Rating of the greatest test innings played during the last ten years

Guys as there is an unofficial window given to IPL, no serious cricket is being going on right now. Seriously, there is no charm left in watching IPL as was there in the first three seasons. The pathetic commentry, only glamour of models, and fake madness of people has irrked me off. Test cricket is a game, though longer but creates a thrill in the mind even more than the Bond movies. I feel it is like beverages that will allow you to go deep into the match, if you are watching. Watching a test inning from a great like Dravid or Punter is itself an excitement. So I thought of doing a survey among us. So guys you all mention Three of your best test inning that you will rate as the top three in the last ten years.

Brian Lara 400 v England 2004
Cook 294 v India 2011
Ponting 156 v England 2005

It is a shame you feel that way, because if you ignore the other aspects of the IPL the cricket this year has been excellent (I would say the best I've seen in terms of standard from the IPL). Although I agree with you on the commentary.

There is also the county championship, and a plethora of other internationals taking place. So to say there is no "serious cricket" is seriously mistaken IMO.

In any case, to answer the question:
Clarke's 151 at Newlands against South Africa with the ball hooping everywhere (in the game where Australia made 47 in the 2nd innings).
Laxman's whatever it was not out (73?) to chase down 200odd against the Aussies with just one wicket left.
Pietersen's knock in Sri Lanka (144? closely followed by his knock in India) - to score at such a rate on such a dead pitch was something very special.

Not sure I can remember the exact scores, but all 3 terrific innings in difficult circumstances.

For mine, Lara's 400 wouldn't make the top 10.

To isolate three is some task but hey:

293-ish by Sehwag against Sri Lanka. A slightly controversial choice (poor bowling attack, flat pitch etc.) but the type of destruction rarely seen in a Test Match.
Clarke's 100 v SA in Cape Town. On a different pitch from everybody else.
KP's 100 in SL. Closely followed by other KP knocks.*

* Some are bound to say the 151 v Australia in 2005. A good innings but in my view its importance is overplayed. The series felt very secure in my mind before he walked to the crease.

Lara must be close just for sheer runs although I tend to agree that that the ground was tiny, the pitch flat and England's only spinner Gareth Batty...

Ponting's 156 at Old Trafford is the best I've seen. Just unbelievable with the pressure he and the team were under. The first Test innings I remember was Mark Butcher's 173* at Headingley against the Aussies as well, just misses the 10 year cut off, but it was a brilliant innings.

Butcher's was quite something. Come to think of it its probably the first Test innings I remember too.

I do remember bits of the WI series in 2000, but my memory is entirely of Courtney and Curtley (and Caddick and Gough) taking wickets. Also, I was taken along to the last day v Pakistan in 2001 - but again all I can remember is Saqlain taking wickets.

It is easier to list players whose knocks will ranks amongst the greatest

1))Cook alone has played about 2 great innings this seaaon in India.

2) KP against India in Mumbai....again SA azt Headingley, against Lanka in Colmbo.....In ashes that Vaughn won he scored a 150 odd

3) Tendulkar in SA 2010, against Pak in Chernnai 1999, against Eng in Mumbai after the taj hotel terror attacks

4) VVSL.....in those heartstopping single wkt winning runchases againt Lanka and Aus in 2009, 2010....and the Eden Garden Epic in 2000

5) Dravid......Eden Garden 2000, Adelaide 2003, Trentbridge...all double hundreds

6) Sehwag...every one of his inning above 150 has been a gem that greats spend lifetimes without accomplishing even a single such inning.....he has about halfd a dozen credits...HIGHEST on this list....just a shade ahead of KP

7) Dhoni's 224 against Aus

8) Dhawan's 187 on debit

9) Lara's chased wins against Aus in tests........

10) Ponting.....about 2 to 3 gems

11) Ditto clarke

12) Ditto Kallis

13) Graeme Smith 1 to 2 gems

14) Ditto Amla

15) Ditto Mahela

16) Ditto Sanga

17) Ditto Younis Khan

18)Ditto Hayden
19) Ditto Gilchriust
20) Dito Steve Waugh and his brotehr Mark
21) and last but not the least Chanderpaul should also be in the list with 2 to 3 credits

Did I miss anyone?...perhaps Andy Flower....but he is perhaps just a bit outside of the 10 year window

subhranshu.kumar.5 wrote:Guys as there is an unofficial window given to IPL, no serious cricket is being going on right now. Seriously, there is no charm left in watching IPL as was there in the first three seasons. The pathetic commentry, only glamour of models, and fake madness of people has irrked me off.

some of the above is true....but all the above notwithstanding there has been excellent cricket......more high quality then medicore......and formats cease to matter when top cricketing talents...hungry and driven.....stretch themselves to the fullest...the resulting competition is a joy for cricket lovers.....and I repeat format ceases to matter.

The seam and pace wizardry of Steyn, Bhuvnesh and Cooper...the spinning guiles of Mishra and Narine......the mercurial talents of Smith, Morgan and ABDV.......Delightful like aged wine Dravid and Ponting.......the last flicker of the candle before it extinguishes---tendulkar.......the fire( Kohli) and the Ice ( Dhoni) brands of captaincy.....and the continued Bossism of Gayle....are as high quality display of cricket as you'd ever see anywhere.

where else would you see such a conglegration of such super stars all under one roof in a competitive long event??....perhaps briefly at the Kerry Packer World series...many decades ago.....but the sustainable annual mega-event now 6 years running.....that IPL is.....has by far more serious cricketing content...then the frills.
and make no mistakes....it's lasted six years because the quality of cricket binds the audiences...and not the frills.

