one of dem posted links mess up that whole thread.
but I rate Lara above all other batsmen I have seen in my life. the only 2 of real worth I have not had a glimpse of are Headley and Bradman.
I rate Lara ahead of them all because he had less weaknesses than all of them and he could do what none of them could duplicate..that is focus, concentration and score and score and score and score....
when Lara scored 400 not out he could have gone on forever. he was not tired, not winded, not burnt out or anything of the kind. if that test was play to a finish like in the old days Lara could have scored 6-700 not out.
I paid attention to Lara's physical condition at the end every time I look at that innings. I never see any tiredness on his part.
and the way Lara scores his runs a lot or a little.... Lara scored rapidly against all opposition, quickly. the time he took to make his runs outstripped anyone else i would wager. Lara was commanding. not even the greatest bowlers troubled him when he was on the go.
Lara was shaky at the start of his innings. then he had problems against real pace when it was very good..as in Allan Donald or Brett Lee. McGrath gave him trouble but Lara cut Mcgrath's arse as often as he got out to him.
the again Shoaib Akhtar knocked him down..the second time pace knocked him down I think. but Lara was faithful by pace. he beat it too
Courage, determination, defence, command of stroke play, focus and concentration, batting creativity. I consider Kanhai, Richards and Lara to be the top 3 creative batsmen in the history of the game. batting innovators par excellence. Lara turned good bowling into bad bowling. just ask Murali, splitting the field set to contain him all the time..a master aspect of Laras batting..finding the gaps in the field to score.
no others could do those things like Lara..sometimes for days on end at the crease. Tendulkar did it for some what 3 - 4 double tons. Gayle scored a couple of Triples and a few long, defensive big tons in defence of the west indies. Lara did it relatively all the time.
thats what i mean..no one else could do or did what Lara accomplished. If Tendy could he would have. Lara is a notch beyond Tendulkar and dravid, both more technically organised ambitious men, who weeded risk out of their styles by the application of comprehensive thought to their batting..none more so than Dravid whom I consider to be the most Brainy batsman I have ever seen
but Lara was the art itself hardly flawless but the best ever. I maintain: none could do what Lara accomplished, in the manner he did it in..making bowlers like Murali look ordinary on his own home pitches. none but Lara did that.
Lara first..Tendulakar at the head of a bunch fighting for second place