ABC talk back radio views on greatest player

[irottev]

11204 runs VS 7862 runs

Also convieniant that you left off hundreds. Lara has the highest score in Test Cricket ever and the third highest also.

Lara: 46 fiftys, 31 hundreds.
Ponting: 32 fiftys, 25 hundreds.

Once in, Lara is in hes much harder to get out than Ponting.

 

[cricket_lover]

Ponting has not faced the best bowling attack. He has not performed exceedingly well against quality spinners either!
Lara faced the best of attacks, (excluding walsh/ambrose) and played spinners with ease, both warne and murali.
Lara played quality innings in demanding situations, without team support.

Lara easily outperformed ponting. Lara will be among the top 10 batsmen to have ever played cricket, i don't think ponting will.

 

[irottev]

Also Over the past 5 years (2000-12-06 - 2005-29-11)

Ponting: 60.05
Lara: 62.03

First Innings:

Ponting: 61.88
Lara: 65.73

And besides all of this, Australia have been the leading side for the past decade so that makes it easier on Ponting, where as Lara was almost depended on to make the big scores as he was one of the few class batsman.

Lara plays every stroke in the book where as Ponting does lean towards the on-side strokes.

 

[Big_Boss]

Lara, Tendulkar and Dravid are all better than Ponting, IMO .

And also Inzy

 

[sachin]

And also Inzy

I hope your joking...... :watchtv

 

[Big_Boss]

I hope your joking...... :watchtv

Well at this point, No...... He is better than Ricky :cool:

 

[sachin]

Rubbish!I wouldn't be surprised if he had a Heart Attack while running a second......:laugh

 

[Big_Boss]

True, but we are talking about batting performance not running performance

 

[m_vaughan]

Okay I'll put it like this.

Today if I were a selector of a World XI team and asked to choose players, then Ponting would be my first pick.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Ponting doesn't belong in the same breath as Tendukar, Lara and Inzy. Kallis maybe, but no way is Ponting half as good. To me he is just an ordinary batsman who goes out and slogs because he has batters all around him and gets runs pretty easily. Tendulkar, Lara, Inzy, and Kallis have been around fro a long time, have lead their respective teams from the front, have won matches for their teams time and time again, and have had their countries place all their hopes upon their shoulders.

Ponting won't be half those batsmen are.

 

[langerrox]

Ponting doesn't belong in the same breath as Tendukar, Lara and Inzy. Kallis maybe, but no way is Ponting half as good. To me he is just an ordinary batsman who goes out and slogs because he has batters all around him and gets runs pretty easily. Tendulkar, Lara, Inzy, and Kallis have been around fro a long time, have lead their respective teams from the front, have won matches for their teams time and time again, and have had their countries place all their hopes upon their shoulders.

Ponting won't be half those batsmen are.

LOL!!! Ponting slogging?? Dream on, Ponting will bat for your life and make RUNS EVERY INNINGs, Lara gives you chance to get him out early, Tendulkar gets injuried too often, Kallis seems to have tendulkars same injury and Inzi.. how can you put him up there? God since when has standing at the crease and tonking everything to leg been an art?? Thats all pietersen does and flintoff too, What a joke of a arguement, Punter doesn't win matches? or lead from the front? he bats 3 and captains the team.. As for Dravid being there don't make me laugh any half decent batter can go out there and block and make 100s, Look at hayden he always slogs when he goes out there blocking he makes 100s Dravid pfft

 

[ZoraxDoom]

LOL!!! Ponting slogging?? Dream on, Ponting will bat for your life and make RUNS EVERY INNINGs, Lara gives you chance to get him out early, Tendulkar gets injuried too often, Kallis seems to have tendulkars same injury and Inzi.. how can you put him up there? God since when has standing at the crease and tonking everything to leg been an art?? Thats all pietersen does and flintoff too, What a joke of a arguement, Punter doesn't win matches? or lead from the front? he bats 3 and captains the team.. As for Dravid being there don't make me laugh any half decent batter can go out there and block and make 100s, Look at hayden he always slogs when he goes out there blocking he makes 100s Dravid pfft

Huh???

Ok, let me try to comprehend what you said...

1)Runs every innings ay? Sure...too many examples to prove you wrong to bring up here...

2)Lara may not seem great now, but he is ten times the batter Ponting is. You don't break the world record for highest indavidual score twice, and the world record for most runs if you are no good. He is the greatest batsman in the world next to Bradman and Sachin. A bit inconsistent, but can you blaim him seeing the team he plays for and the pressure he is under?

3)Not a good enough aguement. If Bradman kept geting injured, would you stop calling him a great batsman?

