Brian Lara, How Good Was He?

[Doss]

Magician.



How can you watch one of those cover drives or cut shots and not feel good about the world, even momentarily?

 

[blackcat]

Magician.



How can you watch one of those cover drives or cut shots and not feel good about the world, even momentarily?

give him a cricket bad and boundary ropes.

rodney hogg on SEN said no way Bradman averages 100 today. my qualifier, everything they say on SEN is ramped up about two-fold to create a talking point or controversy, see: Dermie for example.

But Lara and KP Kevin Pietersen are the best I have seen eh Meds?

#meds
#Chief, he of unmatched wisdom

medusala

 

[Matera92]

give him a cricket bad and boundary ropes.

rodney hogg on SEN said no way Bradman averages 100 today. my qualifier, everything they say on SEN is ramped up about two-fold to create a talking point or controversy, see: Dermie for example.

But Lara and KP Kevin Pietersen are the best I have seen eh Meds?

#meds
#Chief, he of unmatched wisdom

medusala

Give Bradman one of these and watch the absolute carnage that would ensure.

 

[Doss]

Lara was simply special. I count myself as lucky enough to have seen him in the moment on TV and live a few times; many younger followers never will have and will rely solely on videos like the above.

His average doesn't look any better than many other luminaries of the modern era; I guarantee he was the more special player though.

 

[PhatBoy]

Lara was simply special. I count myself as lucky enough to have seen him in the moment on TV and live a few times; many younger followers never will have and will rely solely on videos like the above.

His average doesn't look any better than many other luminaries of the modern era; I guarantee he was the more special player though.

This. In the same way that ABDV of the current generation can't be summed up just via his figures, Lara sits similarly from his era. The way he got things done was just on another level to everyone else I've ever seen. The footwork, the batspeed, the attitude, the placement. It was f***ing amazing to watch when it was all working.

 

[blackcat]

This. In the same way that ABDV of the current generation can't be summed up just via his figures, Lara sits similarly from his era. The way he got things done was just on another level to everyone else I've ever seen. The footwork, the batspeed, the attitude, the placement. It was f***ing amazing to watch when it was all working.

everyone thought Mark Waugh was the talented one in the Australian line-up even with Punter, well Mark Waugh was a bankrupt poor man Brian Lara and not fit to shine his shoes

 

[Doss]

I've been following cricket pretty closely for 25 years more or less, and Lara is still by a margin the best player to watch I've seen. Yes, I'm not forgetting Ponting, or ABV, or anyone else of this era.

As PB alludes to, if you didn't see him it's probably hard to explain, intangible, and from the exterior probably appears ridiculous in a way.

 

[blackcat]

I've been following cricket pretty closely for 25 years more or less, and Lara is still by a margin the best player to watch I've seen. Yes, I'm not forgetting Ponting, or ABV, or anyone else of this era.

As PB alludes to, if you didn't see him it's probably hard to explain, intangible, and from the exterior probably appears ridiculous in a way.

it Pietersen and Lara for me, they leave everyone in their wake

 

[medusala]

But Lara and KP Kevin Pietersen are the best I have seen eh Meds?

Saw Lara in Antigua smash us everywhere. McGrath brought back on and couldnt manage to get Lara on strike. As soon as he did he got him out. I wouldnt say he was a flat track bully but wouldnt put him at the very top. Ditto KP

AB easily better than KP. His record on rubbish pitches and cheating umpires os was unbelievable.

#demigod

demi superfluous.

 

[medusala]

I've been following cricket pretty closely for 25 years more or less, and Lara is still by a margin the best player to watch I've seen. .

blackcat

This! Best player to watch, not necessarily best player. I loved watching him bat. Ditto KP. Wouldnt pay money to watch Tendulkar or Dravid (and Graeme Smith - just awful -(you would rather watch repeats of Hey Dad rather than see him bat)

Having said that its the old needs must thing re blokes like Border. Easy to smash them everywhere when McGrath skittled the other team for stuff all and you come in at 1/100 - slightly harder in the West Indies against probably best attack ever batting alongside an extremely average Aussie team.

 

[Hellgood]

blackcat

This! Best player to watch, not necessarily best player. I loved watching him bat. Ditto KP. Wouldnt pay money to watch Tendulkar or Dravid (and Graeme Smith - just awful -(you would rather watch repeats of Hey Dad rather than see him bat)

Having said that its the old needs must thing re blokes like Border. Easy to smash them everywhere when McGrath skittled the other team for stuff all and you come in at 1/100 - slightly harder in the West Indies against probably best attack ever batting alongside an extremely average Aussie team.

Wouldn't pay money to watch Tendulkar?

Geez, he was a delight to watch. Nimble and beautifully timed against the quicks and completely commanded spinners with his range of sweeps and aggressive footwork.

 

[Doss]

I wouldn't agree that you wouldn't pay money to watch Tendulkar. But Lara was aesthetically more pleasing, and in my view by a fair margin too.

 

[PhatBoy]

Saw Lara in Antigua smash us everywhere. McGrath brought back on and couldnt manage to get Lara on strike. As soon as he did he got him out. I wouldnt say he was a flat track bully but wouldnt put him at the very top. Ditto KP

AB easily better than KP. His record on rubbish pitches and cheating umpires os was unbelievable.

#demigod

demi superfluous.

