Harsh Thakor
First Class Star
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2012
- Runs
- 3,519
- Post of the Week
- 2
Statistics do not tell the true picture but I have rarely seen a batsmen who had so much time to execute his shots against express pace bowling as Inzamam Ul Haq..Inzy could hold the bat like a bludgeon against the wickets of bowlers and treat the most lethal short-pitched deliveries with utmost disdain.He posessed reflexes comparable to Viv Richards and was a master of the hook and pull shot.Inzy would brilliantly blend power with wristwork and in full flow reminded you of a boat cruising.I think Inzamam played the short ball better than Lara or Tendukar and was a better hooker.When unleashing an asault against opposition he looked as though he was driving a motorboat.
Strangely he did not have an average of more than 31.4 in Australia and only averaged around 30 in South Africa.Neverthless at his best he played the Aussie quickies with more ease than even Lara or Sachin played hitting the likes of Donald and Bret Lee all over the place.His average of over 57 in West Indies and over 50 overall testifies his great ability against top pace.Brian Lara was very prolific against Glen Mcgrath who was agenius but was fast-medium.Tendulkar although succesful against Donald accumulated most of hi s runs against fast-medium bowlers.Tendulkar was better than Inzy against the well pitched up balls or in playing in the 'V'region.However Inzy could counter-attack hostile pace better.
Shoaib Akhtar rated Inzamam the batsmen who played him best.Even if not as a performer in pure natural ability I would rank Inzy ahead of Tendulkar and Lara aginst genuine pace and about par with Ricky Ponting.I would rank Inzy as a pure attacking batsmen against pace only behind Viv Richards or arguably Ricky Ponting amongst middle order batsmen .For pure natural ability I rank Inzy 2nd to only Viv against express pace,with the likes of Majid Khan,V.V.S.Laxman or Gundappa Vishwanath being his prime contenders.To intimidate great pace Inzy was right there amongst the best.Morally I rank Inzamam as one of the best ever batsmen of genuine pace.
Statistically Tendulkar and Lara have better records but at his best like when scoring 118 at Hobart in 1999-2000 Inzy expressed more confidence.Inzamam has a better record than Tendulkar in West Indies which is notable and almost equal batting average overall against them.Although Sachin has a great record the bulk of his runs were not scored against the likes of Dale Steyn and Alan Donald .It is worth watching the video recordings of Inzamam batting against pace at full throttle even in Australia and South Africa like when scoring 95 at Johannsburg and 118 at Hobart.
Below is an excerpt quoting fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar from cricket.com.au
Retired Pakistan quick says former skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq played him better than any other batsman.
Former Pakistan pace ace Shoaib Akhtar says his former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq played him better than any batsman he bowled to during his exhilarating career.
Shoaib, one of the fastest bowlers to have ever played the game, terrorised batsmen for more than a decade and his career tally of 444 international wickets barely does justice to the fear he put into opponents around the world.
The 41-year-old says of all the batsmen he bowled to, including modern greats like Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting, no-one played him better than his legendary teammate.
"There were a lot of players in the world (I found difficult to get out) but the most difficult, who I couldn't even get out in the nets, was Inzamam," Shoaib said in an interview with Wasim Akram on the former allrounder's talk show The Sportsman.
"I think there was no other player who played me better than him.
"His footwork was quick, he would place himself and be ready to play. He could see the ball earlier than many. I always thought he had an extra second.
"However fast I bowl, he had placed himself where the ball would land."
Allan Donald
Bowling to Inzy was almost like bowling to a brick wall. Everything about him was unfazed, nothing could rattle him - he was so solid. He was very calm of nature, and even as captain you felt he never got angry. The only time I saw him angry was when Pakistan were called off the field at The Oval last year.
As a batsman he was a very, very difficult guy to bowl to. He was not the most elegant batsman ever seen, but he was very effective in his own way - a bit like Steve Waugh; and I'm not comparing him to Steve Waugh, just comparing their natures. Inzi was very resilient and put a very high price on his wicket.
