Reflections from across Australia on Darren Lehmann’s feat in becoming the most prolific scorer in the history of Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup competition today.
John Polack15-Dec-2001Reflections from across Australia on Darren Lehmann’s feat in becoming the most prolific scorer in the history of Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup competition today:Jamie Siddons (Former South Australian, Victorian and Australian batsman and previous Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup leading runscorer):”He’s the best player I’ve ever seen on a Shield cricket ground, without a doubt.”There have been some very good ones over the last 16 years or so since I started playing but there haven’t been any better than him.”Against first-class attacks, I’ve seen him carve up the best and I’ve seen him carve up the ordinary. He’s the only player I’ve seen who’s been able to basically take the mickey out of bowlers; there’s been no-one else around like that except maybe ‘Deano’ (Dean Jones).”He’s got a technique that he keeps very simple, he’s super-confident in his own ability, and he’s very aggressive – he chances his arm every time he comes out to bat.”He can manipulate bowlers; he can make them bowl where he wants them to through his footwork. He makes them bowl to him.”I’m proud of the record but it’s good that he’s the one going past it.”David Hookes (Former South Australian and Australian batsman and former Sheffield Shield leading runscorer):”He’s the best domestic cricketer in Australia, no question.”He was a genuine star even when he first came into the South Australian side. He has outrageous ability.”And, importantly, he’s never changed; he’s always been a brilliant batsman on the field and a happy guy in his life in general.”He’s highly skilled and he never hits the ball to a fieldsman; he always hits the ball into the gaps.”He backs himself, is a very good player of fast bowling and a very good player of spin bowling. He’s a wonderfully natural player, always has been and always will be.”He’s the same whether Greg Chappell’s around, or whether the doorman’s around. I’m sure that every single employee at the Adelaide Oval really enjoys it every time Darren Lehmann walks in … whether that’s to the wicket or to the administration area or to the curator’s shed.”He’s a genuinely great bloke.”Dean Jones (Former Victorian and Australian batsman; third on Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup runscorers list):”He’s probably the best batsman I’ve seen in Shield cricket.”There are not too many blokes you’d pay money to go and watch bat these days – Gilchrist, Tendulkar, Lara, Lehmann and, believe it or not, Devon Malcolm.”I rate him higher than the others in the Australian team at the moment; he’s just a phenomenal player of angles. His record’s outstanding and I don’t think the Adelaide Oval’s been at all as easy to bat on for the last three or four years as some people try to make out, either.”He just always seems to have answers for the bowlers. And his bat looks about four feet wide once he’s set.”He doesn’t ever seem to go over the top or blow his own trumpet, either. He’s not that sort of guy.”Breaking this record vindicates what I think most of us are thinking. That he’s certainly good enough to still play for Australia if he’s still required. And that could definitely still happen; you never know.”Greg Chappell (South Australian coach; former South Australian, Queensland and Australian batsman):”He’s one of the best players ever to have played for South Australia, there’s no doubt about that.”He’s obviously got a very good eye, he’s got a wonderful temperament, and an (excellent) attitude towards his cricket. He just loves playing cricket and he enjoys the challenge of batting under all different conditions against all different bowlers.”He gets a genuine joy out of playing the game of cricket and I think, allied with his tremendous talent, that’s what makes him what he is.”I think he’s very unfortunate not to have played a lot more international cricket. Had he been given that opportunity, I have no doubt that he would have shown himself to be a top-class player at that level as well.”He’s a natural leader; players tend naturally to look up to him.”Paul Wilson (South Australian and Australian fast bowler and current teammate):”He’s right up there with the best batsmen I’ve ever played with, whether they be state or international.”He’s continued, season-in and season-out, to set very high standards. And he just seems to get better and better.”He’s just got that fantastic ability to be able to dominate any attack on any given day. Obviously, natural ability has a lot to do with that but also the fact that he can put those skills into practice in every game as well.”As a bowler, at times you almost feel sorry for the opposition attack when he’s batting and think ‘thank goodness I’m on his side’.”You certainly sit there in awe. It’s always great watching him. As you get older, you don’t become a great watcher of cricket but you