...is Marcus Trescothick. But I'm not doing a post on him until I've got through his book. My second favourite batsman, however, is Brian Charles Lara of Trinidad and Tobago. Give me anyone - he's the one I'd watch. Yes, Sachin is a better player - technically, in terms of consistency. But hell, we watch these guys for their raw talent above all, and for me, Lara's the best. Easily.
Ah, where do we start? A bit like Asif, he's probably best dealt with in a pure sporting vacuum. Like Asif, there are plenty of stories that suggest that in his prime he certainly knew how good he was, to say the least. Nope, probably not the easiest chap in all the world to get on with.
But then, more than any other batsman in the history of the game, he was responsible for his side's fortunes. He contributed a fifth of the West Indies' runs. Factor in extras and that's almost an absurd proportion. He was his team's only batsman aged 23, when he made a stunning 277*. If he announced himself with that knock, then this innings defined him. It takes some skill to singlehandedly win a Test against anyone, let alone possibly the best Test side of all time. It's the best effort in a fourth innings chase of all time.
Why was he so good? Let's ignore the 'simple' stuff - lightning reactons, a brilliant eye, an ice-cool temperament - and concentrate on technique.
It's extremely unconventional. The MCC style book advises a back-lift about a third the size of his. But actually there's no real reason for that, beside the fact that it's incredibly hard to do. That scything back-lift gives him a huge amount of freedom in his choice of shot. From that starting position, with the bat way above his head, he's in the perfect position to play the ball any way he likes. The ball slightly back of a length is fair game for either the cut or the pull or even, preposterously, the back foot on-drive - it was his choice, a decision that seemed to be made more on inclination than the actual line of the delivery. The bat is coming through from that height at such speed that anything vaguely full can be driven for four, assuming the balance is right. That was what made him extremely hard to set a field to, or to know what line or length to bowl.
Notice though, that despite the back lift, the actual swing itself is completely orthodox, often with a high left elbow and rarely across the line of the ball. You'd think it would make him vulnerable to yorkers, but the speed of his reactions, I guess, compensates for that. It was particularly noticeable in the 2000 series - England had a bloody good set of swing bowlers regularly bringing it back into him, but Lara was very rarely bowled or LBW, because he played with a much straighter bat than the other left handers in the West Indies batting order.
It's a completely natural, uncoached technique - I doubt anyone could really learn it, even if they wanted to, though interestingly he doesn't appear to bat in quite the same way aged 15. Oddly enough, another batsman with an unconventional back-lift was Don Bradman. Like Hashim Amla, he kind of whirled the bat in a circle before bringing it down.
It was even harder for the spinners. Lara was ridiculously fast on his feet. A fraction short and he'd leap back and pull or cut, but if they gave the ball any kind of air at all he'd be down the track and sticking it out of the park before you could say 'Take that Shane.' There wasn't much wrong with this over, and look what happened. It's pure balance, reactions and coordination...Sachin is a marvellous player of spin, but far less instinctive.
We should mention the world records. Yes, Antigua is a particularly flat track. And yes, England's '94 attack wasn't exactly terrifying (though it had knocked over a decent West Indies line up in the previous game). But the 400* is, quite simply, a fitting testament to Lara. Hayden's innings never really felt like a World Record. He was in loco Rex - the King wasn't all that far off retiring, but still he came back to retain his throne. Against Harmison, Hoggard, Jones, Flintoff and *ahem* Richard Dawson.
And there's the 501*. What to say...perhaps it's best summed up by Chris Scott, the Durham wicketkeeper who dropped him early in the innings: 'I suppose he'll go on to get a hundred now.' That's the definition of genius - it never fails to surprise the mere mortals around it.
Ah, where do we start? A bit like Asif, he's probably best dealt with in a pure sporting vacuum. Like Asif, there are plenty of stories that suggest that in his prime he certainly knew how good he was, to say the least. Nope, probably not the easiest chap in all the world to get on with.
But then, more than any other batsman in the history of the game, he was responsible for his side's fortunes. He contributed a fifth of the West Indies' runs. Factor in extras and that's almost an absurd proportion. He was his team's only batsman aged 23, when he made a stunning 277*. If he announced himself with that knock, then this innings defined him. It takes some skill to singlehandedly win a Test against anyone, let alone possibly the best Test side of all time. It's the best effort in a fourth innings chase of all time.
Why was he so good? Let's ignore the 'simple' stuff - lightning reactons, a brilliant eye, an ice-cool temperament - and concentrate on technique.
It's extremely unconventional. The MCC style book advises a back-lift about a third the size of his. But actually there's no real reason for that, beside the fact that it's incredibly hard to do. That scything back-lift gives him a huge amount of freedom in his choice of shot. From that starting position, with the bat way above his head, he's in the perfect position to play the ball any way he likes. The ball slightly back of a length is fair game for either the cut or the pull or even, preposterously, the back foot on-drive - it was his choice, a decision that seemed to be made more on inclination than the actual line of the delivery. The bat is coming through from that height at such speed that anything vaguely full can be driven for four, assuming the balance is right. That was what made him extremely hard to set a field to, or to know what line or length to bowl.
Notice though, that despite the back lift, the actual swing itself is completely orthodox, often with a high left elbow and rarely across the line of the ball. You'd think it would make him vulnerable to yorkers, but the speed of his reactions, I guess, compensates for that. It was particularly noticeable in the 2000 series - England had a bloody good set of swing bowlers regularly bringing it back into him, but Lara was very rarely bowled or LBW, because he played with a much straighter bat than the other left handers in the West Indies batting order.
It's a completely natural, uncoached technique - I doubt anyone could really learn it, even if they wanted to, though interestingly he doesn't appear to bat in quite the same way aged 15. Oddly enough, another batsman with an unconventional back-lift was Don Bradman. Like Hashim Amla, he kind of whirled the bat in a circle before bringing it down.
It was even harder for the spinners. Lara was ridiculously fast on his feet. A fraction short and he'd leap back and pull or cut, but if they gave the ball any kind of air at all he'd be down the track and sticking it out of the park before you could say 'Take that Shane.' There wasn't much wrong with this over, and look what happened. It's pure balance, reactions and coordination...Sachin is a marvellous player of spin, but far less instinctive.
We should mention the world records. Yes, Antigua is a particularly flat track. And yes, England's '94 attack wasn't exactly terrifying (though it had knocked over a decent West Indies line up in the previous game). But the 400* is, quite simply, a fitting testament to Lara. Hayden's innings never really felt like a World Record. He was in loco Rex - the King wasn't all that far off retiring, but still he came back to retain his throne. Against Harmison, Hoggard, Jones, Flintoff and *ahem* Richard Dawson.
And there's the 501*. What to say...perhaps it's best summed up by Chris Scott, the Durham wicketkeeper who dropped him early in the innings: 'I suppose he'll go on to get a hundred now.' That's the definition of genius - it never fails to surprise the mere mortals around it.
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