In Hindsight - Players you thought were overrated and underrated

[Wolfs]

Back in the day, we thought players were great and in hindsight you realize they weren't that great, or the flip side.

Who did you all overrate or underrate back in the day and later on changed your mind.

 

[PhatBoy]

Player I thought was great when I was a kid was Keith Arthurton - made a fantastic hundred at Brisbane in 92-93, Lara’s breakout tour, and looked almost as elegant and classy. I thought he was tye ****. From memory he hit only one other century and stunk it up for another 3-4 years or so.

Always felt like Tuffers was a bit underrated when I was younger but realise now he was just a crafty tweaker who could occasionally have a good day.

Craig McMillan I thought was pretty average when I first watched him but eventually I thought he kind of came to embody that Kiwi ‘greater than the sum of his parts’ thing. Thought he really loved a fight.

 

[The Passenger]

Various posts I could find from over the years

2003: https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/thre...-the-next-big-thing.88150/page-2#post-1445375
tick: Warner
not bad prediction: Marsh, Henriques, Cosgrove (never went on with that talent), Casson (did play test cricket i guess)
overrated: Brant and Aaron Bird (neither eever quite got there as FC cricketers)

2005: https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/graham-thorpe-to-play-for-nsw.172967/#post-3303637
tick: Cowan, Warner, Hastings, O'Keefe
overrated: Packman, O'Brien, Bright (this guy should have gone way further then just a couple of seasons of first grade)

2006: https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/thre...ion-u-19-world-cup.222994/page-3#post-4636695
tick: Warner
ok prediction: henriques, cooper
totally underrated: khawaja (is a gun, obviously outside of Asia)

For older players I was always convinced Ferguson would step up, especially after a couple of really good seasons but alas that didn't happen and can't see him getting back in.

It took me a long time to be convinced by Stuart Broad but would have him as consistently in the top five quick bowers in the world from about 2011 to 2016. If he brings his home 2017 form down under for the Ashes that will go a long way to helping Australia win - If he does then they become very reliant on Anderson who has been very patchy in Australia.

 

[Topkent]

I thought Stuart Clark was a crap bowler in his first few ODI games. Then helped destroy the poms in the ashes a month later

 

[PhatBoy]

Daryl Cullinan suits this thread, from an Australian perspective at least.

The guy averaged 45 in Test cricket over a lengthy career (and he was shorn of a few years due to the ban), yet he’s remembered as a bumbling idiot when Shane Warne was at the other end.

I could be wrong but I think Warne only actually got him 4-5 times but it was enough to wreck him against Australia.

Strangely enough it wasn’t as though he couldn’t score runs against spin. He hit two hundreds in India against Kumble I think, and two in Sri Lanka against Murali.
Glorious player of pace as well. And 10 of his 14 hundreds led to SA wins. Guy was a gun.

 

[Hellgood]

I thought Stuart Clark was a crap bowler in his first few ODI games. Then helped destroy the poms in the ashes a month later

To be fair though he was a pretty ordinary short format bowler.

 

[Wolfs]

I thought Darren Gough was great and then looking back, he was just a good bowler that probably was part of a weak attack. I also thought that Nayan Mongia was great, one of India's best keepers. Oh was I stupid, or what?

I agree on Ferguson.

For me I always thought Andy Caddick was really average but he has won matches for England. I thought Graeme Smith was overrated but now I understand how amazing he was as someone who was put into the spotlight. When he scored a ton, SA never lost. I would underrate Makhaya Ntini only because Steyn, Pollock and Donald overshadowed him in my mind, but the guy is a freaking amazing bowler.

I hate to say that I didn't realize how amazing Jayasuriya while he played.

Sheesh I am an idiot.

Currently I thought Bairstow was really awful but he's shown me.

 

[Aussie_boy]

Thought Ben Stokes was overrated massively back in 13/14.

 

[The_Reaper]

I thought Stuart Clark was a crap bowler in his first few ODI games. Then helped destroy the poms in the ashes a month later

What part of his test series against the Saffers six months earlier didn't you like?

 

[Topkent]

What part of his test series against the Saffers six months earlier didn't you like?

I was pretty young and if I remember correctly there was talk of Lee and Tait being played together. I then saw Clark bowl and being young wanted Tait to play. Obviously Taits body fell apart

 

[Yellowperil]

Underrated - Stuart MacGiill
Overrated - Shane Watson

 

[reggie]

Player I thought was great when I was a kid was Keith Arthurton - made a fantastic hundred at Brisbane in 92-93, Lara’s breakout tour, and looked almost as elegant and classy. I thought he was tye ****. From memory he hit only one other century and stunk it up for another 3-4 years or so.

