Best cricketer you've ever watched.

[Dave Cooper please]

We occasionally debate our favourite footballers and the best ever Villa player (Brian Little of course), but how about cricketers?

I'll open with Brian Lara, absolute genius batsman.

And Flintoff, just because of the buzz he created every time he was thrown the ball, and for this over:

Linky

[peter w]

Viv Richards

[richl]

Viv Richards, proper nice bloke as well. Turned up at my wedding.

[Chris Jameson]

Good question, I'll go for Viv Richards with honorouble mentions for Michael Holding, Dennis Lillee and although not a 'great' I used to love watching Darren Lehmann bat for Yorkshire.

My dad worked in the scoreboard at Scarborough and loved his cricket, his top three were Bradman, Johnny Wardle and Len Hutton. I didn't ever see any of them play but he got all misty eyed whenever they came up in conversation!

[OzVilla]

Warne, reinvented spin bowling, especially leg spin which had all but died out in Test Cricket.

Great competitor, could take wickets on any surface, rarely got taken apart and could bowl for other bowlers when required. His performance in the 05 Ashes with 40 wickets in the series summed him up.

Great cricket brain, no slouch with the bat and a superb sledger by all accounts.

Loved him to have been English.

[Chico Hamilton III]

Tendulkar's century at Edgbaston in 1996. Most people were under the stands, watching England and Switzerland play out a nil nil draw at Euro 96 while Sachin was putting on a master class

[tomd2103]

As Bears fan, I count myself lucky that I got to see Brian Lara and Allan Donald at their peak.  Apart from those two, I'd have to go with Shane Warne, who I saw at Edgbaston in the 2005 Ashes series.  I heard someone say that "every ball was an event" with Warne, which is about right!!   

[bertlambshank]

Donald for me as well.

[Damo70]

Brian Lara was best mates with Dwight Yorke. I take an interest in cricket but I am not a huge fan. I always admired the skills and winning mentality of Ian Botham, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath.

Quick edit, I forgot the Tasmanian Devil himself, Ricky Ponting.

[Dave Cooper please]

Warne thought he could take a wicket with every ball he bowled, and it was that belief that made him great.

I was sat in a pub in Brum when he bowled THAT ball that dismissed Gatting at Old Trafford, there were about a dozen of us and we all just looked at each other as if to say "What the fuck was that?"

[UK Redsox]

Mike Procter

[Chico Hamilton III]

Was anyone present when Brian Lara answered his mobile phone whilst fielding at Edgbaston?

[Damo70]

Mike Procter

His move to Forest didn't work out. He ended up going to Sunderland, Sheff Wed and then back to Middlesbrough.

[Damo70]

Warne thought he could take a wicket with every ball he bowled, and it was that belief that made him great.

I was sat in a pub in Brum when he bowled THAT ball that dismissed Gatting at Old Trafford, there were about a dozen of us and we all just looked at each other as if to say "What the fuck was that?"

THAT ball has a name doesn't it? Is it the ball of the decade or ball of the century or some grand title like that?

[Ron Manager]

Depends on your age of course but Frederick Sewards Trueman is the greatest cricketer I have ever seen. Or am likely to see.

Freddie Trueman was the Muhammed Ali of cricket. He was that good.