A question for those who followed cricket diligently in the 1990s

[rkt.india]

2 hours ago, MechEng said:

 

Great post. I wish I had your phone number, and told you in person how awesome this post is. Such an amazing observation of the game and especially that batsmen have become a lot more fearless with even someone like Stuart Broad was hitting 140 kph deliveries of Amir for fours in 2010.

 

Though we have improved massively when it comes to power hitting, our batting has regressed in temperament aspect, they have great techniques but cannot play long a innings like Laxman, Jayawardene or Chanderpaul did in the past. Pujara is the only exception to this.

I will again say what kind of batsmen you are depend on many factors. Not every batsmen can become a successful limited over batsman or t20 batsman.  There are several key factors who decide that. The most important is your personality which reflects your batting as well.  Like you are born fast bowler.  Same thing goes for a batsman or what kind of a batsman you are going to be is decided by your physical traits and personality, CNS driven stimulation.

[MechEng]

7 hours ago, rkt.india said:

I will again say what kind of batsmen you are depend on many factors. Not every batsmen can become a successful limited over batsman or t20 batsman.  There are several key factors who decide that. The most important is your personality which reflects your batting as well.  Like you are born fast bowler.  Same thing goes for a batsman or what kind of a batsman you are going to be is decided by your physical traits and personality, CNS driven stimulation.

So you're implying that not all batsmen can play a long innings since it is a very personality thing? Similarly not all batsmen can hit the ball hard like Greenidge?

 

Also, how would you compare the present Indian bowling attack with top notch fast bowlers from past?

[rkt.india]

3 hours ago, MechEng said:

So you're implying that not all batsmen can play a long innings since it is a very personality thing? Similarly not all batsmen can hit the ball hard like Greenidge?

 

Also, how would you compare the present Indian bowling attack with top notch fast bowlers from past?

Don't think we can compare hooting of batsmen from the past to today. Batsmen today are just much more powerful, hits the ball harder.  

 

Regarding Greenidge, it's not just him but most black WI batsmen could hit the ball hard. They are genetically strong. One more thing we confuse between hitting hard and being aggressive. Anyone who has power whether natural or through strength work in gym can hit the ball hard. Strength can be gained. So yes everyone can hit the ball hard if he can do strength work but not everyone can be naturally aggressive. Naturally aggressive batting depends on your personality traits. To be a Good T20 batsmen, one needs to be an aggressive even if not a very hard hitter. 

 

I will give you an example of Ganguly who could hit sixes and built a perception of an aggressive batsman but he wasn't. He had a very limited stroke range though he could hit sixes but because he had limited striking options, he would play a lot of dot balls and hence SR wasn't high. High strike is the first requirement for an aggressive batsman and only a batsman with shots all around can do that consistently.  Another example is Sehwag, he wasn't really a hard hitter but was an aggressive batsman.  Had shots all around the ground, could hit sixes but dealt mostly in boundaries. One of the most naturally aggressive batsman produced by India

 

Regarding Indian bowlers, Bumrah and current Shami certainly could have been top bowlers in 70-80s or 90s. Bumrah's bowling in tests is reminiscent of Marshall while current Shami bowls like Andy Roberts.  I am not saying they are equal or same but their bowling thought process. Comparing bowlers 30-40 years is possible only to some extent keeping the context of different times in mind as lot has changed over the years.

Edited April 29, 2020 by rkt.india

[Rightarmfast]

On 4/28/2020 at 12:03 AM, MechEng said:

Who would you rate higher in Donald vs Steyn? Ignore the stats, just by the vibe you got watching them.

Very difficult question. I honestly feel Steyn is a genuine ATG. Better than 90's bowlers. I rate him just an inch better than Donald for the kind of consistent performance and the no of wickets all around the world he has taken. 

 

The question here is scary. Donald was mighty scary. He was mean. He was bad. Steyn doesnt measure up to Donald in terms of being mean and nasty. He is a softie comparatively. So, for this thread, I'd rate Donald higher. Overall, I do believe Steyn is better.

