Allan Donald Underrated?

[ammark]

Being in Australia without cable tv certainly limits my exposure and grasp of current world cricket. I wouldn't be surprised if the general mood here in Aus tends to underrate overseas players. For instance, I rate the current England team VERY highly, since before the Test series vs BD. But speaking to a few of my friends in Melbourne, it sounds like they dont think highly of the Poms as much.


On-topic: Donald was not underrated when he was playing. That South African team was the best team at the time because of people like Gary Kirsten, Lance Klusener, Shaun Pollock, Allan Donald, Jonty Rhodes, Jacques Kallis et all. Allan Donald broke plenty of flimsy stumps with his 'express' deliveries.

and really nice to see you again, Puck

[Gowza]

Originally Posted by ammark
Being in Australia without cable tv certainly limits my exposure and grasp of current world cricket. I wouldn't be surprised if the general mood here in Aus tends to underrate overseas players. For instance, I rate the current England team VERY highly, since before the Test series vs BD. But speaking to a few of my friends in Melbourne, it sounds like they dont think highly of the Poms as much.


On-topic: Donald was not underrated when he was playing. That South African team was the best team at the time because of people like Gary Kirsten, Lance Klusener, Shaun Pollock, Allan Donald, Jonty Rhodes, Jacques Kallis et all. Allan Donald broke plenty of flimsy stumps with his 'express' deliveries.

and really nice to see you again, Puck

maybe not underrated during his playing time but certainly now he is, when you look at the numbers and what he actually achieved he's right up there in the top 10 all time and arguably the top 5 yet he's not even mentioned when talking about an all time XI or making top 5/10 lists.

[ammark]

Originally Posted by Gowza
maybe not underrated during his playing time but certainly now he is, when you look at the numbers and what he actually achieved he's right up there in the top 10 all time and arguably the top 5 yet he's not even mentioned when talking about an all time XI or making top 5/10 lists.

Sounds like its a matter of him advertising himself to get back in the popularity charts. Maybe he should take up commentating. Frankly when I started understanding and following cricket in the 90s as a 13 year old, I wouldnt have known much about players like Ravi Shastri, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, Tony Greig, or even Michael Holding maybe. Them commentating or being on screen in a match all the time after their retirement brings to the forefront so much of their past. For that matter we dont talk about Colin Cowdrey, Abdul Qadir or Andy Roberts much do we?

[Gowza]

Originally Posted by ammark
Sounds like its a matter of him advertising himself to get back in the popularity charts. Maybe he should take up commentating. Frankly when I started understanding and following cricket in the 90s as a 13 year old, I wouldnt have known much about players like Ravi Shastri, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, Tony Greig, or even Michael Holding maybe. Them commentating or being on screen in a match all the time after their retirement brings to the forefront so much of their past. For that matter we dont talk about Colin Cowdrey, Abdul Qadir or Andy Roberts much do we?

that's true we don't talk about those players much though i'd expect over in the england that cowdrey is talked about more often. but the difference between abdul qadir, andy roberts and even colin cowdrey is that they're stats don't match up with the top echelon of greats, donald's do, not only on a basic level but at an in depth level to.

qadir was one of the great leggies but he's not in the league of other top spinners like warne, murali, o'reilly, grimmett etc. same for cowdrey, isn't at that top echelon, although still a very well respected batsman and also andy roberts. actually andy roberts is one of my favourite fast bowlers of all time, it's true we don't talk about him very often (though i'm always thinking of him) but it's understandable he isn't at the forefront as his stats don't stack up with other greats. same with walsh, one of my all time favourite fast bowlers but just didn't have the same sort of output to match it with the very top echelon greats.

donald however has very comparable stats to any of the greats.