SA Footy

Here is the top4 50 getters in Test Cricket

63 BORDER
60 DRAVID
59 TENDULKAR
55 PONTING

Theres a possibilty that the 3 current stars might pass ABs record of most 50s
Or will they ?


QUESTION
Of this quartet who is the best of them all ?
My order is :
BORDER
TENDULKAR
PONTING
DRAVID

The only easy part of that order is that DRAVID is not as good as the other 3 [but no disgrace]

Who will be the most prolific 50 scorer of them all of this quartet ?
I have little doubt it will be TENDULKAR
he is currently 57* in the 3rd test v NZ in getting to his 59th half ton
TENDULKAR has notched 1392 runs this year, and he also finished on 1392 runs in 2002 !!!

I love Border almost above all Aussie cricketers but Punter and SRT are clearly better batsmen.

regards,

REB

mal wrote:Here is the top4 50 getters in Test Cricket

63 BORDER
60 DRAVID
59 TENDULKAR
55 PONTING

Theres a possibilty that the 3 current stars might pass ABs record of most 50s
Or will they ?


QUESTION
Of this quartet who is the best of them all ?
My order is :
BORDER
TENDULKAR
PONTING
DRAVID

The only easy part of that order is that DRAVID is not as good as the other 3 [but no disgrace]

Who will be the most prolific 50 scorer of them all of this quartet ?
I have little doubt it will be TENDULKAR
he is currently 57* in the 3rd test v NZ in getting to his 59th half ton
TENDULKAR has notched 1392 runs this year, and he also finished on 1392 runs in 2002 !!!

I will admit i can barely remember Border playing, but Tendulkar will surely be remembered as a better batsman then AB. Fair enough AB was in a crap team for the majority of his career, but Tendulkar's record stacks up and surpasses it in most areas.

Border was an excellent Batsman. Very courageous against the most brutal bowling I've seen in three decades. Standing up to the West Indians time and time again and carrying the side for over a decade will always have AB high in my estimation. AB made Waugh look like a soft touch. Waugh was Waugh because AB provided the template. What we would give for either right now.

But on sheer ability alone he does not surpass Punter and especialy Sachin who is the best I have seen since Viv.

regards,

REB

mal wrote:Here is the top4 50 getters in Test Cricket

63 BORDER
60 DRAVID
59 TENDULKAR
55 PONTING

Theres a possibilty that the 3 current stars might pass ABs record of most 50s
Or will they ?


QUESTION
Of this quartet who is the best of them all ?
My order is :
BORDER
TENDULKAR
PONTING
DRAVID

The only easy part of that order is that DRAVID is not as good as the other 3 [but no disgrace]

Who will be the most prolific 50 scorer of them all of this quartet ?
I have little doubt it will be TENDULKAR
he is currently 57* in the 3rd test v NZ in getting to his 59th half ton
TENDULKAR has notched 1392 runs this year, and he also finished on 1392 runs in 2002 !!!

Gee Mal, why don't you pose a tough question. There are so many things that have to be taken into account when making assessment.
Border - generally acknowledged played against the best fast bowling cricket has seen for so many years. I think it was Dujon who acknowledged that Border was the best and played two innings in the WIndies that he said were the best he has seen against the most hostile fast bowling he has kept to - fair rap from someone that should know.

The little master - unfortunately before Fox, we didn't see enough of him. He has benefitted in the topic of this thread from starting at an age (16 ?) well before the others. Seems to save his best, for the best (the Aus team).

Ponting - I am biased, but he is clearly the best bat I have seen, technically and from run scoring point of view. But, he has played when we have been far and away the best cricket team in the world, how much weight do we place on that. He has also benefitted from some of the best opening combinations we have produced, Hayden / Lang being the standout, so lot easier coming in a 0 for plenty, rather than 1 for not many.

Dravid - IMO we are talking about a different class of player than the other three, not to say you would not pick him, but I don't rate with the other three.

So having said that I guess my choice would be.
Ponting
Tendulkar
Border
then the rest.

And just as an addition, I don't rate Lara with the top three, but gee, sitting on the mound at the Oval watching him peel off a double against us was batting at its best.

Bulls forever wrote:Border - generally acknowledged played against the best fast bowling cricket has seen for so many years. I think it was Dujon who acknowledged that Border was the best and played two innings in the WIndies that he said were the best he has seen against the most hostile fast bowling he has kept to - fair rap from someone that should know.

I believe these two innings were in a drawn match in the West Indies in 1984. Border made a ton in each innings. Viv Richards mentioned it in 'Hitting accross the line' when he apparently said 'come on man, let's get your century and get out of here' cos it was so hot.

