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Good players of the short pitched deliveries

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Khalil

First Class Captain
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Who in your opinion is/was the best batsmen against short pitched deliveries in matches outside the subcontinent.

To me it was Azhar Mahmood and than Azhruddin
 
Ricky Ponting and Viv Richards.

The thing about them is they took on the short pull.
Ponting is the best puller and hooker I have seen in a long time.
 
if you ask about the worst players of short pitch i'd say most of the current pakistan and india batting line ups :)
 
Ponting is very good against the short delivery, probably the best with the current batsmen we see today. Jesse Ryder I also noticed is decent against the short stuff, plus Brendon McCullum.
 
Richards, Ponting, Gavaskar all played well. Mark Waugh and Mark Taylor were good too.
 
Sachin Tendulkar is quite good:19:!
 
King Viv, Richie Richardson, Ponting, Greg Blewett, Ian Chappell, Saeed Anwar (a very underrated player of the short ball).
 
Gorden Greenidge
Zaheer Abbas
Brian Lara
Viv Richards
 
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adarsh_bang said:
markk boucher and mc cullum
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I agree with Boucher. He usually smashes short pitched deliveries for massive sixes
 
Ricky Ponting.

There is no one better at the shot then him. The guy's bread and butter shot is the pull shot. He makes it look ridiculously easy.
 
Anybody remember Kallichiran's dismantling of Lillee and his short stuff...I'd like to see today's greats, Sachin et al doing that with or without helmets...
 
I am not really an expert and to be honest neither I have watched every cricket match and nor I know or recall how every batsmen got out. I think short pitch is a pretty tricky ball because you are hoping that a batsmen would play that delivery by pulling or hooking the ball and hopefully the fielder at the boundry would take that catch. In my understanding this is whats going on most of the time. There are only three things which are possible. Either the ball will go for a 4 or a 6, got out close to the boundry or the batsman is gonna completly miss the ball or duck. Bottom line is any player can get out and any player can hit a 4 or 6. There are no good or bad players of short balls out there. At international level if you are comfortable you are gonna play or go after the player and if you are not comfortable you are let the ball pass. I dont think there is any instance where a bowler is bowling all 6 deliveries as short balls. But it is a good way to play with the batsmen's mind.
 
saqlain said:
I am not really an expert and to be honest neither I have watched every cricket match and nor I know or recall how every batsmen got out. I think short pitch is a pretty tricky ball because you are hoping that a batsmen would play that delivery by pulling or hooking the ball and hopefully the fielder at the boundry would take that catch. In my understanding this is whats going on most of the time. There are only three things which are possible. Either the ball will go for a 4 or a 6, got out close to the boundry or the batsman is gonna completly miss the ball or duck. Bottom line is any player can get out and any player can hit a 4 or 6. There are no good or bad players of short balls out there. At international level if you are comfortable you are gonna play or go after the player and if you are not comfortable you are let the ball pass. I dont think there is any instance where a bowler is bowling all 6 deliveries as short balls. But it is a good way to play with the batsmen's mind.
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The players who can't play the short ball are usually the ones who get caught in two minds. They set themselves to play the shot and then see the ball in front of their face and completely lose focus causing the ball to hit them flush on the helmet.

You stated that the guys who are not comfortable leave the ball and watch it go by. This is incorrect in a way because the guys who are uncomfortable aren't able to make the decision quick enough and get themselves tangled up.

You can judge a player on his ability against the short ball by seeing if he gets the ball off the middle of the bat every single time the short ball is bowled. Top edges don't count because those are usually because you were scared and got lucky.
 
kingusama92 said:
The players who can't play the short ball are usually the ones who get caught in two minds. They set themselves to play the shot and then see the ball in front of their face and completely lose focus causing the ball to hit them flush on the helmet.

You stated that the guys who are not comfortable leave the ball and watch it go by. This is incorrect in a way because the guys who are uncomfortable aren't able to make the decision quick enough and get themselves tangled up.

