The World Twenty20 is underway and, as befitting this form of cricket, it started with a bang.
The West Indies’ Chris Gayle, he of golden bats, misjudged pitch-side comments and a backlift to strike fear in the heart of any bowler, was the man to deliver, bludgeoning an unbeaten century against an excitable England side.
Gayle is a showman for the ages; perfectly suited to T20s and the life of a journeyman cricketer, he has ditched the noble and historical trade of Test cricket – ostensibly due to a back injury – in favour of the spotlight of lucrative T20 tournaments the world over.
What, though, of those that weren’t so lucky when it came to the timing stakes – players past who would have made quite the spectacle today? Here’s a look at players known (and less well known), who would have had something a bit different to offer to T20 cricket today.
1. Romesh Kaluwitharana (Sri Lanka)
To find batsmen before their time, you don’t have to go that far back before coming across two of Sri Lanka’s finest – pocket rockets Romesh Kaluwitharana and Aravinda de Silva.
De Silva will long be remembered as the more masterful of the two with career stats to match, but Kaluwitharana had an unrivalled ability to build an explosive platform for his team on his day.
With an unorthodox technique akin to the modern day Jos Buttler, Kaluwitharana had no inhibitions about going after the opening bowlers from ball one, a novelty for the one-day game then and the setting of a new standard.
2. Janette Brittin (England)
Some of the finer details of the women’s game pre the T20 era are harder to come by, due to insufficient coverage, but Janette Brittin would without doubt have felt right at home in today’s fast-paced game.
While most of her statistical records have been surpassed by others through the increase in volume of women’s cricket, Brittin’s five ODI centuries came in just 55 matches. Charlotte Edwards, by comparison, achieved the feat in 154 matches and Karen Rolton in 68. Only Meg Lanning, arguably the GOAT of women’s cricket, has done it faster, in 55 matches.
3. Martin Crowe (New Zealand)
The death of Martin Crowe earlier this month saw an outpouring of love and affection across social media, interspersed with a number of tributes hailing him as the forerunner of T20 cricket.
Former New Zealand fast bowler Iain O’Brien tweeted, “T20 has Martin Crowe to thank”. Crowe batted by instinct and it was his presence at the crease that many spoke about in keeping him a step ahead of the rest of the pack.
T20 cricket is a game which runs off confidence and momentum and Crowe would have had it in bounds. Interestingly, he wrote after his playing days of his dislike for premeditative shots, a staple of today’s T20s.
4. Javed Miandad (Pakistan)
Miandad has made quite a post-playing career of critiquing Pakistan’s current crop of short-form players and igniting debate everywhere he goes, but back in the day he let his bat do the talking. He enjoyed nothing more than taking it to the old enemy, with his average against India, of 51, far greater than his 41 against all nations. Miandad was a big game player.
Miandad wasn’t just a conventional big striker of the ball either, his style of play emphasised the importance of small margins with aggressive running between wickets and astute shot placement. With games often coming down to the wire in modern T20s, it was those small margins that would have made the difference.
5. Mushtaq Mohammad (Pakistan)
Mohammad only played in ten ODIs as this form of the game was only introduced fairly late into his career (Mohammad’s first ODI was only the fifth recorded match of this format), so there’s not much to glean from his stats.
What is well established, however, is that Mohammad was the first to use the reverse sweep on the international stage – a shot he claimed he’d seen his older brother and fellow international, Hanif Mohammad, play first. It wasn’t just his batting that brought out variety either, he was a prolific wicket-taker too, which he achieved through a mix of leg breaks, googlies and flippers thrown into his repertoire.
6. Kapil Dev (India)
No golden generation cricket team is complete without this showstopper. Dev’s ODI strike rate with the bat of 95 was one of the greatest at the time and his economy with the ball of 3.71 was also among the best. He also took the most ODI wickets for any player retiring before the turn of the century.
Dev was one of the greatest all-rounders ever to grace the game. With his bowling in particular, Dev’s yorkers – his trademark delivery late in the game – would have been the perfect offering to close out any T20.
