1st Test: New Zealand v Australia at Wellington on Feb 12-16, 2016

[ANTiLAG]

Bradman is different, clearly, but on the other two just throwing some names around - Keith Miller, Gary Sobers, George Headley, Ian Botham, Imran Khan, Kapil Dev, Viv Richards, Neil Harvey, Dennis Lillee, perhaps even Jeff Thomson and our own Richard Hadlee say hello


They might not have had the million dollar Nike endorsments, but they were superstars that people flocked to see - Botham was huge (in many ways)

Not going to get into a debate, but suffice to say I think you're stretching it

Those are great cricketers you name, and any cricket fan knows them all but 'superstars' (and its entailed wider celebrity) of the game? You don't need to be a soccer fan to know who Pele or Messi are. Or a basketball fan to know what Jordan or Bird were famous for.

Botham would get the closest as you acknowledge, and brought footballer interest into English cricket for the offseason with the pack headed by Viv, but in the pre-modern era, sporting lasting super stardom eluded them all bar Bradman, even with Imran setting girls hearts a flutter and marrying then divorcing a royal.

Indian cricket was not even on colour tv in India till 1983, let alone the rest of the world outside test status nations taking much interest at all in cricket.

Test it out. Ask the receptionist at work tomorrow inder 30 or 35 who Imran Khan is, then ask her who the Don is. I bet she knows Warne and Tendulkar.

 

[TheParraboy]

I don't know who Messi or Bird are

Maybe when they are long retired they will be talked about the same way as a Pele, Jordon or Bradman have been

 

[ANTiLAG]

I don't know who Messi or Bird are

Maybe when they are long retired they will be talked about the same way as a Pele, Jordon or Bradman have been

Heh.

I am surprised you claim to not know who Larry Bird and Lionel Messi are, but I do like the theme that there can be only one in your post. Works for Babe Ruth still

 

[TheParraboy]

I know Dennis Rodman, bought his book actually..

 

[ANTiLAG]

I know Dennis Rodman, bought his book actually..

Isiah Thomas and Scottie Pippen just got angry.

But yeah, super stardom is not all about necessarily being the best. Perception helps. Though Rodman sure could rebound

I weighed up instead of Bird with Steph Curry, Le Bron James, Kobe or Shaq, but I thought Bird was a more politically correct choice.

 

[TheParraboy]

Isiah Thomas and Scottie Pippen just got angry.

What about Andrew Gaze?

 

[Pete Cash]

I think you are maybe talking about how they are seen in 2016 ? But W G Grace was a f**king superstar in his era. He in many ways was one of (if not the first) athlete to really cash in on his fame. He promoted mustard lol.

 

[ANTiLAG]

I think you are maybe talking about how they are seen in 2016 ? But W G Grace was a f**king superstar in his era. He in many ways was one of (if not the first) athlete to really cash in on his fame. He promoted mustard lol.

Hopefully you have a sense of humour Pete. This is not to inflame you.

WG Grace was so popular he famously once after being bowled, put the bails back on and said the crowd's here to watch me bat, not to watch you bowl and resumed to bat.

Adam Voges has been compared to WG Grace as well as Don Bradman by NZ cricket fans lately.

Just a joke I found funny.

But as I say, bar Bradman, lack of colour tv, internet, sattelite and pay tv and media changes prevented many early cricketers being global superstars. Totally agree temporal changes influence cricketing stardom. Bradman is often famous to non cricket fans outside (and maybe inside) Australia, not for his 99.94 batting average, but for having once been on the Australian citizenship test. But either way, he is famous.

Jonah Lomu is known as rugby union's first superstar announcing himself in 1995. Hardly the best player ever.

 

[Snappy]

So what's going on in Laggy's life that he can post on a forum every few minutes all day long

 

[ANTiLAG]

So what's going on in Laggy's life that he can post on a forum every few minutes all day long

Is this a question or a statement?

You have more posts than me over a shorter period.

 

[vvvrulz]

So what's going on in Laggy's life that he can post on a forum every few minutes all day long

I was wondering about that too, Lag is destroying threads literally all day long