How awesome is that!

regards,

REB

Rik E Boy wrote: AB made Waugh look like a soft touch. Waugh was Waugh because AB provided the template.

Agree 100%

AB - my first true cricketing hero.
Pugsley!

What little I saw of Border was restricted to highlights packages, which obviously focused on his good points...

I would put him fourth, purely for not having seen a full innings or series of his...

SRT is first for mine, simply the best batsman I have seen ever.

Sorry lads but Dravid beats Punter for mine... Stats may lie, but if I was the skipper, and I had the two in my side, and needed a big effort from my number 3, then I'd be going with Dravid.

I personally see Ponting as a bloke who does well in a good side... He's great in partnerships, and with Hayden & Langer often taking the score into three figures in their opening, he didn't have to deal with much pressure (obviously a few notable exceptions), but when the team struggled, I noticed he struggled.

Dravid is a saver... (not to be confused with a saviour), Like SR Waugh, when your in the poo, and you need someone to bat a day, you go for Dravid, probably ahead of any other Test player of the modern era.

My thoughts only...

Dravid is an entirely different batsman than Sachin and Punter
Dravid generally has a very specific job to do and he does it exceptionally well
have a look at the other batsmen in the Indian team, Sehwag, Sachin, VVS, they can all score quickly and look spectacular doing it, but Rahul goes in, consolidates his position then grinds his way to whatever score he gets
his overall career strikerate is just over 40

out of the others, Sachin and then Punter
I would have Lara after Sachin for me, magic to watch when on song and scored so many runs in an average WI team

anyway it is all objective

Media Park wrote:What little I saw of Border was restricted to highlights packages, which obviously focused on his good points...

I would put him fourth, purely for not having seen a full innings or series of his...

SRT is first for mine, simply the best batsman I have seen ever.

Sorry lads but Dravid beats Punter for mine... Stats may lie, but if I was the skipper, and I had the two in my side, and needed a big effort from my number 3, then I'd be going with Dravid.

I personally see Ponting as a bloke who does well in a good side... He's great in partnerships, and with Hayden & Langer often taking the score into three figures in their opening, he didn't have to deal with much pressure (obviously a few notable exceptions), but when the team struggled, I noticed he struggled.

Dravid is a saver... (not to be confused with a saviour), Like SR Waugh, when your in the poo, and you need someone to bat a day, you go for Dravid, probably ahead of any other Test player of the modern era.

My thoughts only...

Punter way ahead of Dravid as a batsman. I make my calls based on what sort of play they can produce. Therefore I rate Viv Richards ahead of anybody else even though many players have a better average than Viv.

Players I have seen

1. Viv Richards
2. Sachin Tendulkar
3. Ricky Ponting
4. Brian Lara
5. Greg Chappell
6. Alan Border
7. Martin Crowe
8. David Gower
9. Steve Waugh
10. Javed Miandad

If Botham could produce his explosive power more often I'd rate him but his high risk game style wasn't going to come off often enough to compete with these blokes. I don't rate the grafters on roads that Dravid has unfortnately become. Jayasaruia or however you spell is the unlucky next cab off the rank as is Clive Lloyd.

regards,

REB

Media Park wrote:What little I saw of Border was restricted to highlights packages, which obviously focused on his good points...

I would put him fourth, purely for not having seen a full innings or series of his...

SRT is first for mine, simply the best batsman I have seen ever.

Sorry lads but Dravid beats Punter for mine... Stats may lie, but if I was the skipper, and I had the two in my side, and needed a big effort from my number 3, then I'd be going with Dravid.

I personally see Ponting as a bloke who does well in a good side... He's great in partnerships, and with Hayden & Langer often taking the score into three figures in their opening, he didn't have to deal with much pressure (obviously a few notable exceptions), but when the team struggled, I noticed he struggled.

Dravid is a saver... (not to be confused with a saviour), Like SR Waugh, when your in the poo, and you need someone to bat a day, you go for Dravid, probably ahead of any other Test player of the modern era.

My thoughts only...

You are a tough judge Media. Just going further with that, I think when Haydos and Lang were playing, punters test average was a tad below 60, I think it has dropped down to middle 50's now, hopefully he will come out and peel one off tomorrow and then we can start getting back at the Poms, our media are not paying us any favours at the moment. Also, I saw on the Test Match last night that Dravid actually averages more away from home than he does on the Indian graveyards, probably supports your opinion, but doesn't change mine.