Andrin Issac
Andrin The Great
^^^Yaa he was a great spinner 
Cricketers who surprised you
- Thread starter War
- Start date
Fenil
PC Cricket Leagues Legend
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2011
I'm disappointed the way Jacob Oram of NZ turned out to be. Such good bowler and more than an able batsman; had all things required to be a world class allrounder and he ended up being nothing close to formidable player.
On a positive note, I'm surprised to see how Marlon Samuels of WI has been scoring the runs in all three formats. Not so long ago, he looked down and out and here he is, scoring tons of runs and looking a far more matured player. His ability to switch gears and adapt to the format has caught my eye.
On a positive note, I'm surprised to see how Marlon Samuels of WI has been scoring the runs in all three formats. Not so long ago, he looked down and out and here he is, scoring tons of runs and looking a far more matured player. His ability to switch gears and adapt to the format has caught my eye.
Aoun13
Chairman of Selectors
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2008
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- Rawalpindi (Pak)
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spooony
Club Captain
Shane Watson He looked good until....... now he looks lyke dog poo
S
Satan666
Guest
Phil Hughes, this guy held so much promise, scored highly against Morkel and Steyn in '09. Then the slide came, saw him being on the team recently didnt see him bat though, hoping he gets serious this time. He looks the type of batsman which can destroy any bowling lineup!
War
Chairman of Selectors
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2010
- Online Cricket Games Owned
Ahh i see. I recall reading a couple years ago too that while he was playing county cricket @ surrey - he was trying to qualify to play for england.
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Ye fair shout. A spin bowler with a fast-bowlers aggression in a lot of ways.
One can probably add Mushtaq Ahmed to this list as well. While he was causing county batsmen headache while playing for Sussex - his quality was so evident it was always strange that during the 2000s era that he wasn't pakistan's # 1 spinner in tests.
Until Cricket Australia brought him home to rest... He was killing it in the T20 World Cup, good start in the Champions League, and then the cotton wool came out
AnshtheDj
Club Cricketer
Interestring thread, thanks War for starting up
Here goes my list:
Gautam Gambhir: Though he's been shoddy since last better part of last 2 seasons, I'd never thought he would turn out to be the kind of success he was across 3 different formats for India. As much as test match wins are attributed to opening batsmen, Gambhir had a significant role to play in India's march toward test no.1 ranking during 2008-09-10, during which phase, he was awarded ICC test player of the year. Willing to fight it out in spite of lacking a typical left-hander's finesse, he was equally adapt against pace & spin. Most importantly showed his big match temperament by top-scoring in both the ICC tournament finals he has played. Definitely not someone I had imagined him to be when I first saw him being cleaned up regularly by Aussie and Pakistan bowlers during 2004-05 when he started out. Even though he averages close to 42 in ODIs in 2012, his decline has coincided with that of Team India's in general.
Hashim Amla, Alistair Cook, AB De Villiers: I've had almost similar thought about these 3 gentlemen as I had about Gambhir. Never saw the spark initially, which now shines through brightly in these cricketers these days across formats, across roles, both home & away.
Cook has adapted staggeringly in ODI format and blends traditional English traits quite well with modern day tactics in test matches.
Amla has amazing patience, willingness to occupy crease and hunger for runs in test matches & these days he has turned a new leaf in shorter formats too.
& AB, is there anything on the cricket field he can't do..although doesn't bowl, he is as good a dynamite all-round cricketer as the cricket world has ever seen.
Tilakratne Dilshan & Mohammed Hafeez: For people who were considered just another bit-&-pieces player when they started out for their teams, especially in shorter format, both their career graphs have been touching quite significant highs over the last couple of years.
Dilshan turned his career inside out when he was sent to open ODI innings in CB series in Australia in 2007-08 series. He grabbed the opportunity in both hands, became a regular opener in all formats & even went on to captain his team in test matches. His recent exploits in test match as an opener has been quite surprising, never expected a player like him to score big hundreds in England against Anderson, Tremlett, Broad in 2011 & more recently against Australia in Australia. Add to that, he has been recently used in a similar role to that of former SL great Aravinda De Silve in 1996 world cup. Against England in 2011 CWC quarter finals, he opened bowling, tied up Strauss before eventually castling him. And I was almost dreading a SL win when he brilliantly caught Kohli off his own bowling in the 2011 CWC final before MSD turned the tables.
Similar for Hafeez, started out as a middle-order batsman in Pakistan national team who could bowl part-time off-spin. But his current nickname "The Professor" goes well with his current exploits. Opens batting, sometimes opens bowling, even though his bowling is pretty much part-time given the all-round quality of Pakistan bowling unit, he sits pretty high ICC bowlers & all-rounders ranking, captains T20 team, his batting is pleasing to the eyes in test matches as much as it is daring & innovative in T20 format. And, just like Dilshan, his team management has enough confidence on him to ask him to take new red cherry against England in UAE in early 2012 and got Cook out a couple of times too.