like to be sitting in a pretty good position when ‘Boof’ comes out to bat. Every time he comes out to bat, that is.”He’s always very professional in how he prepares himself.”Paul Nobes (Former South Australian and Victorian batsman and teammate):”Not only is Darren Lehmann very solid defensively, he’s also got an array of cricket shots all around the ground. He can play his shots anywhere; there’s no certain place that you can tie him down.”There’s not many ways of getting Darren out. He normally gets himself out.”He’s an excellent guy to bat with because the strike is always turned over and there’s never any pressure on to pick up the run rate. You never have the problem of being tied down.”In a lot of ways, this is a great record for him to achieve. But, in some ways, it must be very disappointing too. Because he’ll know, when he retires, that he was easily good enough to play a lot more international cricket than he has. Had he played for England or New Zealand or anyone else, he would have played 100 Test matches. It’s really a shame that it’s worked out like this.”People can look and say that Darren wasn’t good enough to play more cricket for Australia. But that’s absolute garbage. I actually find him more talented than the Waughs and Ponting and co, who I played against as well. Those blokes are great players, but Darren Lehmann has more talent than them.”I rate him the most talented batsman in Australia at the moment.”Andy Bichel (Queensland and Australian fast bowler):”He’s up there with the best of them.”He’s one of those guys who can just the place the ball anywhere. He can put it on the off side and then on the on side at will, even if it’s the very same ball that’s just been bowled. He’s just got that fantastic ability, whether the bowling’s quick or slow, whatever it is in fact.”He can play well-constructed innings, straight out of the textbook, but he can also do the other too.”When he’s going, he’s very very hard to bowl to.”For a guy to be able to play as many shots as he does, it means he has just an unbelievable eye. And it’s not only that: it’s the whole way he goes about the game of cricket itself. He really enjoys what he’s doing out there; that’s the key to Darren Lehmann.”That’s probably why he’s played the game for so long and got this sort of record: because he’s enjoyed every minute of it.”He’s not only a joy to play with, but also a joy to play against.”Paul Reiffel (Victorian and Australian fast bowler):”On his day, you don’t get much better. He certainly knows his own game, and has very good control of it.”The hardest thing to achieve when you’re bowling to Darren Lehmann is to pin him down for a number of overs. He’s very good at finding the gaps in the field; placing the ball where he wants to; and working the ball around.”He’s worked out his strengths and weaknesses, and he’s got enormous talent.”You find, as a captain, that you often tend to be one step behind him when he’s playing well because he’s working the ball where he wants to, and therefore almost setting the field where he wants it for himself too.”He’s very much the complete player at this level.”Jo Angel (Western Australian and Australian fast bowler):”He’s just an unbelievable player. His sheer consistency and performance is first-rate; even when wickets are falling around him, he doesn’t change the way he bats too much. He still bats his own way, which is pretty dynamic and it’s great to watch – as long as you’re not the one bowling to him!”He’s got a fantastic eye; he doesn’t always seem to move his feet that well but he obviously sees the ball very well and he keeps pretty still. It’s a lot to do with immense natural ability, I think; he keeps everything pretty simple and doesn’t tend to complicate things too much when he’s out there.”He backs himself to take anyone on.”As a bowler, your margin of error for him is a lot smaller than it is for other players.”His achievement is quite amazing, especially when you look at the records of the guys who he’s gone past. For numbers of games played, he’s well short of (most of) them. David Hookes, for one, was a fantastic player and Jamie Siddons, as well, was probably one of the best never to play Test cricket. But, in terms of averages, he’s well ahead – even of them – and that’s the bottom line, really.”It’s going to be quite a record for someone to try and chase.”Jamie Cox (Tasmanian captain and opening batsman):”He’s as high as I’ve ever rated anyone in Australian first-class cricket. He’s the best one I’ve ever played against, talent-wise.”He’s just so difficult to tie down; he seems to have about four shots for any particular ball. He’s certainly a class above most players, even at that level.”He makes the game looks easy.”Everyone, I think, will acknowledge that he should have played a significantly greater number of Tests than he has.”You watch a player like him, who has played half a dozen Tests, and you watch any number of others who have played more than him, and you wonder how that manages to work itself out.””He’s from the top drawer.”