By Tapan Joshi and Anjali Doshi
Mumbai, July 15, 2003
Between 1990 and 2003, the cricket record books were re-written many a time. Old landmarks made way for the new benchmarks, fading greats stepped down to welcome the stars who would go on to dazzle the world with their brilliance.
Then there were the raw youngsters of the 1980s who blossomed into great cricketers… players who would walk into any team of any era. An idea to put down five greatest bowlers and batsmen between 1990 and 2003 occurred after a lively debate in the CricketNext.com newsroom.
As usual, there were arguments and objections, there were personal choices and dislikes. The criteria decided was to omit those who were coming to an end of their careers by 1990, and that’s why the likes of Sir Vivian Richards, Imran Khan, Graham Gooch, Sir Richard Hadlee and India’s very own Kapil Dev only to name a few were not considered for selection even though they retired from international cricket after 1990. We have taken into account only those players who reached the peak of their careers between 1990 and 2003.
There are many outstanding players like Inzamam ul-Haq, Mohammed Azharuddin, Mark Waugh, Adam Gilchrist or ten-on-ten Anil Kumble, who have missed out. Those who are not included in this list have been great servants of their countries, but the main criteria, as mentioned before, is the players should be able to make it to any team in the world in any era. And we think these players listed below fulfil that.
CRICKETNEXT.COM’S FIVE GREATEST BOWLERS BETWEEN 1990 AND 2003
Curtly Ambrose
CURTLY AMBROSE: Menacing, intimidating, and a great, great bowler. He would have walked into the great West Indies team of the 1980s. Ambrose rarely sledged a batsman, simply because he never needed to. He had quite a temper, but it was for his sublime bowling skills that he will be remembered forever. He has ran through many a batting line-up, he has destroyed quite a few reputations and he was responsible for keeping the Windies on top till mid 1990s. As a bowler, he was almost complete. He used his height to generate awkward bounce, he had great pace and could cut the ball viciously both ways and more importantly, he never wavered from his chosen line or length. Ambrose had a mean bouncer but he used it intelligently. Truly, one of the greats of any era.
Wasim Akram
WASIM AKRAM: Hailed as the greatest left-arm fast bowler to play the game, Akram has a staggering 900-plus international wickets to his credit. At various stages in his career, he was plagued by injuries, match fixing allegations, diabetes, player revolts and the wrath of the Pakistan Cricket Board administrators. Had he enjoyed a smoother run in his career, Akram would have emerged as the highest wicket-taker in both forms of the game.
Akram had a complete command over a cricket ball. He could pitch it where he wanted, he could swing it as he pleased, and he could bowl brilliant yorkers at a great pace. He was the master of the cricket ball, the ball would obey whatever Akram wished. Ask any batsman between 1990 and 2003 to pick the five best bowlers he has played and Akram would figure in all of them.
Shane Warne
SHANE WARNE: The wizard of Oz who invigorated the art of leg-spin bowling. Warne came on the scene at a time when captains depended more or less completely on their pace bowlers to win them matches with the exception of dust bowls of India. With just one ball, his very first in the Ashes, Warne mesmerized batsman Mike Gatting, the cricket aficionados and the layman. Here was a flashy lad from Down Under giving it a real rip and having a time of his life. The super star had arrived.
Warne went on to earn, quite rightly, the tag of the greatest leg-spinner to have ever graced the grounds. Controversies and injuries have put his career back a bit, but controversies especially have, we feel, added to his aura.
Muthiah Muralitharan
MUTHIAH MURALITHARAN: The most vicious spinner of the ball the game has seen. Murali’s greatness will always be questioned because of doubts over his action. But as far as we are concerned, he is cleared by the International Cricket Council, and he has played cricket all around the globe. Whether he ‘chucks’ or not is not for us to decide. Murali is a match-winner in any form of the game, and no batsman with the exception of Brian Lara has really dominated him, including those from India who play spin best. He has added great variety to his bowling and is now a complete tweaker. His wicket-taking rate is mind-boggling as his statistics show.