When he was playing really well he had all the time in the world and all the shots to go with it. He played from quite deep in the crease and that gave him more time. The minute you started coming a bit fuller, thinking you might get him through the gate, the timing of his shots was incredible. He had such good balance for a big guy.
Our strategy was to bowl a little bit fuller and make sure that it was on the off stump, and not middle and off, because he was very good working the ball off the stumps. In the first 15-20 balls he didn't really look to get into the ball or at the ball on the front foot, so we concentrated on bowling fuller and finishing on the off stump. Then we would try peppering in the short one from time to time, because the bounce had been his undoing here in South Africa sometimes.
You can't compare Inzy to any of his team-mates, or even former Pakistan batsmen. This guy, to me, was the one batsman who showed a bit more real guts: to get out there, apply himself, get over the hot period and get himself in
Allan Donald on Inzamam Ul Haq from espn cricinfo.
But over a period of time we realised we were wasting our time trying to bounce him early on because he almost wanted us to do that. What made our job difficult was he was very patient, and that was because he was very disciplined: He left a lot of balls and was a good judge of pitches and how to leave balls on the bounce or lack of bounce. He was good at wearing bowlers down. Sometimes it felt as though if anything was going to get him out it was him getting bored and playing a rash shot or running himself out. Mentally you couldn't upset him. It didn't matter what you said. In that respect he is like Jacques Kallis.
You can't compare Inzy to any of his team-mates, or even former Pakistan batsmen. This guy, to me, was the one batsman who showed a bit more real guts: to get out there, apply himself, get over the hot period and get himself in.
He was no doubt a great batsman and he would be in my top five: Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Steve Waugh, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mike Atherton.
Favourite Inzamam shot My favourite Inzy shot was the straight drive. He didn't really look to hit through the line to a ball that was full: he would always hit it down the ground past the bowler, the hallmark of a top-class player.
v West Indies 1993-2006 15 24 3 1124 177 53.52 2123 52.94 4 5 1 125 9
In West Indies in West Indies 1993-2005 7 12 1 634 135 57.63 1154 54.93 3 3 0 77 2 view innings
v Australia 1994-2005 14 27 2 785 118 31.40 1697 46.25 1 6 4 100 0
South Africa 1995-2007 13 23 1 710 96 32.27 1350 52.59 0 6 1 103 1
Strangely he did not have an average of more than 31.4 in Australia and only averaged around 30 in South Africa.Neverthless at his best he played the Aussie quickies with more ease than even Lara or Sachin played hitting the likes of Donald and Bret Lee all over the place.His average of over 57 in West Indies and over 50 overall testifies his great ability against top pace.Brian Lara was very prolific against Glen Mcgrath who was agenius but was fast-medium.Tendulkar although succesful against Donald accumulated most of hi s runs against fast-medium bowlers.Tendulkar was better than Inzy against the well pitched up balls or in playing in the 'V'region.However Inzy could counter-attack hostile pace better.
Shoaib Akhtar rated Inzamam the batsmen who played him best.Even if not as a performer in pure natural ability I would rank Inzy ahead of Tendulkar and Lara aginst genuine pace and about par with Ricky Ponting.I would rank Inzy as a pure attacking batsmen against pace only behind Viv Richards or arguably Ricky Ponting amongst middle order batsmen .For pure natural ability I rank Inzy 2nd to only Viv against express pace,with the likes of Majid Khan,V.V.S.Laxman or Gundappa Vishwanath being his prime contenders.To intimidate great pace Inzy was right there amongst the best.Morally I rank Inzamam as one of the best ever batsmen of genuine pace.
Statistically Tendulkar and Lara have better records but at his best like when scoring 118 at Hobart in 1999-2000 Inzy expressed more confidence.Inzamam has a better record than Tendulkar in West Indies which is notable and almost equal batting average overall against them.Although Sachin has a great record the bulk of his runs were not scored against the likes of Dale Steyn and Alan Donald .It is worth watching the video recordings of Inzamam batting against pace at full throttle even in Australia and South Africa like when scoring 95 at Johannsburg and 118 at Hobart.
