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Tendulkar is a better batsman than Bradman ever was
Paul Moon doesn't pull any punches as he looks at the achievements of the great Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (born 24 April 1973 in Mumbai) is a small man at 5ft 5in but he is a cricketing colossus. Wisden rated Sachin Tendulkar as the second greatest Test Cricket and ODI batsman of all time after the legendary Sir Don Bradman and Sir Viv Richards respectively. The list was later revised to make him best ODI player of all time. I disagree, he is the best ever batsman of all time.
I have the most deepest and sincerest respects for what The Don achieved but you cannot compare those undemanding runs scored against amateurs in the 30's and 40's to Sachin's, scored against the modern era fast bowlers and real spinners.
The Don scored most of his runs against bumbling, clumsy, inept, limited, unfit, sometimes ageing upper class twits with speed on a par with today's club cricketers. There was no Marshall, Ambrose or Walsh. There was no Hadlee, McGrath or Lillee. There was no Akram or Waqar and there certainly was no Warne or Muralitharan to face so how can you measure his runs reasonably? You cannot!
Look at Graeme 'flat pitch bully' Hick's record in county cricket compared to Test cricket and you will understand what I mean. Watching videos of The Don I was struck by the amount of runs scored by the horizontal bat and Wisden noted that he never never truly mastered batting on sticky wickets. Wisden commented, "if there really is a blemish on his amazing record it is the absence of a significant innings on one of those 'sticky dogs' of old"
What you do know is that The Little Master has faced the finest bowlers ever, all over world in and all situations showing his indefinable excellence given only to geniuses. Don Bradman was in awe and confided to his wife that Tendulkar reminded him of himself, he knew who was best! Brian Lara admitted that the Indian was the greatest he had ever seen. "You know genius when you see it and let me tell you, Sachin is pure genius" he said. Shane Warne agreed. Matthew 'king of sledge' Hayden called him a God.
Sachin Tendulkar is the most worshipped cricketer in the world and the biggest cricket icon ever. His batting shows perfect and wonderful balance, economy of movement and precision in stroke-making. His batting is a delight on the eye and senses. He has all the shots in the textbook and has no weaknesses. He has made runs all over the world in all conditions. His century as a 19-year old on a lightning fast pitch at the WACA was considered the greatest innings ever to have been played in Australia.
He holds all the important batting records such as the leading Test century scorer, leading ODI century and half-century scorer, one of only three batsmen to surpass 11,000 runs in test cricket as well as being the first Indian to do so. He also has the most career ODI runs. He has scored 37 centuries and 46 fifties in Test cricket and 41 centuries and 87 fifties in ODIs (See cricinfo.com). The conversion rate of fifties to hundreds is unparalleled. All this after making his Test debut at 16 years old.
Famous for saying 'getting better never stops' has caught up with him. As with all great things there comes a time when the down slope sets in, not always steeply but down nonetheless. There is evidence of this now happening to The Little Master.
He can no longer play like the prince of his youth and it is indisputable that Father Time now has a hold on Tendulkar's genius. He has acknowledged that he is no longer the player he once was. He is playing to the limitations (a relative statement) imposed by the passage of time, the ravages of recent injuries, and nearly two decades carrying the weight of his nation. He is now adapting to new realties especially when bowlers adapt a bodyline strategy, giving him the chance to highlight his bravery. He has gone from artist to warrior whilst keeping himself reserved and modest. His fame, wealth and fortune has not affected his cricket one iota, he still hates to lose and is proudly patriotic!
Has any sportsman had so much of an impact on so many since Muhammad Ali?
Will he score another century on 8 December 2008 when India play Pakistan in the Third Test Match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore? I would not back against it. I will certainly check out the top batsman odds on the day. Current odds for this match show India [2.46] and Pakistan [6.2] with the draw favourite at [2.26] with Betfair.
Comments (24)
Defnitely agree...the best ever!
http://betting.betfair.com/cricket/cricket/tendulkar-is-a-better-batsman.html
Jamie | 07 December 2007
absolutely right he is all time greatest.far better than bradman.beacause we didn't see a player who have pressure of one billion people,everytime he batted.
I want share one thing;;
when i was 12[1996].at that time i was hate this game.then i listen about a player called sachin who single handedly owns match for india.and thats made my interest in this game.and Now i am a completly mad fan of sachin and cricket.then my life is comletly changed ever after.he is truly deserve the greatest icon of cricket
Boni | 23 December 2007
What a ridiculous column. How can you say that Bradman didn't face any good bowlers because he didn't face Warne, McGrath etc.
That is the most idiotic thing I think I've ever read. Just because you have no knowledge of players from his era, doesn't make them crap. Plus, if you consider that pitches were uncovered in those days and outfields slower, it's difficult to understand how batting might have been easier then.
Sachin WAS a great, great player, but Bradman is without doubt the most dominant sportsman ever to play any ball sport.
