Listen to the Cricket Podcast that Plays by Backyard Rules

Audio, 5th March 2012: 32 minutes

On this week’s bumper edition of OHOB regular panellists JIMI STEPHENS and MURRAY MIDDLETON review the triangular ODI series, wax lyrical with Caribbean correspondent Blaise Murphet and hand out their rather malevolent array of weekly awards.

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The term ‘Most Valuable Player’ or ‘MVP’ is generally a term that we associate with American sports. It can seem to give too much credence to an individual in a team sport, and as such not seem a natural fit with cricket. However, with the plethora of ICC lists of best cricketers of all time, or best cricketers in their given field of expertise, I thought it might be a good time to look at who are the five most valuable players across all three forms of international cricket right now.

#1 Jacques Kallis

Well, here we are. The number one slot in my list of the most valuable players in cricket right now. Perhaps it’s is no surprise that all-rounders will have made up two of my top three, particularly given the way the game has changed and now requires players to be all things. Many will and have argued that Jacques Kallis is a selfish player, but if I didn’t need to worry about his future, and I just had to pick one player right now for one game, it’d be the broad chested South African each time. Here’s why…

Perhaps it’s the curse of the all-rounder that because you have skill in different areas, you don’t really get rated properly in each of your disciplines. However, if you were to rate Kallis as purely a test batsman, his 12,000 runs at 57 would place him in the highest echelons of batsman to have played the game. Kallis has compiled no less than 40 centuries, has a top score of 201* and has been the rock of South Africa’s middle order since he started way back in 1995. But, the real genius of Kallis is that he combines this with a bowling record that is also world class.

In his 147 test matches, Kallis has been South Africa’s ever-reliable second change bowler. In a time when the art of swing bowling is on the wane, Kallis always manages to shape the ball away, and has done so to great effect. 271 wickets at 32 is a fine record, and suggests that if he were purely a bowler he probably would have got a lot more. I really do rate his bowling, he just always seems to get something out of a pitch, and South Africa have been able to pick incredibly balanced teams for over 15 years now purely because of the ability to rely on Jacques. I should also mention that he has 169 catches at test level, and is one of the safer slips fieldsmen I have seen, probably up there with Mark Waugh and Rahul Dravid.

Kallis’ bowling record in ODI cricket is probably even more impressive, given he has 267 wickets at 31, and his bowling does seem to suit the white ball. He has matched that with over 11,000 runs at 45 and again has over 100 catches. I guess the stain on his ODI career will always be his teams inability to really deliver on their promise in the World Cup. In fact, Kallis has always been accused of playing for himself rather than the team, and that is perhaps reflective of South Africa’s problem at big tournaments, where you really need the team to ‘gel’. If anything, Kallis is merely a product of his system, where individuals are strong and believe they must lead themselves, which can have its merits but also its problems. That said, I don’t think Kallis is too selfish in his play, and there is no way the Proteas would ever have got in those positions to win without him.

Perhaps one of the most surprising elements of Kallis’ career has been his success at T20 cricket. For someone who has often been accused of batting too slowly, Kallis does seem to excel in the shortest format. He averages a whopping 36 at international level with a strike rate of over 114, and, much to everyone’s surprise, he has been one of the outstanding players in the IPL. His feats for the Royal Challengers Bangalore have been astonishing, and what I love about his play is that he plays ‘proper’ cricket shots. I’d be confident in saying that his lofted cover drive is one of the best in the game’s history.

So, that is it! I know that I’ve chosen quite a few older players, but as I mentioned, I’m not picking them for the next five years. This was purely based on who I would pick RIGHT NOW. Since we started, Viru Sehwag has blown us away again, Dale Steyn was crucial in bowling Australia out for almost their lowest total, Shane Watson has shown his magnificent skill (and his propensity to get injured), Sachin has looked a little weak but I’m sure is ready to feast on Australia’s young bowlers, and Jacques has done what he does…just make runs and take key wickets.

