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The league of Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara | Does any other modern era batsman belong in it?

The league of Tendulkar-Lara | Does any other modern era batsman belong in it?

  • None

    Votes: 13 13.7%

  • Ricky Ponting

    Votes: 41 43.2%

  • Kumar Sangakkara

    Votes: 15 15.8%

  • Rahul Dravid

    Votes: 12 12.6%

  • Jaques Kallis

    Votes: 7 7.4%

  • Kevin Pieterson

    Votes: 1 1.1%

  • Other

    Votes: 6 6.3%
  • Total voters
    95
tempus123 said:
Interesting. How do you rate Kirsten ? I found him a very difficult batsman in Test matches.
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Gary was probably not a match winner in the mould of Smith. But was a tough and resilient cricketer.
Had the misfortune of having to open in SA conditions, else he averaged 50+ AWAY. not bad for an opening bat
 
tempus123 said:
As I said, I am not comparing him with Steve Waugh, neither am I saying the daddy hundred was enough to hide other failures.

But just look at whom we are comparing him with. Dravid scored one good "match winning" hundred in 1997, else he was a total failure with an average below 30.

Tendulkar, while failing in SA, did manage to score a few hundreds, almost one every tour. No one can chest thump and say he was a success in SA. He was just able to hold his own, nothing more.
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there's a reason I consider Tendulkar the best bat of his generation and Kallis a close 2nd. Hence his failures stand out. More of a compliment to his greatness. We should never be satisfied with a solo innings amongst 6. I've seen people say Azhar and YK had a great series based on solo hundreds despite losing comprehensively and averaging in the 30's. Shouldn't use such comparison for a great player like Sachin who had the technique to thrive in all conditions.
 
soso_killer said:
there's a reason I consider Tendulkar the best bat of his generation and Kallis a close 2nd. Hence his failures stand out. More of a compliment to his greatness. We should never be satisfied with a solo innings amongst 6. I've seen people say Azhar and YK had a great series based on solo hundreds despite losing comprehensively and averaging in the 30's. Shouldn't use such comparison for a great player like Sachin who had the technique to thrive in all conditions.
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I agree with you.
 
tempus123 said:
Sorry, not interested in "unofficial" tests, neither interested in selective stats, unless you "prove" 2011 attack was second string and/or pitches were flat. I know you are trying to prove the attack second string, but once you win that argument, we can discard 2011 performance.
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it was not a 2nd string attack as the selectors were still not sure of Vernon at the time even though he was amongst the wickets at 1st class cricket.
Tsotsobe is not a test bowler and never was, Harris, lol, love the guy to bits was a hard worker and all but SA would have been better of playing a 4th seamer.
Morkel has never won a game for SA, he bowls well in patches but never runs through a line up.
I was looking at stats a few weeks back, I think overall he has better balanced numbers than say Broard. But when Broard hits his straps he runs through line ups. Even stepped up when Anderson was missing, Morkel has never done that in the absence of Steyn. As a 1st change bowler I would have him maybe above Broard if I had a good opening pair. Morkel tends to waste the new ball alot.
It would interesting to see who is rated better here Broad or Morkel (maybe we should create a THREAD of its own, but my gut feeling would be Broard by a land slide thanks to match winning spells) [MENTION=7774]Robert[/MENTION] would you swap Barbie for Morkel? what about you [MENTION=132954]Aman[/MENTION], [MENTION=132373]Convict[/MENTION], [MENTION=97523]Buffet[/MENTION], what you tempus? [MENTION=428]Romali_rotti[/MENTION], [MENTION=50394]IndianWillow[/MENTION]

I think that sums up that attack, that takes nothing from Tendulkar who can play what's in front of him. And dispels the myth about bowlers failing India. When your best player scores consistently and has support from one or two guys (Gambhir, Laxman) you'll find yourselves in winning positions.

