Wisden's 10 players who will "define" cricket in the next decade

[Gunner786]

khalid latif?
the man who was dominating the australian a team,

or ahmed shahzad,
another who basically battered the aussie under-19 team and lets face it the aussies are deemed to have the best development academies and A teams in the world

 

[Dare]

I dont know if Dwayne Bravo will define international cricket in the next 10 years but he might define Windies cricket. He is a good All-Rounder with good potential in both batting and bowling and is one player that i would hold as the key for the future of west indies cricket, with a long line of good all-rounders from those regions if he can get close to the records of the greats he might deserve a spot in that list.

 

[Hooper]

Michael Clarke (Aus) - Poster boy, good young batsman and future Australian captain once Ponting leaves. He is destined to get the captaincy. He is loved by the Cricket fans, the ladies and the selectors. Lately he has been good in both forms and if he matures even more in the Test arena he could carve up a 100 Test career.

Shaun Tait (Aus) - Hmmm, bit early to tell. He is really effective in Aus Domestic Cricket and ODIs but not to sure about Tests yet - I think he bowls a bit to many loose balls. Maybe in 3 years we can tell if he will define Cricket in the next decade. But at the moment I dont rate him in Test matches.

Shane Watson (Aus) - Ridicolous choice, he can't even string two matches together for his county yet he will "define" Cricket in the next decade? I think Wisden made a boo boo here.

Kevin Pietersen (Eng) - A beast, an absolute beast! Will probably finish his career with the most runs for England if he can stay fit and play well into his 30s like Alec Stewart. He is another poster boy who will be dominant for years to come.

Mohammad Asif (Pak), Lasith Malinga (Sri), Suresh Raina (Ind) - Asif is good, I rate him as probably Pakistan's best fast bowler. Have only seen Malinga bowl in Tests in NZ when the conditions were favourable so can't rate him yet and I don't know about Raina, haven't heard much at all and haven't seen him bowl I don't think.

Dwayne Bravo (WI) - I love him, he is a character and can play some good Cricket, not just in ODIs! I remember him touring Australia a couple summer s back when he made that fantastic hundred I think at the MCG or at the Adelaide Oval (Not sure), but that was pure class from such a young All rounder on a tour of Australia when the rest of him team were dropping like flies! He is energetic and will be a great Cricketer for the Windies in years to come if he can just add something more to his already good bowling.

Ross Taylor (NZ) - Ross Taylor, man he can bat! I would love for him to be an Aussie, he plays like one He can smash bowlers and make then look like they play 4th grade at your local Cricket club! He will be in NZ's Test team in no time and then we can really see what he's capable of. He reminds me of Viv Richards, he is so confident already at such an early age!

Mohammad Ashraful (Ban) - He is their best, but playing in a losing team doesn't help. Needs some good support, in the batting department before he can really push on.

 

[karnog]

Where the hell is bell and Steyn? Come off it. Watson. Bloody hell. Jaques has a better chance. Hell even that Stuart Broad kid is better. What about Uthappa. Better that raina. I agree with Ross Taylor, Mohammad Asif and Clarke tho. I'm not convinced with Bravo and or Ashraful. Just omit any players from South Africa. What about that openner ahh devilliers i think. He's good and Harris isn't bad- hell if he continues to perform he'll transform South African cricket. God.

 

[aussie_ben91]

Kevin Pietersen (Eng) - Will go onto be one of the greatest batsman of all time. He'll be the Brian Lara / Sachin Tendulkar / Ricky Ponting of the next 10 or so years. He'll probably be the only 'Super-Player' of this generation and anyone who doubts he will be is clearly stupid.

Mohammad Asif (Pak) - Champion bowler, if no one else debuts in the next couple of years he'll be the best bowler of the next generation.

Kumur Sangakkara (SL)

Alastair Cook (Eng) - Future England captain. Probably the next Geoffrey Boycott when it comes to opening the batting?

Monty Panesar (Eng) - Predicting he'll be the best spinner in the world in a few years.

Phil Jaques (Aus) - I'd imigane he'd be one of the better batsman in the Australian team in the next few; averaging in the mid-high 40's.

Yuvraj Singh (Ind)

Michael Clarke (Aus) - Not as special as some people think he is. He'll be a good contributor in both forms of the game; averaging in the mid 40's.

Ian Bell (Eng)

Shaun Tait (Aus) - Champion fast bowler who many have yet to see at his very best.

Ross Taylor (NZ) - Will definately be the stand out batsman for New Zealand for years to come. Be interesting to see how he goes in Test Cricket.

Robin Uthappa (Ind) - Very talented ODI batsman; seems to always strike at over a run-a-ball regardless of the situation.

Sreesanth (Ind) - Once he gets his attitude checked out he'll be a fairly decent bowler. I don't really like him, but I've seen him bowl beautifully.

MS Dhoni (Ind)

Chamara Silva (SL)

Stuart Broad (Eng)

AB de Villiers (SA) - Probably needs some time back in domestic cricket to find his feet before having another attempt at Test Cricket.

