Hey guys....Since Tendulkar went past lara's record recently, I would like you to pick your best three batsmen of modern era....my pick are as follows...
TESTS:
1.Brian Lara
2Kumar .Sangakkara
3.Mohammad Yousuf
ODIS:
1.Sanath Jayasuriya
2.Adam Gilchrist
3.Ricky Ponting

Your views???

Ricky ponting, test or ODI  without a shadow of doubt.

 I have to add one thing.  3 contemprory best Ricky ponting, Lara and Sachin all have played many test matches and scroed many runs, hundred's and fiftees. The record of Lara , sachin and Ricky are mainly because the longetivity of them. They have played well over 100 test matches. so there is nothing to separate betweeen them. General concensus is whoever play more test matches will end up having more runs and century.

However,  along with the longetivity record lara also have instantaneous records like 27 and 28 runs in an over, or 375, 400 runs in an innnings. Ricky or Sachin doesnot boast such records. So I believe, Lara always had that extra bit of magic. But I believe in time Ponting will surpass all the records of sachin and lara (baring 27, 28 runs in an over and 375 and 400).

no_quiero,

Nice analysis. But what I feel is Lara retired because he was not enjoying his game and Sachin is not retiring becuase he is playing now only for records. I don't think Ricky will play more then two years just to break records like Sachin is doing now.

Just a thought.

Cheers.

thinkgreen...u r right....
sachin and other indians play for only records..whereas other greats like lara...jayasuriya, ponting and gilchrist play for the good of the game....

this is again nepal and india thing,
i know you guys do not want to name sachin coz u hate india.
plz do not put everything like this.
i think sachin is the best.
look at his records in odis and tests,
he is playing more matches because he is still scoring runs..
one more thing  ihave never seen ponting as well behaved as sachin.
sachin is the true gentleman and he is passionate abt cricket.
i always liked his coverdrives and straight drives.
i think he is the best in modern era.

hips don't lie . probably you and I are watching different games. or probably you are ardent sachin fan. nobody is denying his talent. But as far as your statement of he is still scoring runs are concerned I doubt if there is any sort of conviction in his scoring. We are merely chosing who is best on our assumption.

See where he is in the ranking. He is 24th batsman in the world . he has been out of top 20 twice in last two years. except 2 series he has failed  in all the sereies in last 4 years. His recent series average in sri lanka was mere 15. He failed to score total of 100 runs in six innings in sri lanka.  in previous series of only test  against southafrica he had 0, against england in two series  the average  was around 22, and 38 , against sri lanka in the series before the current one average was against just about 30, in the seres against south AFrica a year before it was 27. Against Australia about two and half years ago his average again was below 20 and new zealand it dropped below 20 again.  To be honest he had one great series in Australia amidst of a lot of failure. He had couple of average series against pakistan . If this isnt playing for record than what is.

Guys,

People like Sachin Tendulkar are not so cheap  who just sees or plays for the record. And you think Sachin is not enjoying his cricket?? If you think you guys know cricket, just check his recent ODI and even Test runs to some extent (SL series was an exception), and you will find he has been prolific in 2008 and you guys just blame him...Just a Nepalese mentality. It does not necessarily mean that I like India and Indians...I hate both, but if you are a human, try to be fair and try to learn to praise someone who is good. Being in the cricket for more than 20 years is not a joke, try to fit yourself in his shoes..

Well deserving record Sachin Tendulkar. Lara, no doubt is one of the best player of all times (in Test Cricket), but Sachin is a legend in every form of game. Ponting is really good too. Hussey and Peterson are proving themselves really handy for their team but let them play some more games. Will see..

 

For me :

Test Cricket:

1) Sir Bradman (Looking at his records)

2) Brian Lara

3) Sachin Tendulkar

 

ODI:

1) Sachin Tendulkar

2) Kevin Peterson

3) Ricky Ponting

No Doubt Sachin  is a living legend. But I think he should retire now.

guys,

first of all , sports and the players should be judged fairly irrespective of the nationality,

so just dont be biased , that applies even to u pyari kt

no_quiero,

with due respect to your opinion, i wont totally agree with ya ,

if you consider the life of Sachin, i found it always inspiring for millions of ppl around

the world and he has been a great player in every form of the cricket, and been admired

by his contemps and veterans as well.

watch some documentaries made on his life by ESPN, which reveals he is not only a great

player but also a great person, as judged by his team mates and those on his rival teams.

so, when u judge a person just look at the overall stats, not just point out the downfall days,

i m sure the stats he has put on the boards all those years speak for himself, and we all know

he was the master blaster in his haydays, with his unparalelled flair and techniques of the game.