And no the conditions were not flat far from it. There only flat pitches were the ones in 2014 against India and Australia.
 
soso_killer said:
it was not a 2nd string attack as the selectors were still not sure of Vernon at the time even though he was amongst the wickets at 1st class cricket.
Tsotsobe is not a test bowler and never was, Harris, lol, love the guy to bits was a hard worker and all but SA would have been better of playing a 4th seamer.
Morkel has never won a game for SA, he bowls well in patches but never runs through a line up.
I was looking at stats a few weeks back, I think overall he has better balanced numbers than say Broard. But when Broard hits his straps he runs through line ups. Even stepped up when Anderson was missing, Morkel has never done that in the absence of Steyn. As a 1st change bowler I would have him maybe above Broard if I had a good opening pair. Morkel tends to waste the new ball alot.
It would interesting to see who is rated better here Broad or Morkel (maybe we should create a THREAD of its own, but my gut feeling would be Broard by a land slide thanks to match winning spells) [MENTION=7774]Robert[/MENTION] would you swap Barbie for Morkel? what about you [MENTION=132954]Aman[/MENTION], [MENTION=132373]Convict[/MENTION], [MENTION=97523]Buffet[/MENTION], what you tempus? [MENTION=428]Romali_rotti[/MENTION], [MENTION=50394]IndianWillow[/MENTION]

I think that sums up that attack, that takes nothing from Tendulkar who can play what's in front of him. And dispels the myth about bowlers failing India. When your best player scores consistently and has support from one or two guys (Gambhir, Laxman) you'll find yourselves in winning positions.

And no the conditions were not flat far from it. There only flat pitches were the ones in 2014 against India and Australia.
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Broad and Morkel is a difficult one.

Broad seems to do it more often but both are capable of some really great spells but most of the time don't do themselves justice.

I'll have to opt for Broad because Nottingham is still fresh in my memory.
 
soso_killer said:
Amla has played some clutch innings, be it aiding and abetting or doing on his own. He's always there when the team needs character.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/engvrsa/engine/match/296909.html
Didn't to it alone but lots of hard work was required. Saved the test for us.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/indvrsa/engine/match/332911.html
probably overshadowed by Sehwag triple ton. Played brilliantly non the less.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/indvrsa2010/engine/match/441825.html
another clutch knock after having lost two early wickets.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/indvrsa2010/engine/match/441826.html
This one hurts the most as we were in a dominant position but for a collapse. Amla scored a hundred at 70, the following innings battled alone to save the match. Scored a ton of 300 balls, in a marathon innings of 390 balls. 9 balls stood between a series win. That was the Amla series battled hard and dismissed just once.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan-v-south-africa-2013-14/engine/match/649087.html
The only player who scored a hundred for SA whilst his mates were sleeping.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/current/match/514029.html
Even though credit goes to Smith, Amla was assured himself scoring at 80 .

And we all know what he did in England and Australia when the number 1 ranking was at stake. Amla has played some gems, attacking, defending, aiding and abetting you name it. AB has very few of those. In fact I rate AB behind Gary Kirsten as a test bat.
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All these were good knocks..but since u mentioned about ABD inability to finish off things after playing great knock in a pressure game,none of Amla innings took his team to home or saved the match with him being the shows topper..Dont get me wrong,I rate Amla very highly.he is one of the most reliable and consistent player in the team.But ABD also has many such innings where he has played both attacking and defending innings..If i remember well he scored 43 of 228 balls in one more game against Aus in on 5th day..However he couldnt save the game but still that shows grit, patience and determination level..!!
 
Ab Fan said:
All these were good knocks..but since u mentioned about ABD inability to finish off things after playing great knock in a pressure game,none of Amla innings took his team to home or saved the match with him being the shows topper..Dont get me wrong,I rate Amla very highly.he is one of the most reliable and consistent player in the team.But ABD also has many such innings where he has played both attacking and defending innings..If i remember well he scored 43 of 228 balls in one more game against Aus in on 5th day..However he couldnt save the game but still that shows grit, patience and determination level..!!
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Amla has twice faced 240 deliveries in an effort to save a test. One of those was 390 balls. Once batted over 24 hours in a series. AN has never done that. He has a long way to catch up to Amla.
 