And Bradman played under pressure all the time. Think of the expectations on him. Kings used to come to watch him play.
Todoroski | 03 January 2008
This article is absolutely a gem of an observation.That is what I call hitting the nail on its head.
The reason why I think Sachin is the Greatest is the fact that he played 18 years of uninterrupted cricket facing the best of the bowlers.Certainly, the best spinners of all-time,Warne and Murali.Saqlain Mustaq is not bad either.
Moreover sachin played in rich variety of conditions across the length and breadth of the world.Sachin played in almost 50 test venues to bradman`s 8.
Besides that ,at that time teams other than England are not better than today`s Bangladesh or Zimbabwe.
Moreover sachin has seen the transformation of cricket,changing rules,field placements,reverse swing,revival of wrist spinners,variations in bowling other than slower ones and wrong ones.
Bradman never played one-day cricket where the entire conceptilization and approach are totally differnt from Test cricket.Sachin is the only player in the Modern era who is equally competant in tests and ODIS.
Sachin played against some of the fastest bowlers brett lee,akthar and waqaar.Not to mention great bolwers like wasim,Ambrose,Donald,McGrath,Mc Dermott,Bond,Marshall,Walsh,vaas,pollack etc in their peak.
And coming to comparison among modern day players Richards never played against his country`s great bowlers.Though he fared well against prasanna,bedi who are leading spinners in those days he never faced champion bowlers like Marshall,roberts,garner etc though he dominated lille and Thomson to some extent.
Ponting,Dravid,Kallis whose average is similar to sachin are in their peak in the time where International Bolwing standards are down after 2002.So they may not be considered.
Only player who comes nearest to sachin is Lara who scores over sachin in aspects like big scores etc. But sachin is the who started his career facing Imran,wasim,Waqaar etc and humbling almost all the bowlers from 18 years and still shining.
More importantly no body in any sport is under the such a burden of huge expections than Sachin.
As L.M Lambert remarked W.G. Grace is idiolized by 15 million English,10 million aussies worshipped Bradman and same number of west indians liked Sobers but Sachin Tendulkar is Answerable to one Billion Hyper Expectant and too Easily Dissatisfied Indians.
That Sums it all that Sachin is the gretest batsmen ever.
Ramarao | 09 January 2008
What absolute garbage!
No one comes near the Don. Check your averages vs those of their contemporaries! Sachin is a fine batsmen, MAYBE the best of his generation but no more, no less. How come he has never scored more than 500 in test series or more than 2 100s in a series. If he had maybe India would have won more Test series!
Justin | 31 January 2008
what a load of rubbish
To say that tendulkar is better than bradman??
Has tendulkar ever had an entirely new concept of bowling (bodyline) devised to curb his batting??
And how many uncovered test wickets has tendulkar ever played on??
If all those bowlers that bradman batted against were average, then how is it that most of his peers in his time could not average 50 let alone 100??
To me that is like saying that Kallis is a better all rounder than Sobers.
paul king | 19 February 2008
Dear,Friend
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer who is widely regarded as one of
the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket.[1][2][3] In 2002, Wisden rated him
as the second greatest Test batsman after Sir Donald Bradman, and the greatest
One-day international batsman.He holds several highly regarded batting records
and is the leading scorer of centuries in both Test cricket and one-day
internationals.
Please Visit For More Detail
http://desidirectory.com/desi-indian-blogs/
lik | 21 March 2008
Honestly, I do agree
Sachin is the greatest batsman....
facts,
1. Bradman never played ODI and stressed by international cricket
2. 90 or more % of bradmans runs came against ENGLAND
3. what about the pressure of 1 billion people??
4. Even with tech. Sachin is better than bradman was.
conclusion: better not to compare greats from different eras (conclusion in australians favour)
rs | 26 March 2008
"Maradona good; Pelé better; George Best."
Lara good; Sachin better; The Don Best.
Brad | 22 April 2008
The don cannot be compared to the likes of lara and tendulkar. Back in don's days who did he played majority of his matches against? England! Don did not play against quality bowlers of different nationality lets be fair he cannot be the best
Mikhail | 29 April 2008
Yeah Sachin is the best batsman I completely agree with it.... I just wanna say, you said about the bowlers were not as good as Lee, Mcgrath ,Shoaib in Don's era, but what can you say about the batting techniques or strategies at that time?
Also, if you see both of their batting videos, you'll come to know that Sachin's as well as Bradman's batting style was almost the same. You can't compare them man, but as a "seniority respect", I'll place don @ 1st then followed by Sachin.
So, the conclusion is all you can do is to place Don, the little Master Blaster and Lara in the same line. Still, I suppose, Don as the inventor and Sachin as the god of cricket:)
What do you say?
abhi | 09 May 2008
hi
to compare Sachin to Don will be foolishness.... as God is not compared.... what Sachin has done or will do is not possible for anyone. Don played just for playing but nowdays there is so much pressuer to win a match which don never experienced
rajiv | 14 May 2008
Some people's grasp of history is very poor, particularly cricketing history.