Below is an excerpt quoting fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar from cricket.com.au
Retired Pakistan quick says former skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq played him better than any other batsman.
Former Pakistan pace ace Shoaib Akhtar says his former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq played him better than any batsman he bowled to during his exhilarating career.
Shoaib, one of the fastest bowlers to have ever played the game, terrorised batsmen for more than a decade and his career tally of 444 international wickets barely does justice to the fear he put into opponents around the world.
The 41-year-old says of all the batsmen he bowled to, including modern greats like Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting, no-one played him better than his legendary teammate.
"There were a lot of players in the world (I found difficult to get out) but the most difficult, who I couldn't even get out in the nets, was Inzamam," Shoaib said in an interview with Wasim Akram on the former allrounder's talk show The Sportsman.
"I think there was no other player who played me better than him.
"His footwork was quick, he would place himself and be ready to play. He could see the ball earlier than many. I always thought he had an extra second.
"However fast I bowl, he had placed himself where the ball would land."
Allan Donald
Bowling to Inzy was almost like bowling to a brick wall. Everything about him was unfazed, nothing could rattle him - he was so solid. He was very calm of nature, and even as captain you felt he never got angry. The only time I saw him angry was when Pakistan were called off the field at The Oval last year.
As a batsman he was a very, very difficult guy to bowl to. He was not the most elegant batsman ever seen, but he was very effective in his own way - a bit like Steve Waugh; and I'm not comparing him to Steve Waugh, just comparing their natures. Inzi was very resilient and put a very high price on his wicket.
When he was playing really well he had all the time in the world and all the shots to go with it. He played from quite deep in the crease and that gave him more time. The minute you started coming a bit fuller, thinking you might get him through the gate, the timing of his shots was incredible. He had such good balance for a big guy.
Our strategy was to bowl a little bit fuller and make sure that it was on the off stump, and not middle and off, because he was very good working the ball off the stumps. In the first 15-20 balls he didn't really look to get into the ball or at the ball on the front foot, so we concentrated on bowling fuller and finishing on the off stump. Then we would try peppering in the short one from time to time, because the bounce had been his undoing here in South Africa sometimes.
You can't compare Inzy to any of his team-mates, or even former Pakistan batsmen. This guy, to me, was the one batsman who showed a bit more real guts: to get out there, apply himself, get over the hot period and get himself in
Allan Donald on Inzamam Ul Haq from espn cricinfo.
But over a period of time we realised we were wasting our time trying to bounce him early on because he almost wanted us to do that. What made our job difficult was he was very patient, and that was because he was very disciplined: He left a lot of balls and was a good judge of pitches and how to leave balls on the bounce or lack of bounce. He was good at wearing bowlers down. Sometimes it felt as though if anything was going to get him out it was him getting bored and playing a rash shot or running himself out. Mentally you couldn't upset him. It didn't matter what you said. In that respect he is like Jacques Kallis.
You can't compare Inzy to any of his team-mates, or even former Pakistan batsmen. This guy, to me, was the one batsman who showed a bit more real guts: to get out there, apply himself, get over the hot period and get himself in.
He was no doubt a great batsman and he would be in my top five: Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Steve Waugh, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mike Atherton.
Favourite Inzamam shot My favourite Inzy shot was the straight drive. He didn't really look to hit through the line to a ball that was full: he would always hit it down the ground past the bowler, the hallmark of a top-class player.
v West Indies 1993-2006 15 24 3 1124 177 53.52 2123 52.94 4 5 1 125 9
In West Indies in West Indies 1993-2005 7 12 1 634 135 57.63 1154 54.93 3 3 0 77 2 view innings
v Australia 1994-2005 14 27 2 785 118 31.40 1697 46.25 1 6 4 100 0
South Africa 1995-2007 13 23 1 710 96 32.27 1350 52.59 0 6 1 103 1
