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Cricketers with great mental strength

M

moghul

ODI Debutant
Joined
Jul 20, 2016
Runs
8,850
Du Plessis's performance as SA's captain and as player in Australia has been extra ordinary so far. Many pundits attributes this to his great mental strength. Mental strength is a great gift which is a difference, many time, between a great and no so great captain and player.

Historically , the mentally strongest cricketer I have ever seen is not other than Imran Khan. But many others have impressed me a lot in this respect, here are few, in recent years.

Misbah
Dhoni
Du Plessis
Brendum McCullum
 
SandyB said:
No Kohli ???
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Yes, why not. Captaining India is one of the most stressful sports related job anywhere and one has to be extremely mentally strong to do a decent job. Kohli not only captaining well, he is scoring runs also. He is no where near to Dhoni's level, yet, but has great potential.

Ganguly was another one worth mentioning.
 
McCullum??

The man bottled it in the WC final IMO, played like a headless chicken vs the number 1 bowler in the tournament from ball 1.
 
Donal Cozzie said:
McCullum??

The man bottled it in the WC final IMO, played like a headless chicken vs the number 1 bowler in the tournament from ball 1.
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You opened my wounds, I traveled from USA to watch that final and was at MCG that day, was expecting a great final but McCullum, spoiled it all. But, to his credit, he led his team to final and has played great innings with his aggressive style and made NZL a top team , in ODI at least.
 
Among yesterday's cricketers, I also admire Kapil Dev a lot. Before his time, he had no role model in fast bowling in India and India was perhaps the bottom ranked team in ODIs. What he achieved and inspired, including 1983 WC victory was amazing.
 
Leading a strong side or all time great eleven to victories, like Clive Lloyd , Wagh and ponting did was not a huge deal and doesn't test your mental strength. Leading a not so great side side to new heights is the real deal, like IK, Kapil, Misbah and Dhoni did.
 
Are we talking Tests?
S. Waugh
G. Smith
Atherton
G. Kirsten

Faf is doing well I guess, but he needs to win a few games for me to rank him anywhere.

Non of the current generation qualify as mentally to me. I'd even have a guy like Paul Collingwood over them
 
Wat about Micheal Bevan, guy used to be a great finisher, perhaps of all time.
 
I hear Ahmed Shezad is very mentally tough. He's so mentally tough he consistently insults the board and his seniors, and doesn't care about the consequences.
 
Mike Hussey also was mentally strong. Btw this is great stuff from Du Plesis.
 
Hamzakhalid said:
Mike Hussey also was mentally strong. Btw this is great stuff from Du Plesis.
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No doubt Hussey was mentally strong cricketer. Again, I was the "sufferer" of his strong character. Was at the stadium at St Lucia on May 14, 2010 ( still remember the day ) when he snatched away semi final from Pakistan single-handedly.
 
Alistair Cook, Hashim Amla, Rangana Herath, Younus Khan, Daniel Vettori, Nasser Hussain, Graeme Smith, Faf du Plessis, Michael Atherton, Sachin Tendulkar, Arjuna Ranatunga, Gary Kirsten, Paul Collingwood, Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Moeen Ali, MS Dhoni, Imran Khan, Misbah ul-Haq, Joe Root, Kapil Dev, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Amir and Azhar Ali.

Just to name a few...
 
Rayyman said:
Alistair Cook, Hashim Amla, Rangana Herath, Younus Khan, Daniel Vettori, Nasser Hussain, Graeme Smith, Faf du Plessis, Michael Atherton, Sachin Tendulkar, Arjuna Ranatunga, Gary Kirsten, Paul Collingwood, Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Moeen Ali, MS Dhoni, Imran Khan, Misbah ul-Haq, Joe Root, Kapil Dev, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Amir and Azhar Ali.

Just to name a few...
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Younis Khan has great skill but mentally weak, no wonder can;t score under testing conditions and a failure in ODIs. Azhar also not a mentally strong cricketer. Yasir Shah, yet to prove it. Atherton : not really , was Mcgrath's bunny in his days during Ashes tests.
Tendulkar: One of the best ever, skill wise , perhaps most gifted cricketer even to play the game. Not so gifted and strong mentally. Could not take captaincy pressure and not able to score same number of runs in overseas tests. Dhoni, Kapil are the two best Indians in this respect.
 
If a player perform better as captain than as juts a player, that is the hall mark of a mentally strong player. IK, Misbah, Dhoni, Kapil, FDu Plessis, williamson all did that. Not so much cricketers like Botham, Tendulak, Younis Khan and Artherton.
 
