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Younis Khan vs Michael Clarke - The better Test batsman?

Younis Khan vs Michael Clarke

  • Younis Khan

    Votes: 75 72.1%

  • Michael Clarke

    Votes: 29 27.9%
  • Total voters
    104
hussain.r97 said:
I doubt he will do well next year, looking at where we're touring. Younis is old now, his reflexes aren't the same. He's been playing in Asia, with little swing. His reflexes will really be tested when the pace and bounce come in. He will be eaten alive in all our overseas tours next year, maybe only scoring a couple of big scores here and there. Won't get to 10000 in my opinion.
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Doesn't swing much in Australia - should do well there. Think he'll struggle mostly in NZ because Boult and Southee are a lethal combination and both have swing/seam movement at decent pace - something that all batsmen struggle with. In England the way that the Aussies have batted has actually given a superficial veneer to the movement on offer, yes there is swing in overcast conditions and seam movement on grassy tracks in the first hour but if you hang your bat out to dry then you will get out irrespective of whether the pitch is a green mamba or a flat patta - worryingly, our openers (Shezhad and Hafeez) will both get out cheaply plenty of times and Azhar won't be able to weather the new ball every time, so YK will be exposed against Anderson and Broad with a fresh Duke ball and with his habit of fishing outside the off stump early in his innings, the outcome won't be pretty. Still I think he should do decently in England as Anderson is declining and Broad can only bowl 20-25 overs out of 90 in a day.

Overall, I think he'll struggle the most against the least vaunted of all 3 Test sides, New Zealand. He should do reasonably well in England and Australia.
 
If Younis has a cumulative average of less than 45 in England, Australia and New Zealand, next year, I would be disappointed. Despite his age, he's not really lost a step as of now.

Convict said:
Only in Pakistan is Younis Khan an ATG.

Yes I believe in the primacy of test cricket but in the modern era an ATG should be be flexible enough to at least be adequate at ODIs.
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Like I said, not an ATG, yet. He should get there by the time he retires, especially if he plays a couple more gems like that 171*.

Younis can be a test ATG, despite being a terrible ODI player. Just like Dhoni and Bevan being great ODI players, despite being average test players.
 
Can't believe Younis is leading by 40.People are saying Clarke can't play in SC as if YK has scored a 400 in Australia or SA
 
Michael Clarke vs Younis Khan - Who was better in Tests?

Clarke - 8643 runs Avg 49 100s: 28
Younis- 10099 runs Avg 52 100s:34

While Younis was great against spin and decent vs pace, Clarke was very good against all kinds of bowling. Who do you think was better?
 
I prefer Clarke. A terrific player of pace and a very good player of spin. He is also attacking batsman and can change the outcome of the game pretty fast. Clarke is also a terrific fielder.
 
Depending on conditions

Michael Clarke was better on pacy/seaming wickets

Overall though I think Younis Khan was a tier above
 
As a batsmen, Younis in tests. Clarke overall

As a player, Clarke adds more value.

Since the thread is about tests, I will go with YK as batsmen but as a test cricketer, it is Clarke. Very handy with the bowl at times and a great captain.
 
Younis. Much more consistency across conditions and better longevity. But Clarke was capable of the kinds of innings Younis could only dream of.
 
Clarke, keep in mind he spent most his career with a chronic back injury

He was a home track bully but so was Younis.

clarke had a good record everywhere bar UAE ( only 2 games) and bangladesh


There is a lot between them though, and I think its a good comparison, both are in the same tier imo
 
Dead heat, I honestly can't separate these two. I will say that I feel Clarke could play knocks that Younus could not, but not vice versa at their peak, but Younus proved himself in many conditions in all sorts of different game circumstances against quality opponents. His ability to play spin was better than any strength of Clarke's, but Clarke was more well rounded against all forms of bowling.
 
As a pure test batsman , Yunus was ahead . Overall Clark was a better batsman . Both played clutch knocks and were the backbones of their respective teams in half of their careers almost.
 
Younis is one level ahead. He is an ATG while Clarke is a great batsman. Clarke was better against pace and bounce but Khan had the edge in every other aspect of batting, including cold, hard stats.

troodon said:
I prefer Clarke. A terrific player of pace and a very good player of spin. He is also attacking batsman and can change the outcome of the game pretty fast. Clarke is also a terrific fielder.
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Very good player of spin in what world? Failed in the UAE, mediocre in India and did not set the world alight in Sri Lanka either.
 
pakistanigoneaussie said:
i can see Clarke playing an innings like that

I cant see younis making 150 at strike rate of over 80 on a green viper pitch vs Steyn, Morkel and Philander
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Yes, you may be able to "see" it but it never happened. Khan, meanwhile, did score a pretty phenomenal hundred against those same bowlers in their backyard.

Khan also played a fine innings in Australia just before retirement. We all know Clarke's record in the UAE.
 
Bilal7 said:
Yes, you may be able to "see" it but it never happened. Khan, meanwhile, did score a pretty phenomenal hundred against those same bowlers in their backyard.

Khan also played a fine innings in Australia just before retirement. We all know Clarke's record in the UAE.
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yes on a pitch where ajmal took 10 wickets and a mediocre spinner like robin Peterson was doing really well. No doubt it was a great innings, but it wasnt an absolute green seamer.

Also a poster of your quality should no better that to bring up Australia as an example. In recent years Australian pitches have been largely flat, Hobart is probably the only exception.
 
Bilal7 said:
Additionally, Amla and Smith played even better innings to win their team the match.

I rate Clarke's 160-odd against South Africa in 2014 as the better innings and the best that Clarke ever played. Match-winning, series-winning innings.
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on the third day, did you watch that game, first day it was seaming madly, second day as well. Like with most pitches it calmed down in day 3. Thats not to downplay what smith and amla did, but if you watched the game you would have noticed the quality.

how can you say otherwise? Look at the names on both sides that flopped in the first innings. Clarke was batting like he was on a different pitch, it was immense.
 
pakistanigoneaussie said:
yes on a pitch where ajmal took 10 wickets and a mediocre spinner like robin Peterson was doing really well. No doubt it was a great innings, but it wasnt an absolute green seamer.

Also a poster of your quality should no better that to bring up Australia as an example. In recent years Australian pitches have been largely flat, Hobart is probably the only exception.
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You're missing a crucial bit of information which is that Pakistan were reduced to very little for four wickets before Khan and Shafiq constructed one of the best rescue jobs of the decade. The pitch did have a hint of grip but that was not present in the first innings where the ball was moving. You can check the cricinfo commentary as reference.

The UAE pitches have also been very flat and they definitely were when Australia last toured. Khan hit double centuries while Clarke could do absolutely nothing to avoid a 2-0 whitewash.
 
YK.

He is grossly underrated here. He is an ATG Test player. I regard him as the best Pakistani batsman I have seen in Tests. I have seen them all pretty much.
 
pakistanigoneaussie said:
on the third day, did you watch that game, first day it was seaming madly, second day as well. Like with most pitches it calmed down in day 3. Thats not to downplay what smith and amla did, but if you watched the game you would have noticed the quality.

how can you say otherwise? Look at the names on both sides that flopped in the first innings. Clarke was batting like he was on a different pitch, it was immense.
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Yes, I watched the game very closely which is why I know how amazing Amla and Smith were. That was a green seamer which only quickened up, Cape Town is famous for these sort of wickets. The other South African opener was all at sea in the fourth innings and almost no one thought that South Africa would chase down 200+ on a pitch where the last two innings hadn't even touched 150 combined. Amla and Smith struggled at first but once they got going, they played absolute masterclasses.

However, Clarke was fantastic for sure and there is no doubt that the ball was moving all over the place even in the first innings.
 
Bilal7 said:
You're missing a crucial bit of information which is that Pakistan were reduced to very little for four wickets before Khan and Shafiq constructed one of the best rescue jobs of the decade. The pitch did have a hint of grip but that was not present in the first innings where the ball was moving. You can check the cricinfo commentary as reference.

The UAE pitches have also been very flat and they definitely were when Australia last toured. Khan hit double centuries while Clarke could do absolutely nothing to avoid a 2-0 whitewash.
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yeah and i mentioned that in my opening post here, but you are avoiding the point of the post. I responded to if Clarke could do something that Younis couldnt and he clerly can. If you think Younis's innings in Captetown as good as it was was comparable to clarke then i dont know what to say. You seem hell bent on ignoring the strike rate and the fact that the next best score in the first innings from either team was a painful 44.

While Younis was better in Asia, clarke also played great innings in India and Sri Lanka.
 
pakistanigoneaussie said:
yeah and i mentioned that in my opening post here, but you are avoiding the point of the post. I responded to if Clarke could do something that Younis couldnt and he clerly can. If you think Younis's innings in Captetown as good as it was was comparable to clarke then i dont know what to say. You seem hell bent on ignoring the strike rate and the fact that the next best score in the first innings from either team was a painful 44.

While Younis was better in Asia, clarke also played great innings in India and Sri Lanka.
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Clarke could not chase down 300 in the fourth innings. I don't think his fourth innings average is 50+ like Khan's. If it is, then you may have a point.

Clarke's innings in South Africa was certainly better than Khan's but like I said, Khan can also score a ton against Steyn and co in their backyard on a tough pitch. The SR rarely matters in test cricket and it certainly did not matter in either match we are discussing.
 
Bilal7 said:
Clarke could not chase down 300 in the fourth innings. I don't think his fourth innings average is 50+ like Khan's. If it is, then you may have a point.

Clarke's innings in South Africa was certainly better than Khan's but like I said, Khan can also score a ton against Steyn and co in their backyard on a tough pitch. The SR rarely matters in test cricket and it certainly did not matter in either match we are discussing.
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no point as we wont agree but the last thing ill say is that the best way to judge a batsmen in tough coniditons is how everyone else is doing, Clarke didnt have another batsmen making a 100 alongside him like Younis, and yes strike rates do matter. On a minefield like that you will eventually get out, its just how much skill you have to score before that.

If say Azhar ali was batting on that pitch he would probably make an 80 ball 20, not like it would do much
 
Ab Fan said:
Mate, how would you rank these players in tests- Clarke, Younis, KP, AB, Amla, Cook (all same era)?

Have your personal opinion!
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Very hard question haha.

No time or energy for detailed analysis or even stat checking.

I would say (let me think):

1. ABD (career not over so likely to be on top with the way he plays)
2. KP (at his best, was equal to any bat who ever played, inconsistent though)
3. Younis
4. Amla (has regressed a lot but has many important knocks in his career, career can take an upswing)
5. Clarke (wonderful against pace, bounce and spin - when he switches it on, he really switches it on, underachieved)
6. Cook (poor against genuine pace but a giant for his efforts in Aus and India - it's like an Asian batsmen top scoring by a mile in Aus
and SA to win the series)

All 6 are amazing bats and this order will possibly keep changing for me.

Just because I put Cook at 6 doesn't take away anything from him. He has more scored important runs than guys like KP.

ABD is already an ATG in ODI and he could become one in test cricket. Such an amazing bat. If only he had killer instincts, he would be the modern day Viv.
 
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sensible-indian-fan said:
Very hard question haha.

No time or energy for detailed analysis or even stat checking.

I would say (let me think):

1. ABD (career not over so likely to be on top with the way he plays)
2. KP (at his best, was equal to any bat who ever played, inconsistent though)
3. Younis
4. Amla (has regressed a lot but has many important knocks in his career, career can take an upswing)
5. Clarke (wonderful against pace, bounce and spin - when he switches it on, he really switches it on, underachieved)
6. Cook (poor against genuine pace but a giant for his efforts in Aus and India - it's like an Asian batsmen top scoring by a mile in Aus
and SA to win the series)

All 6 are amazing bats and this order will possibly keep changing for me.

