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A tribute to Brian Lara - Where did he rank overall? Most gifted of all players?

@DeadlyVenom Bro I said gilchrist and head are more impactful in odi, sorry to burst your bubble

Lara is not as impactful, these 2 set a tone at the start of the order.
 
@Harsh Thakor your line 'On his day he would rule with the majestic aura of an emperor' is very true. When in full flow there was nothing like Lara. A beautiful combination of style,impact,arrogance,timing and grace. The way he could go up and down the gears against quality bowling is unparalleled.
Very appreciative of your remark
 
Lara was the best Odi batsman in the world for a few years
I don't doubt that, but he's not in my all time 11 team, it's a personal preference but I'm not mocking him. I never said Travis head is better then he is.

So idkw @DeadlyVenom Feels the need to add a snide remark lol.
 
@DeadlyVenom Bro I said gilchrist and head are more impactful in odi, sorry to burst your bubble

Lara is not as impactful, these 2 set a tone at the start of the order.
We shouldn't compare across eras. It's difficult to do that especially when ODI playing conditions and bats/balls have chamged so much. Gilchrist, Sachin and Jayasuriya were impactful but they were openers

Your larger point about BC Lara is actually not wrong. Against top sides, he didn't often create the impact that his contemporaries did.

But it's a bit more nuanced than that. Lara as a #3 was an exceptionally impactful batter and his best record is actually at #3 where he scored most of his tons and he has a higher strike rate at #3, while playing against the Top sides than even the likes of Ponting.

But for whatever reason he didn't bat there often enough and ended up batting at #4 and #5 for a big chunk of his career.
 
We shouldn't compare across eras. It's difficult to do that especially when ODI playing conditions and bats/balls have chamged so much. Gilchrist, Sachin and Jayasuriya were impactful but they were openers

Your larger point about BC Lara is actually not wrong. Against top sides, he didn't often create the impact that his contemporaries did.

But it's a bit more nuanced than that. Lara as a #3 was an exceptionally impactful batter and his best record is actually at #3 where he scored most of his tons and he has a higher strike rate at #3, while playing against the Top sides than even the likes of Ponting.

But for whatever reason he didn't bat there often enough and ended up batting at #4 and #5 for a big chunk of his career.
That's fair brother.
 
Brian Lara speaking during an interaction with a TV channel team:

"I'm not a big Bollywood fan. I do come from a country with majority Indian population...So, there is a lot of interest in Bollywood. I'm not even an English movie fan. So unfortunately...Harry Potter and these things, I haven't really seen,"

"But what I do like about India is the unconditional love,"

"I think when you come to India, the way how you're treated, you know, and when you turn any corner there's a smile on someone's face just from seeing you. I think that is something that is refreshing and you know it's also very positive,"

"It has a positive effect on me being in India, being loved in a foreign country and the way that they...Walking in Miami on South Beach, everybody's pushing you out of the way.

"But in India, it's a whole different story, everybody pushing into you,

"So, I think that from someone who started playing the game for the adulation from my father and from my siblings to having the adulation in India is something that I love, but it's also the serenity of the people,"

“I have to make it very clear because sometimes people will think your relationship with SRH was so bad but I would love to see SRH do well. I feel it is a continuation of something,"

"I like it and it's very close to a dish in Trinidad called Doubles. Yeah, so look it up, Trinidad Doubles and look at chhole bhature and it's something very, very similar," he said referring to a popular breakfast option back home.

"And I can tell you, when the Indian players come to Trinidad, they have our doubles, they love it,"

One of the things, the challenges that I have is sort of getting excited and sort of creating excitement for the crowd when I believe something average has happened,"

"So, a guy plays a big cover drive and it's inside edge for four and I have to get excited for it, it's kind of tough,"

"But to be a part of the IPL and to be a part of a cricket game and say, for instance, when Shamar Joseph picked up those seven wickets in that Test match in Australia, and to be able to call that period is exciting in itself,"

"You know, my number one, I think, experience that I have is coaching. I think working with young players and seeing them grow is wonderful...I don't like being too critical of players and I like keeping my opinion sometimes behind closed doors, so it's a learning experience for me being a commentator,"
 
I miss Lara honestly, when Rohit initially came I assumed that’s what he would be, he definitely did better in white ball but not in tests, due to which i probably hated Rohit for a long time.
 
