29 May 1999
Colin Croft's Picks - Best Performers
Colin Croft
Best bowler
For me, there are probably four bowlers, all incidentally faster
bowlers, who have captured the imagination so far in the World Cup.
Three are left-handed and one right-handed. They are:
- Courtney Walsh, the venerable West Indian opening bowler, who
already has 11 wickets before the final preliminary game, against
Australia. He averages an incredible 7.55 runs per wicket and an
economy rate of 2.24;
Wasim Akram, the Pakistani captain and opening bowler whose
economy rate is 3.46. No-one has been more clinical, especially to
the tail-enders, nor uses the swinging white ball better.Alan Mullally, the English fast bowler, whom I consider the best
bowler in England's team. He goes about his business diligently and
effectively, despite the English press's preoccupation with Darren
Gough. To date, Mullally has one wicket less than Gough who has 9,
but a slightly better economy rate, 3.05.Geoff Allott, New Zealand's fast bowler, is the surprise so far.
Despite having his figures somewhat spoiled by the West Indian and
Pakistani games, he still already has 12 wickets at the time of
writing, while having a run per over average, economy rate, of 4.39.
After taking everything into consideration, and allowing for the only
requirement being that of bowler, Courtney Walsh has been the best so
far in the competition, winning by a short head from Wasim Akram.
Best batsman
In my mind, India has the two contestants for this position.
- After four games, Rahul Dravid is averaging 105.33 runs per
innings, has a strike rate of 96.63 and an aggregate of 316 runs,
easily the highest aggregate so far.
Saurav Ganguly averages 75.50 in his four games so far with an
aggregate of 302 and a strike rate of 90.41. Both have been very
consistent and tremendously efficient.
I like left-handed batsmen because they always look so very elegant,
so my vote goes to Saurav Ganguly.
Best wicket-keeper
West Indies wicket-keeper, Ridley Jacobs easily takes this position.
Already he has 13 dismissals and even features highly in the batting
stakes, averaging 78 with his aggregate of 156 runs from four games.
The nearest competitor is probably England's Alec Stewart, who has
seven dismissals so far and 123 runs aggregate. Stewart's captaincy
has not been bad, but from a purely wicket-keeping perspective, Jacobs
is tops.
Best all-rounder
Pakistan's Wasim Akram again comes to mind here. He has a batting
strike rate of 155, averaging around 45 runs per innings. His bowling
is dynamic, with a strike rate of around 23 balls per wicket and an
economy rate of 3.46 runs per over and an average of 15.25 runs per
wicket for his 8 wickets in three games.
South Africa' Lance Klusener has also had a great impact on the
competition. Already, in four games, he has 12 wickets at an average
of 10.33 runs per wicket. He also has an aggregate of healthy lower
order hitting of 112 runs. He has not yet been dismissed. What a
plus he has been for South Africa.
So, my best all-rounder is Lance Klusener.
Special note: Wasim Akram MUST be the very best overall
cricketer at the 1999 Cricket World Cup. While he is not the exact
best in any specific category, he features in the very top echelons in
the bowling, batting and all-rounder stakes. Therefore, Wasim Akram
is obviously the best overall player at the 1999 Cricket World Cup.
Source :: Colin Croft