his imp in indian team is evident by the moral boost of the players and audiences when he is in the

game and never forget that he has shown his best performance against the most dominant team (Aus).

so, may be he is not the greatest of all, but he does not deserve your cheap comments either dude,

i have seen players come and go in this competitive era, but its his outstanding contribution to the

team and the game that keeps him on field,

so please learn to appreciate,

regards,

chyantu

 

 gilchrist
 ponting
jayasuriya

To rate the best batsmen ever, I would go by what the best bowlers say. Listen to Wasim Akram, Imran Khan, Waqar Younis, Shane Warne, Muralitharan, McGrath, Walsh, Ambrose. Somebody needs to read there interviews and put the self possessed/ professed  tag of the best cricket analyst and then make a decision. Warnie put Sachin no 1 in his all time list of 100 great cricketers. While Lara and Ponting made it to top 10. Allan Donald and Glenn McGrath considered Sachin the best batsman they ever bowled to. Wasim Akram, the best left armer ever has same views and Muralitharan gives Lara a little edge over Sachin coz Lara dominated him more often.

When u talk about sports, u got to forget the nations and consider just the sportsman's talent, ability, record, and influence. When people like us make judgements on players like Sachin saying he plays for records, it must put all of us into shame as we haven't scored 1% of what he has scored . I always go by what top bowlers say.

My Favs:

1.Mohammad Azharuddin

2.Mark Waugh

3.Brian Lara

 

But putting my preferences aside, The all time best batsmen are :(after Don retired)

1. Sachin Tendulkar

2. Brian Lara

3.Viv Richards. Period.

And listen, Wisden, the Bible of cricket, rated Sachin as the second best batsman ever in test cricket and the best batsman ever in One dayers. Anybody wants to disagree with Wisden, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Shane Warne, Muralitharan, Allan Donald, Brett Lee, Coutney Walsh, Curtley Ambrose, Waugh Bros, can give themselves a tag of SOUR GRAPE...as who was the best batsman they ever played against or with two names will always pop up : Lara and Sachin. Not just because of their records, but because of their unmatched abilities, there influence which always crossed country lines. Australian and British public always loved to see their team win, but wanted Sachin and Lara score hundreds.

 

I stick to my original choice.

 

http://www.sajha.com/sajha/html/OpenThread.cfm?forum=2&ThreadID=61760

for me

1 Brain lara
2 Yusuf Uhana
3 inzamam ul haq

Inzamaam no doubt was the best Pakistan ever produced besides Saeed Anwar, Zaheer Abbas and Javed Miandaad. But Yusuf Youhana (Mohammad Yousuf since 2005), has a lot to prove. Yes, he hit a purple patch in the year 2007 when he surpassed Viv's record of highest aggregate runs in a calender year. Let me give you a whole bunch of great batsmen of last 50 years, who obviously don't rank along Sachin, Lara, and Viv..but nevertheless are/were far better than Yousuf Youhana (aka Mohammad Yousuf).

Aravinda DeSilva, Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandaad, Saeed Anwar, Azharuddin, Sunil Gavaskar, Gundappa Viswanath, Martin Crowe, Stephen Fleming, Carl Hooper, Desmond Haynes, Gordon Greenidge, Shiv Chanderpaul, Clive Lloyd, Rahul Dravid, Graham Gooch, Mark Waugh, Steve Waugh, Damien Martin, Allan Border, Matt Hayden, Andy Flower, Greg Chappel, Ian Chappel, Dug Walters, Rohan Kanhai, Alwin kalicharan....and so on....

All these players were one of the best in their times. But when it comes to picking the best ever, even the great Don Bradman chose Tendulkar...besides Shane Warne.

Mind you, I am no Tendulkar fan. I waz always an Azhar and Lara fan. I have short of stopped following cricket since Lara retired. But one has to be very objective and respectful to the legends of the game who are widely acknowledged and admired by even their opponents.

Oh I forgot  to say Crish Cain ....from NZ he is great and Sahid Anwar no doubt they are really great player for me,

Prabhat K. just to let you know Mcgrath has said Lara as a better batsman than Sachin. And regarding wisden  it made judgement in 2000 and not in 2008. Wisden themselves has put 3 of Lara's innings in top 15 where lara's 153* ranking as high as 2.  Sachin has none in top 100.

 Ones surpsing thing is if you take out Zimbabwe and Bangladesh out of the record of Lara and sachin, incidentlly both have played same number of tests (sachin playing 2 test more) but Lara has scored staggering 1100 hundred runs more against all other teams (barring zimbabwe and bangla) playing two fewer tests.