In their respective homes,

Broad > Morkel


Outside of their respective homes,

Morkel > Broad

Their career average looks similar but that's only due to Broad playing majority of games ( 50 out of 84 games - 60%) at home. In comparison, Morkel has played 46% of games at home. Broad averages around 35 with SR reaching to 70 outside of Eng. Morkel has better average, more 5-fers & better SR than Broad when playing outside of home.

Since context was about Morkel in SA, I will go with Broad in Eng over Morkel in SA. Broad is more dangerous at home. He has run through sides many times.
 
tempus123 said:
There is no doubt Tendulkar failed in SA, but still he averaged 40+ which is kind of holding your own. No one is saying he dominated SA bowling.
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Perhaps because he had the misfortune of having to face EVERY single great SA fast bowler since re-admission ? How many other Batsmen have a Hundred each against Donald, Pollock, Steyn, Kallis, Ntini , Morkel , McMillan ..... I would say close to ZERO without even looking at SG.
 
Sachin played for a very long time so he is going to hit a hundred or two. But did he sustain his excellence in SA? no way. In 2010, he scored 2 hundreds.. One was after the match was lost. Basically a useless hundred. The other one was a very good knock, even though he was very lucky.
 
Buffet said:
In their respective homes,

Broad > Morkel


Outside of their respective homes,

Morkel > Broad

Their career average looks similar but that's only due to Broad playing majority of games ( 50 out of 84 games - 60%) at home. In comparison, Morkel has played 46% of games at home. Broad averages around 35 with SR reaching to 70 outside of Eng. Morkel has better average, more 5-fers & better SR than Broad when playing outside of home.

Since context was about Morkel in SA, I will go with Broad in Eng over Morkel in SA. Broad is more dangerous at home. He has run through sides many times.
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couldn't agree more
 
soso_killer said:
Amla has twice faced 240 deliveries in an effort to save a test. One of those was 390 balls. Once batted over 24 hours in a series. AN has never done that. He has a long way to catch up to Amla.
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you are just boring with Amla is that and this. AB's hundred to chase down 414 was better than Amla's 196. Amla hundred was a breath taking one, no doubt but AB's hundred was better.
 
sivaji said:
Sachin played for a very long time so he is going to hit a hundred or two. But did he sustain his excellence in SA? no way. In 2010, he scored 2 hundreds.. One was after the match was lost. Basically a useless hundred. The other one was a very good knock, even though he was very lucky.
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No sh!t ehh ... how about a 100 in the very first Test Series at Jo'burg circa 1992 as a 18yr old and a hundred in the last test in 2010 ? Also since every MastRam and Popatlal's last 20+ yrs in Intl cricket so no big deal ... Right !

Incredible how people just brush aside longevity as though the BCCI is the Tendulkar families side bussiness ... :91:
 
Pretty hilarious how people put so easily that hey if you play for 20 years or so, you're gonna hit a 100 hundreds anyway :))) Oh yeah sunshine, its that easy really :))) Why doesnt everyone play for 20 years?
 
sivaji said:
you are just boring with Amla is that and this. AB's hundred to chase down 414 was better than Amla's 196. Amla hundred was a breath taking one, no doubt but AB's hundred was better.
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facts aren't for entertainment, AB's 106 in the 414 game was good but not better. Smith started the onslaught leading from the front, then AB was fathered by Kallis holding his hand. I'm still looking for theee! AB innings were he grabs the game by the throat, alters the game himself or battles alone. I want him to play theeee S.O.B innings before I can rate him along Smith, Kirsten, Kallis and Amla
 
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Tusker said:
Perhaps because he had the misfortune of having to face EVERY single great SA fast bowler since re-admission ? How many other Batsmen have a Hundred each against Donald, Pollock, Steyn, Kallis, Ntini , Morkel , McMillan ..... I would say close to ZERO without even looking at SG.
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If you play for a long time, you are also going to have the opportunity to feast on the weakest of bowlers as well. It all evens out.