Just because I put Cook at 6 doesn't take away anything from him. He has more scored important runs than guys like KP.

ABD is already an ATG in ODI and he could become one in test cricket. Such an amazing bat. If only he had killer instincts, he would be the modern day Viv.
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Thanks. I know it was a tough one. Is that for tests only or overall? I was asking only tests. If overall, I dont think YK should be that high.
 
For tests, Younis and that's despite the fact that I don't rate Younis as highly as others. Clarke averages 62 at home and 40 away. He played for the first part of his career in an ATG Australian team, something that Younis never had the luxury of playing with.
 
Clarke. Both were top class against spin, perhaps Younis had an edge, but Clarke was miles better against pace, bounce and lateral movement.
 
Both were massive bullies at home and in their familiar conditions- Clarke(SA) and YK(India).

I will take YK because Clarke doesn't have a big hundred in Asia unlike YK(218 at Oval).
 
One of the main tests is the fourth innings average when it is clutch time for batsmen.

Younis is only batsman in Test history to score three back-to-back hundreds in the fourth innings of Tests. He did this during a two month period (Oct-Nov) in 2007 - two against South Africa and one against India. During the Test series against Australia, Younis became only the third batsman after Bradman and Herbert Sutcliff to average more than 50 in each of the four innings of a Test (min. 10 knocks in each innings).
These runs have come at an incredible average of 83.75, which is by far the most among batsmen who have scored at least 2000 runs in wins over this period. Sangakkara is a distant second with an average of 70.29.

Younis has scored at least one century against every Test playing nation.

Apart from scoring a century against each of the nine Test nations, Younis has also scored at least one Test hundred in 11 different countries (including UAE).

He has about 70 century stands which is incredible.

An underrated incredible player
 
I get that Clarke has played some great innings but so has Younis. Few of Younis' innings have been etched in my memory and will never be forgotten. His 300 in Karachi...double against India in Bangalore...His impact on Pakistan cricket and its success is arguably greater than Clarke's on Australia. This obviously is also because Younis had the most unreliable and incompetent batsmen around him. Clarke was a better batsman to watch though...
 
Obviously YK, avg 5-6 pts higher is enough of a difference plus of course the huge difference in home vs away avg for Clarke
 
Majestic said:
My rankings would be:-

Amla
Younis
ABD
KP
Clarke
Cook
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Same here but Cook above Clarke. Clarke averages around 39 away which puts him at the bottom when discussing batsmen of this caliber.
 
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Clarke underachieved in Asia I believe. He was a fantastic player of spin and started off brilliantly in 2004 tour to India but after that didn't create much of impact in Asia(failed in Pak, his team got Whitewashed in India and Hussey takes away the credit for SL win).

Outside Asia, he was great in Australia and SA and good in England and NZ.
 
Adijazz1706 said:
That's like saying any Asian batter could score 2 tons in SA in one series because Mahmood did so in 98, whattay logic sirji :bow:
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The pitch had completely flattened by day 5 and SL had a rookie spinner. Herath did not play in the game. No doubt it was a great innings, but they were not your usual day 5 conditions.
 
Mamoon said:
The pitch had completely flattened by day 5 and SL had a rookie spinner. Herath did not play in the game. No doubt it was a great innings, but they were not your usual day 5 conditions.
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The question was about one of YKs 4th innings knocks, the poster said Clarke could have played it even tho he avgs ~30 in the 4th inns so the point didn't make much sense
 
Adijazz1706 said:
The question was about one of YKs 4th innings knocks, the poster said Clarke could have played it even tho he avgs ~30 in the 4th inns so the point didn't make much sense
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so because he averages 30 he cant score a 4th innings ton in good batting conditions vs a poor bowling attack?
 
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