Most successsful fast bowler and highest wicket taker of all time amongst fast bowlwer  McGrath said Lara as better batsman.
Most successful spin bowler and Higest wicket taker of all time Murali said Lara as better.

And regarding shane warne thing. Record says lara has played him better than anybody else. Since Shane warne made debut It was lara because of whom Shane was contemplating Retirement during 1999 because lara was brutal to him.  Lara is only batsman because of whom Shane was dropped of the team  only time in his career.  (barring drug scandle)

No queiro bro,

Everything u said is absolutely correct. Honestly for the first time I feel I am going to have discussion with someone who knows facts and figures in depth. Its going to be a joy coz that give me opportunity to learn something more.

Well, Tendulkars career can be best described in two phases. The first phase, which was pre 1999, when he literally butchered bowlers. Post 2000, he changed his game altogether and became more of the accumulator, rather than the attacking batsman he was. He says the team needed him  to play a more responsible role, since there was Sehwag who could score at 5 runs an over. It always puzzles me to see why Sachin doesn't play like he played in 90s.

Yes, none of Sachin's test innings are in Wisden top 100 best test innings while u have 277, 153 n.o., of Lara and a few more.

I have always believed that Lara was surreal, he was GOD. just he was too  moody. He never changed his game. Always attacked, always played his own game. Never ever he let a rookie or a great bowler dominate him.

So if its Lara vs Sachin, Lara is always better for me ...but Im sure u would agree he lost his plot in mid 90s. After he scored that 501 and 375, he went into a steep downfall and only came back in early 2000.

Sachin, in his new Avataar, has been so vulnerable that so often a new comer takes his wickets..which is unbelievable.

But for the whole decade of 90s, ever since he debuted in international cricket, he played magnificiently against any opposition, any ground, any attack. I still feel his 136 against Pak in Chennai test in 98, his 116 in Perth in 91/92 are two of the very special innings that deserves a place in Wisden top 100.

Shane Warne is obviously a better critic than me or you, he is Wisden's top 5 cricketers of the century. When he puts Sachin at no.1, that means he knows what he is saying. When Donald says Sachin was the best he ever bowled to (obviously in early 2000), that makes sense. I have seen both the players grow, I have observed both the players careers. never seen the Don bat, but for sure if Lara had done justice to his talent he would have broken so many records that no one could have ever dreamed of scaling them.

Top cricketers are always divided when they are asked about best batsmen, a lot give edge to Lara while some say Tendulkar is the best. But one thing for sure, they all have both Lara and Sachin in top 2, and nobody ever comes close.

No queiro, before my interest in cricket waned, I think I m so fortunate to have witnessed cricket in an era (90s) that there were 2 of the best batsmen ever (Sachin,Lara), 2 of the best spinners (Warnie, Murali), the best left arm fast bowler ever (Wasim Akram ), Ferocious fast bowler in his early days who literally crushed toes (Waqar), all the Pakistani great batsmen (Inzamaam, Saeed),and some real high voltage cricket in 90s.

Today, cricket doesn't give me a kick. U know what since Damien Martin retired, how many batsmen are there who just catch ur eyes with subtle artistry of their silky strokes, a la Azharuddin or mark Waugh, Gilchrist gone, with Saeed and Inzy and Wasim gone, this Pak team looks a club side, the less said about Bangladesh and Zim, the better, India will have a uphill task when Sachin, Dravid, and laxman retire. Cricket's best era seems to have gone for ever with no genuine fast bowlers like Walsh,Ambrose, Allan Donald left ( Barring Brett Lee).

Well, so lets celebrate the end days of the master Batsmen off our era, Sachin Tendulkar, who along with LARA, gave us so many great memories and great times with their feat on the cricket field.

Prabhat K , your statement of  "Shane Warne is obviously a better critic than me or you, he is Wisden's top 5 cricketers of the century " is false. Shane warne's top 50 is very prejudiced and many expert dont even give it a s**t and said it is just plain rubbish.   Just look at his top 50 ,

Players like tim may,  Jamie Siddons (i never heard of this player), ravi shastri, alec stewart gets in the list.


I am sure Shane warne must have some reason for not including players like  Inzamam Ul haq in the top 50. Do you really believe Inzamam wasnt even top 50 player in his generation? Do you see any logic behind putting Shoaib Akhter well ahead of Alan Donald. Do you really believe batsman like Mark Taylor is better than matthew Hayden and is there any logic behind putting taylor at number 9.

I have only read or heard about Sir Bradman, so for me the best three batsman are:

1) Sachin Tendulkar

2) Brian Lara

3) Ricky Ponting