Underrated Cricketers

Past or present who do you think deserves a bit of recognition or has gone under the radar a little.

Ill kick things off with Darren Stevens at Kent

Id say Hildreth at Somerset is worth a shout

Good selections, Jimbo

Darren Stevens still doing remarkably well at age 41. He's often been at his best against Surrey. 

Hildreth described in his cricinfo profile as arguably the most talented county batsman of his era not to have received international recognition.  He's 32 and so it's probably now rather late for the selectors to turn to him - tho anything is possible.

Always a tough dicussion because you wouldn't name them yourself if you didn't rate them but I've never felt Neil Fairbrother got the recognition he deserved. Seen as a great exponent of the one day form but I always felt given a longer run could have done better in the test match format in a Randall type role.

Also Dermot Reeve despite being a dodgy sod was fantastically talented.

Actually thinking about it there are a number of players who were viewed as "bit's and pieces" but were brilliant cricketers. Adam Hollioake hit the ball as hard as anyone I've ever seen, Ian Harvey would have been a test match regular for most sides but for the depth of talent in the Australian team and Craig White was perhaps as good as Flintoff without the big mouth and 2005 timing.

Chris Rogers - overlooked for so long by the Australian selectors.  Received belated recognition at the end of his career.  Became second oldest Aussie to score a maiden test century.

It's a tricky one this. As Hibbz suggests, some players may not have got international recognition or be that well known to the general public but still be highly regarded in their own backyard. Stevens and Hildreth would fall into the latter category there imo.

Someone whose name often crops up in this sort of thing is Glen Chapple. I'm not so sure on that. Chapple was an extremely good bowler for Lancs and is rightly respected for that. However, I'm less convinced that he was unlucky to be ignored or underrated by the Test selectors. I accept worse players than him have played for England but I don't believe that in itself justifies selection.

I would give a shout to two former England Test players, one a veteran of many Tests and the other with a solitary cap.

Ken Barrington, despite 20 centuries during a 13 year Test career from the mid '50s to the late '60s and an average touching 59, tends to be viewed now (if at all) as mainly just a solid blocker. He deserves better than that with such an outstanding average over so lengthy a time. I know the Corporal will agree.

Darren Pattinson tends to be ridiculed for his one international appearance in 2008 (?) against South Africa. I always thought that was rather harsh. Although his selection was a left field choice, he was in good form in the Championship at the time and, even though we lost the Test by 10 wickets, he didn't totally disgrace himself picking up the wickets of Hashim Amla and Ashwell Prince. If you only take 2 Test wickets in your career, that's not a bad couple to have to your name. His return in that Test was also better than those of Stuart Broad and Andrew Flintoff.

guildfordbat wrote:.......I would give a shout to two former England Test players, one a veteran of many Tests and the other with a solitary cap.

Ken Barrington, despite 20 centuries during a 13 year Test career from the mid '50s to the late '60s and an average touching 59, tends to be viewed now (if at all) as mainly just a solid blocker. He deserves better than that with such an outstanding average over so lengthy a time. I know the Corporal will agree.

Have to respond on Barrington  (as Guildford surely knew I would!  )  Barrington had an astonishingly batting average over a substantial career.  I think he is in a rather different category to others players under consideration - in that his international class batting pedigree is generally not under question. More that, as you imply, he could often be dour (also perhaps didn't take charge of the situation enough - some similiarities with Boycott) I guess he might be regarded with grudging admiration rather than excitement.

Have to but in here ...

Not sure I'd agree Barrington was underrated. I think most serious cricket fans recognized his talent. More that he somehow didn't attain the pin up status of some of his more (glamorous ?) contemporaries . For all his wonderful batting (and he was well capable of quick scoring when he wanted - more than once reaching
his hundred with a six) he wasn't seen as "exciting " in the way that May , Compton , Dexter were regarded.
He might also have had an even more imposing record in Tests had he not been largely excluded from the team during his mid-twenties : it was a tough middle order to break into ; with Cowdrey and Graveney also around as well as the above mentioned. (Of course I suppose it might also be said that he knew his game better by the time he did command a regular place so who knows ? ) Certainly he could have played more Test Matches and might well have set an England run total record for a while to go with the excellent average.

As you can tell , I for one am not at all grudging in my admiration for him

Is Barrington underrated? I guess it depends on, as ever in these discussions, what is meant by the word underrated. Certainly I would argue that the more knowledgeable cricket fans rate him highly enough.

