Harsh Thakor
First Class Star
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'Here in order of merit I am selecting my top batsmen when team was in dire straits or a crisis.They were marvellous in ressurecting their side from the grave.This does not rank batsmen in terms of pure class but just as performers when the chips were down.Thus I have not included Viv Richards,Greg Chappell,Ricky Ponting,Inzamam Ul Haq or even Don Bradman.Viv and Bradman were hardly tested in a crisis.
1.Alan Border
The ultimate battler who virtually pulled off a Houdini act saving a test for Australia in West Indies in 1984.At his best on the most testing pitches like when scoring 2 150's in one test in Pakistan in 1979-80.Alos heroically saved the 2nd test at Melbourne v India in 1985-86.Played some great knock sin losing causes like when scoring 126 v West Indies at Adelaide in 1981-82 ,79 n.o at Melbourne v England in 1982-83 and 123 n.o at Old Trafford in 1981.Reminded you of a surgeon when batting .Averaged over 68 in drawn games.Mastered the seaming English tracks,fast West Indian pitches and turning sub-continent wickets.
2.Ian Chappell
Statistics hardly do justice to his true merit but in a crisis Ian would overshadow Viv or Barry Richards and brother Greg.In his era no batsmen could combat great pace and spin so valiantly and Ian batted with the nerves of a soldier when his side's back was to the wall.Morally it was more Ian's 449 runs than brother Greg's 702 that won the 1975-76 Frank Worrel trophy and thus unofficial world test championship.Ian played some of best knocks against the fiery Calypso pace when scoring 156 out of 328 at Perth in 1975-76 and scoring 141 in the 3rd WSC Supertest in 1977-78.Ian opened the batting in the Carribean in WSC Supertests in 1979 and made some high scores against the pace battery on the fast tracks.Ian also tackled the like sof Prasanna with great skill in 1969-70 in India.Gary Sobers and Imran Khan rated Ian Chappell as the bets Australian batsmen they ever played against.
3.Javed Miandad
The ultimate scourge of great bowlers of his era with touches of genius.Played a major role in Pakistan attaining cricketing supremacy in the world.Although at his best at home and in New Zealand in the late 1980's became the best batsmen in the world being prolific in England and the West Indies. No batsmen niggled opposing bowers more .Javed presence exuded a kind of an aura at the crease .Although sometimes uncharacteristic he was master in improvising strokes,with trademark pull shot of his own.Javed revealed combat or defiance in sport at it's highest zenith.Zaheer Abbas and Majid Khan were more artistic and Hanif Muhammad technically sounder but it was Javed's wicket which opponents prized more than anyone.
4.Rahul Dravid
Overshadowed Sachin Tendulkar when the team's back was to the wall.Dravid was more the person to ressurect India from the grave than anyone.His batting on the 2002 tour of England, 2003-04 tour of Australia,2004 tour of Pakistan,2006 tour of West Indies and the 2011 tour of England is a stestimony to this.In England,Pakistan and Australia Dravid surpassed Tendulkar in his best knocks in a crisis and even won test matches at Leeds,rawalpindi and Adelaide.He lacked Tendulkar's flamboyance or Laxman's artistry but played more inings in tune with the given situation.
5.Steve Waugh
May have ranked higher had he played for a weaker team.Although playing for a champion team he wast he most consistent when his taem was in danger of defeat.A master on bad wickets .His century and double century in West Indies in 1995 was responsible for Australia regaining the Frank Worrel trophy in West Indies after 22 years and winning the unofficial world test championship.Also was instrumental in Australia regaining the Ashes in England for the 1st time since 1975 ,in 1989.Not as elegant as brother Mark or technically Perfect like Greg Chappell but Waugh brilliantly adapted to all types of conditions making the perfect technical adjustments.
6.Brian Lara
Had he played for a stronger team would have ranked ahead.No batsmen after Headley ever so single-handedly bore the brunt of such a weak batting side as Lara.He turned the fate of the 1999 Frank Worrell trophy with a string of succesive centuries scoring 211,153 n.o and 106 in successive tests.No batsmen ever singlehandedly turned the tables of a Frank Worrell trophy as Lara did or few ever did in a test series.Averaged over 60 in two phases of his career scoring a string of mammoth scores.Lara never curbed his strokemaking,even in the gravest of situations.
