Top 10 weapons of mass distinction

Dan Carter. Photo / Getty Images

1 Martin Crowe's drive
Whether it be through mid-on or cover, Crowe was the player to observe. His stroke play was world class,on a par with any great the game has produced, but his driving was extraordinary. The stance was always compact and balanced but, when the ball was pitched up, it unfurled into cricket poetry. A high left elbow and shoulder leaned side-on into the ball, forcing the left leg to land next to where it pitched.

The perfect weight transfer - with eyes over the ball at the point of impact - saw opponents chase a considerable amount of leather.

A favourite Crowe performance was his188against Australia at the Gabbain 1985. It is still arguably New Zealand's most complete test performance - and Crowe's efforts were overshadowed by a certain 15 RJ Hadlee wickets - but some of those strokes in the humidity of Brisbane are etched on my mind's cricketing honours board forever.

- Andrew Alderson

2 Usain Bolt's legs
Sprinters are supposed to be powerful and compact - ideally about 1.8m tall, with explosive leg power; not 1.96m, with the legs of a giraffe.

Usain Bolt smashes the laws of physics and thank God for that... Big blokes, really big blokes, are supposed to be useless at sprinting. It just takes them too long to get those big legs churning; to produce the power needed to combat the drag of a big body. Sprinting is stride length allied to stride rate.

Bolt, expertly coached and now with an almost perfect sprinter's form, has mastered both. In his Olympic gold medal in Beijing in 2008, he took only 40 strides; the next best athlete took about 47.

He literally flies faster than the others, touching the ground less, lifting his knees perfectly. Watch his astonishing

9.58s in the world championship and know this: this guy can go under 9.5s.

- Paul Lewis

3 David Beckham's bend

There may have been other footballers who could bend it like Beckham ... but you'd never know it.

Beckham has made the ability to bend a ball his own and his signature free kicks - he is one of the best exponents of a dead ball there has ever been - often see him lining up the ball from about a 45-degree angle.

Even though goalkeepers know he can curve the ball wickedly, they can't cover the whole goal and Beckham's radar is punishingly precise.

He's been doing it his whole career and, for a recent example, look up his free kick for LA Galaxy (of all people) against mighty Barcelona. Enjoy the faces of the bemused Spaniards.

- Paul Lewis

4 Benji Marshall's step
It looks as if it shouldn't really be a factor. Benji Marshall, facing a tackler, does his little hop-skipjump sidestep. It looks innocuous, almost desperate sometimes. It looks as though Marshall thinks a building is about to fall on him (in the shape of a tackler)and is trying to wriggle free.

But his step is a mesmerising thing. Tacklers seem to melt in the face of it; confused about where they should go.

Instead of 'running through' the step and hammering him, they hesitate that fateful second. Fatal. Marshall, the ball held out in front of him or cupped in a hand as if he is about to lob it out, is gone. He can step either way after his little airborne leap and has scored and set up countless tries with it. In 2005, playing for West Tigers against Cronulla, he beat six defenders - three with a left-foot sidestep, two with pace and then completely flummoxed the Cronulla fullback by doing the Benji step at pace to set up a try. Embarrassing and exhilarating, all at once.

- Paul Lewis

5 Muhammad Ali's left
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Ali's famed movement and ringcraft gave him the 'float'; his stinging left hand was the bee. His left jab was a thing of beauty to boxing fans, even if it frustrated the purist. One second it hung low by his side; the next it had, as if by magic, flicked out like a striking snake, stinging the opponent's face.

Ali frustrated, angered and confused many boxers with his jab; controlling many of his fights with it and his slick movement; causing mistakes. If he preferred to slip punches by leaning back, side stepping and dodging - rather than learn a conventional defence; blocking punches - it only added to the Ali mystique.

It caught up to him later in life, when the speed was gone. But watch Ali's early fights when he was so clearly the best in the world and watch the fastest reflexes in the game - and that beautiful, snaking, stinging left.

- Paul Lewis

6 Tiger Woods' red shirt for Sunday rounds
No tournament wins in over a year means this weapon may be losing its impact but Woods' wardrobe worked as a psychological taunt for so long.

He was not to be messed with, bristling his way around the fairways in the final round of tournaments, particularly majors.

Opponents lost their composure, as if falling victim to a spell. Woods first adopted the concept during his college years at Stanford University. He also once said his mother felt it was a "power colour" and, as we know, mothers are also not to be messed with.

Korean golfer YE Yang first pierced the tradition's invincibility at a major; in the 2009 PGA championship. Woods led by two strokes after 54 holes but Yang hauled him in - the first time he of the red shirt had lost in the final round of a major having gone in as a leader. It also signalled the first year he had gone without a major since 2004.

The red shirt myth was again dented when he lost his first play-off in 12 years to Graeme McDowell in last year's Chevron Challenge.

However 2011 could see the red back in the black.

- Andrew Alderson

7 Dan Carter's fend
Dan Carter, of course, can kill you off in a number of ways - running, sidestepping, kicking from hand for goal. But he also has one of the best fends in the game.

Like Ali's left, one second Carter's arm is a mere appendage. The next, it is a ramrod, jerking back the head of a would-be tackler with a snap.

There is no better example of this than when Carter, freakishly strong for a relatively small man, snapped out the fend on England prop Phil Vickery in a 2008 test. Vickery, 1.9m and 125kg; Carter 1.79m and 94kg. Carter went on a run, Vickery rumbled up to do him damage and ... pow. Large prop tossed away like a rag doll.

Oh, and Carter can fend with both hands, although the right is the might.

- Paul Lewis

8 Russell Coutts at the dial-up
Watching Coutts prepare in the dial-up to an America's Cup race was compelling. His poker face and sunglassed eyes gave off an assassin-like chill. He always got his man, too. It is hard to argue with 14 straight wins on the helm in finals series with Team New Zealand and Alinghi.

There is a case to label Coutts New Zealand's most under-rated sportsman, even with a knighthood and an Olympic gold medal (Finn class, Los Angeles 1984) to his credit. New Zealand (if you believe in the nationalisation of the event) has not won it since. Coutts has - twice. His skills are legendary, with senses worth insuring. Perhaps Team New Zealand should have given his opinion more weight over a decade ago?

- Andrew Alderson

9 Roger Federer's one-handed backhand
The Australian Open has provided many highlights for tennis aficionados over the past fortnight but few beat watching Roger Federer deliver his one-handed backhand.

In an age where the two-hander is de rigueur, a winning right arm flourish from Federer's racquet transports fans back to a more elegant era.

Opponents are dismissed with a wave of Federer's wand; another winner blasted deep down the line. The right foot steps forward, the right shoulder leans parallel to the net, the balance is perfect, the head is still and bang ... in one fluent motion, the ball is dismissed from his presence in a belligerent, regal, compelling fashion.

His backhand spluttered and coughed up an unusual number of unforced errors when he was beaten by Novak Djokovic - but even the best gems have tiny flaws.

- Andrew Alderson

10 Sarah Ulmer's high gear
Ulmer and her coach/partner Brendon Cameron went down a risky path to claim Olympic gold in 2004. Cameron advised her to try a bigger gear for the 3000 metres individual pursuit. Those types of bikes only have one gear, so it was an significant call. Cameron's programme based Ulmer's performance on power and strength rather than her traditional aerobic work. He then monitored her assiduously. The theory was that, although it might take her a while to power up over 12 laps, by the end of the race her bike would be humming and hauling in her opponents. Ulmer didn't just haul in opponents. She also clocked the world and Olympic record of 3m:24.537s. It still stands.

- Andrew Alderson