Some good shouts on here. Agree with guildford on Pattinson. There's a decent bit in Vaughan's autobiography about his selection. Basically they were looking for a specialist swing bowler who'd do well at Headingley, and after discussing with various Counties Pattinson's name was the one that kept coming up, so they picked him. I think a lot of the derision at the selection was less the fact he was picked, and more the Selectors' admission that they hadn't seen him play. But that to me shows a bit of misunderstanding from the watching public (see also, Dawson's selection for the World T20 despite Bailey not having seen him bowl). Pattinson wasn't awful in that Test either, as said.

Hildreth I'm less sure on. A fine player and a wonderful talent, who's maybe been unlucky in that his periods of truly great form never coincided with an opening in the England middle-order, but equally not sure he's a better player than any of those who have been given a cap.

Rogers is a fine shout though. IMO the Aus selectors ignored him for a bit too long due to his already advanced age when a spot opened up at the top of the order, possibly also they were looking for a more flashy player in a more like-for-like replacement of Langer and Hayden.

Anyway, if we're trumpeting some of our own favourites, I'd like to bring up Paul Weekes. A very fine county pro, who over the seasons made many fine contributions with bat and ball (not a bad fielder either). In an era when England seemed to pick plenty of bits and pieces players, it's somewhat surprising he never got a cap. Not necessarily that he was good enough for the international arena, but he was IMO a better player than some of the players we did pick. In fact, being slightly mischievous, his first class and list A stats aren't too far off a certain Moeen Ali's . I had the pleasure of getting some coaching sessions of Mr Weekes once, and he was a top bloke.

On Barrington, he's obviously a completely different kettle of fish to the likes of Stevens and Hildreth.

What I was trying to get at in him being underrated is that I suspect not too many would have him in their All Time World XI or even England XI when his stats make a strong case for consideration.

I accept that most serious cricket fans recognize his talent but so do similarly serious cricket fans of Kent and Somerset recognize the respective talents and worth to their counties of Stevens and Hildreth.

Impressive advocacy of Sir Kenneth by Alfie - could have done with Alfie's input years ago on this site during some of the heated discussions on Hall of Fame!

Agree 100% with all on Ken Barrington.

And John Arlott has just been on the horn to say, "Tell them not to forget Roy Marshall".

From the same WI vintage, almost, Seymour Nurse never seemed to get the credit his record and classic style, not to mention his brilliant work in the covers, seemed to deserve.
On top of all that, he was reportedly born in Jack-My-Nanny Gap, nothing underrated about that.

Of players now on the county circuit, one player who I think is underrated or at least doesn't get as much credit as he merits is Ryan ten Doeschate. Averaging 49 with the bat and over 200 wickets at under 34 in the first class game. Currently doing a great job as well in leading Essex.

Been a class act for us for years now...so happy he has stayed with us all throughout, although he dosen't bowl much anymore can still rely on him to deliver, an Essex legend

Bumping this having missed it at the time.

Interesting discussion regarding what counts as under-rated, especially re Ken Barrington. Going back even further, perhaps similar arguments regarding Herbert Sutcliffe - statistically more successful at Test level than the more famous Jack Hobbs.

Coming more up to date, how about Ryan Sidebottom? Played 21 tests over about 2.5 years, after an unsuccessful debut 6 years earlier. Was probably left on the sidelines for too long and discarded too quickly as an international bowler, but had a fine County career at Yorkshire and Notts.

This might be a controversial one given his long test career, but Matthew Hoggard?

The least lauded, or certainly least talked about, member of the '05 England attack but he finished with more test wickets than Flintoff or Harmison at a better average and strike rate - Simon Jones of course had his career halted by injuries.

He was also a work horse who would bowl in whatever circumstances his skipper needed him to. A quite unusual characteristic for a swing bowler with obvious preferences about conditions! He did some respectable turns as a night watchman for England as well.

It often felt that when things went well he was the first bowler forgotten but when things went well he was the first to be criticised. I felt he was unfortunate to be dropped completely from Tests when he was a bit of a scapegoat for a poor attack. He was also very unfortunate to not be recalled for the infamous Headingley test in which Pattinson made his one appearance as a horses for courses swing bowler. Hoggard being an undoubtedly better swing bowler who was back in-form and knew Headingley as well as any.