I hated Arthurton and thoroughly enjoyed Warnie making him look like a park cricketer, I think the Aussies did too

 

[reggie]

Glenn McGrath - looked like a tall gangly run of the mill medium pace seamer when I first saw him play. But then stepped up massively in the West Indies in 1995 and never looked back and the rest is history.

To go with that, I probably underestimated the effect of having him and Warne together for so long. Soon realised once they retired that they were worth 3 bowlers in any normal team and we haven't had an attack that has consistently troubled decent teams since, especially away from home

 

[Gough]

Glenn McGrath - looked like a tall gangly run of the mill medium pace seamer when I first saw him play. But then stepped up massively in the West Indies in 1995 and never looked back and the rest is history.

To go with that, I probably underestimated the effect of having him and Warne together for so long. Soon realised once they retired that they were worth 3 bowlers in any normal team and we haven't had an attack that has consistently troubled decent teams since, especially away from home

I've got some photos that I took of Glenn McGrath at the 94 Capetown Test and he looks like this skinny kid. One bowler that I always rated, but never gets a lot of love is Billy McDermott, it was a real shame his body let him down before he got to 300 wickets. Merv was a bloody good bowler on his day too, but his larrikaness for want of a better word has made people forget that.

 

[PhatBoy]

I hated Arthurton and thoroughly enjoyed Warnie making him look like a park cricketer, I think the Aussies did too

He did score 365 at 52 in one of his two series against the Aussies. His average was almost 40 all up against Australia, compared to 30 for his career, and Warne dismissed him three times over 12 innings so perhaps a slight overstatement.

But yes by the time he faces Australia in 95 his decent start was certainly a distant memory.

 

[reggie]

He did score 365 at 52 in one of his two series against the Aussies. His average was almost 40 all up against Australia, compared to 30 for his career, and Warne dismissed him three times over 12 innings so perhaps a slight overstatement.

But yes by the time he faces Australia in 95 his decent start was certainly a distant memory.

That's what I was referring to, by the time Warne was at his best in the mid-90s Arthurton had no idea against him. I remember him being our of his depth in a few one dayers around that time too

 

[Damon_3388]

To be fair though he was a pretty ordinary short format bowler.

His ODI and T20I records (albeit limited) are pretty good, and he was always good in the short forms domestically as well.

 

[Damon_3388]

One bowler that I always rated, but never gets a lot of love is Billy McDermott, it was a real shame his body let him down before he got to 300 wickets.

He seems a bit like the Peter Siddle of his era.

 

[Damon_3388]

I hate to say that I didn't realize how amazing Jayasuriya while he played.

His record in terms of averages doesn't look like anything mindblowing (averaged 40.07 in Tests, 32.36 in ODIs, and 23.29 in T20Is), but when you consider his longevity (110 Tests, 445 ODIs, 31 T20Is from 1989-2011), and the context of cricket at the time and brazen style he played with (ODI strike rate of 90.57 from 1989-1999, and 91.20 overall), and the part he played in dragging Sri Lanka out of minnow status, he was a revolutionary.

 

[JackOutback]

Glenn McGrath - looked like a tall gangly run of the mill medium pace seamer when I first saw him play. But then stepped up massively in the West Indies in 1995 and never looked back and the rest is history.

To go with that, I probably underestimated the effect of having him and Warne together for so long. Soon realised once they retired that they were worth 3 bowlers in any normal team and we haven't had an attack that has consistently troubled decent teams since, especially away from home

When McGrath was first picked, I thought Brendon Julian and Jo Angel were both shafted. Fair to say I might have let my youthful parochialism overrate them.

 

[ioppolo]

I grew up thinking Andrew Symonds was the greatest thing since sliced bread. He obviously was a good player but young me may have overrated him.

 

[Steinfreo]

I hated Gilly so much when he arrived because I had a massive obsession witb Healy. My mum and I were like who is this loser.

 

[bombersfan4000]

I hated Arthurton and thoroughly enjoyed Warnie making him look like a park cricketer, I think the Aussies did too

Most bowlers did that! Never did work out why he was one of the few batsmen not to wear a helmet just a white brim hat but struggled to play the short ball to save his life

 

[Wolfs]

His record in terms of averages doesn't look like anything mindblowing (averaged 40.07 in Tests, 32.36 in ODIs, and 23.29 in T20Is), but when you consider his longevity (110 Tests, 445 ODIs, 31 T20Is from 1989-2011), and the context of cricket at the time and brazen style he played with (ODI strike rate of 90.57 from 1989-1999, and 91.20 overall), and the part he played in dragging Sri Lanka out of minnow status, he was a revolutionary.

Yeha like I really didn't understand the context until he retired and then remember the innings I saw him play live at the SCG when Sri Lanka always came over to theTri Series

I would add Jayawardene but that was when I was younger. It didn't last long.

 

[Tigerssaints]

totally overrated,Steve O'Keefe nic Maddinson and
moises Henriques