Quote:btw - did you just saw that double century against NZ? How do you rank that double?
I saw the second half, from 100 to his dismissal. I thought it was okay - mostly for the masterful way he farmed the strike - but the Kiwis were tired and had given up. And everyone scores big at Wellington; Mccullum's tripple century, Kane's double century, and a wicket keeper even managing a 150 yesterday.
Quote:I saw him making a similar century against Oz in Oz...he was close to a double century when he was cheated out by umpire RUDY.
I think that innings is overrated. Lee was old and would retire some months later, Clarke was bowling, everyone was making runs.
I dont rate people like Kallis, Sangas or Chanders as "great". Sangas in particular makes easy runs, mostly in the UAE and in SL, where they get to play constantly. The only "accumulator batsman" I respect is Steve Waugh and to a lesser extent Dravid.
Quote:When is the last time you have heard of an umpire apologizing to any batsman?!!
It happens at times. The ICC released a public apology for 2 wrong Lara dismissals in one of the WI's tours of Australia.
Quote:Viv Richards only averaged in the 40s during the last 9 years of his career!
1. An average of 40 to 45 then is the equivalent of 50-55 today.
2. Everyone knows Viv retired 3 years late. His average suffered as a result.
3. Averages arent the whole story
4. In no country where he played more than 5 innings, did Viv average below 40. Sanga averages in the 30s in 4 countries, and that's in our era, where centuries are a dime a dozen.
5. Viv averaged 45+ for the 1st 2nd 3rd 4th innings, something most greats (even Tendulkar and Lara) can't claim.
6. Greg Chappel and Gavaskar - the two other greats of Viv's time - both average higher than Viv in tests (he's better than both in ODIs). Still, Viv was better than both (though you can make a strong case for Gavaskar). If he retired after the same number of tests as Chappel, he'd have the same average.
7. Viv had to deal with grassier pitches, longer boundries, no field restrictions, home-town umpires and all his women. He also used to cockily attack guys like Lillee, Thomson and Imran Khan, which was just way cooler than waiting out good attacks.
The worst thing you can say about Viv is that he didnt face his own bowlers and didnt face any great spin kings.
Quote:He padded his average against England!!
True, but...
1. It's hard to bat in England.
2. England's attack in the 80s was better than the 90s (except maybe Gough and Flintoff)
3. Everyone knows Viv hates whitey.
Quote:Kanhai is a great but not a statistical great
Yes. Kanhai averaged 53.2 at one down. In terms of talent, he was amongst the best.