You can judge a player on his ability against the short ball by seeing if he gets the ball off the middle of the bat every single time the short ball is bowled. Top edges don't count because those are usually because you were scared and got lucky.
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Tell me this, how many times it has happened that the captain or the bowler asked for a fielder at the deep and he tried or actually went for a short pitch delivery?? I know sometimes bowlers do this just to confuse the batsmen but when they actually gonna be sending a short pitch delivery there is always a guy in the deep. You tell me if you are a batsmen and you know whats going on, if you are not good 80% sure that you can either put the ball in the gap or across the rope would you go for that shot (unless you are Afridi)????? Trust me you wont untill u r sure that the players are inside the circle and you the area is all wide open. Anyway, i dont want to make me sound like an expert because i am not and I am sure most of us who have not have any experience of playing first class cricket or better might not know how it feels like facing short pitch deliveries. By leaving the ball doesnt mean that one is not a good player of a short pitch delivery.
 
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To me it has to be Imran Nazir.
For all his flaws anyone who ususally bowls short at him is asking for trouble.
He has the reflexes of a cat!!
 
saqlain said:
Tell me this, how many times it has happened that the captain or the bowler asked for a fielder at the deep and he tried or actually went for a short pitch delivery?? I know sometimes bowlers do this just to confuse the batsmen but when they actually gonna be sending a short pitch delivery there is always a guy in the deep. You tell me if you are a batsmen and you know whats going on, if you are not good 80% sure that you can either put the ball in the gap or across the rope would you go for that shot (unless you are Afridi)????? Trust me you wont untill u r sure that the players are inside the circle and you the area is all wide open. Anyway, i dont want to make me sound like an expert because i am not and I am sure most of us who have not have any experience of playing first class cricket or better might not know how it feels like facing short pitch deliveries. By leaving the ball doesnt mean that one is not a good player of a short pitch delivery.
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I never said leaving the short ball means you are a poor player of the short pitch delivery. Usually guys who can leave the ball well are good players of the short ball. It's the amount of times you leave it that tells the bowler if you suck at the short ball or not.

You are completely right that in most cases the player is at deep square leg when they know a short delivery is imminent. The thing with the deep square leg is that this fielder is usually there the whole time. There is no way a batsman will keep giving away dot balls to the bowler.

Most batsman who are proficient at handling the short ball will look to smash the ball in front of square. The only way you will get out at deep square leg is if you mistime the ball. If the shot is played properly you won't have it going to that guy.

Both of us have valid reasons according to me and it really comes down to the batsman himself. Bowlers will feel that they are winning if the batsman keeps leaving the ball due to him being incapable of playing the short ball. Once they notice you are leaving every ball that's short, they begin to aim at your body with shortish deliveries and it's almost impossible to move away from those.
 
ponting and tendulkar are the best at playing short stuff and nazir can be destructive on his day of short bowling :iamlegend
 
Tendlya Rules said:
Not Mark Waugh..both the waughs never played the pull shot
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Mark Waugh played the pull shot and so did Steve Waugh. Steve Waugh not often but both could play it.
 
Mohammed Yousaf is the best player of the pull shot by a mile in the current Pakistan team - even with his big back lift he plays the shot with control. Short pitched fast bowling has never troubled him.
Ponting used to be a great puller and hooker, but lately he hasn't been playing it as well as he used to.
 
For me Ricky Ponting has a reputation of playing the pull shot well, but KP is also fantastic against the short ball. He never seems to be in trouble with that delivery.

Also a lot of people here seem to be suggesting players like Nazir, Afridi etc, but I think the OP means who plays the short ball well in the heat of battle in a test match on a rough track. Afridi and Nazir can play it well in ODI flat decks, so I wouldn't count them.
 
Random Aussie said:
Alistair Cook is also a fine player of the short ball.
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Its the only shot he can play. He rocks back waiting for it.
 
mindless slogging said:
For me Ricky Ponting has a reputation of playing the pull shot well, but KP is also fantastic against the short ball. He never seems to be in trouble with that delivery.