Would not put Misbah that high up. His Lords hundred given the expectations from him was fabulous, but his 2007 world t20 blunder goes against him as does Mohali. Hasn't done much outside of UAE aka his comfort zone to be considered as mentally strong as other notable names.

Hanif Mohammad definitely makes it. The 337 speaks for itself, an epic batathon vs a potent side in its den.

Mike Hussey as well.
 
moghul said:
Younis Khan has great skill but mentally weak, no wonder can;t score under testing conditions and a failure in ODIs. Azhar also not a mentally strong cricketer. Yasir Shah, yet to prove it. Atherton : not really , was Mcgrath's bunny in his days during Ashes tests.
Tendulkar: One of the best ever, skill wise , perhaps most gifted cricketer even to play the game. Not so gifted and strong mentally. Could not take captaincy pressure and not able to score same number of runs in overseas tests. Dhoni, Kapil are the two best Indians in this respect.
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You're discarding all of Younis' runs under pressure, specially in the 4th innings. Look at his technique - it's nothing to write home about. It's his mental strength that has helped him to survive and flourish more than anything else.
 
Suleiman said:
Would not put Misbah that high up. His Lords hundred given the expectations from him was fabulous, but his 2007 world t20 blunder goes against him as does Mohali. Hasn't done much outside of UAE aka his comfort zone to be considered as mentally strong as other notable names.

Hanif Mohammad definitely makes it. The 337 speaks for itself, an epic batathon vs a potent side in its den.


Mike Hussey as well.
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I West Indian told me this story regarding Hanif's 337 Inning at Barbados in 1958, don't know true or not. According to him, a guy was watching Hanif Mohammad batting in that test from a tree branch just outside the stadium, as he could not buy the ticket. Unfortunately tree branch broke, he fell down and got injured. Taken to hospital, got admitted, releases two days later, came right back to watch the test, and guess waht, Hanif was still batting. A definite proof of skill, temperament and mental strength.
 
From the players I have seen

Alistair Cook
Rahul Dravid
Justin Langer
Ms Dhoni
Virat Kohli
Greame Smith
 
Abdullah719 said:
You're discarding all of Younis' runs under pressure, specially in the 4th innings. Look at his technique - it's nothing to write home about. It's his mental strength that has helped him to survive and flourish more than anything else.
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When you fail in big stages, like world cups, in foreign countries and unfamiliar conditions, you gout to lack mental strength. Yes, scoring in 4th inning , requires some skill but hom many times he did that in overseas matches
 
moghul said:
When you fail in big stages, like world cups, in foreign countries and unfamiliar conditions, you gout to lack mental strength. Yes, scoring in 4th inning , requires some skill but hom many times he did that in overseas matches
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I disagree. I don't think he had great skill and his style of play wasn't made for ODI cricket. Alastair Cook is another who wasn't really much of an ODI player.

Even when he recently failed in England 6 out of 7 times and was hopping around, he still fought hard and survived for a while in most of the innings despite being painful to watch.
 
This is where a team such as Bangladesh fails though they are finally improving in that regard.
 
Steve Waugh heads and shoulders above the rest. He was such a pressure situation kind of player. More pressure, better he would play.
 
A good indicator of mental strength is the ability to play a long innings in Test matches. Gavaskar and Boycott come to mind.
 
Napa said:
A good indicator of mental strength is the ability to play a long innings in Test matches. Gavaskar and Boycott come to mind.
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Gavaskar, definitely on top draws. Imagine your debut tour, standing against those fearsome fast bowlers from West Indies in their own backyard and that too without a helmet, scoring 774 runs in just 4 innings with 4 tons, amazing, out of this world. Definitely required a huge mental strength other than cricketing skill. Agree 200%
 
HateKiller said:
Steve Waugh heads and shoulders above the rest. He was such a pressure situation kind of player. More pressure, better he would play.
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Credit goes to the amazing team Waugh had, not much to him. Similarly Lloyd was a very successful captain, but look at the team he had.
 
Napa said:
A good indicator of mental strength is the ability to play a long innings in Test matches. Gavaskar and Boycott come to mind.
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Some of the cricketers with the most balls faced per dismissal over the last 5 years:

Younis Khan/Azhar Ali 110
Steve Smith 109
Pujara 108
Amla/Faf 107
AB 105
Williamson 104
Misbah 102
Cook 99

Conditions must be taken into account, obviously.
 
