The Greatest Allrounder Ever?

[puddleduck]

playboy is the greatest literary acheivement in mankinds history! If it's going on our favourites then i think you know who i want in but for me it has to be Botham

Post changed as you are right, Playboy is right up there (for the stories of course). Surely you can't mean Broad? As this thread is talking about all-rounders.

 

[Leicester Fox]

Broad was an allrounder earlier in his career. in fact he was a batsmen earlier in his career and only bowled since he grew a lot.i'm not so biased i think of him as the greatest allrounder though. he scored a 50 against Pakistan or Sri Lanka (i cant remember) for england A too

 

[puddleduck]

Yes I know he used to be a batsman, but to try and label someone who averages 16 with the bat an all-rounder would be stretching it bit. You'll find that all county bowlers would bat right up the order as kids and bowl a fair amount as batsman. Even Phil Tufnell used to open the batting for one of my old schools!

 

[Leicester Fox]

to try and label Afridi as the greatest all rounder of all time is stretching it a bit too. i was just making a point about picking your favourite players to be the greatest all rounder

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Post changed as you are right, Playboy is right up there (for the stories of course). Surely you can't mean Broad? As this thread is talking about all-rounders.

Okay.
Now, all of you here at Planetcricket consider yourself an educated bunch, and think it makes yourself look smart by saying "Afridi has go no technique and is an idiot". Firt thing you need to realize, being an allrounder is not only by their performance on field or their stats. You go by their aura on the field, and most importantly, the effect they have on the people over the world.
It may not seem like it here, but go out in the real world and see for yourself. Come to my school for instance. I can assure you, practically every Indian fan would want Afridi in their team. Infact, we have our own little phrase we tell the Pakistanis: "We'll give you Kashmir, you give us Afridi." And you will be suprised to see how educated these Indian fans are on cricket, some even more than me.
You can go ask any Pakistani, or even Indian, who don't follow cricket deeply. I know a few. Want to know how they even got slightly interested in cricket? They saw the likes of Imran, Wasim, Shoaib, and most of all, yes, Afridi. And let me tell you, these kids have talent. Amongst the handful of cricketers they know -Sachin, Lara, Warne, Imran Khan, Kapil Dev- they all know and love Afridi. He has a major impact on the subcontinent. He is the guy you watch on TV and think: "Geez, I wanna play cricket, it seems so cool". He is the man who attracts fans, he is the one who makes kids want to play cricket. Go in the gullies, you'll hear them arguing: "I want to be Afridi! No I want to be Afridi!". The impact he has had on the subcontinent is amazing. Imran Khan inspired many to play cricket, just because he was so cool and bowled so fast, and hit so hard. Afridi is the current Imran Khan. Sure he may fail on the field, but he is the player whom the future Inzi or Sachin will watch and say "Hey, cricket seems awesome! I want to play!" I know he was one of the few who did it for me. You just have to look at the crowds when he walks out onto the field, they go beserk! When he is out, they walk away. He is the main draw, he is the one who will inspire more and more kids to take up cricket. Not the boring stodgy Kallis's or underrated Sangakkarras, it is these match-winning, dazzling, fantastic players like Afridi. Why do I say he is one of the greatest allrounders ever? Why am I so crazy about him? Just wait till 10 years in the future, when a new legend emerges and says "I got into cricket, when I saw Afridi bat. I though it seemed cool, and I wanted to play"
Just look at the crowds, hear the noise level rise, see how every Pakistani and many Indians regardless of social differences unite when he walks out to bat. That should be more than enough. Sure, he may not be the most successful or consistent player to have graced the cricket feild, but the stamp he has left in cricket will forever last.

 

[evertonfan]

So because he makes Indian and Pakistan fans want to grow up to be a slogger he should be classed a world-class all-rounder? The fact that fans leave stadiums whenever he's out show that they aren't there for the cricket, they are there to see a mindless slog-a-thon.

 

[puddleduck]

What's that got to do with being the greatest all-rounder ever? Also where in this thread have I said he's "got no technique, and is an idiot etc....."

Are you trying to tell me Zorax that people in India and Pakistan weren't massive cricket fans before Afridi? I think you'll find you are wrong. To compare him to Imram Khan does Imran a disservice. Imran is a true legend of the game based on performances on the field, he earnt the right to be listed as a great.

If when you say the stamp he leaves will last forever, you mean that Pakistan will produce a bunch of sloggers with no real grasp on the way cricket has to be played, then I seriously hope for Pakistans sake you are wrong.