Honestly, Lara is probs the greatest test player after Bradman tbh.

As an odi player he was excellent for his time.

He's an atg as well
 
I have always had a weak spot for West Indies cricket. Brian Lara was one of my favorite batters growing up. His backfoot drives were treats to watch.

He is one of my top 3 favorite batters of all time (other 2 are Kallis and Saeed Anwar).
 
Brian Lara Faces Big Backlash For 'Categorically False' Claims In His Book

Viv Richards and Carl Hooper has demanded an apology from Brian Lara over claims made by the legendary West Indies batter in his book "Lara: The England Chronicles". Lara claimed that Richard used to intimidate players in the West Indies cricket team and he would make him cry every few weeks. He further claimed that Viv also made Hooper cry "once a week". However, Richards and Hooper have come up a joint statement regarding the things written in Lara's book. The statement stated that the two former cricketers are disappointed at the “gross misrepresentations” in the book and it further alleged that they “distort the “reality” of the relationship they have off the field.

“Sir Vivian Richards and Mr. Carl Hooper are deeply disheartened by the gross misrepresentations made about them in Mr. Brian Lara's recently released book. The allegations presented not only distort the reality of their relationship but also impugn their characters in an unjust and harmful manner.”

Earlier, Lara made serious revelations of Viv's relationship with himself and Hooper.

“Viv used to make me cry every three weeks, but he would make Carl cry once a week. Viv's tone of voice is intimidating and if you're not strong enough, you can take that personally and be affected by it. Me, I was never really affected by it. In a way I welcomed it, because I was so much under his arm that I knew abuse was coming and I was a strong personality. Carl? I know for a fact that Carl shied away from Viv Richards,” Lara wrote.

However, the statement has rubbished any such claims.

“The claim that Sir Vivian was aggressive towards Mr. Hooper and made him cry once a week is categorically false. Such descriptions paint Sir Vivian as a perpetrator of emotional abuse — an assertion that is not only baseless but also deeply hurtful to both parties,” the statement read.

“Sir Vivian, as Mr. Hooper's first captain, has never caused emotional distress to Mr. Hooper. On the contrary, he has always acted as an encouraging mentor and provided unwavering support. Their nearly 40-year relationship has been founded on mutual respect and camaraderie. The misrepresentation of their interactions in Mr. Lara's book is a grave disservice to the truth and has caused undue distress to both parties and their families."

“We demand that Mr. Lara immediately issues a public retraction of these false claims and offer a sincere apology for the harm caused. It is crucial for the integrity of public discourse and their personal and professional lives that the truth is set right,” it added.

NDTV
 
For that matter, majority of the giant test knocks were played on extremely flat surfaces, mostly against lacklustre bowling attacks and ultimately ended in drawn tests or almost did.

Not singling out Lara alone.
But some of these knocks as well :-
Mark Taylor 334 - Drawn test vs Pakistan

Mahela Jayawardene 375 - They selfishly batted for almost 3 days and knew Murali will manage the win for them

Jayasuriya and Younis Khan triple centuries - Drawn tests


Whenever people talk about Lara, they mention his so called ability to hit those big ones but none of his big tons made his team win. They were all utterly selfish displays of 2.5 days of one team batting.

Also, they usually portray Lara as a unique and only player to pull off such knocks when you have Jayawardene, Taylor and a long list of other batsmen who either threw away their wickets in 200s or 300s while pushing for a win.

if anyone needs to be specially mentioned when it comes to hitting giant knocks, it’s probably Sehwag at least he did it at such a remarkable scoring rate.
 
