2 yesteryear batsmen who would have wreaked havoc in today’s times

The cricket aficionados have watched the might of West Indies in the 1970s and 80s; witnessed the Australians dominate the world cricket in the 1990s before India took the mantle in the early 2000s. Each era had its own star bowlers and batsmen. But, only a few of them were the best of all time. According to the popular opinion, the two batsmen who played in the 1970s and 80s were superior to most of the players we see today.

Let us discuss both of them.

#2. Vivian Richards

Prince Harry Visits The Caribbean - Day 2

Vivian Richards was macho and suave, both in looks and batting. He made his debut against India in 1974 and announced his arrival with aplomb by scoring 192 not out. His batting style was extravagant and aggressive. Richards was probably the first batsman to look into the eyes of fast bowlers and challenge them to have a go at him. Like Sunil Gavaskar, he never wore a helmet and yet played the pull and hook shots to perfection.

Richards could dispatch a ball from outside the off-stump to square leg for a six and then play an elegant square cut of the same ball. The interviews of most of the fast bowlers like Lillee, Thomson, Imran, Akram, and others show their admiration for him.

He was brutal but never lost the grip of his technique. His duel with Lillee is folklore in the annals of cricket history. All throughout his career, he batted against Thomson, Lillee, Imran, Richard Hadlee, Kapil Dev, Bishan Bedi, and others who were the best in the business. If he played against Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Amir, James Anderson, Kuldeep Yadav, and other such bowlers, he would have scored an obscene amount of runs.

Richards played when the West Indies had batsmen like Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Clive Lloyd, and others. He did not get sufficient time in test cricket and ODIs to display his talent and conviction. One can be sure he would have added a few thousand runs to his batting statistics, had he batted long enough.

#1. Sunil Gavaskar

SUNIL GAVASKAR AGAINST ENGLAND

The ‘Little Master’ was a work of art. People marvelled at his batting similar to the way they looked at the Mona Lisa. The way he stood and took his stance was a sight to behold.

He played every stroke in the books with such grace and manner it felt that someone had translated the words into action on the field. He played the exquisite straight drives, perfect square cuts, and elegant late-cuts. A few YouTube videos show him playing the ‘hook’ and ‘pull’ shots of the bowling of Malcolm Marshall. Kapil Dev once told in an interview Gavaskar bore the entire burden of Indian batting and hence gave up playing these risky shots.

No bowler could dominate him. He faced Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson, Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, Imran Khan, Abdul Qadir, and others with ease and determination. He would have scored more runs if he had to face the bowlers of modern times such as Stuart Broad, Shaun Tait, Shane Warne, Muralidharan, and others who despite being great were no match for the yesteryear bowlers in terms of skills, variations, and consistency.

In those days, bowlers could ball as many bouncers as they liked. The batsmen had less protection as compared to what they have nowadays. Gavaskar played all his matches against Australia, England, Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka, and New Zealand. Except for Sri Lanka, all other teams were established and had an array of strong bowlers. Had he played against Zimbabwe or Bangladesh, he would have scored profusely.

The wickets were uncovered in those times, and hence it was very difficult to bat in the initial 10-15 overs of the day. He was gifted with supreme concentration, which helped him negotiate the fast bowlers with no struggle. Nowadays wickets are covered, and hence the effect of dew and moisture is not considerable. Had he played now, he would have scored a few thousand more runs.