[jf1gp_1]

Those who aren’t rating Donald top haven’t watched cricket Live in 90s. Donald was the most feared bowler, Ambrose was close but no batsman wanted to face Donald. Akram had his moments , Walsh was consistent , waqar I honestly never watched much of him at his peak due to absence of live coverage of games not involving India and he was always injured. 

[MechEng]

On 4/29/2020 at 12:20 PM, jf1gp_1 said:

Those who aren’t rating Donald top haven’t watched cricket Live in 90s. Donald was the most feared bowler, Ambrose was close but no batsman wanted to face Donald. Akram had his moments , Walsh was consistent , waqar I honestly never watched much of him at his peak due to absence of live coverage of games not involving India and he was always injured. 

 

On 4/29/2020 at 1:35 AM, Rightarmfast said:

Very difficult question. I honestly feel Steyn is a genuine ATG. Better than 90's bowlers. I rate him just an inch better than Donald for the kind of consistent performance and the no of wickets all around the world he has taken. 

 

The question here is scary. Donald was mighty scary. He was mean. He was bad. Steyn doesnt measure up to Donald in terms of being mean and nasty. He is a softie comparatively. So, for this thread, I'd rate Donald higher. Overall, I do believe Steyn is better.

Good answers...

 

Again, this is based on how you felt watching live on tv and stats ko maaro goli. How was watching Donald at his prime in mid 1990s compared to watching Akhtar at his prime in 2002? 

[Rightarmfast]

49 minutes ago, MechEng said:

 

Good answers...

 

Again, this is based on how you felt watching live on tv and stats ko maaro goli. How was watching Donald at his prime in mid 1990s compared to watching Akhtar at his prime in 2002? 

Akhtar was something else! We all thought that Donald was fast, West Indian bowlers were fast, Waqar was fast... But when Akhtar came into the scene with Dravids and Sachins wickets on successive balls.. And the look of astonishment on Rahuls and Sachins fase were priceless! They clearly didnt know what hit them! 

Akhtar clearly redefined fast bowling. He drew a realistic line in being fast and being  F   A   S   T!

Would you believe that right after the 98 series, I saw almost all the 10-14 yr old kids in my area taking up fast bowling and replicating Akhtars action!

 

Donald and co started looking medium fast after the advent of Akhtar. I mean his first series was against Saffies and Donald had commented that he had seen nothing as fast as Aktar before. And Donald rarely gave compliments!

 

Akhtar well and truly terrorized batsmen and Indian viewers alike. 

[jf1gp_1]

1 hour ago, MechEng said:

 

Good answers...

 

Again, this is based on how you felt watching live on tv and stats ko maaro goli. How was watching Donald at his prime in mid 1990s compared to watching Akhtar at his prime in 2002? 

More or less same if you ask me Akhtar however was quicker but in terms of on field antics they were more or less the same. 

[MechEng]

19 hours ago, Rightarmfast said:

Akhtar was something else! We all thought that Donald was fast, West Indian bowlers were fast, Waqar was fast... But when Akhtar came into the scene with Dravids and Sachins wickets on successive balls.. And the look of astonishment on Rahuls and Sachins fase were priceless! They clearly didnt know what hit them! 

Akhtar clearly redefined fast bowling. He drew a realistic line in being fast and being  F   A   S   T!

Would you believe that right after the 98 series, I saw almost all the 10-14 yr old kids in my area taking up fast bowling and replicating Akhtars action!

 

Donald and co started looking medium fast after the advent of Akhtar. I mean his first series was against Saffies and Donald had commented that he had seen nothing as fast as Aktar before. And Donald rarely gave compliments!

 

Akhtar well and truly terrorized batsmen and Indian viewers alike. 

His bowling when New Zealand toured Pakistan in 2002 is the fastest bowling I've seen.