Most watchable player ever for me. Watching Lara bat was a joy in itself. That high stylish backlift and unpredictable mood, made it very very exciting to watch.
 
I’ve watched a lot of Test cricket, an awful lot.
Limting it to the players I have personally seen, the four greatest Test batsmen were

Sobers, Richards, Tendulkar and Lara.
One step below, Gavaskar, Ponting, Kohli and Smith

Best technique — Gavaskar
Best aesthetic (purely subjective) — Lara

The batsman to bat for my life — Gavaskar
If I knew I was dying and could only watch one more player before doing so — Lara in full flow
 
Lara is my favorite leftie batter of all time.

I think he is among the top 5 best batters of all time.
 
I’ve watched a lot of Test cricket, an awful lot.
Limting it to the players I have personally seen, the four greatest Test batsmen were

Sobers, Richards, Tendulkar and Lara.
One step below, Gavaskar, Ponting, Kohli and Smith

Best technique — Gavaskar
Best aesthetic (purely subjective) — Lara

The batsman to bat for my life — Gavaskar
If I knew I was dying and could only watch one more player before doing so — Lara in full flow
You've watched Garry Sobers play?
 
If I have to choose one player to play for my team in a super competitive test series or odi tournament then it would be Tendulkar but if there's one do or die test/odi match, then my choice will be Lara.
 
You've watched Garry Sobers play?
Yep 1973 at Lords

I had just passed the common entrance exam and as a 11 year old my father rewarded me by taking me to my first Test match at Lords, England vs West Indies.
Sobers scored a sublime 150 and I fell in love with the game — a love affair that has caused much pain over the years :)
He was virtually playing on one leg by then because his knee was shot — wish I’d seen him at his peak.
 
Yep 1973 at Lords

I had just passed the common entrance exam and as a 11 year old my father rewarded me by taking me to my first Test match at Lords, England vs West Indies.
Sobers scored a sublime 150 and I fell in love with the game — a love affair that has caused much pain over the years :)
He was virtually playing on one leg by then because his knee was shot — wish I’d seen him at his peak.
Lucky you!

Old timers like Ian Chappell, Geoffrey Boycott and Graeme Pollock still maintain that Sobers is the best batsman, best all rounder and the best cricketer they have ever seen. Even the late Tony Greig maintained the same.
 
Watch the video on Youtube from Jarrod Kimber and Bumble sums it all up very nicely.
 
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Sachin (in test) - avg 53.78, centuries - 51, runs - 15921
Lara (in test) - avg 52.88, centuries - 34, runs - 11953

Sachin (in ODIs) - avg 44.83, centuries - 49, runs - 18426
Lara (in ODIs) - avg 40.48, centuries - 19, runs - 13086


Sachin never had any real dip in form in his 24 years career. Even in his last WC and Downunder tour 6 months prior to his retirement, he was batting like a dream. Lara was more flamboyant on his day but those days were few and far in between. He was very inconsistent.

Sachin was equally good in both the codes - Test & ODI cricket. It took Virat Kohli to break his ODI century numbers, Root is on his way to break his most test runs and no body can even come close to his ODI runs. So it is taking multiple players from modern generation to break what Sachin has done all on his own. Lara on the other hand was inferior to Ganguly and Anwar in ODI cricket and there was a time when Kambli was outscoring him.

Every time Sachin used to bat, he used to carry the pressure of 1.5 billion people on his shoulder. This was more apparent in the 90s when he was the lone gun slinger. I still remember in 96 WC QF against Pakistan, the coach instructed him to cut down his natural game and don't give away his wicket. Thats why Sidhu was taking all the charge and Sachin was tuk tuking but eventually got played on off Ata Ur Rehman. Lara has never batted in such pressure situation and under so much expectations.

