Bat For Your Life

Who would you chose to bat for your life, if you could pick any player past or present?

I would have Javed Miandad.

A fierce competitor and very good batsman.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

Don Bradman

Martin Crowe

Rahul Dravid, faced the most balls in Test history. Enough said

Dravid if I wanted to ensure a long survival

Tendulkar if I wanted to go out in style

Chris Gayle if I wanted to live dangerously!

Dravid on a seaming pitch
VVS or Mahela on a 5th day turner

A pre-back trouble Atherton.

Boycott, I can never score no matter how long I'm in the game either.

I'd have Bradman as more than 1 in 3 times he'd manage a century.

If I couldn't have Bradman then Kallis.

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:Boycott, I can never score no matter how long I'm in the game either.

he wouldn't be batting for you though

As Gregers suggested, it depends whether you want to live or survive.

Balancing the two, I would have Gary Sobers facing and John Parkin at the non striker's end.

Shame on anyone over fifty not understanding ....

guildfordbat wrote:As Greggers suggested, it depends whether you want to live or survive.

Balancing the two, I would have Gary Sobers facing and John Parkin at the non striker's end.

Shame on anyone over fifty not understanding ....

How old are you mate?

Shanky - old enough to know you shouldn't ask such questions.

Now what can you tell me about John Parkin's claim to cricketing fame?

guildfordbat wrote:Shanky - old enough to know you shouldn't ask such questions.

Now what can you tell me about John Parkin's claim to cricketing fame?

Couldnt get yu mate.

Bradman. If not, then Steve Waugh.

shankythebiggestengfan wrote:

guildfordbat wrote:Shanky - old enough to know you shouldn't ask such questions.

Now what can you tell me about John Parkin's claim to cricketing fame?

Couldnt get yu mate.

That means he's older than 21

hodge wrote:

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:Boycott, I can never score no matter how long I'm in the game either.

he wouldn't be batting for you though

Are you suggesting he bats for the other side

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:

hodge wrote:

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:Boycott, I can never score no matter how long I'm in the game either.

he wouldn't be batting for you though

Are you suggesting he bats for the other side

Bats for himself

heard that quote over the summer, 'how many times has Boycott played for England? 0, becuse he always played for himself'

guildfordbat wrote:As Gregers suggested, it depends whether you want to live or survive.

Balancing the two, I would have Gary Sobers facing and John Parkin at the non striker's end.

Shame on anyone over fifty not understanding ....

Quiz Question of the Day

I think this thread became understandably overshadowed yesterday by the tragic news of Graham Dilley's death.

I'll therefore ask now - Can anyone say what is John Parkin's claim to cricketing fame?

"Can anyone say what is John Parkin's claim to cricketing fame?"

I'm guessing he was the batsman at the non-strikers end when Sobers hit his 6 sixes of Malcolm Nash.

Dummy - Spot on.

It was the last first class game Parkin played. He left the game to become a bricklayer and is now living in retirement.

I'd go with Sangakkara. I know there are better batsmen but I'm a fan. Also that drive through the off-side is a thing of beauty.

if you really wanted a slow death, dizzy gillespie and matthew hoggard would be in with a shout.

Bradman is dead.

This guy is alive and has a batting average much higher than that of Bradman:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/51874.html

He is waiting to get into your team. Take a chance on him.

Leff - that's an incredible find!

Guildfordbat,

Ganteaume got a chance in the second test after Headley was injured in the first test of that series.

If it was any consolation for him, Gomez who captained the team for the first time in that match never led again.

WI had three skippers in that series - Headley in the first, Gomez in the second, and Goddard for the last two.

WI won the series 2-0, winning the two tests after they left out Ganteaume.

I am not aware of another instance when a player who scored a century in the only inning he played was not picked again.

Not only does Ganteaume have a higher batting average than Bradman, he has liver longer too.... 90 and not out...

Thanks very much for those details, Leff. I like to kid myself that I know a bit about cricket history so I'm both thrilled and embarrassed to say that Andy Ganteaume is a new name to me.

I do recall in my lifetime one other player scoring a test century on debut and never playing test cricket again. That was New Zealand's Rodney Redmond. He scored a century and a fifty in the final match of a test series against Pakistan and was then understandably selected for New Zealand's tour of England in 1973. However, poor form on that tour, at least due in part to problems with his contect lenses, meant he never played a test here although I do recall him playing at least one ODI. Back home, his form worsened further and I don't think he ever came close to another test appearance.

Unlike Ganteaume's case, there were no personalities or political issues involved (as far as I'm aware). Redmond being a ''centurion one cap wonder'' seems far more a case of bad timing and bad luck.

Thanks, Guildfordbat.

I did not know Redmond's story. Just looked up Cricinfo.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/38244.html

Unlucky chap not to get a second chance in a team with notoriously fragile batting line-up.

How about Jonathan Trott if you wanted an English batsman to bat for your life against Mitchell Johnson and his Aussie cohorts.

Thought you may have gone for Mr Boycott, GB?


Regarding Ganteaume. Great average but S Law batted once and scored 54no.
He can bat for me.

Getting back to the main topic,

Ken Barrington should be on everybody's list to bat for your life.

Here is an example:
http://www.howstat.com/cricket/Statistics/Matches/MatchScorecard.asp?MatchCode=0538

So many other instances like this in the his great test career for England.

Don't think to many would argue with Barrington.

Hanif Mohammed is another from that era who could dig in for hours.

Boycott, Dravid, Kallis

Boycott was a selfish player. Barrington was a quintessential Union Jack.