A few good men
These are a few of my favourite non-Indian cricketers.
Australia
Shane Warne - The Sultan of Tweak is one of my favourite cricketers for all time, because of the sheer swagger in the way he plays his cricket. He is the bowling equivalent of
Vivian Richards. The imperfections in his character hold no importance for me. The only imperfection in his cricketing skills is the mental block he has while playing India. As this year's excuse-free failure showed, that mental block persists.
Adam Gilchrist - Destructive batsman, superb keeper, a captain's dream come true. However his recent evangelist ways about walking remind you of a Jehovah's Witness.
Damien Martyn - Great technique combined with good controlled aggression. He's started using his brains more in the last season or so, and is reaping dividends. Martyn is no longer a guy you can snag on some percentage field setting.
Pakistan
Inzamam-ul-Haq - After the retirement of Michael Bevan, I would say Inzy is the best one-day batsman in the world today. Someone day batsmen pace their innings very well, like Tendulkar, Dravid, Jaysuriya, etc. What makes Inzy the best is that he can pace the team's innings brilliantly. If Inzy was in the Asia XI team, I daresay he and Dravid together would have chased that 344. Of course Inzy is great in tests as well, but being a shaky started sometimes leads to runs of poor score. But if you look at test innings with reference to their importance in the game, I claim most of his hundreds would be counted.
Salman Butt - I liked his technique, and his temperament. When people were cursing the Indian team for losing the Kolkatta ODI, I was of the opinion that it was Butt's brilliance that had snatched victory. His century against the mighty Aussies shows the stern stuff he's made off. A guy to watch out for, and destined for great things, if he can keep up his success even 2 seasons later.
Australia
Shane Warne - The Sultan of Tweak is one of my favourite cricketers for all time, because of the sheer swagger in the way he plays his cricket. He is the bowling equivalent of
Vivian Richards. The imperfections in his character hold no importance for me. The only imperfection in his cricketing skills is the mental block he has while playing India. As this year's excuse-free failure showed, that mental block persists.
Adam Gilchrist - Destructive batsman, superb keeper, a captain's dream come true. However his recent evangelist ways about walking remind you of a Jehovah's Witness.
Damien Martyn - Great technique combined with good controlled aggression. He's started using his brains more in the last season or so, and is reaping dividends. Martyn is no longer a guy you can snag on some percentage field setting.
Pakistan
Inzamam-ul-Haq - After the retirement of Michael Bevan, I would say Inzy is the best one-day batsman in the world today. Someone day batsmen pace their innings very well, like Tendulkar, Dravid, Jaysuriya, etc. What makes Inzy the best is that he can pace the team's innings brilliantly. If Inzy was in the Asia XI team, I daresay he and Dravid together would have chased that 344. Of course Inzy is great in tests as well, but being a shaky started sometimes leads to runs of poor score. But if you look at test innings with reference to their importance in the game, I claim most of his hundreds would be counted.
Salman Butt - I liked his technique, and his temperament. When people were cursing the Indian team for losing the Kolkatta ODI, I was of the opinion that it was Butt's brilliance that had snatched victory. His century against the mighty Aussies shows the stern stuff he's made off. A guy to watch out for, and destined for great things, if he can keep up his success even 2 seasons later.
