Everyday I will list my top 100 cricketers in the history of cricket.
PLease be critical but not harsh, since this is my list.
100.) Lance Klusener
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Few would figure Lance Klusener to be a No. 11, but that’s where he batted after breaking into first-class cricket as a fast bowler. A childhood spent among Zulu children on a sugar-cane farm and three years in the army contributed to a straightforward approach to bowling: hit the batsman’s head if you can’t hit his stumps. He spent a couple of years bowling just two lengths before a serious ankle injury in 1998 forced him to drop his pace and develop further skills. Around 2000 he began fulfilling the role of second spinner, bowling medium-pace cutters off just six paces that many batsmen find impossible to score from. Few would pencil Klusener in at the top of the order either, especially after his dismal form in West Indies (2000-01) and Australia (2001-02). But as his run of poor form became prolonged he lost his place in the side, and a recall for the 2003 World Cup failed to kick-start his career. His subsequent omission for the 2003 tour of England put his international career in doubt, and led to a bout of legal wrangling. However, after both parties settled their differences, he was recalled for the one-day series against West Indies in 2003-04, kept his place for the following series in New Zealand, and earned a Test recall to the tour of Sri Lanka in 2004. Contrary to his reputation as an unrefined slogger, set in stone at the 1999 World Cup, Klusener is one of the most skilful players in the game - which makes him one of the most adaptable. While his heavy bat sends the ball arcing to all fields, he is introspective by nature and happiest holding a fishing rod. Not talking to the media is another hobby of his, although when he breaks his silence he does so with quiet intelligence and impressive clarity of thought.
Do you plan to copy and paste all the cricinfo profiles of the top 100 players, like you did for Klusener http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/southafrica/content/player/45821.html .
I mean you could provide a list of the top 100 players in a single day. It doesn’t make any sense to copy and paste 1 profile each day from cricinfo
umair_ahmed, just a quick suggestion from my side:
Instead of copying/pasting the data from renowned websites, you can provide a list of all of your Top 100 players (in a single day, of course), and consequently, ask other members of GS to provide a list of their own, hence, adding more spice in the discussion. Everybody can take a look at each of the listings, and provide valuable comments alongwith it, which will turn into a pretty interesting thread to say the least.
A thrusting Jamaican left-hander, Gayle earned himself a black mark on his first senior tour - to England in 2000 - where the new boys were felt to be insufficiently respectful of their elders. But a lack of respect, for opposition bowlers at least, has served Gayle well since then. Tall and imposing at the crease, he loves to carve through the covers off either foot, and has the ability to decimate the figures of even the thriftiest of opening bowlers. In a lean era for West Indian cricket - and fast bowling in particular - Gayle's pugnacious approach has become an attacking weapon in its own right. His 79-ball century at Cape Town in January 2004, on the back of a South African first innings of 532, was typical of his no-holds-barred approach. However, Gayle's good run ended when England came calling early in 2004, and he averaged 26 against their potent pace attack - Steve Harmison, in particular, fancied his chances against Gayle, dismissing him four times in seven innings, as a lack of positive footwork was exposed. But men with little footwork often baffle experts, and after returning to form with an uncharacteristic century against Bangladesh, he exacted his revenge on England's bowlers with a battering not seen since Lara's 400, before coming within a whisker of emulating Lara himself, with a career-best 317 against South Africa in Antigua. He also bowls brisk non-turning offspin, with which he has turned himself into a genuine one-day allrounder.
Mushtaq was not the most talented of the five Mohammad brothers who emigrated from Western India to Karachi, but he scored the most first-class hundreds, more even than Hanif, thanks partly to the greater opportunities he had in county cricket with Northamptonshire. He was also one of the first reverse-sweepers (a stroke he learned from Hanif), and one of the first bat-twirlers at the crease. As a bowler of the legbreak, googly and flipper, he also took more first-class wickets than any of his brothers. Northants were impressed enough to pay him to spend two years in qualifying for them, before instant registration began in 1968. But his age, and his claim to be the youngest Test centurymaker, should be treated with caution. A couple of years may have got lost in emigration.
Batting
class mat inns no runs hs ave bf sr 100 50 6s ct st
Tests 57 100 7 3643 201 39.17 10 19 4 42 0
ODIs 10 9 3 209 55 34.83 353 59.20 0 1 3 0
Bowling
class mat balls runs wkts bbi bbm ave econ sr 4 5 10
Tests 57 5260 2309 79 5/28 9/119 29.22 2.63 66.58 6 3 0
ODIs 10 42 23 0 - - - 3.28 - 0 0 0
Mushtaq Mohammad's nephew (Sadiq Mohammad's son) Salman was a langotia yaar of mine in school from class 6 to 11. Sala woh bhee paidaaishi cricketer tha.. one of the best in school. We used to call him BBC (bhooka b*** ***d) and the name should be self explanatory.
Lotay bhai aik top 100 list aap bhee bana lein, of cricketers with whom you were directly or indirectly related:D . Aik to kaneria ho gya, phir mushtaq Mohammad ka nephew ho gya:p .
