There was a nice little article on CricInfo today, about Graeme Pollock. For my money, the most captivating and able batsman I have ever seen wield the willow. Of course, there's always Bradman, but he doesn't count in these assessments, otherwise life would be rather boring.
I first got to see Graeme Pollock play in a friendly game, when as a less-than-fit and more-than-middle-aged gentleman, he took on the Worcestershire county attack, with England bowlers in it's midst (including one Ian Botham). I was instantly enthralled. As Simon Kuper points out in the article, he had so much time to play his strokes. One effortless pull which sailed over the pavilion is firmly implanted in my memory. The combination of sheer power and understated elegance was incredible - only Tendulkar at his very best has come close in my estimation. I was an instant fan, and everything I saw later on in videos only served to enhance my impression of him.
If you've never seen him bat, I'd urge you to get hold of some videos. All you Tendulkar fans out there, I can't imagine that you'll be anything but awe-struck.
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This is not in specific reference to Graeme Pollock. However, as someone who started watching cricket in the 90s, I find that footage of past masters to be distinctly ordinary. This is most probably due to the quality of the coverage that was available in those days. But nevertheless, watching great games/players of the past has never been an exhilarating experience and actually, more often than not, it has been downright disappointing.
But yeah, I read through the Pollock story and liked it because it wasn't a run of the mill classic square cut/pull shot story. It gave a nice fan's perspective of an icon.
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