You only get inspired as a batter/bowler by watching live matches/active players. Yes Or No!

[BunnyRabbit]

I have read about this so much many young bowlers (born in 98-2001) saying their bowling idol is Wasim/Waqar. On the other hand I have also read a lot about people saying how players of the past era were not that great, it's just the nostalgia for the old fans and stuff.

For example when I was growing up, Wasim/Waqar/Donald/Mcgrath/Ambrose etc were the guys who used to grab headlines as fast bowlers. So as kid growing up, I often copied Wasim and Waqar's bowling actions and later on Shoaib and Flintoff's(largely due to his 2005 ashes heroics).



I am a firm believer that you can only imitate or get impressed by what you see. For a bowler of current generation to say they idolize IK/Marshall/Lillee as a bowler would just sound unreal to me. I find nothing more engrossing than watching a match live (full match preferebly).

Do you think is it possible for youngsters and upcoming players to be able to get inspired by bowlers/batters of the yesteryears? Or is it just out of respect that they mention their names?

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Modem day kids are growing up in an era where the charm of pace bowling and bowling in general, has been chocked to death.

There isn’t currently a bowling megastar on the scene for the kids to look up to. Many who want to be pace bowlers or even legendary spinners, have to look back in the history to get their inspiration.

 

[Varun]

Yes - in my opinion.

Also aided by the subpar broadcast quality of anything pre-1990s. So even YouTube is not a treasure trove of past heroics.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Modem day kids are growing up in an era where the charm of pace bowling and bowling in general, has been chocked to death.

There isn’t currently a bowling megastar on the scene for the kids to look up to. Many who want to be pace bowlers or even legendary spinners, have to look back in the history to get their inspiration.

Is it practical for young kids to watch past legends to get inspired?

They are more likely to get inspired by the likes of Cummins/Rabada/Bumrah/Shaheen than them actively searching for footage of the legends of the past.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Yes - in my opinion.

Also aided by the subpar broadcast quality of anything pre-1990s. So even YouTube is not a treasure trove of past heroics.

Plus once you know the outcome of the match beforehand, you don't really get the goosebumps that you do when you're watching it live and it's all open.

 

[Saj]

I took a keen interest in cricket after watching Imran Khan at Headingley tearing up England's batters.

I was in awe of such a great athlete and bowler. Being there in the stadium was an incredible experience.

 

[DRsohail]

I am with you.

 

[Energy]

There is an age bracket in early teens where you are fascinated that your country plays a certain sport, and you start to get familiar with the sports heroes. On TV or on ground is the same.

For cricket, there will be thousands who will look up to Shaheen, Babar now. In the last 10-15 years during which Pakistan had no breakout superstar you would still have kids get inspired by whatever the team was. It's the aura.

Luckily for Pakistan, they end up winning half of their matches on average, so the fan base remains strong.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

I took a keen interest in cricket after watching Imran Khan at Headingley tearing up England's batters.

I was in awe of such a great athlete and bowler. Being there in the stadium was an incredible experience.

Do you think if a current bowler let's say someone like Shaheen or Naseem says his idol was IK growing up, could it be realistically possible?

And did the Pakistani generation that grew up during 2010-2018 era missed having no credible idols in Pakistan to get inspired by? Afridi was at the tail end of his career. Junaid got inconsistent opportunities. Amir blew hot and cold. Babar was an upstart. Yasir, Younis and Misbah were the mainstays of the test team.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

There is an age bracket in early teens where you are fascinated that your country plays a certain sport, and you start to get familiar with the sports heroes. On TV or on ground is the same.

For cricket, there will be thousands who will look up to Shaheen, Babar now. In the last 10-15 years during which Pakistan had no breakout superstar you would still have kids get inspired by whatever the team was. It's the aura.

Luckily for Pakistan, they end up winning half of their matches on average, so the fan base remains strong.

I think the 2007-17 era caused a lot of harm for Pakistan Cricket. Apart from Younis(in batting dept), Yasir(as a test spinner in Asia), they totally missed out on fast bowlers.

 

[Saj]

Do you think if a current bowler let's say someone like Shaheen or Naseem says his idol was IK growing up, could it be realistically possible?

It's possible as DVDs of some of IK's greatest performances are available as well as online.

I still feel though seeing cricketers at a stadium 'in the flesh' is something totally different and irreplaceable.

 

[Local.Dada]

Overwhelmingly Yes.

For example I look at Bradman batting videos available on YouTube , it doesn’t really impress. Sure he was leagues ahead of his colleagues then but doesn’t translate to modern context.

Similarly I have seen guys like Marshall, Imran,Kapil etc on their last legs because that’s when I started watching cricket so they looked really mediocre even though their legacy and legend preceded them.

Now if you look at their old videos at their prime, it just feels like you judge the quality of cricket then than their greatness. Has a lot to do with the evolution of coverage, broadcasting, technology etc as well.


So 100% agree.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

It's possible as DVDs of some of IK's greatest performances are available as well as online.

I still feel though seeing cricketers at a stadium 'in the flesh' is something totally different and irreplaceable.

Yes that's what I think as well. I feel like the kids growing up during 2008-18 in Pakistan greatly suffered from lack of idols. No matches in the country, no real fast bowling idols(Umar gul and Junaid Khan?), Younis being the only great Test batter. Afridi on last legs.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Overwhelmingly Yes.

For example I look at Bradman batting videos available on YouTube , it doesn’t really impress. Sure he was leagues ahead of his colleagues then but doesn’t translate to modern context.

Similarly I have seen guys like Marshall, Imran,Kapil etc on their last legs because that’s when I started watching cricket so they looked really mediocre even though their legacy and legend preceded them.

Now if you look at their old videos at their prime, it just feels like you judge the quality of cricket then than their greatness. Has a lot to do with the evolution of coverage, broadcasting, technology etc as well.


So 100% agree.

I think India is very well placed in this regard in terms of a lot of players to idolize. Plus with IPL, they get to see some of the biggest names in international cricket play for the teams a lot of youngsters "own as theirs"

Think England has totally a different system with cricket taught in schools by professional coaches from the grassroots with coaching manuals.

 

[Saj]

Yes that's what I think as well. I feel like the kids growing up during 2008-18 in Pakistan greatly suffered from lack of idols. No matches in the country, no real fast bowling idols(Umar gul and Junaid Khan?), Younis being the only great Test batter. Afridi on last legs.

Absolutely.

Watching homes matches being played in another country on flat wickets cannot have inspired too many young Pakistani cricketers.

I rarely hear anyone say they were inspired by watching matches in Dubai or Abu Dhabi when Pakistan couldn't play at home.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Absolutely.

Watching homes matches being played in another country on flat wickets cannot have inspired too many young Pakistani cricketers.

I rarely hear anyone say they were inspired by watching matches in Dubai or Abu Dhabi when Pakistan couldn't play at home.

Hopefully the kids of today will have plenty more to get inspired by now that cricket is truly at home and there are good batters and bowlers emerging. Ironically spin remains a problem these days even though Ajmal and Yasir provided plenty of great memories to the watchers during that phase.