KP_fan wrote:

subhranshu.kumar.5 wrote:Guys as there is an unofficial window given to IPL, no serious cricket is being going on right now. Seriously, there is no charm left in watching IPL as was there in the first three seasons. The pathetic commentry, only glamour of models, and fake madness of people has irrked me off.

some of the above is true....but all the above notwithstanding there has been excellent cricket......more high quality then medicore......and formats cease to matter when top cricketing talents...hungry and driven.....stretch themselves to the fullest...the resulting competition is a joy for cricket lovers.....and I repeat format ceases to matter.

The seam and pace wizardry of Steyn, Bhuvnesh and Cooper...the spinning guiles of Mishra and Narine......the mercurial talents of Smith, Morgan and ABDV.......Delightful like aged wine Dravid and Ponting.......the last flicker of the candle before it extinguishes---tendulkar.......the fire( Kohli) and the Ice ( Dhoni) brands of captaincy.....and the continued Bossism of Gayle....are as high quality display of cricket as you'd ever see anywhere.

where else would you see such a conglegration of such super stars all under one roof in a competitive long event??....perhaps briefly at the Kerry Packer World series...many decades ago.....but the sustainable annual mega-event now 6 years running.....that IPL is.....has by far more serious cricketing content...then the frills.
and make no mistakes....it's lasted six years because the quality of cricket binds the audiences...and not the frills.

Agreed man, but the charm we used to enjoy when Test cricket was played in this season in India was different. People will only go behind the lucrative items and that trend has captured cricket also. Regarding the likes of Greats playing under one roof, Man money matters. Remember when ICL was progressing BCCI opposed that. That time also many greats were under one roof. The NZ board once said, "We are unable to pay that much money to our players that ICL is paying, so it is difficult for us to bind our players to play for the nation". But they have no fear now. It is because of this IPL only, Indian Test cricket is depleting. Remember in the inaugural season Players were busy with their League teams and didn't practiced well for the match against SA and were bowled out for just 76. The devastating tour of ENGLAND in 2011 was also the outcome of IPL. Players were either injured or tired after playing IPL. I have listened from many that IPL provides a platform for the upcoming talent. So leaving Ashwin how many are there who have made any impact globally. I want an answer why Bhajji, who used to be a front-line bowler, his career as a Indian spinner is over now. I will tell you why. Because he has put in his mind that he is a bowler who is only to bowl four overs, so he bowls the same way in test also and test cricket is a game of how much patient you could be. Instead of trying to take wickets he only go for giving runs at low rate. It has worked for him in T-20 but unfortunately he is not in our test team. You could imagine when Aus toured India in 2001 he was the leading wicket taker for India, but this time I hope you know what was his performance. This Australian team, if compared to that time stands no where. Many player like Zaheer khan remain unfit for most part of the year but eventually gain fitness when IPL comes. I will not say much because truth is in front of every one.

Ignoring all these, I have mentioned this thread so that I will get to know about some of the brilliant innings that I have missed, and will try to download it and see.


For me the three innings that I would love to watch again and again are

1. ABD (34) and FDP(110). Abd's inning comprises of just 34 runs but its value can't be counted. It is just invaluable.
2. Dravid (233) against Aussies at Adelaide. This inning is one of the best I have ever seen.
3. Misbah's innings in Pak Tour of India 2007. Under difficult condition he proved himself to be a single man army for the PAK team.

From the 2005 ashes there are a couple of standout knocks, Kevin Pietersen's 158, and Ricky Ponting's 156. Sehwag's 309, for the audacity and historical context. Tendulkar's 156, mainly for the battle between him and Dale Steyn. Dravid's twin 80s in an absolute mindfield at Kingston in 2006, VVS Laxman's 96 in South Africa, King Brian Charles' 400 for the sheer magnitude, Michael Clarke's 151 against South Africa, Graeme Smith's series winning hundred against England in 2008........

msp83 wrote:Tendulkar's 156, mainly for the battle between him and Dale Steyn. Graeme Smith's series winning hundred against England in 2008........

Good shouts.

Personally I think it is far too simplistic to blame the IPL for India's recent slide in test cricket - in that case surely you must credit it with India's previous rise to no 1 and WC triumph?

I do think one of the unintended consequences of T20 cricket in general has been the tendancy of young spinners to fire the ball in as a default.

Pietersen 149 against SA at Headingley. For me, against that attack and in helpful bowling conditions, that was simply unrivalled genius. A lofted straight drive back over the head of a pumped up Dale Steyn will live long in the memory.

Fists of Fury wrote:Pietersen 149 against SA at Headingley. For me, against that attack and in helpful bowling conditions, that was simply unrivalled genius. A lofted straight drive back over the head of a pumped up Dale Steyn will live long in the memory.

This inning is the one I had missed, will download it. Going against the likes of Steyn and that too in odd conditions and then scoring a 100 is really a tough task and peterson has done that. Thanks FoF.

It is an absolute gem, mate. You'll enjoy it.

Mike Selig wrote:

msp83 wrote:Tendulkar's 156, mainly for the battle between him and Dale Steyn. Graeme Smith's series winning hundred against England in 2008........

Good shouts.

Personally I think it is far too simplistic to blame the IPL for India's recent slide in test cricket - in that case surely you must credit it with India's previous rise to no 1 and WC triumph?

I do think one of the unintended consequences of T20 cricket in general has been the tendancy of young spinners to fire the ball in as a default.

Don't think I would agree with the view that IPL resulted in India's horrer shows in Australia and England either.
The side was aging, Sehwag and Gambhir at the top were struggling for from for some time, and there were plenty of injuries.
The schedule has played its part and in that context the IPL has also to be considered, but by no means could it be the most important explanatory factor.