7.George Headley
Carried the torch of West Indian cricket like no batsmen ever did for his team ,scoring the highest average percentage score after Bradman.On wet tracks a better batsman than even Bradman .Played for the weakest of teams and still registered a chain of staggering scores.Above all averaged over 95 in games won and his best contributions won West Indies their 1st series in 1935 v England and enabled them to draw 2-2 with England in 1928-29.Placed behind Lara as he did not play as many countries.
8.Gary Sobers
A master in any conditions and like Lara never curbed his strokemaking.A revelation when scoring 254 v Australia in 1972,132 in the tied test at Brisbane in 196-61 ,163 at Lords in 1966 and 113 at Kingston in 1968-69.Ressurected a team from the grave more consistently than any batsmen of his time.
9.Sunil Gavaskar
Faced the best bowling attacks ever and still saved many a match for India ,with hardly any support.A revelation in West Indies in 1970-71 when amassing 774 runs ,in Pakistan in 1978-79 when he averaged 89.4. and in England in 1979 scoring 542 runs with his 221 at the Oval taking India to the brink of one of Test Cricket's most famous victories.Few batsmen ever posessed as much concentration and his final innings of 96 v Pakistan at Bangalore was arguably the best innings ever in a test on bad wicket.Gavaskar defied the likes of Imran Khan,Ian Botham or Andy Roberts like arguably no batsmen ever have.A master against spin,pace or the moving ball.
10.Sachin Tendulkar
No great batsmen ever faced more pressure as Sachin who broke all the test batting records.At his best he hardly got any support and was virtually the fulcrum of the Indian batting.Rtaed belwo Gavaskar because he did not open or face the same calibre of fast bowling.
11.Jacques Kallis
As good as Sobers to draw game but often did not force the pace.Neverthless a champion in terms of consistency.
12.Younis Khan
The ultimate man to revive a sinking ship in the modern era.Few batsmen have ever taken batting craft to a higher zenith when aside is in the grave or so consistently turned the fortune of games.Placed below Javed as he did not face as great bowling and did not match Javeds' level of intimidating opponents.
13.Clive Lloyd
Played some knocks of a lifetime when the chips were down ,carrying the mantle of West Indian cricket.A revelation in difficult situation sin India in 1974-75 and in 1983-84 when his unbeaten 161 totally swung the tide of the game at Kolkata.Played some memorable match-wining knocks that sealed the fate of the Frank Worrell trophy in 1979-80 and 1981-82.
14.Rohan Kanhai
On his day better than even Sobers who could master a bad wicket better than any one.Great against pure pace like in Australia when amassing 503 runs including 2 centuries scored at a run per ball at Adelaide.Defied great bowlers like John Snow and Alan Davidson and arguably the best batsmen playing for rest of the world in Australia i in 1972 averaging over 69.
15.Gundappa Vishwanath
On a bad wicket better than Gavaskar and at his best a better batsmen.Turned the fortunes of the 1974-75 series v West Indies after India were hopelessly placed 2-0 down ,with match-winning knock sof 139 and 97 n.o at Kolkata and Madras.Repeated such efforts at Trinidad in 1975-76 scoring 112 when India acheived the world record score in a fourth innings to win a test match ,in New Zealand in 1976 when scoring 79 at Welllington,scoring 145 at Faisalabad in 1978-79, a match-winning 124 at Madras on the fastest of pitches v West Indies in 1979-80,match-saving 112 at Lords in 1979,match-winning 114 at Melbourne in 1981 and finally match-saving 107 against England at Delhi in 1981-82.India never lost a test when Vishy scored a century.
16.Asif Iqbal
The best no 6 batsmen in the world after the retirement of Garfield Sobers.No batsmen of his era ever batted better with the tail.Won important tests for Pakistan like at Sydney scoring 120 after his team was in dark waters and saved the Adelaide test of 1976-77 against all odds scoring an unbeaten 152.His 146 at the Oval in 1967 is rated amongst the best test innings ever which although in a losing cause won moral glory for Pakistan.Also outstanding when scoring 135 v West Indies at Kingston against the most fiery of pace attacks on the quickest of tracks.
17.Wasim Raja
Played the great Carribean pace attack statistically better than anyone from his era.In 1977 in the Carribean bad at home v West Indies in 1980 overshadowed Majid ,Zaheer and Javed.Also topped averages in India in 1979-80 saving the Kanpur test after Pakistan wee in dire straits and repeated that feat at Jalnadhar when scoring an unbeaten 137 at Jalandhar.