"Incredible" is the word for these 2 players!!!
Here goes my list:
Gautam Gambhir: Though he's been shoddy since last better part of last 2 seasons, I'd never thought he would turn out to be the kind of success he was across 3 different formats for India. As much as test match wins are attributed to opening batsmen, Gambhir had a significant role to play in India's march toward test no.1 ranking during 2008-09-10, during which phase, he was awarded ICC test player of the year. Willing to fight it out in spite of lacking a typical left-hander's finesse, he was equally adapt against pace & spin. Most importantly showed his big match temperament by top-scoring in both the ICC tournament finals he has played. Definitely not someone I had imagined him to be when I first saw him being cleaned up regularly by Aussie and Pakistan bowlers during 2004-05 when he started out. Even though he averages close to 42 in ODIs in 2012, his decline has coincided with that of Team India's in general.
Hashim Amla, Alistair Cook, AB De Villiers: I've had almost similar thought about these 3 gentlemen as I had about Gambhir. Never saw the spark initially, which now shines through brightly in these cricketers these days across formats, across roles, both home & away.
Cook has adapted staggeringly in ODI format and blends traditional English traits quite well with modern day tactics in test matches.
Amla has amazing patience, willingness to occupy crease and hunger for runs in test matches & these days he has turned a new leaf in shorter formats too.
& AB, is there anything on the cricket field he can't do..although doesn't bowl, he is as good a dynamite all-round cricketer as the cricket world has ever seen.
Tilakratne Dilshan & Mohammed Hafeez: For people who were considered just another bit-&-pieces player when they started out for their teams, especially in shorter format, both their career graphs have been touching quite significant highs over the last couple of years.
Dilshan turned his career inside out when he was sent to open ODI innings in CB series in Australia in 2007-08 series. He grabbed the opportunity in both hands, became a regular opener in all formats & even went on to captain his team in test matches. His recent exploits in test match as an opener has been quite surprising, never expected a player like him to score big hundreds in England against Anderson, Tremlett, Broad in 2011 & more recently against Australia in Australia. Add to that, he has been recently used in a similar role to that of former SL great Aravinda De Silve in 1996 world cup. Against England in 2011 CWC quarter finals, he opened bowling, tied up Strauss before eventually castling him. And I was almost dreading a SL win when he brilliantly caught Kohli off his own bowling in the 2011 CWC final before MSD turned the tables.
Similar for Hafeez, started out as a middle-order batsman in Pakistan national team who could bowl part-time off-spin. But his current nickname "The Professor" goes well with his current exploits. Opens batting, sometimes opens bowling, even though his bowling is pretty much part-time given the all-round quality of Pakistan bowling unit, he sits pretty high ICC bowlers & all-rounders ranking, captains T20 team, his batting is pleasing to the eyes in test matches as much as it is daring & innovative in T20 format. And, just like Dilshan, his team management has enough confidence on him to ask him to take new red cherry against England in UAE in early 2012 and got Cook out a couple of times too.
"Incredible" is the word for these 2 players!!!
spooony
Club Captain
I love this guy and his son LEGENDS!!!
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Just been watching Dinesh Chandimal bat (and keep) this Test, and I think he's one to watch. Last summer he came over for the ODIs to Australia and made a lot of runs, but in such a style that I wondered how the hell he was doing it! Seemed like he hardly middled anything, but he just stuck around and kept compiling scores. Good to see from this Test that he's a much better player than my eyes saw on the last tour. Keeping was very good too - I think Prasanna better watch out, he's 33 now - and not obviously better with gloves. I'd be turning to Chandimal.
spooony
Club Captain
He his hard to bowl to due to (1) being a left hander and (2) his foot movement makes it hard to fine the correct line for him as you do not know exactly where he will shuffle to.
spooony
Club Captain
HAHA I misread thought it said Chanderpaul not Chandimal. Discussed Chanderpaul at another site just before that so forgive me for a honest mistake
No worries 
Chanderpaul is a good call for this thread too. His first few years didn't really show too much. Found out recently that since 2002 he averages 59 in Tests! 10 years at 59 is great going, especially when he has to do most of the hard work for the Windies.
Chanderpaul is a good call for this thread too. His first few years didn't really show too much. Found out recently that since 2002 he averages 59 in Tests! 10 years at 59 is great going, especially when he has to do most of the hard work for the Windies.
spooony
Club Captain
I have been a big Chanderpaul fan since I saw him the first time play. There is just something about his footwork that makes him look so stylish and he matured a lot. Been quietly going on with his business so much that a lot have not even take notice of him. He was almost forgotten
