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Mar 2016
8:46am, 3 Mar 2016
13,808 posts
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The Teaboy
RIP Martin Crowe.
Sadly, his death was expected as he'd been extremely ill for a long time.
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Mar 2016
8:48am, 3 Mar 2016
2,333 posts
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Nicholls595
Sad. Good bat
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Mar 2016
8:50am, 3 Mar 2016
11,265 posts
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Wriggling Snake
I saw him score a ton at Lord's mid 1980s
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Mar 2016
9:07am, 3 Mar 2016
2,334 posts
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Nicholls595
Who is the best player we've seen in the flesh?
I'll start with Gary Sobers. I was very young and he was approaching the end of his career. It was Notts versus Derby in the Championship. At Ilkeston, which is now just a park pitch, but back in the 70's must have had a decent square. My dad took us to watch a whole days play, so must have been in the August holidays. Derby batted all day, so I never got to watch Sobers bat, but he bowled a few overs of spin and he prowled around in the field looking like.... well, Gary Sobers.
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Mar 2016
9:30am, 3 Mar 2016
11,270 posts
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Wriggling Snake
I saw Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, I was there when they got 300 odd and won, Viv Richards (got out for sod all), Brian Lara, Michael Slater, Micahel Clark, Graeme Smith, Jaques Kallis, Ponting, Gavaskar, Dravid, Tendulkar, Gooch, Vaughan, Gower and Azharrudhin
bowlers.....hmmm Warne, Harmison was excellent for a couple of years, McGrath, Ambrose, Waqar, Wasim, Walsh, Murali, Donald, I have to say Broad and Anderson now.
I would not want to say, but Lara maybe at Trent Bridge, 150 odd in no time at all, you could not bowl a ball to him, bowler, Warne
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Mar 2016
1:19pm, 3 Mar 2016
3,186 posts
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Ceratonia
Watching Viv Richards, Ian Botham & Joel Garner line up against David Gower for Somerset v Leics in Taunton, while down in the SW during school summer holidays was pretty special.
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Mar 2016
1:58pm, 3 Mar 2016
2,382 posts
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Nicholls595
I saw Ian Botham play once ..... at football. He wasn't very good but he downed 10 pints of lager in the bar, in less than an hour, before getting on the coach and to the best of my knowledge, never visiting Eastwood ever again. (He has since moved on to wine so probably for the best)
ps
He didn't pay for a single one
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Mar 2016
2:11pm, 3 Mar 2016
12,420 posts
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TRO Saracen
I saw Ian Botham play once......at Lord's vs Australia. We were 3 or 4 down in the morning session, but secretly pleased that this gave us a good shout of seeing a big knock from the great man. He was in a ball before lunch, and duly smeared it imperiously to the boundary.
We salivated over lunch at the carnage sure to follow in the afternoon. First (or might have been second) ball after lunch he went after another, and we started to cheer the 6 that was to follow....not spotting the lurking Australian about to pluck the ball out of the air on the boundary rope.
Bastard didn't even apologise.
Couple of hours later we were watching the Aussies bat...:-(
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Mar 2016
2:25pm, 3 Mar 2016
13,823 posts
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The Teaboy
In the flesh, the batsmen that impressed me most were Kallis, KP and Tendulkar. You just felt you'd never get Kallis out unless you got lucky. Sachin had the ability to caress and place the ball at will - no effort. Pietersen had remarkable feet for a big man and saw him put Murali six feet over my head (in the second tier) at Lords.
Bowlers, I think are more difficult to judge in the flesh. I mean, after I had seen him play for one session, you could have convinced me that Saj Mahmood was a world beater...
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Mar 2016
2:31pm, 3 Mar 2016
2,386 posts
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Nicholls595
I know what you mean about bowlers Teaboy. I once sat in a very cold Trent Bridge, watching Chris Lewis bowl in a pre season friendly. I was right behind the bowlers arm and could not understand how any batsmen would ever lay a bat on him. It was swinging in and seaming away, a ferocious pace.
And look how he ended up 
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