Also a lot of people here seem to be suggesting players like Nazir, Afridi etc, but I think the OP means who plays the short ball well in the heat of battle in a test match on a rough track. Afridi and Nazir can play it well in ODI flat decks, so I wouldn't count them.
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i slightly disagree with you about KP -yeah he can play the pull shot if its predictable and he knows its coming, but i have seen him all over the place against the short ball especially if its near his head and a surprise delivery. Brett lee, Mcgrath, Asif even Bravo has troubled him with the short ball.
 
Gilly hasn't yet been mentioned on this thread ... I think he's pretty good with the pull shot ... His move to WACA helped him in his ability to deal with the short pitched deliveries much better I think ...
 
Best pakistani player of short bowling that I have seen was aamir sohail by a mile he did very well against Windies and aus in 90s.
His 205 at old trafford in 92 featured some awesome pull and hook shots against the likes of malcom and lewis.
What people seem to forget about our 92 WC campaign is that he was the only player who adjusted to bouncier aus pitches very quickly and was our best batsman upto the semis with scores of 23 v WI,114 v zimbabwe,62 v India and 76 in that all important game v aus which won him MOM.
Some of his stroke play in that 99 in aus in 95 was out of this world.
Sohail of pre 97 was considered one of the best players in pak and a natural successor to Wasim but his match fixing allegations had a big affect on him.
 
I'm going to go with Ponting out of the current crop of the players though Akmal, Strauss and Kallis play it very well too

Out of past players, other than the ones that have already been mentioned I think Michael Slater is up there as well. The way he comfortably pulled Shoaib Akhtar during the 99/2000 series was a sight to behold
 
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kingusama92 said:
I never said leaving the short ball means you are a poor player of the short pitch delivery. Usually guys who can leave the ball well are good players of the short ball. It's the amount of times you leave it that tells the bowler if you suck at the short ball or not.

You are completely right that in most cases the player is at deep square leg when they know a short delivery is imminent. The thing with the deep square leg is that this fielder is usually there the whole time. There is no way a batsman will keep giving away dot balls to the bowler.

Most batsman who are proficient at handling the short ball will look to smash the ball in front of square. The only way you will get out at deep square leg is if you mistime the ball. If the shot is played properly you won't have it going to that guy.

Both of us have valid reasons according to me and it really comes down to the batsman himself. Bowlers will feel that they are winning if the batsman keeps leaving the ball due to him being incapable of playing the short ball. Once they notice you are leaving every ball that's short, they begin to aim at your body with shortish deliveries and it's almost impossible to move away from those.
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Well said. Totally agree.
 
The_Cricket_Devil said:
I'm going to go with Ponting out of the current crop of the players though Akmal, Strauss and Kallis play it very well too

Out of past players, other than the ones that have already been mentioned I think Michael Slater is up there as well. The way he comfortably pulled Shoaib Akhtar during the 99/2000 series was a sight to behold
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100% agree with you on slater only player to play Wasim with ease.
 
Jimmy Amarnath .Kapil was quite good too. He had a shot called the "Natraja" short to counter it.
 
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Someone asked Imran The Great khan to bowl short stuff to VIV And Imran (we know how he thinks) said:"Kia keh raha hai yar woh mujha chaka mar degah"
 
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Imran Nazir. He's fantastic at the pull shot.
 
cricketisit said:
Arvinda DeSilva was one of the best ever,
then probably Ponting and Viv.
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There are three ways to handle short pitched bowling. If I explain it from Sri Lankan experiences,

1. Play it aggressively but some times it can be your downfall... IMO Aravinda was the best Asian player to use this method.

2. Defensive but positive approach… for example Hashan Thilakaratne. He rarely played pull and hook shots but was very competent against the short ball compare to other SL batsmen. He had some special achievements as a SL test batsmen… only batsmen to score a test century in SA up to now… and to my knowledge he is the only batsmen to score a test century at WACA ground (those days the pitch was very quick).

