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Reading the Times Online cricket blog....

ranj

By ranj
in Cricket Talk

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ranj Newbie

ranj

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and came across this.. http://timesonline.typepad.com/the_doosra/2007/11/the-axe-falls-o.html#more Old news? Shows the growing stature of this site, in any case. Congrats fellas. In other news, I'm thinking of putting £100 on Uthappa being the leading runscorer on either side this series. 14/1 odds. Silly money or a good outside bet? Either way, I'll be selling my sister on Ebay if it doesn't come through.

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Lurker Newbie

Lurker

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Ranj, On the same website was a nice article. Had you not pointed me there I would missed it so thanks for that.. Top 20 Asian cricketers I Have Enjoyed Watching 20 Mohammad Ashraful Gets in for one innings - the hundred he made at Cardiff that helped Bangladesh to beat Australia before the Ashes summer. The match was on TV while I was playing for The Times against the Daily Mail. When we resumed after tea, the ODI was heading Australia's way. When we came back in, Bangladesh were on the verge of victory and Ashraful, left, was a hero 19 Zaheer Khan So close to perfection last summer when he took the first nine Essex wickets to fall when bowling for Worcestershire. We came back the next morning hoping to see history. Instead Darren Gough was dropped down the leg side off Zaheer and his haul stalled at nine. Also gets in for his part in Jellybean-gate this summer. 18 Javagal Srinath My affection for Srinath faded slightly when he got rid of the neatly-clipped moustache that made him resemble Gupte, the nurse, in Only When I Laugh but there was much to admire in this Indian Glenn McGrath. Swung the ball and hit the deck hard but most importantly, he was very accurate. 17 Mohammad Azharuddin The India captain during one of those formative series that whet a young fan's appetite for cricket. England v India, 1990. It was Gooch's series, but the moustachioed maestro was matched at Lord's when Azhar hit a sumptuous 121 that almost saved the game. He made 179 in the second Test, too, as India avoided the follow-on. imran.jpg16 Imran Khan Sticks in the mind especially for his motivational captaincy of Pakistan in the 1992 World Cup (drat him!), but he also made a crucial 72 runs, having elevated himself in the order, and took the final England wicket, left. Not a bad way to end your career. 15 Danish Kaneria A choice based on county cricket more than Test matches. Only one Essex Asian gets in to the Top 20, and it's not Salim Malik. Kaneria has been crucial for Essex for several seasons, especially as all their fast bowlers keep getting injured. He took 74 wickets at an average of 22 this year and appeared to hold up one end by himself. 14 Arjuna Ranatunga We like tubby cricketers on this blog and Ranatunga is one of the tubbiest. An immense waddling ego who enforced his personality on the Sri Lanka side, he was nonetheless worth his place as a batsman, although an average of about 35 in both forms of the game is not spectacular. Memorable for the innings of 39 not out in the World Cup final in 1996 13 Harbhajan Singh He skips in to the wicket like a Morris dancer, limbs flailing everywhere, then lands the ball perfectly on off stump with enough turn to fox the batsman. Remembered fondly for rifling through the Australians in 2001. 12 Anil Kumble Taller and more gangly than most wrist spinners, Kumble gets wickets as much with bounce as with turn. I particularly cherish Kumble for the season he spent with Northants in 1995, when he took 105 wickets and helped me to come fourth in a fantasy cricket competition. Another Indian who really should have kept his moustache. 11 Mushtaq Ahmed Good old Mushy, another talented fat cricketer. How Pakistan discarded him so early in his career, given the good work he has done for years at Sussex, I don't know. Pakistan's loss is Sussex's gain as he has helped them to win three county championships. One of the most enthusiastic and well-loved cricketers around. 10 Shahid Afridi One of the few players who can empty bars by coming out to bat, generally because his innings are so short but so explosive, right from that debut as a 16-year-old in 1996 when he made the fastest ever ODI hundred. And he keeps getting better - in nine ODIs in 2007 he has averaged 40 at a strike rate of 185! 