Best Ever West Indian Batsman

Well, I would go for George Headley! I have never seen him bat but from what I have heard and read about him, he seemed like he was a real good batsman. I actually heard some people say he was probably the best after Don.

This is a very tough one but I think you can narrow it down straight away to Viv, Sobers, Lara and Headley (with all due respect  to the others who were very fine players). 

burmesedays has it spot on as usual. I never saw Headley or Sobers play but the former appears to have been a massive talent, whilst Bradman himself said Sober's 254 for the Rest of the World was the finest innings he had ever seen in Australia.

Lara has all the gifts and even now he is the guy who when he really really wants to make a score, he will do it, he is that good.

But for me it would be Richards as well, someone I saw lots of. With Viv it wasn't just the runs he scored, the man had this immense aura about him; the refusal to wear helmet, the swagger out to the middle, chewing the gum, it all just said "okay boys, I'm in charge now".

So, who is your 2nd greatest batter of all time?

ME

I wouldnt rate Hutton anywhere near as highly as Sobers or Richards.

 I was lucky enough to see Sobers in his pomp and the memories of some blistering assaults are still fresh in the memory.   His driving was murderous , the immense shoulder turn coupled with perfect balance had to be seen to be believed - only Lara comes close to the great man. 
     Richards was brutal too , but the 6's over midwicket from balls outside off seemed effortless - the man's power was formidable. Clobber is right though , Richards walk to the middle always caused a stir , he emptied the bars in record time!
      Lara has played some of the most dazzling innings of any player in the history of the game. I've seen him destroy attacks in England and SA. Seeing him despatch Allan Donald to all corners of Centurion Park was a highlight. AD was seriously quick then and Lara smashed him (no other way to describe the assault) time after time through the cover region. Three fielders were stationed there by Cronje and all in a hopeless cause - it was exhilarating , albeit over far too quickly (he made 60).
    George Headley came from a different era and was obviously a wonderful player. Averaging over 60 on uncovered wickets has to show true class and he'd be a star today , that's for sure. Unfortunately there's little footage of the great man , so I cannot compare him to the other three.
 
     Who's the greatest , I won't even try to come up with an answer.  All  are truly brilliant players , but my favourite had to be Sobers.  It wasn't just his batting of course , he was simply the most complete cricketer the world has seen -  pure genius.

    
   

Originally posted by 70_degree_spin Ponting because he's probably going to end up with 50 centuries.

I saw some clips with sobers once and his hitting was very brutal indeed! I saw him make some drives off the back foot. Absolutely astonishing!!

I'd have to say Viv Richards. But Brian Lara has dominated in a time where the West Indies have been not much better than minnows, where Richards was playing in the best 11 in the world.

Sobers was a fantastic player...and another fantastic plaer...and then a third fantastic player. Plus he fielded brilliantly too - has there been a better all-round cricketer? Not that I'm aware of

Also, allrounders often don't make the best captains due to having too much to think about, as we saw from Botham and Flintoff.

Originally posted by Sledger   No doubt CM , his only weakness was in captaincy!  No great shakes there , maybe it had something to do with not understanding that the other ten couldn't perform as he could!

Thats correct Sledge, he would have been a great captain to this Australian team.

I also think his declaration was sporting, he's had so much stick for it but he didn't want to draw a match, he wanted to give the crowd something to watch. He isn't just a great cricketer, he is a showman, a great sportsman, a legend.

Originally posted by daisy77 Originally posted by 70_degree_spin Ponting because he's probably going to end up with 50 centuries. You know Harmison said that Ponting was the best batsman he has ever bowled to.....

He just needs to thank his lucky @rse that he never bowled against Sobers or Richards!!

LOL