Bradman is the greatest, Sachin comes only second: Waugh, Benaud

[Sooda]

we already got one of those :cantstop:

[Sooda]

I thought this was worth a point out. This was one of the comments left by a guy reading an article on the football/soccer site Goal. (Basically a match report in which the best footballer in the world- Lionel Messi -did amazingly and needless to say he is being hailed and comparisions are being made...) ... Goran Macedonia 10:11 PM Apr 6, 2010 Pele was the best player in the world in prehistorical times when football players are amateurs.Sorry, but this is not serious comparison. ... This I think is where defining greatness in the context of the times as Outsider puts it, comes in.

[maverick.rules]

Bodyline There was outrage over England's tactics in the 1932-33 Ashes, but in the years that followed bouncers shocked no one David Frith Young folk may challenge the claim, but the 1932-33 series between Australia and England remains the most sensational Test series of them all. People were more easily shocked in those days. Cricket was still a fairly polite game. The code of honour was strictly and readily adhered to by everyone, so when Douglas Jardine unleashed his hostile fast attack of Harold Larwood and Bill Voce, who bowled short on and outside the line of the leg stump, there was outrage. Five or six short-leg fieldsmen waited to catch the ball from batsmen's desperate parries, with a couple of leg-side outfielders ready for the imperfect hook. The principal target was Don Bradman, whose run-making over the previous three years had transformed the record book. "Our Don" was Australia's most treasured asset, a source of pride and a comfort to his legions of fans in desperate times of unemployment and economic hardship. England needed to subdue him. Jardine's strategy was to restrict him by means of fast Leg Theory. (This aloof and somewhat shy man scorned the Australian term "Bodyline".) And succeeded. The Don's average was cut to a mere 56, with only one century. But the cost to England's image was catastrophic. Here was the revered Mother Country playing dirty. At that time the intimidation and the concentrated field setting were both within the letter of the Laws. But as even some of the English players privately recognised, they were contrary to the spirit of the game. The tourists won four of the Tests, losing only the second, on a slow Melbourne pitch where Bradman coupled a duck with a splendid, hardworking century. It took a long time to heal the injured feelings, which had even concerned the governments of both countries. Subtle unwritten pledges were extracted that the Australians would not be subjected to Bodyline during the 1934 tour, and in due course the Laws were tightened in an effort to prevent any repetition - though not soon enough to spare India from assault by other England fast bowlers under Jardine's control in 1933-34. Thereafter, bouncers were widely regarded as unsporting and unwanted - until, that is, the Second World War changed everything. In the late 1940s Bradman had Ray Lindwall and Keith Miller at his disposal, and the bouncers flew again. Yet even those blistering sessions were but an attenuated preamble to what happened in the late 1970s and the 1980s. Then, with four hefty fast bowlers at his disposal, one West Indies captain after another let them loose all day. The survivors of the original Bodyline series marvelled that there was no public riot, for it had come close to that in Adelaide in 1933, when two of Australia's batsmen were felled. Yet now, in a period of 20 years, West Indies fast men sent 40 opposing batsmen to hospital. To repeat: our fathers and grandfathers were shocked more easily. David Frith is an author, historian, and founding editor of Wisden Cricket Monthly. This article was first published in Wisden Asia Cricket magazine

[Guest BossBhai]

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[Tapioca]

In any case most of the injuries happened when the leg theory field was not set and was due to the msitakes of batsmen misjudging the bounce.

The two most famous injuries happened when the bodyline field was not used - the field was not in operation when Woodfull was hit over the heart, Oldfield topedged a bouncer on to his head (was the field around at the time ? it was irrelevant to the injury anyway). Not sure whether it can be extended to "most". Btw, didn't you notice that 16 of Larwood's 33 wickets in the series were bowled and two were lbw ? :winky:

[Roshanrocks]

are u people trying to suggest that the bodyline series was also hyped to be notorious? :hmmm: like the controversy of US landing on the moon, that it was a hoax :hmmm:

[Guest BossBhai]

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[Tapioca]

not sure what you are hinting at :nervous:

That more than half were not dismissed by short balls or catches ....

[Guest BossBhai]

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[Tapioca]

are you now on my side :woot: or is it the lack of sleeps thats playing tricks on my old brain :P

Not on your side. Just helping out with a few ammunitions :winky:

[Guest BossBhai]

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[maverick.rules]

I am not trying to help anyone here or take sides but i dont believe bodyline was the most dangerous bowling faced by batsman that credit should go to westindies quicks. They floored 6 indian batsman in 1 test and no doubts according to me that that was much more difficult to play than bodyline. my take - u are welcome to disagree. However, everyone has an opinion and an asshol* and guys everyone's stinks - so lets not fight. There is no point comparing cricketers of different era's and no perfect way of doing it. For the record i would also mention i love SRT :) Having said that no disrespect to Don - he was a genius.

[Guest BossBhai]

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[Three'sACrowd]

I repeat, as no Bradman fan wants to answer. Bradman fans please state when you have seen Bradman bat? Give specifics on any live games you have seen or any TV footage you have seen of him?

I haven't much of a stake in this thread, having settled the question in my mind, but I will reply to the question you have asked. If I have understood the context of your questions, here is my answer (which is more questions actually). What video footage have you watched of Shivaji or Akbar? Therefore, how do you know they were great rulers and/ or warriors? What video footage have you watched of Alexander the Great? Therefore, how do you know he was a better general than Kiyani of Pakistan? What video footage have you seen of the Indian war of independence of 1857? Therefore how do you know it happened? And so on. Carry on smartly, gentlemen.

[Guest BossBhai]

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[rabinjackman]

history is just a bunch of stories written by a chief historian, who has to get his story verified and edited by the KING, who would obviously edit out the truth n propogate a false story with plenty of masala.

[HyroProto]

I would put Bradman, then Sachin, then Viv... also playing without helmets & bowlers allowed to bowl much further on from the bowling crease (correct me if i'm wrong but during bradman's time it was only noball if the bowlers back leg went over the line right ?) meant that they were kick-ass batsmen

[teacup]

I would put Bradman, then Sachin, then Viv... also playing without helmets & bowlers allowed to bowl much further on from the bowling crease (correct me if i'm wrong but during bradman's time it was only noball if the bowlers back leg went over the line right ?) meant that they were kick-ass batsmen

Some part of the bowler's back-foot should be inside the "stump crease" in the old rule and not the non-striker batting crease as is the case today with the front-foot noball rule.

[Guest BossBhai]

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[bhanu]

Bradman is best cricketeer ever so case closed and also close this thread now :lol2: