Yeah I totally agree with u when you say that while Athers was good he wasn’t a great. however I he had the potential within him to do just that. He had an unflappable temperament and a cool head. He wasn’t the best batsman to watch as he knew his limitations and always played within them. He would definitely be one of the guys batting in your team if the chips were down and the cost of the match was yourlife. After all thats what AThers was, a battler.
I will always remember a knock of his against south africa when he batted out the entire final day after a bit of the fourth day too and ended up with I think 169 or something. the grit he displayed as he saved the game for england was brilliant. His importance to the english team can also be looked at through how valued a wicket he was to the opposition. Every opposition bowler always talked about him as one of the key wickets. However his batting average does not make what they said very believable. Thats I believe is the greatest testament to his not achieving greatness despite having it within him to do so.