screw the facts. I am entitled to my prejudice and my perception.

* But for every other batsman, numbers must be applied.

* Actually, my 3 favorite batsmen of all time are: Rohan Kahnai, Alvin Kallicharran and Shiv Chanderpaul.

Rev

Rev, since Alvin is one of your fav batsmen...why don't you put up some stats before and after his shoulder injury.

This begs for the definition of what is great and clearly it is not just numbers. That definition can also be very subjective.

For me, and I have said many times, Kanhai is the greatest West Indian batsman ever.

He was the first innivator, the first master blaster and yes he is great and to sniff at 47 average may not be correct.

Question is, how did Kanhai's numbers compare to the top ten of his era or the span of his test career?

I did not think Courtney Walsh to be a great bowler but he remained fit and his longevity saw him achieve great numbers.

Similarly Shiv is dependable, workmanlike, effective but less aestheticall pleasing to watch and for me not Great, but someone deserving the greatest of respect.

I think had Shiv continued as he started, notwithstanding you learn and become somewhat guarded after time, not only would he have scored more tons but he would have been more attractive to watch.

He had stopped using his feet until the second test of this Bangladesh series and he has been over cautious but situations may have called for that.

Would Shiv clear the bar when he arrives at the crease? No, but you know he is more likely than most to be there for some time.

That is a very interesting statistic of Vivian's 100 tests post 76. Just good really if you set 50 as a benchmark average.

watch it ! : those are my 4 favorites  :-[