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Which batsmen played the great Carribean pace attack best?

Harsh Thakor

By Harsh Thakor
in Cricket Talk

Which batsmen played the great Carribean pace attack best?  

7 members have voted

  1. 1. Which batsmen played the great Carribean pace attack best?

    • Sunil Gavaskar
      2
    • Greg Chappell
      1
    • Mohinder Amarnath
      1
    • Wasim Raja
      1
    • Majid Khan
      1
    • Dilip Vengsarkar
      0
    • Alan Border
      0
    • Asif Iqbal
      0
    • Alan Lamb
      0
    • Ian Chappell
      0
    • Graham Gooch
      1
    • David Boon
      0
    • Kim Hughes
      0
    • Gundappa Vishwanath
      0
    • Martin Crowe
      0
    • Steve Waugh
      0
    • Geoff Boycott
      0
    • Peter Willey
      0
    • Robin Smith
      0
    • David Hookes
      0

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Harsh Thakor Contributor

Harsh Thakor

Posted
Posted (edited)

This is my selection of batsmen ranked in order of merit  who statistically performed the best against the best West Indian pace bowling batteries.I have asessed strength of attacks and situations in which runs were scored .Adjusted stats in that light.

 

 

 

 

1.Wasim Raja- Averaged 57.71 in the Carribean in 1977 against the most ferocious of pace bowling.His 117 and 71 at Barbados retrieved Pakistan from the depths of despair to come within the brink of a famous victory.Displayed courgae at its highest zenith like a soldier .Also ever consistent at home in 1980.Always came out on top when his team faced a crisis.

 

2.Graham Gooch-In 1981 played the greatest attack ever better than any touring opening batsmen ever while in 1991 at Leeds played one of the 3 best test innings ever.Also scored 123 at Lords and 83 at the Oval in 1980 and 210 at Trent Bridge in 1988.Masterful hooking and driving taking domination to its deepest depth.Averaged over 57in the Carribaen in 1981 with a classic 153 at Kingston and 116 at Barbados.

 

3.Greg Chappell-Adding the 5 WSC supertests in the Carribean Greg was the premier batsmen against the West Indies pace attack.He compiled 621 runs at an average of 69 runs with 3 centuries.Sadly he lost form in later series at home both in 1979-80 and 1981-82.Developed vulnerability to the short rising bouncing ball.Scored 702 runs at 117+ average in 1975-76 but against only Holding and Roberts and not the foursome.

 

4.Alan Border-The ultimate wall in the Carribaen in 1984 when he averaged over 74 ressurecting Australia from the grave with an epic 100 and 98 n.o at Trinidad.Also a model of constituency in home series n 1981-82 when he averaged over 67.

 

 

5.Mohinder Amarnath-In 1983 in the Carribaen the best ever being the ultimate epitome of batting perfection.No batsmen took the greatest attack ever to the sword like Mohinder then.Scored 598 rusn at 66.8 average which was remarkable.However lost his form in India in the home series.Watching him drive and hook the great battery was a sight to behold-a meditation for cricketers.

 

6.Alan Lamb -3 centuries at home in 1984 and some very fine knock sin the Carribaen.Displayed improvisation at its finest with mastery in the pul and cut shots.

 

7.Dilip Vengsarkar-At home in 1983-84 and 1988 revealed phenomenal skill over express pace ,particularly on the leg or onside.Played at his best when India were in dires straits to score most of his best knocks.Glorious driver.Topped averages in 1983-84 and 1987-88.Played the great foursome better than even Gavaskar.

 

 

8.Sunil Gavaskar-Not at his best against the quartet in 1983 bur sensational  in patches.His 90 at Ahmedabad and 129 at Delhi were classics and so was his unbeaten 236 at Madras.Out of form in the Carribaen in 1983 although scoring unbeaten 147 at Georgetown and relatively inconsistent in home seroies in 1983-84.His best form against  the Calypsos was not against the great quartet.Proloific aginst Holding and Roberts on slower Trinidad wicket and when there were 2 and not 4 genuine quickies.

 

9.Ian Chapell-In a crisis the ultimate man who would overshadow brother Greg on fast wicket like at Perth in 1975-76 when scoring 156 out of 328 ,141 in the 3rd WSC supertest in 1977-78 and when scoring 85 as an opener at Kingston in 1979 .Great West Indian bowlers prized Ian's wicket more than brother Greg .

 

10.Majid Khan-Dealt brilliantly with the likes of Roberts,Croft and Garner in 1977 averaging 53 runs including classic match-saving 167 at Georgetown.Mastery in driving and hooking.

 

Although not as flamboyant  elegant or correct as many it was Wasim Raja who came out on top against  the Carribaen pace battery and was best in a crisis..I placed Gooch 2nd as he opened the batting and was at his best in the worst of conditions and situations against the foursome attack.Greg Chappell had super stats but was not at home on the bouncy pitches or against the short,rising delivery.Border was a model of consistency but mainly defensive and not so prolific in latter part against  the Calypsos.Mohinder was only outstanding in one series,otherwise he was right up there with Raja.Most of Gavaskar's centuries  were not scored against the great pace battery ,and in that light Dilip Vengsakar and even Alan Lamb eclipsed him.

Edited by Harsh Thakor
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Straight Drive Newbie

Straight Drive

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, Harsh Thakor said:

Great choice But only 1 series?Where would you rank him overall against West Indies?

After this series , WI toured India and Mohinder Amarnath was the worst batsmen among both teams. He scored 1 run in 6 test innings. Amarnath was not regular member in 1970's. After his debut against Aus , he was dropped for England tour. Think he was reselected in 1974. 

 

In ODI , his best was 1983 WC semis where he scored 40 something and took two wickets of Gower and Gatting at a crucial juncture. In the final against WI be scored 20 odd and wiped out WI tail with 3 wickets.

 

His peak was against WI in WI in 1983 series.

 

Overall he wasn't the best. Sunny and Sardesai batted well overall than him against WI. 

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