The toughest tour India ever had during Sachin's period was the Kiwi tour of 2002, where the balance was predominantly tilted towards the ball. I have never seen a tour where the bowlers had so much sway over the batsmen, so the batsmen who stood out during that tour are some guys. Check out how Sachin fared in both ODIs and tests. This was when he was at the peak of his career.
 
IndianWillow said:
If you play for a long time, you are also going to have the opportunity to feast on the weakest of bowlers as well. It all evens out.

The toughest tour India ever had during Sachin's period was the Kiwi tour of 2002, where the balance was predominantly tilted towards the ball. I have never seen a tour where the bowlers had so much sway over the batsmen, so the batsmen who stood out during that tour are some guys. Check out how Sachin fared in both ODIs and tests. This was when he was at the peak of his career.
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SRT was arguably the most assured of all the Indian batsmen in the test series. Dravid, Richardson and SRT were the only three batsmen who scored fifties in that series. And SRT played at a comfortably better SR than Dravid who was in pure tuk tuk mode IIRC.

The following ODI series was SRT's worst in his career though. But the conditions there weren't as hostile as in the test series. After all Sehwag scored 2 of his 3 ODI centuries away from the SC in that series.
 
Nobody belongs in the class of these two, they were simply a class apart. Ponting was bloody good but he did not posses half the range of stroke-play of the other two and never looked a natural player of spin. Ponting relied more on instincts and always went hard at the ball, the lack of his ability to adjust as well as Tendulkar or Lara meant he struggled towards the end of his career when his reflexes were not as sharp. Lara was dominant even at the end, and Tendulkar was still scoring runs.

Lara will remain for me the best batsman I have ever witnessed, when in the mood or in form, he was able to elevate his game to a level I didn't think was possible, especially at the international level, he was just insane.

Tendulkar had a genius about him as well and was more consistent than Lara, his ability to adjust to different conditions and play all kinds of bowling well was quite remarkable and unique. These two simply are a class apart.

Honorable mention to Aravinda De Silva who perhaps could have reached similar heights had he been an Indian or came through a better system.
 
Scrolln said:
SRT was arguably the most assured of all the Indian batsmen in the test series. Dravid, Richardson and SRT were the only three batsmen who scored fifties in that series. And SRT played at a comfortably better SR than Dravid who was in pure tuk tuk mode IIRC.

The following ODI series was SRT's worst in his career though. But the conditions there weren't as hostile as in the test series. After all Sehwag scored 2 of his 3 ODI centuries away from the SC in that series.
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Nonsense. Dravid was the best batsman in 2002 in NZ and it's not even close.

That tuktuk you talk about from Dravid is absolutely vital against the new ball to wear off the shine and on seaming pitches because it makes it easier for batsmen lower down the order to bat as the grass slowly withers.

Also, Dravid's 76 in the first test at Wellington is one of the best displays against swing and seam I have ever seen.
 
Alistair Cook is back in contention

and for the future - Joe Root!
 
Pretty sure Lara and Tendulkar have managed hostile conditions much better than how ABD and Amla have. b :)
 
freelance_cricketer said:
Pretty sure Lara and Tendulkar have managed hostile conditions much better than how ABD and Amla have. b :)
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lets not pretend that Lara and Tendulkar, although both incredible batsmen, did not have series where they failed. And AB has hardly failed in this series, he has scored runs only to run out of partners.
 
hk031992 said:
lets not pretend that Lara and Tendulkar, although both incredible batsmen, did not have series where they failed. And AB has hardly failed in this series, he has scored runs only to run out of partners.
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He scored runs at the only flat pitch of the series.

He is good but not Tendulkar, Lara level,. They would have hit at least 1 ATG hundred by now.
 
freelance_cricketer said:
He scored runs at the only flat pitch of the series.