9 Wasim Akram It seems astonishing that Akram's Pakistan career ended only four years ago - and that he has even played one county Twenty20 match, a format he would have been ideally suited for. Regularly the scourge of England teams, more in ODIs than Tests, but particularly with the balls that got Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis in the 1992 World Cup final. waqar.jpg8 Waqar Younis I rated Waqar as by far the more fearsome bowling threat than Wasim, but as a pairing they were deadly. If Russian nuclear weapons were what gave English schoolchildren sleepless nights in the 1980s, Waqar's inswinging yorkers had a similar effect in the 1990s. If only English bowlers had made such a virtue of aiming at the stumps as he did. 7 Aravinda de Silva If he had only scored the crucial runs that beat Australia in the 1996 World Cup final, De Silva would have a special place in most non-Aussie fans' hearts, but he was the rock of Sri Lanka's batting for so long. 6,300 runs at an average of 43, with 20 hundreds, is good going. He was much loved at Kent as well, where he averaged almost 60 and hit seven first-class hundreds in 1995. 6 Sanath Jayasuriya The hero of the 1996 World Cup and one of the longest-running success stories in cricket. Having made his international debut in 1989, he is still playing ODIs with almost 19,000 international runs to his name. Such a powerful player but with more grace than Afridi. 5 Sachin Tendulkar Sacrilege, I know, not to put Tendulkar in the top three, but I simply find the four above him more attractive to watch. But that takes nothing away from my awe at the longevity and weight of runs that Tendulkar has accrued, as well as how he has dealt with the pressure of such fame. The first I heard of him was when India came to England in 1990, that wonderful Test series, but though the 17-year-old made a hundred at Old Trafford, what really stood out was a superb catch, one-handed, on the boundary after seemingly running round the whole perimeter of the field to get there. Perhaps his regular failures at Lord's, where I watch more cricket than anywhere else, pushes him down a notch, but who can forget his wonderful batting in the World Cup in 2003? yousuf.jpg4 Mohammad Yousuf I confess: I have a thing about beards and the next two in this list earn brownie points for their chin growth. But what an astounding batsman Yousuf is - the heir to Saeed Anwar in beard terms as well as batsmanship. He always looks so composed at the crease, whether it is whipping the ball off his legs or driving it handsomely through mid off. Yousuf's run of scores against England in 2005 and 2006 was astounding: 78, 20, 223, 202, 48, 38, 15, 192, 8, 128. I don't like watching England get punished, but I can appreciate the art of the man doing it. 3 Inzamam-ul-Haq Not just bearded but fat as well. Wonderful. I have written of my respect for Inzy many times on this blog. Like Yousuf, he had great fun at the England bowlers' expense in 2005 - having done his part to win the 1992 World Cup as well. I will miss this great puncher of the ball, a man who batted in the style of my hero, Gooch, and a superb entertainer whenever he was at the crease - especially if called for a quick single. 2 Muttiah Muralitharan The best spinner in the world for the past decade - sorry Warney - and the man who owns the twinkliest eyes outside of Broadway. Sri Lanka are far from being a one-man team but Muralitharan is to his country's cricket side what Jonny Wilkinson is to England's rugby side. There is an extra zip to their fast bowling, a bit more purpose to their batting, when they know that Murali is there, waiting to be thrown the ball and given the chance to run through a side. Some days it seems that he is never taken off. Has had three ten-wicket matches against England, most notably the 16 wickets he bagged at the Oval in 1998. dravid_2.jpg1 Rahul Dravid The only one in this list whose debut I witnessed. June 22, 1996, and Dravid walks out to bat for the first time in a Test match at the now unfamiliar position of No 7. He made 95 before being caught behind off Chris Lewis. Saurav Ganguly, who made 131 on his own debut in that match, got most of the attention but Dravid has proved the better. He is rightly called the rock, for the solidity of his defence, but this does not mean that he lacks flamboyance. A wonderful timer of the ball, a great accumulator of runs. The only disappointment is that his series against England this summer was muted - just the one 50. But after an astounding series on India's previous tour, when he made 115, 148 and 217 in successive innings, he was due a few low scores. Has been dropped by India; let's hope it is only short-term. Great list and nice read!! xx

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