1.Alan Border
The ultimate battler who virtually pulled off a Houdini act saving a test for Australia in West Indies in 1984.At his best on the most testing pitches like when scoring 2 150's in one test in Pakistan in 1979-80.Alos heroically saved the 2nd test at Melbourne v India in 1985-86.Played some great knock sin losing causes like when scoring 126 v West Indies at Adelaide in 1981-82 ,79 n.o at Melbourne v England in 1982-83 and 123 n.o at Old Trafford in 1981.Reminded you of a surgeon when batting .Averaged over 68 in drawn games.Mastered the seaming English tracks,fast West Indian pitches and turning sub-continent wickets.
2.Ian Chappell
Statistics hardly do justice to his true merit but in a crisis Ian would overshadow Viv or Barry Richards and brother Greg.In his era no batsmen could combat great pace and spin so valiantly and Ian batted with the nerves of a soldier when his side's back was to the wall.Morally it was more Ian's 449 runs than brother Greg's 702 that won the 1975-76 Frank Worrel trophy and thus unofficial world test championship.Ian played some of best knocks against the fiery Calypso pace when scoring 156 out of 328 at Perth in 1975-76 and scoring 141 in the 3rd WSC Supertest in 1977-78.Ian opened the batting in the Carribean in WSC Supertests in 1979 and made some high scores against the pace battery on the fast tracks.Ian also tackled the like sof Prasanna with great skill in 1969-70 in India.Gary Sobers and Imran Khan rated Ian Chappell as the bets Australian batsmen they ever played against.
3.Javed Miandad
The ultimate scourge of great bowlers of his era with touches of genius.Played a major role in Pakistan attaining cricketing supremacy in the world.Although at his best at home and in New Zealand in the late 1980's became the best batsmen in the world being prolific in England and the West Indies. No batsmen niggled opposing bowers more .Javed presence exuded a kind of an aura at the crease .Although sometimes uncharacteristic he was master in improvising strokes,with trademark pull shot of his own.Javed revealed combat or defiance in sport at it's highest zenith.Zaheer Abbas and Majid Khan were more artistic and Hanif Muhammad technically sounder but it was Javed's wicket which opponents prized more than anyone.
4.Rahul Dravid
Overshadowed Sachin Tendulkar when the team's back was to the wall.Dravid was more the person to ressurect India from the grave than anyone.His batting on the 2002 tour of England, 2003-04 tour of Australia,2004 tour of Pakistan,2006 tour of West Indies and the 2011 tour of England is a stestimony to this.In England,Pakistan and Australia Dravid surpassed Tendulkar in his best knocks in a crisis and even won test matches at Leeds,rawalpindi and Adelaide.He lacked Tendulkar's flamboyance or Laxman's artistry but played more inings in tune with the given situation.
5.Steve Waugh
May have ranked higher had he played for a weaker team.Although playing for a champion team he wast he most consistent when his taem was in danger of defeat.A master on bad wickets .His century and double century in West Indies in 1995 was responsible for Australia regaining the Frank Worrel trophy in West Indies after 22 years and winning the unofficial world test championship.Also was instrumental in Australia regaining the Ashes in England for the 1st time since 1975 ,in 1989.Not as elegant as brother Mark or technically Perfect like Greg Chappell but Waugh brilliantly adapted to all types of conditions making the perfect technical adjustments.
6.Brian Lara
Had he played for a stronger team would have ranked ahead.No batsmen after Headley ever so single-handedly bore the brunt of such a weak batting side as Lara.He turned the fate of the 1999 Frank Worrell trophy with a string of succesive centuries scoring 211,153 n.o and 106 in successive tests.No batsmen ever singlehandedly turned the tables of a Frank Worrell trophy as Lara did or few ever did in a test series.Averaged over 60 in two phases of his career scoring a string of mammoth scores.Lara never curbed his strokemaking,even in the gravest of situations.
7.George Headley
Carried the torch of West Indian cricket like no batsmen ever did for his team ,scoring the highest average percentage score after Bradman.On wet tracks a better batsman than even Bradman .Played for the weakest of teams and still registered a chain of staggering scores.Above all averaged over 95 in games won and his best contributions won West Indies their 1st series in 1935 v England and enabled them to draw 2-2 with England in 1928-29.Placed behind Lara as he did not play as many countries.