I challenge anyone to come up with others who they think I’ve missed, and also suggest who might be in this list in a year or two. Maybe Kieron Pollard? James Pattinson? Jonathan Trott? There are many possibilities. But for now, I’ll take my top five any day of the week.

Number 2:Sachin Tendulkar

Number 3: Shane Watson

Number 4: Dale Steyn

Number 5: Virender Sehwag

The term ‘Most Valuable Player’ or ‘MVP’ is generally a term that we associate with American sports. It can seem to give too much credence to an individual in a team sport, and as such not seem a natural fit with cricket. However, with the plethora of ICC lists of best cricketers of all time, or best cricketers in their given field of expertise, I thought it might be a good time to look at who are the five most valuable players across all three forms of international cricket right now.

#2 Sachin Tendulkar

I’m really not sure whether Sachin Tendulkar being at number two on this list will be ridiculed because he is either too high or not high enough. Such is the devotion shown to the man, I am sure there will be some that will cast doubt upon my sanity by daring to place him at anything other than number one. But there will be others who will possibly say that he is only so high because of his reputation; that he is starting to show that he has ‘passed it’. Well, in my reckoning, Sachin is still one of the most valuable players in world cricket today. Let me tell you why.

At almost 39 years of age, Tendulkar is still the most feared batsman in world cricket. As his contemporaries have either retired (Lara) or are fading (Ponting) Tendulkar has remained strong. In fact, I’d argue that the most impressive aspect of Tendulkar’s extraordinary career is that he has come back from what looked like a terminal decline in form. It’s hard to remember, but a few years ago, when he was forever sporting that tennis elbow (mind the pun), Sachin stopped scoring and for the first time in history, his technique looked to be failing him. So, what did the Little Master do? He put his head down and worked hard. Now into his 183rd test match, Sachin is back averaging over 56 and as we all know is nearing 100 international centuries. More than these numbers though is that he has regained his regal posture at the crease.

I was watching some old highlights of the Master Blaster, Viv Richards the other night. Viv is known and revered not only for his incredible batting prowess, but also for his ‘presence’ at the crease. He had that swagger and would push his chest out when even the most fearsome bowlers ran in to deliver their thunderbolts. Sachin has quite a different presence, but no less intimadating. He looks just completely at ease, and as if no bowler could shake his nerve and that peerless technique. He scratches away at the crease, does a little bop, taps his bat on the ground, and then allows the bowler to deliver him a ball. It’s just magic to watch, and in case you think it doesn’t instil fear in a bowlers mind, just ask the likes of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath who they least liked bowling to.

One surprise when looking through Tendulkar’s test figures is that he has never scored a triple century. We know that the likes of Virender Sehwag and Chris Gayle have managed a few, and of course Brian Lara was known for his epic scores. I’m actually not sure what it says about Sachin that he hasn’t, perhaps it suggests a man who never bats for himself and always keeps the team in mind.

Perhaps more than any other player, Sachin is the man who pulled India into its position as a modern cricketing power. Whilst his feats at test level have been extraordinary, it’s his dominance in the 50-over format that has taken Indian cricket to fever pitch. He has scored over 18,000 runs in 453 ODI matches at an average of 45. He is the only man to score a double century, has over 150 wickets and is now, finally, a world cup winner. Phew! Some resume!

All that said, what makes him still one of the most valuable players in world cricket right now is that he is supreme in cricket’s newest form, particularly the IPL. He has consistently been one of the top scorers in the competition, and his feats for his Mumbai Indians have shown that it the old guys can still have an impact in the smash and grab competition. What I love about him in the IPL is that he still has that amazing presence, and relies on his technique to score runs for fun. There are so many players in that competition who just pull the front foot away and try and hit the ball into the atmosphere, but Tendulkar strides forward to cover drive, ducks down to hit over the slips, and leans forward to caress through mid-wicket. Each of these strokes are as perfect as the next, and let us hope that continues as far into the future as possible.

