Arthur Crabtree wrote:Though Pakistani conditions might have helped reverse swing. I was always more taken with Waqar in Tests, as he did better against England in the games I watched . Wasim in ODIs, certainly. Gooch says Wasim was the best.
Arthur Crabtree wrote: Maybe there's another variable at work. People used to go whole tours to Pakistan in the seventies and not see an lbw. I'll see if I can statsguru it in the morning.
I have to say that a lack of independence was the general perception in my own playing time to the extent that what were almost urban myths grew. So it became fact that Javed Miandad was never given out lbw in Pakistan, Sunil Gavaskar similar in India, while England players suffered abroad.
In fact a small selection of stats regarding high-class batsmen of the 70s and 80s rather disputes this (without, of course, taking account of those occasions when they should have been lbw). Gavaskar, for example, was lbw 10 times at home as opposed to seven abroad; Graham Gooch 38 times at home (not all to Terry Alderman: the supposed response to a “Thatcher out!” graffito – “lbw Alderman” – was my own invention that in itself became urban myth, by the way) and 12 abroad; Greg Chappell nine at home and seven abroad; Viv Richards nine at home and 12 abroad.
Arthur Crabtree wrote:Miandad was out lbw 8 times at home and 25 times away, in spite of the low bounce in Pakistan and the relatively higher bounce elsewhere.
Selvey usually has a hidden agenda or is looking for a reason to dig up an old anecdote.
Arthur Crabtree wrote:And there was still credit in Holding's fourteen wickets in an Oval featherbed in 1976.
Arthur Crabtree wrote:I wouldn't want to suggest the helmets didn't make a big difference, particularly to tail enders. But there is still a degree of threat still, so the fear factor isn't something that only existed then. Look at what the bouncer did to Stuart Broad. It is possible to overstate the impact of the helmet. Real pace can still scatter the lower order and spook the top order as we saw in the Mitchwash. And there was still credit in Holding's fourteen wickets in an Oval featherbed in 1976. It was only the absolute tearaways that caused alarm in the batters back then. Thommo and the West Indians.
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