He is good but not Tendulkar, Lara level,. They would have hit at least 1 ATG hundred by now.
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Ab may not be on their level yet but i disagree. Having one had series (and this isn't a bad series) doesn't disqualify someone from reaching the Tendulkar-Lara level in the future.
 
I believe if Amla can have a second wind, he will reach the Tendulkar/Lara/Ponting/Kallis level in tests.

ABDV is still in the KP level for me, i would rate him slightly below KP as a test batsman. An ODI ATG though.
 
Amla is pathetic..He should retire.Tendulkar and lara never had such a pathetic series.
 
Ab Fan said:
Amla is pathetic..He should retire.Tendulkar and lara never had such a pathetic series.
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I would take this performance by Amla as an exception in this series. He literally carried the SA batting on his shoulders during their last visit here. He was successful even in the series before that in 2008.
 
Scrolln said:
I would take this performance by Amla as an exception in this series. He literally carried the SA batting on his shoulders during their last visit here. He was successful even in the series before that in 2008.
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Wonder what went wrong..?The bradmanesque stat all of a sudden turned into a no.11 batsmen stat when the team is weaker..
 
quite surprised to see the leading run scorer of this series being called a failure..Wonder what he had to do to have a succesful series...
 
Ab Fan said:
[/B]

Wonder what went wrong..?The bradmanesque stat all of a sudden turned into a no.11 batsmen stat when the team is weaker..
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He has been out of form all year. Apart from the ODI series against NZ at home and a few big runs against weaker sides like West Indies/Ireland he has failed in all formats.
 
Tendulkar or Lara never had bad series, eh? Remember Lara in South Africa in 1998. Or Tendulkar in New Zealand in 2002?
 
hk031992 said:
Tendulkar or Lara never had bad series, eh? Remember Lara in South Africa in 1998. Or Tendulkar in New Zealand in 2002?
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Tendulkar wasn't as pathetic as Amla in this series. A two test series where he scored a half century isn't that bad.Atleast he showed some grit ..
 
Lol at some one comparing a two test series of a tennis elbow surgery returned to someone playing a 4 test series at his peak. I might have to lend some more lols, I exhausted mine at this joke.

What next? Tendulkar failed in honu lulu 3 odis? Lmao
 
hk031992 said:
lets not pretend that Lara and Tendulkar, although both incredible batsmen, did not have series where they failed. And AB has hardly failed in this series, he has scored runs only to run out of partners.
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It isn't about failing in one series. But undoubtedly Lara (arguably the greatest batsman against spin ever) and Sachin (who has some great performances on turners against better spinners) would have done well on these pitches.
 
Failures are part of any players career.. No need for overreacting
 
Sachin136 said:
It isn't about failing in one series. But undoubtedly Lara (arguably the greatest batsman against spin ever) and Sachin (who has some great performances on turners against better spinners) would have done well on these pitches.
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Why some of you are comparing Amla/AB with SRT/Lara in the test format? I am not sure how it started.
 
Ab Fan said:
Amla is pathetic..He should retire.Tendulkar and lara never had such a pathetic series.
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Many batsmen had pathetic series in past. What do you think about their retirement timing? Amla is going through a bad phase and pretty much all batsmen go though such phase. According to you, Kohli should have retired after Eng series, right?

Also, why compare Amla with the likes of SRT/Lara?
 
Buffet said:
Why some of you are comparing Amla/AB with SRT/Lara in the test format? I am not sure how it started.
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Because they are the best batsmen of this era...So a comparison from older generation is pretty valid.
 
Buffet said:
Many batsmen had pathetic series in past. What do you think about their retirement timing? Amla is going through a bad phase and pretty much all batsmen go though such phase. According to you, Kohli should have retired after Eng series, right?

Also, why compare Amla with the likes of SRT/Lara?
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Tbh, I didn't mean that.Just said it..Ignore it..!!More of a reply to the above comment..
 