Waqar Younis
WAQAR YOUNIS: Between 1992 and 1998, Waqar Younis was the most complete fast bowler in the game. He was arguably the fastest bowler in the world then, he had perfected the art of reverse swing, and he was feared because he ‘Waqared’ batsmen by breaking their toes with crushing yorkers. In fact, so scared were the Englishmen of Waqar’s yorkers that various theories were being worked out to prevent their batsmen from ending up in hospital with broken toes.
Glenn McGrath and Allan Donald were very much at the back of our minds for the fifth spot but Waqar was more skilful. He was faster, he swung the ball more and he was more difficult to face. A batsman, given a choice of facing either Waqar or McGrath in their prime would, in all probability, opt to play the later.
CRICKETNEXT.COM’S FIVE GREATEST BATSMEN BETWEEN 1990 AND 2003
Brian Lara
BRIAN LARA: He is the highest scorer in one innings in both Tests and first-class cricket, and is ensured of a place in cricket’s Hall of Fame. But that is not the only thing about Brian Charles Lara. When in mood and form, Lara is streets ahead of his contemporaries, and that includes Sachin Tendulkar. Lara is a bigger match-winner than Tendulkar, he is more flamboyant, and he can tear apart any bowler on any surface. Ask Murali.
Lara has let himself and his admirers down time and again because of his mercurial temperament. But he has rediscovered his appetite for runs and love for the game recently, and when Lara puts his head down and gets into the thick of things, you witness magic.
Sachin Tendulkar
SACHIN TENDULKAR: A great accumulator of records, Tendulkar was acclaimed as closest to Sir Donald Bradman in terms of batting technique by the late wizard himself. We, however, feel he is just one notch below Lara in terms of pure talent and match-winning ability. Tendulkar remains one of the finest batsmen the world has seen, and his amazing temperament and humility has seen him scale peaks ordinary mortal would not even dare dream of.
In spite of attaining God-like status in India, Tendulkar has remained modest and that has helped him in his game. As a batsman, he is a treat to watch when he lets himself go without a worry. His innings against Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup was regarding by many, including this writer, as the greatest one-day innings ever produced. He is indeed cricket’s Harry Potter.
Martin Crowe
MARTIN CROWE: Eyebrows would be raised over the inclusion of the New Zealand batsman in this list, but those who have seen him smash, yes smash and not just play, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis in bowler-friendly New Zealand conditions in the mid-90s would vouch for Crowe’s class. Said Akram after that hiding: “Martin Crowe to my mind is a great, great batsman. Waqar and myself were at the peak of our form, we were reverse swinging the ball tremendously, and he just came out and played us with nonchalance. He was a tremendous batsman.” He was hampered by a knee injury, but he has scored hundreds on one leg. Others may have a more impressive record than Crowe, but when it comes to facing the music in the middle, very few equaled him.
Steve Waugh
STEVE WAUGH: There would be at least 50 batsmen more talented than Stephen Waugh between 1990 and 2003, but then talent alone won’t take you anywhere. Waugh as a batsman and indeed as a cricketer symbolized grit, he represented pride, and he was driven by a passion to overcome all obstacles. Waugh was like a mountaineer who aimed to scale Mount Everest with just one leg.
His own twin Mark, in terms of talent, was streets ahead of ‘Tugga’, but as they say, if you want someone to bat for your life, call out Mr. Steve Waugh.
Matthew Hayden
MATTHEW HAYDEN: A modern great, left-handed Hayden’s career did an about turn when he toured India in 2001. Though his side lost the series, Hayden was mind-boggling. After that, he just went from strength to strength in both forms of the game. He plays spin better than most of the Australians, and he is not bothered about pace. He is easily the best opening bat in the world right now, though we agree it is debatable whether he would have got into any team of any era. We think Hayden would have. In 42 Tests, he has 24 innings of over 50!
I definitly agree with this article, only exception would be Martin Crowe, he was one helluva batsman but his days in the 90s weren’t that special, I would pick someone like McGrath or Gilchrist in there.
