..out there on the cricket field.
It doesn’t necassarily have to be your ‘favorite’ player, one that’s grabbing all the headlines or who you admire. Although it can still be all 3 of the above.
I’m asking about the player whose game you really find urself either adjusting to, learning from and which has helped you out there in the middle.
I used to to always look at Ian Healy and Rashid Latif as a keeper for tips, pointers and approach. Later on, I found Healy's better-safe-than-sorry unorthodox style too boring and Latif was no longer a part of the squad. That's when I really started to admire Ryan Campbell's (Western Australia) game and his 'all-guns-blazing' approach to the game. If it was by watching Healy's takes standing up to Warnie's spells that taught me the basics, it was Latif's and Campbell's style and committment that taught me so much more.
I used to come in at 5 or 6 to bat in my younger days, and at that time it was all about following Michael Slater's game (even though he opened). It was a heads-on approach, do or die. Gradually after going up the order to open or come at 1 down, I took to Greg Blewett and Imran Nazir (for my off-side game) and Ricky Ponting (for leg-side).
I'm not a regular bowler any more, but when I did, it was Waqar and Darren Gough that I tried to emulate in my runups. (It worked sometimes, getting the wickets but getting blasted in the slog overs, lol)
Interesting topic!
In my early teen years, I used to copy Javed Miandad's batting style. I had a very On-side stance like him. Used to nudge the ball around for cheeky singles. Later on, I watched more of the aggressive batsmen such as Michael Slater, Adam Gilchrist, Saeed Anwar and Sachin Tendulkar. I love the way Michael Slater plays but I am too much of a wicket protector to play like him. SO basically, I wait for the lose balls and play a lot like Steve Waugh. I would be happy if I am 10% of Steve Waugh.
In bowling, it used to be Imran Khan. Same open chested jump at the crease. Although I was taking wickets but I was giving away lots of runs. Then I started watching Wasim Akram & Glen McGrath closely and finally decided on bowling ONLY off-stump line. It's a lot easier to copy McGrath than Akram since I am a right arm bowler. It has done wonders for my economy rate. I average around 3 runs per over in the entire season. Although my number of wickets per match has been hurt.
In fielding, I love to copy Javed Miandad. Move in very fast witht he bowler's run-up and good pick n throw.
I used to follow Imran Khan’s action, the open chest jump.. but just as funguy pointed out, you can give away a lot of runs in that action. Now, its more like the tradition Botham-style action, which, to me, gives better control over ball-delivery and more accuracy on where I want to pitch the ball.
In batting, I used to have the back lift of Zaheer Abbas and Graham Gooch, and thats why the ball sometimes sneaked in from below the bat. Always so irritating. 
Now, its more traditional style of playing on the front foot and playing either in the V or on the off-side.
I used to have a side-on stance in my early days as well. But our school coach kept emphasizing to watch your off-stump and let the bat flow in drives on balls that didn’t swing going on off and moving away. As a reuslt, even the rubbish balls were providing catches in the slips/gully area becoz I was practically looking directly at long off-and almost mid-wicket while facing the bowler, and the follow-through of the bat on the up provided a natural angle to make the ball take a thick edge to catcher’s hands in that region.
I was actually penalized for getting too flashy outside off-stump when first promoted up the order. As it was Slates running through my mind at the crease. Anyway, after sitting out some games I started controlling myself by having a bit of a bat in the nets (or behind the trees in the park) to let all my Slater-wannabe daydreams out of the system. It took a while to adapt to, but I eventually controlled my urges to slap anything with width through cover or behind point.
Studying McGrath, and to some extent Wasim, is a real good way of disciplinging one’s line outside off as a bowler. :k:
lol Faisal, did you also bend your knees the funny way high-backlift bats like Gooch and Sohail did? 
I normally bowl with a Side-on action and my friends tell me that my action looks like Kapil's style. But I dont have a good outswinger like him and I pretty much rely on line and length. Because of the good line I have been able to contain batsmen and take wickets too. In my team I am normally the first change bowler and normallly have a economy rate of 3-4. I have been pretty successful with my bowling style and end up taking 2-3 (on an avg) wickets in every game.