Bradman scored most of his runs against England because there were very few test playing nations at the time. Pakistan wasn't even a country, let alone a test-playing one. He did, however, play cricket all over the world.
For what it's worth, **all** batsmen struggled on sticky wickets. It is some decades since first class cricket has been played under those conditions, so modern batsmen have never been tested at that level on such pitches.
As to only facing amateurs, again, that is to display total ignorance of cricket at the time. There have been professionals since at least the 18th century.
And anyone who thinks that bowlers were slower or less dangerous then is just an idiot. Would any modern batsman like to face Larwood bowling bodyline without all the protective gear Tendulkar and his contemporaries have enjoyed?
And arguing that Bradman didn't play ODIs? No-one played ODIs then!
It's always hard to compare players from different eras, but the Don stood (and still stands) so far ahead of everyone else. The stats speak for themselves. Arguing otherwise is a futile exercise.
Jim Cooper | 05 June 2008
"Don played just for playing but nowdays there is so much pressuer to win a match which don never experienced"
Rubbish. The Don also had the hopes of a nation resting on his shoulders - I don't think the population makes much of a difference at that point. He had a profile at least as high as Tendulkar's, and not just in his home country.
The game has always been played hard, too. You need to do some reading if you think it was much more gentlemanly back then :-)
Jim Cooper | 10 June 2008
Sachin is definately far superior as the workload these days is far greater and he has maintained his average over 18 years. He has also played against professional bowlers and fielders, not overweight, unfit British weekend cricketeers.
Sumit Sawe | 20 June 2008
Sachin is definately far superior as the workload these days is far greater and he has maintained his average over 18 years. He has also played against professional bowlers and fielders, not overweight, unfit British weekend cricketeers.
Sumit Sawe | 20 June 2008
i think the author is spot on..i would put sachin slightly ahead of brian charles lara as the greatest batsmen ever lived. conditions bradman faced was no wasnt very tough cos it was as author said against unfit, upper class opponents with beer bellys...not anyone in the same class as magrath, ambrose,walsh or wasim or warne or muraly...so accept it...lil master is the greatest batsmen of all time..
amigo | 18 July 2008
I have seen somebody talking here about Don's averages and how superior he was.
Never did he played under pressure. it was more of a fun then.
No exact rules and competition.
and somebody said that he carried the nation on his shoulder? great joke yaar. Even don would have laughed at this.
Sachin is,by far, the greatest cricketer ever to be born.
and if u conduct a poll, he will easily defeat the Maradonnas or Federers or Tigers.
All the Cricketing world just loves his game.
Sue Jones | 25 July 2008
My Dad tells me Don was the greatest, perhaps bcoz his dad told him so, i thought and thought twice
and each time i arrived at the same conclusion, SACHIN IS GOD and God is always incomparable
Sudhanshu | 07 August 2008
Bradman has never had to face such anormous amt. of pressure of expectations.bradman didnt have to face so much computer analysis by the opponents.so sachin is undoubtedly the greatest o all time.SACHIN IS THE ONE N ONLY GOD OF CRICKET.
Mukut Ray | 24 August 2008
LONDON: Sir Donald Bradman's impact on cricket was best demonstrated last year when Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, the game's annual reference work, asked 100 experts drawn from every test cricket-playing country to name the five greatest players of the 20th century.
The judges came up with a wide range of nominations. Forty-nine players received votes, and only two received more than 30. Bradman, who died Sunday in Adelaide, Australia at the age of 92, was chosen by every single one of them.
pressure?
he led Australia for 12 years and never lost a series
was he good?
His 37 double centuries, scores of more than 200, are a record even though many unquestionably great batsmen have played three or four times as many innings.
Greg | 27 August 2008
Its obiviously very clear that Sachin is way ahead of others and the stats definetly prove he is the best batsman to have played the game ever.Compared to DON , sachin is again on the lead ,Don just played 59 tests , who knows what would have happened if he had played over 100 tests , will he be able to sustain the pressure or the longevity as Tendulkar ?.So there is always a sense of doubt ! Sachin now nearly two decades of proving his critics wrong , time and again is definetly the greatest batsman ever.
Ahamed Riaz | 17 September 2008
as far as i m concerned don is a greatest batsmen
but the title GOD can't be associated with him
it can be only said to one n only SACHIN TENDULKAR.
sachidanand | 27 September 2008
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I think that with the same attacking mentality, the Don would still provide attacking and entertaining cricket. Sure, if he came back for a day and had to face the likes of Murali he would be scared witless, but he was still a great batsman!
Have to agree though that Sachin is the greatest batsman of all time though. The fact that Brian Lara said it and Bradman seemed to recognise it says it all. Not sure if he will get another century against Pakistan but you never know with the little guy! He'll have to hope Shoaib Akhtar isn't on form - he looks good after the return from his ban.
Lewis Appleby | 04 December 2007