Whenever I have a question and answer session at a sports function, there tends to be certain questions I get asked.
What was it like to score a Test double hundred? My answer is always “I still pinch myself!”
Who was the biggest pest in the dressing room? Glenn McGrath – hands down.
What’s Warney really like? My response – a good bloke who lives a life I cannot begin to imagine understanding, but he handles it well.
And, usually, “who is the best batsman you have bowled to, and why?”
How I usually respond is that I keep it to opposition players at international level – having to decide between all the wonderful batsmen I was fortunate enough to play with and against at domestic level in Australia proves to be a very difficult task.
I am just glad I did not have to bowl to some of my teammates in the Aussie side that often in matches – training was bad enough!
So, to the question of who the best batsman I have bowled to in international cricket. For me, it was pretty clear cut.
Brian Lara.
The reason I put Lara ahead of many fantastic players of my era including Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis, Kumar Sangakkara, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Michael Vaughan is simple. I always felt with Brian, I could run in and look to bowl my best ball but he could, if he was in the mood, hit that ball pretty much wherever he wanted.
This might be another way of saying he played in an unorthodox way. The impressive thing about Brian was his way of adapting to a situation out in the middle. He used to play the conditions and the bowling very well.
He realised the threats and changed gears during his innings depending on the situation of the game.
A number of innings spring to mind, however his 153* to win a Test in Barbados in 1999 will not only go down as one of the greatest innings you will see, it was a batting masterclass in assessing conditions. He was batting with the lower order and changing the tempo of batting to change the momentum of the innings. It was an exceptional display.
I know plenty of Roarers will question why I do not have Sachin Tendulkar as the best. Do not get me wrong, he was an incredible player and if I’m honest – if I was speaking at a function in Mumbai I would most likely say Sachin – if only to make sure I left the function alive!
I always felt with Tendulkar and the other players I mentioned above that if I bowled my best ball consistently I could put them under pressure to play a shot they did not want to play.
I especially found this with Tendulkar, Kallis and Dravid. That is not to say they did not get on top of my bowling – far from it! I copped my fair share of pastings from them.
However I found them to be more orthodox in their set up and batsmanship – they were all very patient players. My job was to be more patient than them by being ruthless with my line and length.
Laxman was a different player again. Very strong through the leg side from even off stump/4th stump! We struggled to contain him in India in 2001.
Our plan was to bowl in the channel of the 4th/5th stump line, encouraging him to play off the front foot through the offside, inviting an edge.
Needless to say this did not work. In 2004 we changed our plan to not only Laxman, but all the Indian batsmen who are all traditionally very good through the leg side with their wristy play – especially in India.
Our plan was to bowl to hit middle and off stump and have deep fine leg, deep backward square leg, two catching mid wickets and a mid on fractionally deeper than normal.
This way we had two attacking fielders (the mid wickets), the deep men to make the Indian batsmen run between wickets in the heat – as opposed to hitting fours – and mid on a bit deeper to take into account the speed in which the ball travels on Indian grounds and their batsmen’s reluctance to pinch singles.
This plan worked very well and we won that series 2-1.
And finally, Michael Vaughan. He was the best English player I bowled to – due respect to Kevin Pietersen.
I only played a couple of games against him although I believe he is the best English batsman I have seen.
The challenge with Vaughan is that I felt he almost knew what I was about to bowl in terms of the length I bowled. He would play a pull shot to a ball you felt was a decent length.
Whether I was conscious of it or not, I would bowl fuller and be driven for a boundary. I lost count how many times this happened and vice versa with the full ball first, then the slightly shorter one.
A class player who in 2002/3 had a wonderful series against us despite being on the losing side. However, when I got my line and length right I always felt that the pressure will produce a false stroke and a wicket.
All in all, a very tough question to answer taking into account many variables. I will still maintain that under all conditions and all situations, Brian Lara is the best player I bowled to in international cricket.
Intoxicated cricfan
Guest
Very nicely written. Tendulkar seemed to look more for run making opportunities and Lara more for challenges. Tendlya (as he is fondly referred here in Mumbai) does not have that marathon match saving inning in test cricket like Laxman, and Lara has many. Almighty presented it's top notch cars to two drivers. One preferred driving over rough patches other tried to drive without getting dents.! But I will not compare Tendlya with Kumar Sangakkara. Kumar never faced that level of bowling attack, when bowlers were at their peak. Likes of McGrath, Gillespie Lee, Karan ,Pawar Walsh.
mactheblack
Guest
Brian Lara right up there with the best. Not boring watching him bat; if you'd gone off to get a quick pie or drink during the match ... it was at your own risk - that high backlift made it extra special to watch. This bloke's staying power - to have scored 500 in a club match, quadruple, not to mention double, triple hundreds. Only felt sorry for my batting hero, because he played in an era, where WI were not the force they once were. Of course he also had his detractors, but the game from purely batsmanship perspective, definitely the poorer.
