ATGs of the past who wouldn't be able to handle modern demands of cricket

[Global Insight]

I frequently hear about past ATGs who were masters of the game in their time and how a lot of current players wouldn't even be able to survive in those eras. However, the flip side is that Cricket is now a more demanding game. higher fitness levels and more cricket being played now then ever puts more strain on the body. A fast bowler is now expected to dive around in the field and there is no more hiding poor fielders. Batsmen have heavier bats and are expected to bat at a certain SR range.

Who are some greats of the past who you believe would not be able to have the same impact in todays environment? Or alternatively, greats who would be greats no matter which era they play in.

disclaimer: I am not saying that todays cricket is harder, but there are different expectations in the game.

I am genuinely curious on some honest unbiased opinons. I was not around that time, so some insight would be awesome.

Would Miandad be as effective today as he was in the past?
Could the Windies bowling of old frighten batsmen the same way with the bigger bats, field restrictions and better protective equipment?

Cheers!

 

[Slog]

Most would have adapted

You're forgetting they would have access to equipment, training facilities, coaching methods, fitness regiment, dietary information and opposition info today which they didn't have in the past

 

[Syed1]

The basics of cricket are still the same and most ATGs would have been able to adapt given that the pitches are generally flatter, the boundaries are smaller and the bats are massive. The pace bowling ATGs would have access to more video analysis of opposition and hence able to cope with the demands of modern day cricket.

The bigger question is would the 'greats' of today be able to adapt to the demands of cricket in yesteryears. I know for a fact that the bat that Warner uses is atleast thrice as thick as the bats that were used in the 80s and 90s.

 

[TahirFan]

The original fat cricketer article, William Gilbert Grace was the first to show a player didn’t need sports science, skinfolds and fitness tests to survive in international cricket. The legendary English captain played top-level cricket for 45 years while sporting a flubby tummy that doesn’t quite qualify for dad bod status.

 

[Hasan123]

Post #2and#3 are spot on.

 

[BD-fan]

lol, nowadays premadonnas would quit after the one month voyage to from Country A to Country B. Wouldn't want a cold shower after a week.

 

[BD-fan]

They would also say, Pay me now, pay my worth. lol.

Love of the game is a foreign concept.

 

[Haz95]

ATG of the past would play so much more county cricket and wouldn't get injured every other month like the current stars. Len Hutton has 129 FC 100s...I don't care if the quality was 'poor' or not, that is an achievement. There is enough evidence to suggest that the older plays would definitely do well while unfortunately, the converse is not true. Having said that, there are a few things which the newer ATGs have the upper hand.

-I see modern day players excelling in would be to take advantage of flat pitches which in the olden days, batsmen would still plod on.

-Reverse Swing and/or the same ball; a lot of the older bowlers would get spanked under the new 2 ball rule and lack of reverse swing

-Batsmen showing more intent- While pitches play a lot in this, there are some batsmen who still go crazy even on relatively tougher wickets, something which in the olden days wasn't common.

 

[zyrus]

Imran & Wasim. They were saved by swing. Otherwise Imran was nothing but a glorified Sami.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

Gavaskar couldn't handle modern ODI, he couldn't even adapt to ODIs even in his times

 

[hitthestump]

Bigger bats, flatter pitches. Even the great WIndies bowlers would have had their art greatly nullified by the $$ cricket "adaptations" of this century.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

Bigger bats, flatter pitches. Even the great WIndies bowlers would have had their art greatly nullified by the $$ cricket "adaptations" of this century.

Marshall, Ambrose, Garner would all be thrashed in IPL's fast outfields. Even mishits would go for six

 

[ocfan]

Sachin Tendulkar

 

[amvbfm]

Marshall, Ambrose, Garner would all be thrashed in IPL's fast outfields. Even mishits would go for six

No doubt about it. Not only are modern playing conditions loaded in favor of batsmen but the game has also changed from a psychological perspective. Batsmen believe they can chase down any score and bowlers are more often than not content with stopping runs rather than taking wickets as opposed to 20 years ago when batsmen used to be conservative and bowlers a lot more aggressive. Having said that I still think the players you mentioned would have adapted easily to the modern game and still ended up as legends. Being smacked about is a part of the game but I still believe these guys would have managed the same number of wickets with a slightly higher economy and average.

I don't think these ATGs would suffer in the core areas of the game i.e batting and bowling. They were too talented to not be able to adapt. The main area where they would actually find it difficult to adapt would be the fitness requirements, fielding standards and on-field discipline.

 

[Manager101]

Another question we can ask is that, Any possibility of modern ATG surviving in classical mode of cricket that ended in 90s ?

 

[QalandarFan]

Agree with Post Numbers 2, 3, and 8

 

[Bilal7]

The greats of old would have been greats today, especially in test cricket.

 

[jusarrived]

Most would have adapted

You're forgetting they would have access to equipment, training facilities, coaching methods, fitness regiment, dietary information and opposition info today which they didn't have in the past

No way to be certain .

 

[jusarrived]

The basics of cricket are still the same and most ATGs would have been able to adapt given that the pitches are generally flatter, the boundaries are smaller and the bats are massive. The pace bowling ATGs would have access to more video analysis of opposition and hence able to cope with the demands of modern day cricket.

The bigger question is would the 'greats' of today be able to adapt to the demands of cricket in yesteryears. I know for a fact that the bat that Warner uses is atleast thrice as thick as the bats that were used in the 80s and 90s.

How would you be sure these bowlers would have had same level of sucess with everything from pitches to size of bat against them ?

 

[greatest]

ATG batsmen of yesteryear's would be as or more successful than today's ATG. In the pre 90's era, Test cricket was the ultimate, ODI's were more of a sideshow except the World Cup, in fact many greats preferred to skip the 1987 WC like Hadlee, Botham, Marshall etc.

Nowadays the shorter formats are taken very seriously and teams plan more. I am sure if the greats of yesterday's played today they will be more determined, focused and better prepared than today's cricketers. Not to forget they used to coach themselves and we're also good students of the game.