So? From memory, his average against Australia actually went UP marginally when McGrath was there. Of course he got him a lot - usually after he'd made a heap of runs against them. Flat track bully is somewhat harsh for someone who made 7 centuries in live tests against probably the second best side of all time.
The guy got Warne dropped for the only time in his career aside from after his debut test, reached his career zenith against an attack that read McGrath, Gillespie, Warne and Macgill (just a lazy 1800 wickets or so between them), scored 43 per cent of his team's runs during a series against Murali on his Home patch at his absolute peak - 680 in three tests, scored 202 against Pollock, Ntini, Nel and Kallis on their home patch, scored 192 out of 320 against the same opposition back in the Caribbean, hit 3 centuries in his first ever series in England, and just for good measure signed off with a century and a double in Pakistan just before retirement.

Yeah, somehow don't think the 'not quite FTB but......' claim is going to have a lot of credence.

 

[Doss]

Lara was no flat track bully. In fact quite the opposite.

Remember what Steve Waugh said about him? "He was a good player of average bowling and a great player of good bowling. When backed into a corner by his own brinkmanship or the quality of the opposition, he elevated himself into a genius".

I would think that sums it up perfectly.

McGrath, Warne and Murali all rated him the best player they bowled to.

 

[PhatBoy]

Lara was no flat track bully. In fact quite the opposite.

Remember what Steve Waugh said about him? "He was a good player of average bowling and a great player of good bowling. When backed into a corner by his own brinkmanship or the quality of the opposition, he elevated himself into a genius".

I would think that sums it up perfectly.

McGrath, Warne and Murali all rated him the best player they bowled to.

He also more or less admitted that his own impetuosity contributed to his record against McGrath. He rated McGrath highly but said that he felt if he didn't want to take risks he would have no trouble seeing him off (easier said than done for someone so attacking), whereas with Wasim Akram, who he said was the best he faced, he felt like he could be dismissed even when he was only tying to survive.

 

[Scotland]

This. In the same way that ABDV of the current generation can't be summed up just via his figures, Lara sits similarly from his era. The way he got things done was just on another level to everyone else I've ever seen. The footwork, the batspeed, the attitude, the placement. It was f***ing amazing to watch when it was all working.

I reckon the numbers do a reasonable job for ABdV, just not for tests alone.

8,000 runs @ 50, 21 100s and spent some of that time keeping. Great record, but no better than a bunch of others. If you look at his ODI record of 9,000+ runs at 53.5 striking at 100 then you start to see the full picture and what he's capable of.

 

[PhatBoy]

I reckon the numbers do a reasonable job for ABdV, just not for tests alone.

8,000 runs @ 50, 21 100s and spent some of that time keeping. Great record, but no better than a bunch of others. If you look at his ODI record of 9,000+ runs at 53.5 striking at 100 then you start to see the full picture and what he's capable of.

That's a fair point.

 

[Scotland]

Brendon McCullum is another one. His test record is pretty ordinary, but everyone knows what he is capable of.

I don't think of Lara as ever being that explosive, but he was so elegant. Sort of bloke that would grind down bowlers into thinking they'd never get him out, all the while playing cover drives and late cuts.

 

[PhatBoy]

Brendon McCullum is another one. His test record is pretty ordinary, but everyone knows what he is capable of.

I don't think of Lara as ever being that explosive, but he was so elegant. Sort of bloke that would grind down bowlers into thinking they'd never get him out, all the while playing cover drives and late cuts.

100 off 82 balls. As it turned out he actually scored it TOO quickly and by the time it was all said and done, his side barely had time to gather itself before the rest of the side was dismissed.
The 213 at Kingston was a relatively patient exercise in reminding the world just how good he was. Next test at Bridgetown was bloody minded genius. This knock was just fury.

 

[PhatBoy]

Also hit knocks of 130 off 120, 226 off 290, 216 off 262, 176 off 224, 120 off 147, 202 off 274, 191 off 203, 182 off 235, 132 off 180, 179 off 206, 152 off 182, 147 off 181, 167 off 210.

Maybe because he wasn't a particularly prolific six hitter it didn't seem that he was explosive as such, but geez he could score quickly when he was in the mood.

I think I'm right in saying 13 of his 19 ODI hundreds came at better than a run a ball too. Some by a significant margin - he hit 126 off 68 or something against Bangladesh once.

 

[Doss]

I think I'm right in saying that 19 or 20 of his 34 centuries were over 150, and nine were doubles.

That's a pretty amazing 'daddy hundred' conversion rate.

 

[PhatBoy]

I think I'm right in saying that 19 or 20 of his 34 centuries were over 150, and nine were doubles.

That's a pretty amazing 'daddy hundred' conversion rate.

I was just looking through them innings by innings. Even the ones that didn't get to 150 usually went close. Very rare that he fell soon after making it.

 

[Doss]

I was just looking through them innings by innings. Even the ones that didn't get to 150 usually went close. Very rare that he fell soon after making it.

The anti-Mark Waugh.

 

[Gough]

blackcat

This! Best player to watch, not necessarily best player. I loved watching him bat. Ditto KP. Wouldnt pay money to watch Tendulkar or Dravid (and Graeme Smith - just awful -(you would rather watch repeats of Hey Dad rather than see him bat)

Having said that its the old needs must thing re blokes like Border. Easy to smash them everywhere when McGrath skittled the other team for stuff all and you come in at 1/100 - slightly harder in the West Indies against probably best attack ever batting alongside an extremely average Aussie team.

AB averaged fifty carrying the team on his back on his back playing the West Indies every summer back when they were good. He might not be the prettiest but he's the best I've seen.

 

[PhatBoy]

AB averaged fifty carrying the team on his back on his back playing the West Indies every summer back when they were good. He might not be the prettiest but he's the best I've seen.

Toughest along with probably smith that I've seen. Did a freak job in a side that long gave him no support. Didn't have the extra gears of some of the other modern greats though so that costs him a few points IMO