Nudge
Guest
Good on ya shouts
Tom from Perth
Roar Rookie
Apparently he gave Wade a few beamers. Would have been a sight to see.
Pope Paul vii
Guest
Thanks Jason, don't know how you blokes did it day in day out. Just watching a piece on Johnners terrorising his team mates in the Perth nets. Ouch.
Warnie's Mum
Guest
Tendulkar and Lara had contrasting styles of batsmanship. Lara was explosive, mercurial and unpredictable while Tendulkar was surgical, precise and classical. Who you liike best will depend on your tastes. No need to put the other down as they both were brilliant.
charles lara
Guest
Freakish batting talents you talk of Bradman,Viv Richards and lara.while i feel richards and lara had the potential to reach bradman's runs scoring feats they were at times over aggressive especially richards .while lara suffered from some external issues which affected his consistency he could have easily averaged 60 especially in the 2000s era.Sachin on the other hand for me,was a typical young prodigy debuting at 16 with a great technique, he was always bound to score that much amount of runs.considering he was consistent rather han spectacular.gave up aggression for accumulation in the 2000s.
Jason Gillespie
Guest
In my time the hardest hitters of a cricket ball were Matty Hayden, Freddie Flintoff, Chris Gayle and Adam Gilchrist. Of current day players obviously Gayle is still playing so he is up there. The other two I would put in there are Aaron Finch and David Miller. We had David at Yorkshire in 2012 and I can tell you- throwing to him is a scary experience! He hits the ball incredibly hard!
Shouts Chen
Guest
Warnie is the best leg spinner in the world when he took 708 wickets in his career. Even that Muralitharan has overtaken Warnie's record of the most test wickets taken.
Jason Gillespie
Guest
Any genuine quick was tough. Andy Caddick from England was awkward to face. The fastest spell I faced was in a Sheffiels Shield match at Adelaide Oval v Victoria. Brad Williams- I barely saw the ball! He got 6 for in the innings. When he was younger he was quick!
MyGeneration
Roar Guru
One of the best articles on cricket I've read in a long while. Informative, insightful and honest. Big ups. On another tack, who do you think hit the ball hardest, Dizzy?
9 Monkeys
Roar Rookie
Agreed. 60+ with Waugh's temperament.
9 Monkeys
Roar Rookie
Yep, Hughes on his day was something to behold. Cover driving the fastest bowlers in the world down on one knee without a helmet. On the WACA! T'was great to watch. Very fond memories from my youth. His problem was he just wasn't judicious enough. If he had of had Steve Waugh's temperament he would have averaged 50+ in Test cricket.
9 Monkeys
Roar Rookie
MarryTendulkar's focus and determination with Lara's raw talent and you would have had someone akin to Bradman - high scores, entertainingly made, regularly.
JGK
Roar Guru
From 1999-2007, Lara scored 282 runs off McGrath in Tests. McGrath got him 8 times for a personal average of 35. And that period excludes the 96/7 series when McGrath dominated Lara. http://www.sportstats.com.au/blogmay2007mar2008.html
Benjamin Conkey
Editor
Ronan, McGrath may have dismissed Lara 15 times but Lara played head-to-head against McGrath in 24 matches involving 46 innings, meaning McGrath only dismissed him 32 per cent of the time. In those matches, Lara scored six centuries and averaged 46.38. The more time you play an opposition you're eventually going to be dismissed by the bowler, which is why I don't like the number of dismissals stat on its own.
Benjamin Conkey
Editor
That 1999 series was insane. He single-handedly carried the West Indies after they were humiliated and bowled out for 50-odd in the first test.
JGK
Roar Guru
Yep - Lara scored over 40% of his total team runs in that series.
Joel
Roar Rookie
I recall Lara hitting 6 fours off one Andy Bichel over..
Joel
Roar Rookie
I remember the test match where McGrath hit Laxman with a bouncer and damaged his helmet (Sydney maybe?). Not the best decision though, he belted the aussie around the park after that. Really good player to watch when he was in form.