Other Cricket
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My takes on this:
Smith is absolute class, you have to admire the return to form. Probable pick for an Aussie all time XI.
Root gets the advantage of more tests but in saying that still has to score the runs. Probable pick for an all time England XI.
KW is hamstrung by the lack of tests as I and others have lamented on numerous occasions. Great return but could be higher with more chances. Quite comfortably New Zealand’s best ever batsman albeit with considerably less competition than the other three.
Kohli has fallen off a cliff at this level of cricket, doesn’t belong in this group anymore. A weird thing to say for a guy with 30 test hundreds but his last five years have been barren. Possible pick for an all time Indian XI
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@KiwiPie said in Other Cricket:
The stats that matter
Percentage of 100s per completed test innings and batting average - not even close for the top 2.
Smith 19.9% 56.74
Kane 19.5% 54.88
Kohli 15.2% 46.85
Root 14.1% 50.87Stephen Fleming just left the room…..
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@KiwiPie yep, Smith and Kane are a long way ahead. It's daylight between them and Root, and then even more daylight to Kohli. We are very lucky to have watched Smith and our very own Kane in their prime this past decade.
Of course Smith has a big fat asterisk next to his name for being a dirty cheater
So really King Kane sits on the throne alone in my completely unbiased opinion. -
I think Root is better than Kane.
All fabulous players, though. All the other 3 have higher peaks than Kane IMO. But for an overall career ranking - I would rank Kohli lowest out of the 4 due to not sustaining it long enough compared to the (tough) competition.
Root, albeit handicapping himself for the first 2-thirds or 3-quarters of his career with his crappy conversion rates, has squeaked ahead of Kane IMO, due to better performances against more of the better teams and away from home.
But, if we are talking all 3 formats, and not just tests. Then Kohli re-enters that chat due to his crazy good record across the 3 for a long period of time.
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Kohli's record is weird. He has succeeded in some of the toughest places, but then had struggles in 'easier' situations. I reckon he struggles to focus a bit when the pressure is off, but when under the crunch brings his A game. Pressure Kohli belongs in the 'big four'. Easy Kohli is an entirely unremarkable decent test batter.