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Btw worked out Lara's numbers and updated the table :narine

Point%20of%20entry_zpsddexcgs8.png
 
Results :-


The closest to Tendulkar-Lara league:-

1. Ponting
2. None
3. Sangakkara
4. Dravid
5. Kallis
6. KP
 
It's truly a shame to compare Lara with tendulkar. Lara is undoubtedly the greatest batsman after Sir Don Bradman, why compare him a choker like tendulkar. Heck even Ponting, Kallis and dravid are better than him.
 
Cook can surpass Tendulkar if he keeps batting like superman which he is already doing. He just needs a good recipe to stay on track :kakmal

Tenda tussi great ho, but he got a slightly unfair advantage on Cook by debuting early. So let's agree that Cook can be exempted for about 3,000-4,000 runs which Tenda made in his youth, and if he makes the required amount they'll be equals.
 
Suleiman said:
Cook can surpass Tendulkar if he keeps batting like superman which he is already doing. He just needs a good recipe to stay on track :kakmal

Tenda tussi great ho, but he got a slightly unfair advantage on Cook by debuting early. So let's agree that Cook can be exempted for about 3,000-4,000 runs which Tenda made in his youth, and if he makes the required amount they'll be equals.
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Debuting at 16 is an unfair advantage? LOL really? Every player is free to even debut at 14 if he likes.

Its freakish actually for 16 year old kids to debut and face Imran, Waqar, Wasim, Aaqib, Qadir on first tour.
 
freelance_cricketer said:
Debuting at 16 is an unfair advantage? LOL really? Every player is free to even debut at 14 if he likes.

Its freakish actually for 16 year old kids to debut and face Imran, Waqar, Wasim, Aaqib, Qadir on first tour.
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Cook deserved a 16 year old debut as well but the failure of a board like ECB didn't know how to use their resources and had too much batting talent to choose from so his debut was unjustly delayed.

For BCCI they were running dry on batting talent so they had to go to their last hope, a 16 year old baby Tendulkar, and it worked.
 
Suleiman said:
Cook deserved a 16 year old debut as well but the failure of a board like ECB didn't know how to use their resources and had too much batting talent to choose from so his debut was unjustly delayed.

For BCCI they were running dry on batting talent so they had to go to their last hope, a 16 year old baby Tendulkar, and it worked.
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and none of it = unfair advantage to Tendulkar

He was good enough as a 16 year old, earned his place in the side and rest is history. If anything i'd say it is probably unfair to throw a 16 year old into the sea. A failure there might have killed his career totally. Tendulkar was a freak talent wise otherwise i don't advocate debuts for 16 year old batters at all. Thing with Sachin is, he probably was ready for international cricket at 14! 16 for him back then seemed like a 2 year delay.
 
freelance_cricketer said:
and none of it = unfair advantage to Tendulkar

He was good enough as a 16 year old, earned his place in the side and rest is history. If anything i'd say it is probably unfair to throw a 16 year old into the sea. A failure there might have killed his career totally. Tendulkar was a freak talent wise otherwise i don't advocate debuts for 16 year old batters at all. Thing with Sachin is, he probably was ready for international cricket at 14! 16 for him back then seemed like a 2 year delay.
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Yeah but Tendulkar was Indian so he didn't have as much peer pressure as Cook during his teens who was brought up in England so had greater exposure to girls, drugs, etc etc yet still stayed disciplined for a world class cricketing career but Tendulkar was raised in a strict Indian family so he had things done for him, Cook had to create his opportunities.

Tendulkar was born great, Cook achieved greatness, and Inzimam had greatness thrust upon him.
 
Suleiman said:
Tendulkar was born great, Cook achieved greatness, and Inzimam had greatness thrust upon him.
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Sums it up.

Tendulkar was a freak as far as talent is concerned. No 16 year old has ever been so complete.
 
freelance_cricketer said:
Debuting at 16 is an unfair advantage? LOL really? Every player is free to even debut at 14 if he likes.

