Was There A Better Batsman To Watch Than VVS?

[hawkeye]

Happy Birthday VVS.

The only other batsman to have so captured my imagination was Viv Richards. As wide-eyed schoolboys, my friend and I reveled in his ruthless destruction of bowlers the world over, whether it was Jeff Thomson slinging them down at a hundred miles per hour, or the flight, spin and guile of Bishen Bedi.

Laxman was a different specie of batsman, and I was drawn to him for totally different reasons. With him it was the measured ease, the near-faultless precision, the well-lubricated wrists.

There was a vulnerability about him that sometimes left you exasperated. But then you had to accept it as part and parcel of an overall excellent package. I remember staying up late one night to watch him play in New Zealand, only to go sullenly to sleep when he got out early, bowled trying to wrist a straight ball to leg. I then had to chide myself in the morning when I contemplated that the same shot often elicited cries of delight from me as the ball sped to the leg-side boundary. If you’re going to celebrate such an exotic shot, you have to be prepared to accept that the execution will occasionally go awry.

West Indies played India in a test match a few years ago at the Feroz Shah Kotla, if memory serves me right. India were in their second innings, the ball was reversing and Fidel Edwards was getting the ball to tail in wickedly late at high pace. One delivery swung back sharply and breached the nigh-impregnable defences of Rahul Dravid and disturbed his stumps. Laxman was next in and I feared for his wicket. Though he was playing against my team I still wished him some runs; not more than say 40 odd, mind you, but despite always cheering for West Indies I was still partial to being charmed by his batting.

A Tribute To A Very Very Special Batsman

 

[ethybubs]

Viv and Lara would be up there with Laxman as far as stroke playing and tearing apart attacks are concerned but those three are the only ones that stand out to me in that regard.

 

[bigred]

Michael Vaughan

 

[Skater]

Michael Vaughan

Certain shots. A Michael Vaughan cover drive was a thing of beauty, as was a Ricky Ponting on-drive.

 

[Aalay]

Damien Martyn and Rohit Sharma are the two that I can watch all day when they are in full flow. Same goes with a Sachin Tendulkar straight drive and a pull shot form Ricky Ponting.

 

[angryangy]

Yeah Martyn really made it look easy. So many times, he'd play a shot with almost no follow through; almost like a block; but the ball would fly off the bat.

 

[Yuvi.]

One kind of Yuvraj Singh!

 

[lion100lion]

Yes.... Michael Hussey.
Though, wish you a belated happy birthday VVS

 

[VC the slogger]

Stephen Fleming. Just watch some of his knocks on YouTube if you don't believe me.

 

[Bluebagger]

Viv Richards
David Gower
Brian Lara
Adam Gilchrist
Mark Waugh
Damien Martyn
Martin Crowe

There were a number of better batsman to watch in the last 30 or so years than VVS Laxman but he was still really good.

 

[grkrama]

SRT, yuvi when in full flow, another i used to like watching a lot when i was young was nathan astle,

 

[lion100lion]

Those mighty blows from M S Dhoni... Specially, his 183* was a joy to watch...

 

[IceAgeComing]

I found watching Kohli last summer quite a thrill

 

[cricket_icon]

yes, Lara, Tendulkar, Yusuf, Ponting...then again its all subjective

 

[Samuels]

I would argue that VVS looked great in touch but was not consistent/dominating against the teams other than Australia. That said, his ability to bat with the tailenders late in his career was amazing. Something that reminds me of Steve Waugh.

I think Inzi was a genius when it came to playing with cool head. His square drive was unmatchable. I have never seen anyone play that shot better than him. Sir Viv was without the doubt, capable to leave anyone and everyone in awe with his batting. Crowe and Richie Richardson comes to the mind too. Richardson was great but the fact that he played in between the golden years of Viv and Lara did not let people realize how good was he.