7. Ian Smith (wk) (New Zealand)
Nowadays it seems a prerequisite of becoming a cricket commentator that you are able to talk of your greatest cricketing achievements more so than you do the match in hand. In Smith, we have the perfect example.
Still, his anecdotes don’t make for dull listening. Smith was a late order batsman and the kind of player you’d wheel out to smash a few sixes in the dying overs. While his strike rate in ODIs was 99, his one in Tests of 63 wasn’t that far behind. His highest Test score of 173 against India included one over in which he cracked 24 runs. Bish bash bosh.
8. Bernard Bosanquet (England)
The googly has another far less used term – the ‘Bosie’, named after its inventor, Bernard Bosanquet. Eton and Oxford-educated Bosanquet is another, albeit completely contrasting, pioneer in our squad to sit alongside Mushtaq Mohammad.
Bosanquet’s development of the googly was accomplished through a real trial and error method, as he introduced it first into minor league matches before using it for Middlesex, his county, and then in Tests, to great effect. Just as the wrong ‘un and all sorts of variations form the cornerstone of T20 spin-bowling attacks the world over, Bosanquet would have had a repertoire to rival them all.
9. Lyn Fullston (Australia)
Fullston, a slow left-arm orthodox bowler during the Eighties, a period in which Australia’s women were dominant in world cricket, took 73 wickets in 41 matches, the most of anyone before the turn of the century. A dual international – she represented Australia in netball too – her athleticism and handy capability with the bat would have made her the perfect fit in any T20 side today.
10. Joel Garner (West Indies)
When it comes to fast bowlers of eras past, any one of the mighty West Indians of the ’80s would have been a force to contend with – Michael Holding, Curtly Ambrose, Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall – you name them.
Garner, however, stood a cut above the rest. Bowling faster than 145km/h and with an economy in ODIs of just 3.09, Garner destroyed batting line-ups the world over. Add to that a pinpoint accurate yorker, at that speed, and Garner would have lit up T20 tournaments the world over.
11. Jeff Thomson (Australia)
If Thomson’s Allan Border medal speech was anything to go by, Thomson was quite a character both on and off the pitch. A reckless tearaway bowler, he’s probably not someone you’d want to tie down an attack, but to get the key wickets and get ’em quick, he’s your man.
Plus Thomson would have a good chat to the batsman after every delivery to tell them what he thought – the perfect showman for the game’s showpiece. If Shaun Tait is ‘The Wild Thing’, Thomson would have been raised by a pack of wolves.
Super-sub: Alan Dawson (South Africa)
A left-field maverick pick but Dawson deserves a mention. An international cricketer with two Test caps and 19 ODIs to his name, he was a decent first-class swing bowler. Nothing to write home about perhaps, but he’s in the squad for his batting, and for one stat in particular.
At the turn of the millennium, Dawson held the unlikely status of being the only man to have a strike rate of 200 in ODIs. In just his first outing with the bat the tall South African hit a six soon after he entered the crease in his side’s penultimate over against a strong Indian side. It came as part of a cameo that lasted three balls and three minutes, and helped South Africa win the final of the LG Cup, a four team ODI tournament in Kenya in October 1999. Short and sweet, T20-style. The finisher.
Dawson didn’t play again until 2001, played only a handful of international matches, and the strike rate comes off the back of one innings and three appearances, but hell, the record is his.
moaman
Roar Guru
Wal;Wow! 1st time I have seen that footage--and got lost in it.Incredible innings.Was very entertaining hearing the evolving tone of the English commentary team too ;-) As a footnote;Did you notice who was acting as a runner for the injured Cairns? :-)
Alec
Guest
I think we're all missing a big one here... Lance Klusener. Changed power hitting in 1999 and was a very very capable bowler of yorkers and slower balls, would've been perfect for T20
BrainsTrust
Guest
In the past you had one day internationals for the big hitters, but running between the wickets and fielding is more important in one days Still being a one day specialist did not make you much of a cricketer in those days. Most of the players mentioned above were stars, the obscure ones you mention make little sense though. The blokes who really missed out are the bigger heavier blokes who could hit big. Adrian Kuiper for example could have been big in T20 and he is a nobody otherwise. Shane Lee he would have been a T20 star and would not have retired so early. Duleep Mendis another big hitter who was weighed down by the flab when he got older, could have played on till he was 40 in T20. Greg Ritchie another could have added years to his career with T20. Merv Hughes he became a usefull big hitter at the end of his career another one who would have played on. In terms of the women Zoe Goss hit a six I think without the boundary ropes , maybe it was at the SCG.
