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[b][i]If you lived in Jamaica during the 1970s and 80s you’d have known of Lawrence Rowe. The right-hander, who made his Test debut against New Zealand in 1972 scoring 214 and 100 not out, was a gluttonous run-gatherer in his early days. And yet it was the grandeur of his batting that endeared him to the cricket-loving public, making him one of the most popular sports stars in the country. Many Jamaicans, Michael Holding among them, think Rowe was the best they had seen and were not reluctant to sing his praises.

Batting at the highest level is a very difficult job that relatively few people do well. Those of us who like to think we are able to spot talent often rely on the appearance of effortlessness as a marker of ability. Smoothness is often considered an indication of aptitude, and those who make batting look the easiest profession in the world are often seen as possessing the capacity to excel. Gower’s comfort at the crease gave the impression of an outsized talent.

The same was felt about West Indies batter Carl Hooper. “Oh, Carl!” was West Indies Captain Richie Richardson’s cry of exasperation from the other end as Hooper, once again, nonchalantly gifted his wicket during a Test in Australia. The Guyanese right-hander elicited much frustration, especially earlier in his career. Though a multitude of fans felt he was a player from the top drawer, his performances only rarely matched the expectations thrusted upon his shoulders.

Cricket followers struggled to find reasons for the gap between promise and production. During his Kent days one pundit offered that Hooper had so much time to play and possessed such a wide variety of shots that he was frequently caught in at least two minds. Another, this time in Australia during the 1992-93 West Indies visit, opined, simply, that Hooper had a “gift of movement”.[/i][/b]
Jamaica Observer

Lawrence Rowe was one of the most pleasing batter on “the eyes”. In regional or Test cricket, as a spectator I felt I got value for my money watching this master at work. As one commentator described, he did not strike the ball in anger. His batting was smooth and fluid.

The 3 most eye-pleasing Jamaicans I ever saw batting (in order):

1. Lawrence Rowe
2. Marlon Samuels
3. Samuel Haye

In reply to JoeGrine

Did you ever see Richard Staple?

Samuel Haye the fastbowlingbYam Licker from Clarendon? Surely you must’ve meant Sam Morgan JG! In The Devon Malcolm Sabina Test I had the binoculars on Hoops. Someone dug one in short and in a flash the man was on off-stump perfectly positioned to launch it over square-leg for this. The ball slowly looped up and poor Hoops had to wait on it in what seemed like 1/2hr only to roll the wrist and pat it to fine-leg for 1

Yardies for me
Yagga
Duj
Morgan Sam
Elegance
Johnny Cool Mathis
Staple
Renford Augustus Pinnock
Looking forward to Hubert’s comments him having seen JKHolt Jr and Bonito perhaps

In reply to spider

I saw Staple but would not put him in my top 3. In top 5 yes, along with Everton Mattis.

In reply to Brerzerk

Surely you must have meant William Haye the yam licker extraordinaire.

I meant as written Samuel Haye. I was tempted to put him above Samuels. "Jam Mack" can tell you about the late Samuel "Sammy Test" Haye.