Mike Atherton

[zubinpepsi]

Whats so special abt him?? ok I confess tht I havent seen him playin.. I was lookin at his stats.. doesnt look much impressvie.. an avg of 38.. I know stats dont tell you the full story.. but having an avg of 38 is pretty ordinary imo.. so why is he being rated high.. I was reading Donald's Interview today.. and he was talkin abt Atherton or is it typical English media hyping their players?? Not jus Donald's Interview... so experts here, whats it abt him? is he really that good as hes made out to be?? Im just interested to learn more abt this.. Thanks..

[gaurav92]

mike was just an ordinary batsman who was technically sound but there are many english batsman who are technically not sound but are still rated very high for eg. kp and freddie atherton was just a normal opening batsman for england but getting 7000 runs at that time was a gr8 achievement but hey he is very stubborn and quite arrogant too.He wants things his way and thats why captaincy wasnt the best job given to him. He opened the batting for 10 years may be thats why they praise him so high bcoz england were struggling to find some good openers and he was the best availible and hence the automatic choice for selectors

[Sooda]

In an era when england were pants he was ploughing a lone furrow against their pursuit of more profound pants-ism. And against some good pace attacks.

[vvvslaxman]

I don't think he was ever rated at all. He was an average opener who could be more consistent than other English batsmen of his era. We all know about his era. An era when England plunged to depths.

[Guest Gunner]

Mike Atherton was a very good player when he ground down and held the trenches. His 185 Vs south Africa against a fire breathing Donald is a classic example. He batted 640 mts to save the game for England. This turned the series. If you needed someone to bat for your life more often than not Mike Atherton could be depended on for that. This comes with a rider that he would famously underperform against the aussies and was Mcgrath's bunny for much of their careers. And Mike Atherton's reponse to Ian Healy's sledge all those years ago alone guarantees a place among the greats. Healy: Cheat, you're a ****ing cheat. Athers: When in Rome and all that dear boy...

[Sachinism]

I guess Donald is bigging him up because of the battles they had

[Block hole]

Atherton was quite dependable as an opener. He has good record against excellent bowling side such as AUS, SAF, WI. He has an average of below 40 because he always struggled in indian subcontinent. Which is a genuine english problem.:sherlock:

[Dinx - the Jinx]

What are you talking about? He was legendary for his ball tampering. In an era where Pakistan ruled the world in the art of ball tampering, Atherton stood tall, putting even the Poyz to shame... Hail Atherton.. :adore:

[Mr. Wicket]

Bit of an exaggeration there... Athers was caught with dirt in the pocket once... as opposed to Aaqib, Ataur Rehman, Whacka Eunice and friends being poster boys for pepsi bottle tops throughout the decade (and Imran and Sarfraz setting the stage). [besides John "Vaseline" Lever was far worse than Athers too...]

[Dinx - the Jinx]

^ Agree with you. It was an exaggeration indeed. Apart from the match saving 185 against SA in 1995/96, the only other thing that I can remember about Atherton is the dirt incident (and ofcourse his constant whining about IPL). Thats why I mentioned that. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/1511763.stm

[Mr. Wicket]

Yeah, but in terms of ball tampering his performances were about as mediocre (or successful) as he was against McGrath or Ambrose. :D

[matma]

If Dravid's the Wall.....Atherton is the Rock. Average dont mean f*& all. Atherton played in an era when Wasim & Waqar were demolishing sides around the world. When Alan Donald was at his peak. When the Windies were still peaking. I watched that 180 odd against SA. Amazing innings. His battles with Ambrose and Donald are legendary. For the young ones out there, respect is due. Atherton is a legend and he played in an era when Eng were garbage.

[Mr. Wicket]

Atherton ... His battles with Ambrose and Donald are legendary.

LMAO. Really, I'm laughing my ass off at the sheer ignorance and stupidity in that bit.

[The Outsider]

Atherton opened the innings against Ambrose/Walsh, Akram/Waqar, Donald/Pollock, McGrath/Gillespie. An average close to 40 facing up against those kind of opening attacks for a vast majority of his career is not all that bad. He is no legend, but was a good opening batsman.

[Block hole]

Atherton opened the innings against Ambrose/Walsh' date=' Akram/Waqar, Donald/Pollock, McGrath/Gillespie. An average close to 40 facing up against those kind of opening attacks for a vast majority of his career is not all that bad. He is no legend, but was a good opening batsman.[/quote'] Well said. :two_thumbs_up:

[Guest Gunner]

That is athers facing donald round the wicket. JojnoSO4MDc

[DomainK]

That is athers facing donald round the wicket. JojnoSO4MDc

Superb bowling.

[Guest Gunner]

^^It was pretty much the same for 2 days when Athers scored 185.

[DomainK]

^^It was pretty much the same for 2 days when Athers scored 185.

Amazing. What a match saving innings. 10 hours 33 minutes.