Upul Tharanga (SL)

Dwayne Bravo (WIN) - Has all of the potential in the world and has been underrated by many members on this forum. Was probably rushed into International cricket due to the lack of quality in West Indian cricket. Saying his the 'best of a bad crop' is stupid because the guy is a class batsman.

Jerome Taylor (WI)

...I dunno what people are saying Ashraful for? Shahriar Nafees is better.

 

[smssia0112]

I find it funny that the only thing Watson can actually match Flintoff at is his amazing ability to get injured a lot.

To be honest Watson is a better batsman than Flintoff.

As for that list, it isn't that great. Personally I think that Tait is a long way off, but has the potential, Pietersen is showing the most and Taylor is a bit like Tait, promising but not there yet and too early to call.

Bravo is also quite young, but is a good player and I think he'll be one of the best all-rounders in the world one day.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Michael Clarke (Aus)
Shaun Tait (Aus)
Shane Watson (Aus)
Kevin Pietersen (Eng)
Mohammad Asif (Pak)
Lasith Malinga (Sri)
Suresh Raina (Ind)
Dwayne Bravo (WI)
Ross Taylor (NZ)
Mohammad Ashraful (Ban)

Raina, Malinga (On current form, he needs to be back at 150kmph), Watson and Tait don't deserve to be there. They haven't been extraordinary in any way.
I agree with the other picks. Perhaps add someone like Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel or Jerome Taylor to the list? Taylor has fallen away a bit, but the other two have been incredibly impressive.
EDIT: Bell, De Villiers and Broad worth a shout in too. And Sakibul Hasan...

 

[angryangy]

Provocative list.

I'm a big fan of Bravo, he's almost an old world style of hero for which it will never matter if he has a high batting average or a low bowling average.

In one dayers, he has a golden arm, but I feel he must bat higher than 6 to be convincing with the bat. In Tests, his batting is quietly becoming important, but his bowling has struggled for penetration. Lack of consistency from all of their bowlers is a key factor in that, though. Being able to create pressure would deliver them all more wickets. Nevertheless I find him to be one of the most capable of bowling tight spells.

He has a fighting an effervescent character that is really good for a team. If he works hard and continues to improve he really will be instrumental for any West Indian resurgence.

 

[Cricketman]

Irfan Pathan, anyone?

I'll write a more comprehensive analysis after I get back from school.

 

[Hooper]

Provocative list.

I'm a big fan of Bravo, he's almost an old world style of hero for which it will never matter if he has a high batting average or a low bowling average.

In one dayers, he has a golden arm, but I feel he must bat higher than 6 to be convincing with the bat. In Tests, his batting is quietly becoming important, but his bowling has struggled for penetration. Lack of consistency from all of their bowlers is a key factor in that, though. Being able to create pressure would deliver them all more wickets. Nevertheless I find him to be one of the most capable of bowling tight spells.

He has a fighting an effervescent character that is really good for a team. If he works hard and continues to improve he really will be instrumental for any West Indian resurgence.

Great post! Have to a agree...Iam a Bravo supporter!

 

[aussie_ben91]

Bravo should be batting at 4 for Windies in both forms.

 

[Sureshot]

To be honest Watson is a better batsman than Flintoff.

No doubt about that (although Flintoff in 'his era' was pretty bloody good). Watson doesn't strike me as someone who will go to the next step though, he'll always be a good batsman, but his bowling leaves a lot to be desired let alone his bodies being about as stable as Northern Rocks finances.

 

[angryangy]

I think somehow Watson's existence will define a facet of cricket. If he overcomes the injury curse, that's one thing, but if he never does, I mean, look at Shane Bond; absence does not decrease a player's relevance.

The thing that is most desirable about Shaun Tait is that he looks to bowl a lot of deliveries full and straight on the stumps. Full, straight, swinging and extremely fast. Even though he sometimes lets them go for wides or gives away a boundary ball, at that pace, the ball will often beat the bat outside off stump. Although he does find edges, he gets a good number of wickets bowled and lbw.

Michael Clarke will definitely have a lot of games ahead of him, but how far will he go? He is a supple player against the spinners and that alone makes him a compelling middle order player, but his defences still look a mess at times. If he doesn't improve this, he may find his Test career quite stunted, as there is always some young player nipping at the heels.

Mohammad Ashraful is a very slick hitter of the ball, from a country that seems to be making a name for itself as slick hitters of cricket balls. He just barely has already shown the temperament to succeed. His hundreds have captured the imagination of many and he really does look a quality player on his day. He has been a key component of Bangladesh actually being recognised by spectators and together with players such as Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Shakib Al Hasan, Aftab Ahmed and Shariah Nafees, Bangladesh will look to build a dynasty of heroes. Now, he is the inexperienced captain of a rabble of talents. In 10 years he'll be at his peak and the seasoned leader of some fine experienced players.

 

[.Mob]

Irfan Pathan and Chamara Silva should be there.

Silva is going to be a huuuuge player if he continues to improve, definate gem for Sri Lanka in the future, possible captain too. Class and nothing more.

Same goes with Pathan.

 

[Cricketman]

And of course, we have Karthik...