Fielding wise I am a close-in fielder and being an ambidextrous helps me a lot. I try to emulate my Guru Azhar :) but I am not very confident in taking catches :( and that pisses my friends off. otherwise I am a pretty good fielder. I hate being in Slip and love fielding in covers :).
Batting ka to mat pucho - I normally bat right handed but switch to left handed when I have to stick to wicket or when I am not able to score runs, I prefer using a very heavy bat. So you can guess how good I am as a batsman.
Nah.. not the knee thing. It looks kinda nervous-like to me. Mine was more like standing straight with the bat horizontal, like base ball. Its an aggressive style, but if the bowler bowls a lot of yorkers, that style can be quite fatal. 
So, no more.
Fielding wise, I prefer to hide away in deep point. Very few batsmen can play decent square cuts. Thats why
I bat like Hanif and bowl like Saeed. Kar lo jo karna hai. 
Arey Samb bhai aap ka koi kya bighaar sakta hai. Waise aapas kee baat hai meri batting Sami jaise aur bowling Inzimam jaisee.
I loved and emulated Damien Fleming's (Aus) perfect and rythematic outswing action.
However i couldnt get the outswing going like him. Inswing is my natural thing.
Nice thread
Well i have played cricket at a higher level and i always liked wicketkeeping. I was stuck to the wicketkeeping job since my early days and initially Saleem Yousuf was my ideal. God, he was gem of a wicket keeper, i rate him alongside Rashid Latif in natural wicketkeeping talent. Those two are the most stylish wicketkeepers i have witnessed, Ian healy was no doubt a champ in that dept too But Rashid was the one whom i emulated while keeping.
I never bolwed with hard ball except for nets and i used to try a bit of Waqar younis low trajectry style and believe me i possess a good yorker which is evident when i play with tape ball 
Let me get this straight, are you a ‘he’ or a ‘she’? Ive seen some guppies call you saby baji in the other forums, so I was confused…
Asif_K, Azhar probably had the safest hands in cricket, that man never let anything go!
THe Iceman-George Gervin
haha
on a more serious note back in the days when I was a young lad, I used to steal singles and run hard. never had any sense of style as a batsman.
as bowler, I used to be a mixture of McGrath/Azhar Mehmood. now I’m just bad.
sighs o yaar spock, that ‘baji’ thing is not true, its just some friend, teasing me coz of a extremely tiny bit of feminity my nick has. 
You have talked to me several times, tu buss kya masla hai
What a great topic.
Ever since 99 WC, I have always wanted to imitate Shoaib Akhtar. With a mile long runup with hands facing the ground leaving no gaps between arms and my body, running towards the wicket as fastest as I can, but my deliveries are no where as fast as Shoaib's.
But people who have seen me bowl say that just in time of my delivery I bowl like Courtney Walsh with a lazy arm action due to me height.
I think immitating someone else only messes up your bowling or batting, you should play the way you feel is comfortable for you.
Since then I have fully adopted Courtney Walsh shtyle of bowling and it has worked wonders for me.
^ Walsh was a greater bowler than Shoaib will ever be (with his current approach). Most batsmen of the 80's-90's have rated him one of the toughest bowlers they had faced in their careers. Good to hear you figured it out and are going with what suits your own game rather than the flashy media lights.
Most young bowlers have yet to get this through their heads. Shoaib is good inspiration adrenaline-wise etc., but a terrible model to adhere to learn the technicalities of the game.
Definitly without any doubts.
Walsh is thousand light years ahead of Shoaib but SHoaib definitly has the potential to be the best.
I was reading an article on cricinfo by Dennis Lillee about Lee being the perfect speciman of a fast bowler.
You actually have to have natural talent to be a super fast bowler like Lee, and those who don't have natural talent and try to be fast by just using their raw strength like Shoaib are occupied with injuries all the time.
Which I think makes quite sense.
My bad yar, I knew you were a ‘he’… Its just those cafe posters that confused me.