The best batsmen over the last 5 years in test match cricket

[sohum]

Of course you need all the evidence!

I'm just saying that your top 10 which doesn't have Bangladesh and Zimbabwe and my top 10 which did had very few differences, so for this particular topic, it didn't really affect the debate at all.

Not saying you're wrong, by the way.

What he's saying is that regardless of how each person's top 10 looks, using just average to determine the answer to this question is the wrong way to go about things.

 

[ankurs_009]

well in first place
1. Send misbah ul haq to australia & face CHIN MUSIC there....then i will see how well is he a player .
2. Also comparing SACHIN with anyone is not correct ....others cant match the experience & consistensy level he has shown after such a long cricketing carrier .
3.He is called GOD as simply he is the most honest & grounded cricketer away from controversies always playing the game with a spirit.
And finally its absolutely ridiculous to compare MISBAH ul HAQ to any international greats

 

[sifter132]

well in first place
1. Send misbah ul haq to australia & face CHIN MUSIC there....then i will see how well is he a player .
2. Also comparing SACHIN with anyone is not correct ....others cant match the experience & consistensy level he has shown after such a long cricketing carrier .
3.He is called GOD as simply he is the most honest & grounded cricketer away from controversies always playing the game with a spirit.
And finally its absolutely ridiculous to compare MISBAH ul HAQ to any international greats

Yes agreed on Misbah - It's WAY too early to call him great. He needs to play well against Australia and he needs to score HEAPS more runs. The man hasn't even scored 700 test runs yet. Ponting and Kallis have scored around 5000 in the last 5 years, there is no way a guy with less than 700 could top those 2 for the title of best player in the last 5 years - even if he never got out and scored at over 100 S/R.





I made a list of my top 18 based mainly on averages yes, but adding extra weight to those by taking into account how well a player does against the best (Australia, who have been ranked #1 for the whole of the last 5 years BTW) and how they do away from home and disregarding how they did against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

Here's my list:
1. Ricky Ponting - Aus (Plays worse outside Australia, but only because his record at home is insanely good recently. His disappointing performances vs Ind last summer and Eng in 2005 puts him only marginally ahead of Kallis by my reckoning)
2. Jacques Kallis - SA
3. Shiv Chanderpaul - WI
4. Virender Sehwag - Ind (good record vs Aussies puts him higher on my list than many would rate him)
5. Mike Hussey - Aus (Worse outside Australia)
6. Rahul Dravid - Ind
7. Younis Khan - Pak
8. Mohammad Yousuf - Pak (only played 3 tests vs Aus in last 5 years and failed, makes it hard to justify his gaudy numbers elsewhere. Worse outside Pakistan)
9. Kevin Pietersen - Eng
10. Matthew Hayden - Aus (Worse outside Australia)
11. Kumar Sangakkara - SL
12. Brian Lara - WI
13. Michael Clarke - Aus
14. VVS Laxman - Ind
15. Mahela Jayawardene - SL (Most would rate him higher, but can't play Aussies well or outside SL well)
16. Justin Langer - Aus
17. Sachin Tendulkar - Ind
18. Damien Martyn - Aus

That's about all the batsmen I could justify listing . After that you're left with average guys like Strauss, Collingwood, Ashwell Prince, Ganguly - guys of that level.

 

[Insomniac]

Kallis really struggled in England, so not sure if we are considering any recent form.

Also I am seriously going to have to say that you're being quite biased with Damien Martyn at 18...

And I honestly can't believe you have a guy who struggles so much against a swinging ball at #4... Virender Sehwag?

Yes, great attacking batsman. Power to destroy any team on any given day. However, if the ball is moving around a slight bit, he's a goner.

The basis for this?

V Sehwag in England: 39.50 (not necessarily bad, but definitely lower than career average)
V Sehwag in NZ: 10.00. I wil say he only did play 2 tests, and therefore we don't have a recent analysis to base this on.
V Sehwag in SA: 26.44

Ah now, South Africa. Ball usually swings there, as it does in England.

Now let's move to #18, Damien Martyn.

Averages only 46.37 in tests; lower average in England and SA (swinging conditions)

Now, why would he be at 18 when you've left Inzamam-ul-Haq, Trescothick, Stephen Fleming, Ashwell Prince (who to me is another underrated player), and Graeme Smith...

Also your #16 only averages 45.27 in tests...

I highly doubt both could be there for the all-time in the last 5 years...

Oh, and ankurs, please be quiet about Sachin being an honest and "grounded" cricketer away from controversy.

