Kanhai? Rowe?

Lara to me was the most disappointing no disrespect to the great man.

All I see from Prince Lara's influence in Trinidad is Darren Bravo and he to me is a disappointment.

The reason I bring this thread is when I study the HUGE influence Sobers had on his generation and the immediate generation following. Who has our current crop of players look up to and be influenced esp in batsmanship?

Boyce,Holford,Collis King even Viv himself was influenced by King Sobers....they had to be much more test FC and local Div One cricketers influenced by Sobers....wasn't even Lara influenced by Sobers?

I can see the inluence of Viv's style of batting on a whole slew of Leeward Islands players the head of them being Richardson.

Kanhai has influenced one great player I know of ....Sunil Gavaskar.

Lara inspired insurrection on WI cricket by a lot of Trinis..

In reply to analyst-kid

I think that Gayle has influenced the modern West Indies cricketer.

Of the 3.....Viv Richards

Almost unanimously loved by WI fans

Which is odd for West Indian fans as both Sobers and Lara were heavily criticized. Lara wasn’t only criticized, but genuinely disliked by many in the region, particularly Indo West Indian fans

Viv stood up to apartheid, stood up for his principles, is a symbol of West Indian batsmanship and bravery, AND he was a winner. His only criticism came from some of that same Indo West Indian fan base after his comment that the West Indies team is a black team.

Interesting thread. What is meant by influential? I think you may well mean which was the most admired. In that case, it is a straight fight between Viv and Sobers with Viv probably winning. Lara a distant third. Lara is probably more admired outside the WI than within, while Viv is revered in both, as was Sobers. Sobers, however, has engendered more legends than either because of his exploits on the field.

In reply to VoopsandOut


Disputable

Sobers was the most influential, Viv was admired, there was a time when every wanted to be Sobers, close fielder, and allrounder.While Viv was admired don't know of people modeling their game after him.

I don’t know much of cricketers influence, but my favorite cricketers are Sobers, Viv, Kali; Holding, Marshal and Roberts. As am writing the wonderful voice of Tony Cozier commentary are hovering in my head - was a joy listening those cricketers bat and bowl.

In reply to analyst-kid

Sir Garfield , for his all round panache, style, flair, personality and not least...the

cricket.

The only thing lacking on the field, after much observation...was his inability to score a half
century while batting right handed.

In reply to analyst-kid

Excellent topic. I would think Sobers was the most influential. He was a genuine all rounder who was admired as a batsman, bowler(three versions) and fielder.

Moreover, he had his own style: the walk, the open shirt, tapping the wicket, and those famous boots. Guys to this day still talk about those Garry Sobers boots.

On top of all that, he was the captain when West Indies first became world champions. Even Muhammad Ali who didn't know much about cricket was impressed.

In reply to Fivestar

Not arguing your point but Lara is also still appreciated today. Last year Kumar Sangakara wrote an entire article on his style and exploits for Wisden( a publication that has been a hotbed of distinctly anti-lara sentiment) and his 153* not out is was listed as one of the 25 moments that changed cricket. Also, Barack Obama at the 5th Summit of the Americas called him the Michael Jordan of cricket.


It is true Lara is the least loved in the Caribbean. But you do recognize how insular our societies are( a Trinidadian wrote in a gleaner article that at Jenny's, a popular upscale Chinese restaurant in POS, that a Jamaican diner said Trinidad only had Dwight Yorke and Lara, and they didn't even turn heads anymore) and even so, that is only with regards to his captaincy and based solely on a few indiscretions by lara( like campaigning for the captaincy and underperforming of the Pakistan tour to drive home the point. Also, his public falling out with Gus Logie) and the opinion of three cricket commies, two being ex players in Cozier, Holding and Viv. All three have not felt compulsion in going to the international media and writing and saying negative things about Lara. And in many ways, Lara has been prescient. For example, he was crucified for the SA debacle but payment disputes have haunted the WI team for over two decades since then, until the world started to realize how poor the administration is here in the WI, especially after Sammy's speech and the sending of a second string team to the 50 over world cup. Lara has been absolved by history and the CWI's own maladministration

In reply to Jumpstart
I have nothing against Brian Lara or Trinidadians. I just happen to think Garry Sobers was the more influential cricketer of the two. By the way, wasn't Sobers a mentor to Lara?

In reply to imusic

Absolutely loved Richards! My favourite West Indian batsman.

My father adored Sobers!

Clive Loyld

In reply to camos

Could be with eras. Sobers for his generation. Viv for my generation.


Oh, I was almost named Garfield.

In reply to analyst-kid

Three players are from three different eras...

Sobers... when blacks were looked down upon..Sobers excel and dominated the games of whites...his influence was both off and on field..in West Indies as well as sub continent...in Wes Indies,he set the bench mark...which inspired players of subsequent generations...

Richards...Once in a lifetime player.. admired all over the world more ...for his heroics on the field....he was the product of the bench mark set by Sobers....

Lara..great player...his greatness by and large remained within the playing field..his influence on his generation as well as subsequent generations of cricketers limited ,to say the least...

Conclusion
Sobers...a monarch ...a part of folklore mostly spread by words of mouth for generations.
Richards..king.. exploits spread partly by words of mouth and partly by television..
Lara..Prince.. heroics spread to every corner of the world due to modern technology..influence negligible

In reply to Onionman0


Lara' fault in a way. Rarely does interviews, has never written an autobiography, leaves space for imagination and innuendo. Also, lara did not have the same racism issues viv and co had to deal with. The countries that comprise cricket were a bit more stable in the 90s: apartheid was gone for example

In reply to Onionman0



Yep, like this...

A true inspiration off the field!!

Only a matter of time ....before the topic degenerate...

I was actually looking at the infuences on the PLAYERS.

Look at the many Bajans on the last WI tour to NZ...YOU THINK any Bajans (or others) influenced by Sobers in the 1960s and 1970s would bat like that against fast bowling?

Vivian Isaac Richards, the most dominant and victorious West Indian batsman, immortalized in song!

In reply to analyst-kid

I am also on that very issue...but why limit his influence only on Bajans.... overall West Indies team.....

Just before the last England tour of West Indies....Sobers was specially invited to spend some time with the entire team....many after the series,did say he influenced their performances.

In reply to Onionman0

Sobers did actually influence bravo, who said so after his first test hundred at perth. Beyond him no and bravo really belongs to the generation of gayle, ab, michael clarke and others, the vast majority of whom have retired from the game

In reply to NineMiles

If you look into the life of all three .there were controversies...but the greatness of each of the three, lay in the fact,that they overcame those controversies ...to re-establish their reputation....

The lesser mortals ...once and for all ....gets lost forever..in those controversies...

That's what ....made the above three great..

In reply to Khaga
What has Kohli influenced? Your . . . . Talk to me in Telugu, brother