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Abdullah719 said:
Some of the cricketers with the most balls faced per dismissal over the last 5 years:

Younis Khan/Azhar Ali 110
Steve Smith 109
Pujara 108
Amla/Faf 107
AB 105
Williamson 104
Misbah 102
Cook 99

Conditions must be taken into account, obviously.
Click to expand...

Very informative statistics, thanks! Conditions and also quality of opposition.

In the modern game with the increased popularity of LOIs, it is harder for batsmen to play longer innings in Tests so even more credit to the players on your list.
 
No one's stronger than Miandad, Misbah and Imran Khan from Pak .
 
Michael Atherton immediately springs to mind.

Others I can think of are Chanderpaul, Steve Waugh, Andy Flower.
 
And , some would have been great cricketers, had they possessed the mental strength to be successful at highest level.

Classical examples,
Pakistan: Mansoor Akthar and Shahif "Papa" Ahmed.

England: Ramparkash, Graeme Hick and Trescothick.
 
Mushfiqur Rahim world t20 against India earlier this year was a great demonstration of mental strength especially with that fist pump taking Bangladesh one run away from India's total... Unforgettable innings
 
moghul said:
I West Indian told me this story regarding Hanif's 337 Inning at Barbados in 1958, don't know true or not. According to him, a guy was watching Hanif Mohammad batting in that test from a tree branch just outside the stadium, as he could not buy the ticket. Unfortunately tree branch broke, he fell down and got injured. Taken to hospital, got admitted, releases two days later, came right back to watch the test, and guess waht, Hanif was still batting. A definite proof of skill, temperament and mental strength.
Click to expand...

Interesting that a West Indian told you this, it is actually quite common folklore about the 337 innings.
 
Cook definitely has a case. His weakness isn't a small one, particularly for an opener. But he has been averaging 47 which is great deal for England conditions.

I am yet to look at young fab four on this point before commenting on it.They are yet to succeed in their toughest meattle.

Younis, I say, NO particularly because of his attitude and ego.Neither would be Amla/AB.

All in all, not many players are up there among current ones except perhaps Cook and obviously Steyn among elite non retired test players.
 
Imran Khan has to be one of the most mentally strongest players ever - you need that to completely revolutionise yourself as a cricket player from a medium fast tailender to the GOAT all rounder who was also one of the best captains ever too.
 
moghul said:
KP , really ? headstrong, not mentally strong IMO.
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Kp would give his best when the tides were moving towards him, Headingly 2012 comes to mind instantly, he was seeing end of his Test career but he came out in swinging conditions in the middle of a sliding England side, stood outside the crease to the world's most fearsome bowler (Steyn at that time) and hooked and pulled him for sixes, that too when his own side was against him. You need to be mentally rocksolid in order to play such innings, plus against Pak in 2012 ODI series UAE, there were whispers of discarding KP in ODI's for good and he failed in first 2 innings, hadn't scored an ODI century in over 2 years, and came out smacking 2 consecutive tons against a pretty good Pakistani bowling attack.
 
Shoaib Akhtar, he was not meant to play cricket but he was willing to die chasing his dream then let physical health problems affect him
 
Heath Streak is another one, never gets enough credit. [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] is heavily biased against WarWickshire lads
 
Kamran Akmal, takes mental strength to continue playing after universal mocking of your capabilities.
 
Raval looks very good early on - good mental strength, was dropped off his first few shots and taken a step back.. restarted and is playing well - early signs of a great batsmen.
 
Dhoni to captain India with the pressure of so many fans a country that is cricket crazy and remain so cool and calm. in ODI cricket especially he is one of the GOATS
 
Cook, Faf, Dhoni (ODI's) and Kohli come to mind.
 
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Justcrazy said:
Miandad
Gooch
Steve Waugh
Allan border
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Yes, how can someone forget Alan Border. He single-handidly supported Australian middle order and led the team for years when it was badly depleted by Keryy Packer.
 
Here is my ranking of current Pakistan team players according to their mental strength.
Top tier:
1-Misbah
2-Amir
3-Wahab
4-Sarfaraz
5-Imad Wasim

Mid tier:

1-Yasir Shah
2-Sohail Khan
3-Babar Azam
4-Sami
5-Azhar
6-Sharjeel

Bottom tier:
1-Asad
2-Younis Khan
3-Rahat
4-Nawaz
5-Hafeez
 
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