Of course Kallis won't inspire Pakistani kids to play cricket, but he will sure as hell inspire South African kids to do so. In the same way that Afridi doesn't inspire English kids, Freddie does, and that Warne inspires Aussie kids, not Afridi. The world of cricket will not shed a tear when Afridi retires, and you have placed far too much importance in the roll of one player who still has time to change the way he is remembered, but if he doesn't, will merely be remembered as a player who perhaps could have acheived more.

 

[H0wZ4T!]

It's defintately Daniel Vettori

 

[Gunner786]

the way you all go on its like you seen every all rounder ever in action and think you can compare
you cant compare with stats at your disposal and by reading articles
from all the cricket i have seen i would have to say its between imran khan and ian botham with imran khan coming out on top

i cant say bradman was the greatest ever cos most of his matches were against england around then and for all we know the england attack then could've been the equivelant of the canada/ireland/uae attack of now,

and i never saw him in action so i cant call him the best ever

i can say tendulkar is the best ever odi batsman but i wouldnt let him bat for my life

my point is for example in 20 years people see afridi's sixes record and should they say he was the best ever cos he could hit a 6 whenever he wanted?

or cos shoaib was the fastest ever he was the best bowler ever?
NO

you cannot base your judgements on statistics unless you have seen the player in action

 

[Leicester Fox]

Imran Khan was a better bowler than batsman and i feel the greatest allrounder should be equally good at both

 

[BigCrickNan]

Its gotta be Dirk Kuyt the man can do everything ...

Out of the four in the poll i'd probably say Imran Kahn. Bothams career faded badly in the last 4 years, Hadlee wasn't the batsman Kahn was and well I just don't really know about Kapil Dev . Imran Kahns '92 world cup campaign is a big thing that helps him aswell.

 

[Gunner786]

not to mention the fact that in his last 10 years he averaged 51 with the bat too

 

[puddleduck]

the way you all go on its like you seen every all rounder ever in action and think you can compare
you cant compare with stats at your disposal and by reading articles
from all the cricket i have seen i would have to say its between imran khan and ian botham with imran khan coming out on top

i cant say bradman was the greatest ever cos most of his matches were against england around then and for all we know the england attack then could've been the equivelant of the canada/ireland/uae attack of now,

and i never saw him in action so i cant call him the best ever

i can say tendulkar is the best ever odi batsman but i wouldnt let him bat for my life

my point is for example in 20 years people see afridi's sixes record and should they say he was the best ever cos he could hit a 6 whenever he wanted?

or cos shoaib was the fastest ever he was the best bowler ever?
NO

you cannot base your judgements on statistics unless you have seen the player in action

Says the person who started a "whos the greatest all rounder thread" :

And specifically mentioned stats as part of his reasoning in his first post. You don't half type a lot of old Schofield.

The reason Bradman is considered the greatest is because he averaged 100 in an era when the next best batsman averaged 40-50. He was 50 runs a match better than any of his fellow players, and considering the likes of Larwood are considered the equal of any modern day bowler in both pace and accuracy you do him a disservice claiming that the bowling attacks weren't up to scratch.

I can tell you now that I'd rather face Akhtar or Lee with all the protective equipment they have these days, then try and deal with Larwood bowling leg-side theory at me without any equipment at all.

Since it is nigh on impossible to compare eras, one of the few ways to do so is to look at how good a player was in his generation. Bradman was so much better than any other player of his time, that is why he considered the greatest batsman in history.

 

[stereotype]

Sobers by a long long long long way

 

[anandbatra]

Just look at the crowds, hear the noise level rise, see how every Pakistani and many Indians regardless of social differences unite when he walks out to bat. That should be more than enough. Sure, he may not be the most successful or consistent player to have graced the cricket feild, but the stamp he has left in cricket will forever last.

Your reasoning absolutely beats me. So, you know 20 people in India who like Afridi? I can tell you about 20 million here who boo Afridi each time he walks onto the field, and hate him to the core.

I've lived in Mumbai, Chennai, Karnal, Chandigarh and Delhi. I played some cricket, too. I haven't met a single Indian who likes Afridi.

Have you ever seen Afridi batting in a match in India? Have you heard what people have to say about him?

Yes, in your part of India, Afridi may be famous. Hell, he may be bigger than Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid, Kapil Dev, Gavaskar, Vengsarkar; BUT you can't just generalize about a billion people.

I've been to a fair share of matches myself, and no Indian leaves the ground when Afridi gets out.

You must understand that there is a huge difference between India and Pakistan; socially, economically and politically. I'm not saying that you are not telling the truth; I'm just asking you not to generalize about 'Indian' fans. I'm an Indian fan, and I hate Afridi. Oh, and I do not dance around when Afridi bats. I switch off the TV when he comes in to bat, and switch it back on after 5 minutes, when he gets out.

Stop making stories to justify your point of view.

I just don't know how you justify Afridi being a great all-rounder.