Quote:
|
Originally Posted by tiger1000
I was really talking from a test stand point
As for odis, it's closer than tests for sure
Flintoff is the better bowler
As for batting, it's not even close, you don't judge them by looking at all time XI, you judge them against each other and fact is Kallis was the backbone of the team, Flintoff was a lower order slogger
How many average 32 and 24, well how many average 44 and 31
All this without mentioning longevity
Further, an ability of a player is mostly judged on test cricket ability and Kallis dwarfs Flintoff there
|
From a test standpoint it is a no contest but in ODIs they offer different roles, Freddie is a top quality bowler and lower order hitter whereas kallis is very much an anchor batsmen who can give you 10 overs if needed.
Kallis was actually quite capable as a bowler but in ODIs Freddie was an atg bowler if not then was very close to it.
Imo you need a common context to compare them otherwise you can't do a fair comparison because they did play different roles.
For me anytime if I could only pick one, I'll take a 24 average bowler with a 32 average bat striking at near 90 over a 44 average bat striking at 72 with a bowling average of 31.
Because at the end of it Freddie was an atg bowler in ODIs and a consistent enough lower order hitter. Kallis's ODI batting might of had a 44 average but he was nowhere near an atg bat in ODIs and his bowling was good but was it better than Freddie's batting? Imo no, maybe on par but then that would leave Freddie ahead because of his atg bowling.