Please tell Sachin to stop pointing his bat to the umpires when he clearly did not nick the ball. Please tell Sachin to stop waving his arms frantically to the players from the dressing room when a decision is not in their favor. Please tell Sachin to stop shaking his head as he walks off when he is given out when he clearly edged the ball. Please tell Sachin to stop trying to convince himself and his fans he did not hit the ball when he clearly did.

Only then, can one consider himself as a sportsman.

Let me give you a true example of a sportsman. Adam Gilchrist. I even remember an incident where the man walked off the field, and he didn't even edge it - it was the bat hitting the ground, and Gilly thought he edged the ball.

I think it was part of the Natwest Series in 2005 if that reminds anyone...

 

[Themer]

I don't agree with you alot zMario but your post above is exactly correct in my opinion.

 

[ankurs_009]

WEll zmario u can comment as much as u like on sachin but world knows what sachin is.Even the ausies who were all fired up at BHAJJI vs SYMONDS issue ,it was sachins clarification which was taken into consideration at the official hearing & the fact that sachin shows his dissapointment over his dismissal, so u must b rest assured that in such a long cricketing carrier u"ll never see any player with a honoured & respected stature as sachin.
TALKING OF ADAM GILCHRIST YEAH I LIKE HIM FOR HIS HONESTY WHEN HE EDGES ..
bUT ON WRONG UMPIRING DECISIONS (LIKE LAST ONES IN AUSTRALIA) I DONT THING ITS A MATTER OF RESPECTING THE UMPIRES MISTAKE WHEN SO MUCH IS ON THE STAKE

 

[metallics2006]

Please tell Sachin to stop pointing his bat to the umpires when he clearly did not nick the ball.

Any video proof other than just your words? Youtube maybe?

Please tell Sachin to stop shaking his head as he walks off when he is given out when he clearly edged the ball.

How do you expect someone to express their disappointment on themselves after getting out?

Please tell Sachin to stop waving his arms frantically to the players from the dressing room when a decision is not in their favor.

He did not question a correct decision. Just something that was a bad decision.

Please tell Sachin to stop pointing his bat to the umpires when he clearly did not nick the ball. Please tell Sachin to stop waving his arms frantically to the players from the dressing room when a decision is not in their favor. Please tell Sachin to stop shaking his head as he walks off when he is given out when he clearly edged the ball. Please tell Sachin to stop trying to convince himself and his fans he did not hit the ball when he clearly did.

Only then, can one consider himself as a sportsman.

4 mistakes in a 20 year long career(Most of them without proof)? Look at Miandad. Look at Aamir Sohail, Ponting etc. There are people who are worse than him.

 

[Mr.Cricket]

3.He is called GOD as simply he is the most honest & grounded cricketer away from controversies always playing the game with a spirit.

What about ball tampering ? He is a great cricketer but not a saint.

 

[KBC]

Well, he basically wanted to get rid of the captaincy issue.

But, he has evolved a lot from then.




..

 

[Insomniac]

Come add me on MSN, I will give you the proof there, and then you can talk about your humilation here.

The reason being, any post I make with youtube videos in it, gets deleted

 

[metallics2006]

Lame excuse mate.

Post the youtube link here. If it is deleted, I will come and have a chat on yahoo messenger or googletalk. I dont have a MSN account.

But I do see that you have not given me a straight answer to the questions that I asked.

 

[Sureshot]

It was deleted, not that you can see the deletion tag.

 

[Insomniac]

How is it a lame excuse? I posted the URLs, the post was deleted. Nothing I can do about that, so please stop looking foolish.

Besides, I don't plan to install Yahoo Messenger to engage in your foolish talk about how Sachin is a sportsman. A simple YouTube search would solve that.

Here is even more clinical proof. Me and Themer have been at each others throats on the security issue, but even he agrees with me. And he's a neutral

 

[sohum]

Here is even more clinical proof. Me and Themer have been at each others throats on the security issue, but even he agrees with me. And he's a neutral

Two lay-persons agreement is clinical proof of whether a person is a good sportsman or not?

 

[Insomniac]

Two lay-persons agreement is clinical proof of whether a person is a good sportsman or not?

Sorry, I should have used a better word instead of proof.

Thats not actually what I meant, my apologies. What I meant is that what I said above has some basis to it, as someone who I have argued (and probably flamed) in the past and don't see eye to eye with has supported what I said, so it must have been something of credibility in all likeliness.