8.Gary Sobers
A master in any conditions and like Lara never curbed his strokemaking.A revelation when scoring 254 v Australia in 1972,132 in the tied test at Brisbane in 196-61 ,163 at Lords in 1966 and 113 at Kingston in 1968-69.Ressurected a team from the grave more consistently than any batsmen of his time.
9.Sunil Gavaskar
Faced the best bowling attacks ever and still saved many a match for India ,with hardly any support.A revelation in West Indies in 1970-71 when amassing 774 runs ,in Pakistan in 1978-79 when he averaged 89.4. and in England in 1979 scoring 542 runs with his 221 at the Oval taking India to the brink of one of Test Cricket's most famous victories.Few batsmen ever posessed as much concentration and his final innings of 96 v Pakistan at Bangalore was arguably the best innings ever in a test on bad wicket.Gavaskar defied the likes of Imran Khan,Ian Botham or Andy Roberts like arguably no batsmen ever have.A master against spin,pace or the moving ball.
10.Sachin Tendulkar
No great batsmen ever faced more pressure as Sachin who broke all the test batting records.At his best he hardly got any support and was virtually the fulcrum of the Indian batting.Rtaed belwo Gavaskar because he did not open or face the same calibre of fast bowling.
11.Jacques Kallis
As good as Sobers to draw game but often did not force the pace.Neverthless a champion in terms of consistency.
12.Younis Khan
The ultimate man to revive a sinking ship in the modern era.Few batsmen have ever taken batting craft to a higher zenith when aside is in the grave or so consistently turned the fortune of games.Placed below Javed as he did not face as great bowling and did not match Javeds' level of intimidating opponents.
13.Clive Lloyd
Played some knocks of a lifetime when the chips were down ,carrying the mantle of West Indian cricket.A revelation in difficult situation sin India in 1974-75 and in 1983-84 when his unbeaten 161 totally swung the tide of the game at Kolkata.Played some memorable match-wining knocks that sealed the fate of the Frank Worrell trophy in 1979-80 and 1981-82.
14.Rohan Kanhai
On his day better than even Sobers who could master a bad wicket better than any one.Great against pure pace like in Australia when amassing 503 runs including 2 centuries scored at a run per ball at Adelaide.Defied great bowlers like John Snow and Alan Davidson and arguably the best batsmen playing for rest of the world in Australia i in 1972 averaging over 69.
15.Gundappa Vishwanath
On a bad wicket better than Gavaskar and at his best a better batsmen.Turned the fortunes of the 1974-75 series v West Indies after India were hopelessly placed 2-0 down ,with match-winning knock sof 139 and 97 n.o at Kolkata and Madras.Repeated such efforts at Trinidad in 1975-76 scoring 112 when India acheived the world record score in a fourth innings to win a test match ,in New Zealand in 1976 when scoring 79 at Welllington,scoring 145 at Faisalabad in 1978-79, a match-winning 124 at Madras on the fastest of pitches v West Indies in 1979-80,match-saving 112 at Lords in 1979,match-winning 114 at Melbourne in 1981 and finally match-saving 107 against England at Delhi in 1981-82.India never lost a test when Vishy scored a century.
16.Asif Iqbal
The best no 6 batsmen in the world after the retirement of Garfield Sobers.No batsmen of his era ever batted better with the tail.Won important tests for Pakistan like at Sydney scoring 120 after his team was in dark waters and saved the Adelaide test of 1976-77 against all odds scoring an unbeaten 152.His 146 at the Oval in 1967 is rated amongst the best test innings ever which although in a losing cause won moral glory for Pakistan.Also outstanding when scoring 135 v West Indies at Kingston against the most fiery of pace attacks on the quickest of tracks.
17.Wasim Raja
Played the great Carribean pace attack statistically better than anyone from his era.In 1977 in the Carribean bad at home v West Indies in 1980 overshadowed Majid ,Zaheer and Javed.Also topped averages in India in 1979-80 saving the Kanpur test after Pakistan wee in dire straits and repeated that feat at Jalnadhar when scoring an unbeaten 137 at Jalandhar.
BTW, was Ian Botham a proper batsman that you're bringing in his batting average against the West Indies and comparing it with a specialist batsman like Miandad?
