Muttiah Muralitharan has recently revealed a list of the ten batsmen whom he found most difficult to bowl to. It's surprising to see 2 Englishmen figure in such a list! And yes, this confirms (once again) that Navjot Singh Sidhu was one of the finest players of spin bowling there has ever been... even Shane Warne acknowledges the craft of Sidhu against the slower men!
So, here's the list (with their average and no. of dismissals against Murali in Test cricket):
1. Brian Lara (West Indies)
2. Mohammad Azharuddin (India)
3. Sachin Tendulkar (India)
4. Navjot Singh Sidhu (India)
5. Saleem Malik (Pakistan)
6. Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pakistan)
7. Andy Flower (Zimbabwe)
8. Graham Thorpe (England)
9. John Crawley (England)
10. Hansie Cronje (South Africa)
I was surprised to see Hansie Cronje in the list, and not his more illustrious teammate against spin bowling... Jacques Kallis! I have a feeling that had Murali's career been a little longer, he might have then even considered putting Hashim Amla somewhere on that list!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
SAVE OUR TIGER!
4 comments:
gud jaju
how about Sehwag? Think he really has played Murali well..
You are right, namya! Sehwag did play Murali well... but again, it's Murali's list!
I think with a player like Sehwag, Murali always thought he was in with a chance. No one can deny that Sehwag does give the opposition a chance more often than other top-order batsmen. This always kept bowlers like Murali in the game. I guess that is why Sehwag slipped out of the list!
I think Thorpe's selection doesn't look bad as he played vital knocks in Lanka in 01. In-fact if not for Thorpe instead of winning 2-1 England would have lost 3-0.
Crawley played well in one innings on a turning wicket at Oval but it is a surprise on the basis of one innings he picked him.
Cronje bludgeoned his way to success in a few series but is that enough?
The most underrated is perhaps Warne's bunny Cullinan as he consistently did well in Lanka and at home against Murali.
Post a Comment