There has never been or never will be another Tendulkar. Anyone that says otherwise is either jealous or no clue in cricket.


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Goodness! Now suddenly out of the blue the opinion of ex cricketers hold merit :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
 
Goodness! Now suddenly out of the blue the opinion of ex cricketers hold merit :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
Opinion of whom? Jealous outcasts like Bumble Lloyd? LOL

We all know where his priorities lie.

Everyone knows Sachin is better, stats and every measurement says so. However, most of these gora's take their frustration of BCCI by downplaying Indian players.
 
Opinion of whom? Jealous outcasts like Bumble Lloyd? LOL

We all know where his priorities lie.

Everyone knows Sachin is better, stats and every measurement says so. However, most of these gora's take their frustration of BCCI by downplaying Indian players.
Opinion of the poster who made that post linking that video. For eternity he didn't care about cricketer's and ex cricketers opinion on Tendulkar. Nor did he care about all the lists of greatest cricketers and All Time Xi compiled by extremly credible sources till date.

And now he suddenly posts a video of a former cricketer to make his 'point'.

But then again what else do you expect from a fan of that chucker with 177 Test wickets :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
 
Watch the video on Youtube from Jarrod Kimber and Bumble sums it all up very nicely.
Just to be clear. I posted this because it points out the genius of Lara.

Yes they made a comparison to Tendulkar and it wasn’t even bad.

Jarrod even said he’d prefer to have Tendulkar in his team because he planned meticulously and by percentages it was a safer pick. Lara was a bigger risk because he wasn’t always up for every game. Eg it would be too much effort to motivate Lara for a game against say Zimbabwe. Whereas Sachin would be fully up for it.

Don’t even know why the Indians are seething. Bumble said he prefers Lara and he’s a gambler by nature. The difference between the two was that Sachin would play the perfect cover drive to a ball on off stump whereas Lara could play 4 or 5 shots to the same ball.

It was really good analysis and 2 of the guys even said they’d prefer Tendulkar in the team over Lara. Lara’s genius was obvious and on another level but he wasn’t always up for every game.

This video doesn’t even put down Tendulkar, why have we got Indians seething at this? I mean you don’t have to be angry all the time.
 
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Such a genius Lara was that the greatest ever bowler in history Shane Warne, who bowled to both of them, said this -


Tendulkar is the best and daylight's second, says Warne


One of the big clashes in the early stages of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy is the New Zealand-Australia encounter at the Sinhalese Sports Club grounds. While England have already begun to focus a lot of their attention on the upcoming Ashes tour, the Australians are keen to take it one game at a time. After all, their island neighbours have always played at their best when they have been up against it. With New Zealand having several batsmen who play pace with ease in their ranks, Shane Warne becomes a central figure in the clashes involving the two sides.

The charismatic leggie, who has provided hours of entertainment on the field and some of the tastiest sound bites off it, was relaxed, collected and yet raring to go when he spoke to pressmen at the Taj Samudra hotel in Colombo. And he was not one to underestimate his opposition.

"I like bowling to Craig McMillan, I've had some success against him, but he's a dangerous player, and Cairns as well. It doesn't help New Zealand that those two aren't here. They still have some good players though. They always lift their game when they play against Australia and it's a tough game for us first up. New Zealand have always been one of the hardest teams for us to beat. Stephen Fleming is probably the best captain in world cricket. He'll have plans for every single player," Warne observed.

Just recently, the Aussies were in fine fettle in Kenya, firing on all cylinders. As their batsmen merrily plundered hapless opposition bowling and pacemen Jason Gillespie and Glenn McGrath regularly upset the timber, Warne himself used the chance to get ready for the Champions Trophy.

"We played pretty well in Kenya. Bowled Pakistan out cheaply twice. We need to do pretty much the same and keep going. It was a good tournament to play leading up to this. We all got a chance to get some match practice on turf wickets and clear the cobwebs that come from not playing for a period," said Warne.