Its freakish actually for 16 year old kids to debut and face Imran, Waqar, Wasim, Aaqib, Qadir on first tour.
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Yes, it is freakish what Sachin and Afridi achieved at the age of 16. One scored a resilient fifty against Waqar and Wasim while the other scored the fastest century of all-time, which was only broken recently.

Makes you have think that they were actually a couple of years older.
 
Bilal7 said:
Yes, it is freakish what Sachin and Afridi achieved at the age of 16. One scored a resilient fifty against Waqar and Wasim while the other scored the fastest century of all-time, which was only broken recently.

Makes you have think that they were actually a couple of years older.
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Afridi manhandled Murali and co. Of all the fastest centuries, i still rate the 37 ball blitz the finest.

Damn Afridi from 1996-1999 was so good.
 
Suleiman said:
Yeah but Tendulkar was Indian so he didn't have as much peer pressure as Cook during his teens who was brought up in England so had greater exposure to girls, drugs, etc etc yet still stayed disciplined for a world class cricketing career but Tendulkar was raised in a strict Indian family so he had things done for him, Cook had to create his opportunities.

Tendulkar was born great, Cook achieved greatness, and Inzimam had greatness thrust upon him.
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How the heck did Inzamam end up there?
 
Apart from Williamson and Root, the others aren't talked about in terms of being great batsmen, it's more like you're scoring a bucket load of runs congrats - a bit like Sanga in the last 10 years.
 
Haroon786 said:
Apart from Williamson and Root, the others aren't talked about in terms of being great batsmen, it's more like you're scoring a bucket load of runs congrats - a bit like Sanga in the last 10 years.
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We share similiar views on Sangakkara brother Haroon. Despite all the runs and high averages, Sanga lacked the quality, guts and class of the big league.
 
I cannot fathom why someone like Kallis is excluded from any "Legend/World-Class/Great" list. The man has batting numbers no-one comes close to, let alone in the all-rounder category.

Fantastic player.

In regards to current players....Kohli, Williamson and Root will most likely be the ones going forward.
 
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ABD has fallen.

IPL over tests is a joke. He has got his priority wrong.
 
None from the 2005-ish generation.

From the 2010 generation, Root, Kohli, Williamson and Smith all four have a very good chance.

Smith though lacks the flair. He can be a Steve Waugh level player though. The other three have that flair in their batting to match Tendulkar and Lara.
 
Kohli is not yet in the Williamson, Root and Smith category. Yeah, he was fantastic in Aus, but he has had too many poor or mediocre test series to be in that category. He has a long way to go.
 
Hafeez has potential to get there - just needs to start converting the 10s and 20s into 100s and 200s.. Otherwise he looks every bit as classy at the crease as Tendulkar and Lara (watch him in a mirror, when right handed he looks like Hafeez at the crease)
 
It looks tough for even an ATG status for any of current era in tests. From younger lots, it's a long way to go. Things turn on very quickly. One shouldn't get fascinated with 2-3 years peak phase.
 
Majid Khan said:
Hafeez has potential to get there - just needs to start converting the 10s and 20s into 100s and 200s.. Otherwise he looks every bit as classy at the crease as Tendulkar and Lara (watch him in a mirror, when right handed he looks like Hafeez at the crease)
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He looks like Wavle Hinds.
 
Mamoon said:
None from the 2005-ish generation.

From the 2010 generation, Root, Kohli, Williamson and Smith all four have a very good chance.

Smith though lacks the flair. He can be a Steve Waugh level player though. The other three have that flair in their batting to match Tendulkar and Lara.
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I agree with you, Smith may score a lot of runs but he doesn't have the same class when it comes to scoring pretty runs, in that regard I'd have Kolhil, KW and Khawaja ahead.
 
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Sangakarra is hugely underrated by the world and definitely deserves to be thought of in the same category as Lara and Tendulkar. For me, Lara was, far and away, the most genius batsman to watch, but in terms of sheer weight of runs and ATG status, Tendulkar is certainly up there with Lara, Ponting, Sangakarra and I would argue Kallis.

