Cricket's Mohammed Ali

none other that the other "greatest", Sir Gary Sobers!

www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/1023843.html

A better Cricket 's Ali  : is this Chap power HOOK ! ON the CANVAS and ball in the stand  !!

    TKO   
               
                http://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BBq0iEd.img?h=671&w=1123&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=806&y=266
               

               
                 

His name is Rohan Kanhai

AND for the uninitiated, bottom pic: he is admiring Ali's bat back in 1966 at Lord's  

while the top pic : Ali is admiring his round house punch at Lord's 

When you see guys like Kanhai, Lara, Sobers, Tendulkar etc, it just shows to me how certain cricketers are predestined to have that aura about them and some, like, Sobers didn't really have to work that hard at it.

As a great boxing fan, some of us had a great era with the likes of Sugar Ray Leornard, Tommy Hearn, Roberto Duran, Hagler etc and the Heavyweight division was supreme.

Ali was a great boxer (not fighter like Norton, Curry and Frazier), a tactician, eloquent and bought some intelligence and wit. He spoke well and represented people well.

My issue with him had always been his involvement with the Nation of Islam who were very militant, claimed a false prophet, in Elijah Mohammed, and preached hate particularly towards Whites not in keeping with the Islamic philosophy and ethos.

In fact that teaching could not be furthest from Islam which means peace acquired by submitting your will to God.

The more gifted we are, the greater our responsibility to others as more is expected and I suppose he executed that aspect quite well.

When his ex sparring partner, Larry Holmes, beat him, when he should not have been fighting, I was more than upset.

A humatarian and a great man.

Sobers, whom I was fortunate to see a few times, oozed the same aura, much like Kanhai did in my view.

However if I had to compare a cricketer with Ali, for his ground breaking achievements particularly for a people, it would be Constantine and Worrell.

Brilliant analysis and comparison, Mail !

Images of Muhammad Ali were shown on the big screen

England v Sri Lanka, 3rd Investec Test, Lord's, 2nd day, June 10, 2016

Garry Sobers gets to ring the Lord's bell in memory of Muhammad Ali.

Many a true word spoken in jest.

Old Father Time will be my last post on this Boxing icon to Cricket icon comparison 

from Lord's :