Let me know what you think about Sachin Tendulkar and whether you think he should have been higher or lower by making a comment below, and check back next week for number one on the list.

Number 3: Shane Watson

Number 4: Dale Steyn

Number 5: Virender Sehwag

The term ‘Most Valuable Player’ or ‘MVP’ is generally a term that we associate with American sports. It can seem to give too much credence to an individual in a team sport, and as such not seem a natural fit with cricket. However, with the plethora of ICC lists of best cricketers of all time, or best cricketers in their given field of expertise, I thought it might be a good time to look at who are the five most valuable players across all three forms of international cricket right now.

Number 3: Shane Watson

In a way, I’m glad that I waited to write this entry into my list of most valuable cricketers, because only last week Watson produced one of the more extraordinary bowling performances, taking 5/17 off just five overs. However, I guess my timing might also suggest opportunism, but I stress, Watson was always going to be on this list, no matter his ultimately fruitless feats at Newlands. The funny thing with Watson is that the rest of the world can’t quite understand why we Aussies have a bit of a love/hate thing going on with him. I guess fans from around the world just see a good-looking, super-fit, talented all-rounder who is leading his country’s next generation. Rest assured, we see this too, but Watson has always come with a bit of baggage that can only be described as his temperament.

Probably the best example of Watson’s Achilles heel, was this ridiculous performance, literally in the face of the coolest man in cricket (in the world?) Chris Gayle. But his conduct on the pitch has often been ordinary, and that kind of behaviour is quite obviously unacceptable. That all said, Watson does seemed to have calmed down and I think his time with the Rajasthan Royals, where he has shared a locker room with international players, may well have had a good effect on his general demeanour. So, that side now covered, let’s delve into the career of this super player of the modern era.

Shane Watson made his test debut in a very different looking Australian side against Pakistan in 2005. Unlike the current Australian band of misfits, this was a side that included Langer, Hayden, Gilchrist, Warne and McGrath. Watson at this stage was very much being shaped as Australia’s answer to their Ashes nemesis Andrew Flintoff, however his body just couldn’t hold up, and it has not been until the last couple of years that Watson has been able to have an extended run in the team. A batting average of 38 doesn’t suggest a world-beating opener, but if you combine this with a bowling average of 28 you start to see why he is so important to Australia (Flintoff finished with figures of 31 with the bat and 32 with the ball). One major caveat to Watson’s test career so far has been his inability to transfer fifties into hundreds, but it seems his move down the order is nigh, and I have no doubt this will help him given his increased bowling load under Michael Clarke.

There is no doubt that 50-over cricket is where Watson has been at his most devastating for his country. Opening the batting, Watson averages an impressive 43 with a strike-rate of nearly 90. He has smashed six centuries and has a highest score of 185*. You can throw that in with 138 wickets at a strike rate of 36 and some fine slips catching, and Watson starts to emerge as one of the most damaging players in one-day cricket. Apart from the numbers, Watson also seems to perform well on the big occasions and he, like Adam Gilchrist before him, sets the tone of the innings by attacking bowlers with precision.

Watson’s international T20 figures also reinforce his dominance. He boasts an extraordinary strike-rate of 144 and takes his wickets at a strike-rate of 20…good numbers you’ll agree. Whilst his numbers in the IPL aren’t quite as impressive, there is no doubt that his involvement with the Royals was crucial in their inaugural victory in the competition and he remains one of the most sought after players in this format.

Now at the age of thirty, Watson is no longer the young brash up-start with unrealised promise. As an opening bat, leading bowler and one of Michael Clarke’s most trusted lieutenant’s, Watson is shaping Australia’s new era. Whether he can help return it to the heights reached by the side he first joined is still to be seen, however there is no doubt that he is certainly one of the most valuable players in world cricket right now.

Let me know what you think about Shane Watson and whether you think he should have been higher or lower by making a comment below, and check back next week for number three on the list.