Bakkies
Guest
I would pick Mark Waugh over Dean Jones. Just as good in the field, versatile bowler, adaptable with batting positions and ability to hit over the top with the fielding restrictions.
Bakkies
Guest
David Hookes
Bakkies
Guest
Wasim Akram
Matth
Guest
Simon O'Donnell!!
Wal
Roar Guru
Or Michael Bevan another who won plenty of ODI's by doing the basics 100% right
Wal
Roar Guru
Dean Jones a brilliant choice he could take singles from just about impossible positions. Always keep the pressure on the fielding team
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
Great premise - very entertaining, and thought-provoking. I can't go past Dean Jones, personally.
Wal
Roar Guru
The highly underrated Nathan Astle, WR fastest 200 What makes it amazing is that it took him only 39 balls to move from 100 to 200. Saw him live a few times and when he got going there have few more destructive batsmen. Worth a watch https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi214Lx59DLAhVi3KYKHalmCGkQtwIIPjAF&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dv3pujVy88FM&usg=AFQjCNFtv5lq4xo2eXNW35IAfwXUyaI21w&sig2=8k93rqJzv5bpzU42SZJoGA&bvm=bv.117218890,d.dGY
Julian King
Roar Guru
Thommo, by his own admission, would have been a T20 natural. Someone who can bowl fast swinging yorkers are worth their weight in gold.
jarijari
Guest
The Sportsman 1906 James Mackay is without doubt one of the finest batsmen we have ever produced; he takes rank with Murdoch, Trumper and Noble. His record since 1895 has been one long list of batting triumphs. Mackay's performances last season in first-class cricket for NSW were extraordinary. Since the inception of our interstate games in 1856, his doings have not been approached. His first-class record was 203, 90, 194, 105, 102 not out, 4, 136, 18, 50, and his club record for Burwood 68, 204, 121no, 147no, 27, 17, 0, 61, 14, 102, 156no, 158no and 69 (total 2064, average 114.66). The Referee 1914 As a batsman, James Mackay was one of the best Australia has developed. If he had had the advantage of a tour in England, he would have won a reputation with the bat greater even than that of Victor Trumper. He was taller than Trumper, possessed most of Trumper's strokes, and while he did not equal Trumper in bewitching grace, he was one of the most charming and brilliant batsmen to behold. Like Ranjitsinhji, who was nature's batsman, devoid of mannerisms of any kind at the wickets. He was more orthodox than Trumper, and, therefore less risky and less likely to fall in the early part of an innings. He would probably not have surpassed Trumper on bowlers' wickets, but on wickets ordinarily good, if he had remained allied to Australian cricket, his deeds would have stirred the world of cricket from one end to the other. Truth 1937 By Yabba, world-famous cricket fan Those people who think modern cricketers are the only ones who have ever been in squabbles and have had a rough spin should consider the crucifixion of Sunny Jim Mackay, New England's pride. He was well-named, Sunny. He was always smiling. I used to have him convulsed at matches, laughing at what we yelled over the fence. He was a product of Uralla. I think that in five seasons he was only out about four times. One season his average was over 200, another it was over 150. and in another he had the phenomenal average of about 300. Truth was a great rooter for Sunny Jim. We had to thank Truth for getting him down to Sydney. He played for Burwood. Now we come to the story of how he achieved what is everyone's ambition — a feat that is classed among the greatest in cricket — a century in each innings of an interstate match. Sunny Jim was the first Australian ever to do It. NSW were playing South Australia at the SCG. Sunny Jim had made a magnificent century, about 105 If memory serves, In the first innings. In the second innings NSW was left with under 200 runs to win. Jim was one of the openers, but lost his partner with about 60 on the board. In came MA Noble. He started off pretty brilliantly, getting about 20 runs in two overs. I must have got a brainwave, for I shouted out: "Let him get his century Mary Ann." With about 60 to go Sunny Jim needed 50, competing against byes, wides, no-balls, and MA Noble. Well, Noble cottoned on. He went right back into his shell, and let Sunny Jim do all the scoring. To the delight of the Hill, Jim swished at everything. One stroke Noble made — a defensive shot to a fast ball — was snicked between his wicket and legs to fine leg. As Joe Darling, who was fielding at short square leg, turned to chase the ball, Noble jumped up and down on his crease and threw his bat on the ground in disgust thinking it was a four. Darling, who was not in the know, raced to the fence accompanied by loud yells and applause, and brilliantly saved it with his foot. He picked the ball up to get the shock of his life. Noble was politely chatting with the keeper. While the crowd roared laughing, Darling threw the ball down In disgust. I think Noble did snick a four, and sundries crept up until with a run to go Mackay had to hit a four for his century. Needless to say he did it. It was almost a six, and his innings finished on 102 not out. What a reception he got, and also Noble, for without him Sunny Jim would never have made it. Then came the tragedy. After a record like this, no one could have dreamt that the so and so selectors would omit him from the team for England. Yet they did. In those days many hard things were said about the treatment received by young players. That year the Board of Control was formed after manv wordy fights. To cut a long story short, that didn't save Sunny Jim. He received an offer from South Africa and went. He was received with open arms. He met with a tragic motorcycle accident and was practically blinded. The world lost a cricketer most people reckoned next alone to immortal Victor Trumper. Jim was as great a batsman as a sportsman. Wikipedia Mackay moved to South Africa where, while working at a diamond mine, he scored 247 runs at 35.28 for Transvaal in 1906-07 and was only left out of the South African team to tour England in 1907 because it was felt that he had not spent long enough in the country. His eyesight was damaged when a motorbike knocked him down and his brief but dazzling career was cut short. Mackay moved back to Sydney and tried to regain his place in the New South Wales side but his injury was too debilitating and he was forced to retire. In just 20 first class matches from 1902-03 to 1906-07, he had scored 1556 runs at 50.19 with six hundreds and seven fifties. He worked on farms in in the New England region and died in Walcha in 1953.
jarijari
Guest
Great stuff Isabelle Here's a few batting partners Graeme Pollock, Barry Richards Viv Richards, Roy Fredericks Keith Miller, Arthur Morris Ian Smith, Lance Cairns Victor Trumper, Sunny Jim Mackay Denis Compton, Bill Edrich Stan McCabe, D G Bradman
Isabelle Westbury
Expert
Love some of these lists! There are some great names and defo a few would have been a bit more obvious in the line-up, but intention here was to factor in a mixture of raw talent and skill (Dev), with a bit of innovation (Bosanquet et al.), as well as something completely different (Dawson)...
Camo McD
Roar Guru
A team of guys not necessarily champions but I reckon would've been awesome in T20. Phil Simmons Mark Greatbatch David Gower Carl Hooper Adrian Kuiper Jonty Rhodes Simon O'Donnell Moin Khan Pat Symcox Brett Schultz Geoff Allott
Matth
Guest
Saed Anwar (apologies for the spelling). He could really go when the mood took him.
Matth
Guest
A few more Richie Benaud - hard hitting batsman and excellent spin bowler. And an excellent tactician. He would be valuable. Jack Gregory (I hope I have that name right). Superb hard hitting all rounder from the early days. Bill O'Reilly, the most accurate leg spinner of all time. For fielding, Johnty Rhodes, Gus Logie, Roger Harper.
Matth
Guest
Mike Proctor and Lance Cairns! Excellent choices.
Trebla
Guest
What about the great Pakistanis? Zaheer Abbas, Asif Iqbal and that team in the late 70s.