Although, he was quick to add that being away from the game did not mean putting his feet up, sipping lager and watching the telly. "I've been training twice a day for the last six months. I've been in good form with both the bat and ball in the last year or so. I think I bowled some good spells and some bad ones in Kenya but it was ideal preparation for this tournament," he said.

With a shoulder injury ruling out bowling, Warne took the opportunity to work on his batting and catching in the slips - two things he says that give him immense pleasure. "All my coaches tell me I've been underachieving with the bat. In the last twelve months I've got some runs. I still didn't get a hundred but it was good to get a 99. Couple of 80s and 70s as well. I've worked really hard at playing the short ball - hooking and pulling. Worked with Ian Chappell and had very good chat with him on that. With Gilchrist coming in late in the order in Tests, it's important for us tail-enders to bat a bit and give him support."

It is the sort of planning and execution that has given Australia an edge over all the other sides in international cricket, South Africa included. "The edge we've got over South Africa is basically because we've beaten them in every form of the game - except for that tie in the World Cup. I feel we've got the wood on South Africa. They're still a great team. They intimidate other teams but I think we intimidate them. As the home country they'll be very tough to beat in the World Cup," Warne suggested.

Talking of intimidation, there is one man coming up against whom gave Warne nightmares. When you listen to Warne speak of Tendulkar, you are clearly able to discern the existence of a special bond of sorts between the two.

"I don't know if I've always been in awe of him. I respect his cricket and we get on well off the field. We've both got respect for each other. We've both been around for a long time now and I think we both admire each other. To me, he's the best player of our generation. People who have played with Bradman and Ian Chappell and those sort of guys would say they were the best. I think it's unfair to compare eras. Any good player in any era would adjust and be a fine, excellent player. To me, Sachin is the best player and daylight's second," Warne said.

Small wonder, then, that the ace leggie picked Tendulkar as the hardest batsman to bowl to, while adding Navjot Sidhu, Chris Cairns, Graham Gooch and Dave Houghton to that list. Of that list, Warne can only come up against Tendulkar in this tournament. If he does, you can be sure there will be some fireworks.
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Link: https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/tendulkar-is-the-best-and-daylight-s-second-says-warne-123123
 
Watch the video on Youtube from Jarrod Kimber and Bumble sums it all up very nicely.

That video is exactly why I had to bump this thread.

Lloyd and Jarod put Lara over Sachin for his ability to post 375,400,501 as if only Lara has big knocks to his name.

Firstly all ended in drawn matches.

Secondly many other batsmen either had similar dull draw giant knocks or had to get out or declare to force a win. Tendulkar included.
 
That video is exactly why I had to bump this thread.

Lloyd and Jarod put Lara over Sachin for his ability to post 375,400,501 as if only Lara has big knocks to his name.

Firstly all ended in drawn matches.

Secondly many other batsmen either had similar dull draw giant knocks or had to get out or declare to force a win. Tendulkar included.
That’s not the only thing they said. They talked a lot about his shot making (multiple shots to the same ball, his ability to manipulate the field one by one) and his general genius ability which was breathtaking.

What I was saying earlier is I don’t know how this video offends Indians that much? Jarrod in the end did say he would probably go for Tendulkar because he knows what he will get out of him. Whereas Lara although the potential was higher, the risk was also greater.

And I think all biases and trolling aside, it’s a pretty accurate description of the difference between them. It just comes down to taste. They were very different players.
 
On this day, 21 years ago today, Brian Lara went big and scored the first and on;y 400 in Test cricket...

WHat a player he was... Classy.
 
such a gorgeous batsman. modern cricketers hit it harder and further than ever before, but lara was pure dynamite whilst being technically amazing. his footwork, bat speed, and commitment to aggressive stroke play. theres not many players who can be said to have underachieved having scored 12000 runs at 53, but the politics of a declining west indies cricket screwed with him, he was in full flow out of this world.
 
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