PP'ers may hate to hear it, but Kohli, AB and Amla will be there one day as well. Who knows, so may Kane Williamson and Joe Root. These modern guys are the best batsmen I have seen since Lara, Tendu, Ponting era, with the exception of Sangakarra.
 
Chrish said:
He certainly is the best batsman to watch after Lara.. So wristy and elegant I can watch whole day
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He is arguably the most iconic player in Cricket right now with all boxes ticked except that he needs to elevate himself from a decent test batsman to a great test batsman soon enough but that too is bit tricky given no decent batsman has hit 4 test hundreds in a series down under so there are silly little inconsistencies in his test graphs, exceptional at places, truly pathetic in England and very ordinary in India.

He has swagger, has an inspirational work ethic and physique for a desi cricketer, dates filmstar, finishes matches like a gangster. He will end up as the most inspiring batsman of this generation, players 10 years from now, at least Indians would all wanna be like Kohli. Just like Tendulkar took over from Gavaskar and took it to another level, Kohli's taken it from Sach and going even higher.
 
I don't think anyone in the world currently can get into it other than maybe Kohli. It's too early to say.

See people like to bring up Williamson and Root, and while they have been solid in tests they've only recently been finding LOI success. And to get in this league you have to be proficient in ODIs and tests at least.

Kohli's been around longer (IIRC??) and has been established longer than them, think he's in the league in ODIs, but not in tests, but it might be a matter of time, or he may never reach it, let's see. Has the killer instinct.

Personally I think Williamson is a weak character and doesn't have the fire or killer instinct to reach this league.

People say Smith looks bad and like a hack, but he has this killer instinct, think it's built into Aussie players. Yet to see a meek Aussie. He's willing to do whatever it takes to win, and is not afraid to take calculated risks in his batting (like that outside the off stump flick to Wahab) something I don't see Willy doing, he's too conservative.

Before anyone says "but but Virat doesn't take risks", yeah he does, they're not wild risks, but calculated ones. I.e. letting the run rate creep up in the Aus game, it was a risk, but he had to bank on the belief in himself that he is good enough to catch up with the RR near the end, which he did.

So yeah. Virat might reach it, Smith may as well, but a long shot. Don't think Williamson will reach it IMHO.

Root I think it's too early to say because it's only been a few months I think that he's getting into the groove in limited overs cricket. Was awesome at the world t20, and in ODIs as well. He's a bit like Williamson in that he lacks killer instinct and is conservative at times. But the Root we saw at the WT20 looked different and like a man who was willing to take risks, albeit calculated ones.

One guy people are glossing over yet is easily the 2nd most destructive limited overs player in 2016 IMHO, is Quinton de Kock, aka Q-dock. Honestly, this kid seriously looks like the real deal for me, and yes I know it is waaay too soon to call, but if he can keep up the hunger he has these days he will at the very least get close to this league if not breach it. He is South African, which goes against him, as he has to fight the choker tag, BUT, he looks the least likeliest to choke. In fact, he is the only clutch player for SAF in LO crunch situations.

His range of shots is more vast than Smith and Root IMO, and he "reads" the game like Kohli. (just look at his chases, especially the rain hit game vs Eng chasing ~350). Terrific player to watch, but like Kohli, needs to improve in tests. Actually, he's kinda like Kohli jr. in LOIs.

So yeah IMO, this is how I'd rank today's players as most likeliest to reach SRT-Lara league:

1) Kohli
2) Q-dock
3) Smith
4) Root
5) Williamson
6) Babar Azam

Thanks.
 
I can't hope to see more exiting player than Lara.. But I am prepared to accept Kohli is running him close atm in terms of ability to entertain.
 
Chrish said:
I can't hope to see more exiting player than Lara.. But I am prepared to accept Kohli is running him close atm in terms of ability to entertain.
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kohli is somewhere between the the genius of lara and the almost robot like run accumulation of tendulkar.
 
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