My thoughts on who is the greatest batsman

Dear Editor,

I read it long before it came via local press. In fact, the debate has been coeval with the game. It will live on perennially as well.

Who is the greatest batsman?

The three in the mix are Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar and the retired Brian Lara. One can add here Kumar Sangakarra. I have a few comments and I hope for many from our readers.

First, ‘greatest’ can very well be subjective. I like ‘this’ and ‘that’ and so this is my pick. I have heard people glorify Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Javed Miandad. I guess these people forgot Geoffrey Boycott.

For many, greatness is about not getting out. That is indeed one factor. For many, it is about statistics. So the more runs and the better averages the greater is the batsman. However, I like what the great Sir Garfield Sobers opined. He said that you have the ball (bowler) and I have the bat (batsman). Sobers was contemplating all the ‘make it easier’ for the batsmen changes that are now in use.

So a bowler has just one bouncer per over, and the batsman can come out, clad in iron. How about that for a ‘level’ playing field? So for me, ‘greatest’ ended with the rise of the helmet.

My list will be from those who faced fire bear-headed. The likes of Sir Donald Bradman, George Headley, Rohan Kanhai, Garfield Sobers and Sir Vivian Richards all come to mind. In fact the list is quite long.

Many of the present ‘greats’ would not have lasted, or in fact, many would have been dead, if it were not for the ‘saving helmet.’

I really do pity the great bowlers of today. They have been robbed of their greatest weapon- that flying ‘bumper’ (or three per over). Now the current Indian side that just got thrashed by Australia – they were supposed to be great. So how come fast bowling drove fear into them.

The great Sunil Gavaskar made only two centuries against the deadly four-pronged West Indies pace attack. Gavaskar, mind you, long before the helmet, wore a protective ‘skull cap.’ I remember a series when David Gower made the highest England individual score – a mere 90. If it were not for ‘pace like fire,’ I am sure he would have fared better.

For the measure of greatness (Batsmen), I suggest the readings of Imran Khan and Kapil Dev on the men they had to bowl against. I close by saying that I am not a cricketer. I am not a batsman.

But I have no fear of Warne and Muralitharran – without a helmet too. They will get me for a duck. But they cannot hurt me. However, never ask me to face even Chirstopher Barnwell – not even with a helmet. Now ‘without fire,’ true greatness has gone.

Yours truly,

Ramesh Lall