3. Combination of the above two attributes... Sri Lankan example is Sangakkara.

mindless slogging said:
KP is also fantastic against the short ball. He never seems to be in trouble with that delivery.
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Bro, never use the word ‘never’ when you referring to some players. :) Just look at this,
RP against the short ball :D
 
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Greame Smith is missed here, He is one of the best Hookers in today's cricket
 
aravinda1234 said:
2. Defensive but positive approach… for example Hashan Thilakaratne. He rarely played pull and hook shots but was very competent against the short ball compare to other SL batsmen. He had some special achievements as a SL test batsmen… only batsmen to score a test century in SA up to now… and to my knowledge he is the only batsmen to score a test century at WACA ground (those days the pitch was very quick).
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I remember him. One journalist called him "The Great Unwatchable" Hashan Tilakaratne. :)))
 
Random Aussie said:
I remember him. One journalist called him "The Great Unwatchable" Hashan Tilakaratne. :)))
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Really? :D I don't think he's that bad though... he had a nice back lift... definitely better than Mr. D. Leman.
 
aravinda1234 said:
Really? :D I don't think he's that bad though... he had a nice back lift... definitely better than Mr. D. Leman.
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Sir Lehmann was crucial in our little beating of you 3-0 on your home turf.

Remember that? :)
 
From Indians I remember Amarnath was good at it. Else Viv was the best.
 
short picth delivery means bouncer from a quick bowler over 90-95 mph. if this is the criteria, then no current batsman plays short pitch well except Dravid, Ponting, and Sachin. Short pitch doesnt mean u always hit it. It is not a gud batting. U need to see and leave the ball well and can play shots as well if needed. Other batsmen now a days are as bad as Indian and pakistani batsman. I dont see any gud bastman against quick short pitch bowling now a days. English bowlers flintoff and harmison, took apart Aus batting in Ashes by their short bowling. that is an evidence. we always say indian batsman are not capable against short pitch bowling. the fact is that no batsman is comfortable against gud quick short pitch bowling, thouhg India dont have the bowler who can bowl that kind of stuff consistently at pace.
 
Random Aussie said:
Sir Lehmann was crucial in our little beating of you 3-0 on your home turf.

Remember that? :)
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We had a lead in the first innings in all three matches... and AUS had the advantage of bowling in the fourth innings on deteriorating pitches. With that, negative captaincy of Thilakaratne couse the defeat. Honestly speaking I remember the innings of Hayden, Gilcrist, Langer but not the Sir Lehmann’s. :)
 
aravinda1234 said:
We had a lead in the first innings in all three matches... and AUS had the advantage of bowling in the fourth innings on deteriorating pitches. With that, negative captaincy of Thilakaratne couse the defeat. Honestly speaking I remember the innings of Hayden, Gilcrist, Langer but not the Sir Lehmann’s. :)
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You made those minefields on purpose :))) :)))
 
even pnting was rattled by harmison many times and in 2005 ashes specially, ponting was injured on Harmison bouncer with blood coming out
 
As I have seen, I will put it like Kalicharan, Inzi, Ricky Ponting, Aamir Sohail, Saeed Anwer
 
Ricky Ponting is a killer of it:9:.......
 
Before Neil Mackenzie was pushed up the order he was a demon puller / hooker. Awesome player of the short ball.
 
Ricky Ponting is a majestic player of the pull shot but in my opinion, the best player of the short ball was Inzamam Ul-Haq. The whole package. Ducking, weaving, pulling, hooking, and getting on top of the ball. At the end of his career, when his back started giving him trouble, and he found it difficult to duck, his qualities waned but at his prime he was magnificent. He was so happy to just camp on the back foot, and with a minimal back and across movement, get behind the line of the ball. His off side play off the backfoot was good, and his deft touches and angled drives in limited overs cricket propelled us to many wins.
 
Ponting is certainly one of the better pullers of the game, if not the best. IMO, Gilly is much more dangerous and can hook or pull even good length balls.
 
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