4)Standing in the crease and tonking everything? You obviously haven't seen him bat...
And even if he has been "standing at the crease and tonking everything to leg", he has done it much better than KP and Freddie...

5)Batting at three and being skipper doesn't neccisarily mean you need to lead from the front. Especially with Australia. How many matches have Australia lost without Ponting? Not much. Compared with how many they have lost without McGrath and Warne. Those two are the match winners and lead from the front. Ponting isn't. Even if Khaled Mahmud was the skipper of Australia they'd still be winning as much.

6)In that case I ask you to go out and block off Warne, Mcgrath and Co. and score a hundred. Then I'll believe you...

 

[m_vaughan]

Huh???

Ok, let me try to comprehend what you said...

1)Runs every innings ay? Sure...too many examples to prove you wrong to bring up here...

Lara has had a good last year or two, but Ponting has also been very consistent. You always feel better whan you see him walking back to the pavilion.

2)Lara may not seem great now, but he is ten times the batter Ponting is. You don't break the world record for highest indavidual score twice, and the world record for most runs if you are no good. He is the greatest batsman in the world next to Bradman and Sachin. A bit inconsistent, but can you blaim him seeing the team he plays for and the pressure he is under?

Like I said it depends on what you consider. Lara and Sachin will win easily if you take the last 10-15 years, but if you take the last 3-4 years, Ponting will come out the better bet.

3)Not a good enough aguement. If Bradman kept geting injured, would you stop calling him a great batsman?

Well injuries are a part and parcel of a sportman's life. Infact good players do a lot to stay fit and injury-free.

4)Standing in the crease and tonking everything? You obviously haven't seen him bat...
And even if he has been "standing at the crease and tonking everything to leg", he has done it much better than KP and Freddie...

I dont know what you mean by that. He is an excellent batsmen, and his shots on the leg side are imo flawless, apart from the initial period when his head seems to fall and chances of him getting out LBW is more. But once he is settled, he can dispatch good deliveries to the fence.

5)Batting at three and being skipper doesn't neccisarily mean you need to lead from the front. Especially with Australia. How many matches have Australia lost without Ponting? Not much. Compared with how many they have lost without McGrath and Warne. Those two are the match winners and lead from the front. Ponting isn't. Even if Khaled Mahmud was the skipper of Australia they'd still be winning as much.

He has been very consistent and a test average of 56+ reflects that. I agree he aint as big a match winner as McGrath or Warne, but he has played quite a few crucial innings, and has put in consistent performances quite a few times. Its very difficult to have such a good average if your batting at number 3.

6)In that case I ask you to go out and block off Warne, Mcgrath and Co. and score a hundred. Then I'll believe you...

You cant blame him for that. Its not his fault that his team is best in the world.

In short, I think Ponting has done a brilliant job over the last five years, first as player and then as captain. He is according to me the best batsmen currently in the world. I rate his near match saving hundred against England in the third test as one of the best captain's innings Ive ever seen.

 

[rashaba16]

Ponting is a good player. But he is not as good as Sachin and Lara. He's now entering the relm of great batsmen. His 156 in the Ashes was spectacular. He however doesn't measure up enough to these greats. Look at this column.
Ricky's not in the big league yet by Peter May. IMO Ponting is just entering.

1. Tendulkar (records in each form of the game unlike Lara who just has in test)
2. Lara
3. Dravid
4. Kallis
5. Inzi
6. Ponting

On current form Inzi is the best, and the others are still finding their footing. Dravid had the flu, Kallis elbow injury, Tendulkar had a ok series against Sri Lanka. Lara inconsistent.

And Langerrox, your argument about Tendulkar's injuries making him not a great batsman is pointless...think about it...after coming back from injury...would someone usually perform? No! Sachin did right a way! 93 and 67*. BTW, has Ponting ever played against the best attack in the world...negative...although thats a pathetic argument. A batsman or bowler can't choose their opposition.

 

[Sureshot]

Brian Lara VS Ponting

Lara

Test
Batting- 121 Matches -11204 runs, Average for 53.86 and HS of 400*
Fielding- 148 Test Match Catches
ODI
Batting- 259 Matches -9359 runs, Average of 41.41 and HS of 169
Fielding- 109 ODI Catches

Ponting
Test
Batting- 98 Matches -7862 runs, Average of 56.15 and HS of 257
Fielding- 113 Test Match Catches
ODI
Batting- 238 Matches -8613 runs, Average of 42.22 and HS of 145
Fielding - 98 ODI Catches

Ponting has been playing in one of the best ever Cricket sides though, and that makes a difference.

I agree on the on-side it though.