Tendulkar is a better batsman than Bradman ever was

Profiles / Paul Moon / 04 December 2007 / 51 Comments

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.

Note: Part of the best thing about sport is that it isn't just what happens on the pitch that matters. It is the pub chat that surrounds the game that keeps the intrigue up. Some may think that Sachin is the best that has ever played and some may be in the Sir Don camp. However one thing that is for sure is that rivalries are one of the strongest aspects of the game and this summer for The Ashes, Betfair are putting together a special fan v fan website to get the competitive juices flowing both on the pitch and off it.

Comments (51)

Lewis Appleby | 04 December 2007

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.
Jamie | 07 December 2007

Defnitely agree...the best ever!

http://betting.betfair.com/cricket/cricket/tendulkar-is-a-better-batsman.html
Boni | 23 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
Todoroski | 03 January 2008

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.
Ramarao | 09 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.
Justin | 31 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!
paul king | 19 February 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.
lik | 21 March 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/
rs | 26 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)
Brad | 22 April 2008

"Maradona good; Pelé better; George Best."

Lara good; Sachin better; The Don Best.
Mikhail | 29 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
abhi | 09 May 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?
rajiv | 14 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
Jim Cooper | 05 June 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 | 10 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 :-)
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

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.
amigo | 18 July 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..
Sue Jones | 25 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.
Sudhanshu | 07 August 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
Mukut Ray | 24 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.
Greg | 27 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.
Ahamed Riaz | 17 September 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.
sachidanand | 27 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.
Dr Shailesh Thaker | 22 December 2008

For more than a decade SARC Region is without a BEHAVIOURAL ROLE MODEL and thus loses that dynamo to gear up and walk parallel to the western world. Most of the countries of continental South Asia such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan are designated as SARC Region and not a single human is standing out of the crowd as a 'BEHAVIOURAL ROLE MODEL'.

We have lots of leaders trying to lead us. But, none of them possess all the characteristics of BEHAVIOURAL ROLE MODEL. Hence the crisis of leadership is evident. In the present scenario 'Leadership' is a CRISIS. If we keenly investigate, we do not have a 'behavioural role model' in any part of SARC Region on this globe.

Global Research Company has recently conducted a survey for one of the most reputed health magazine. They had asked for the best BEHAVIOURAL ROLE MODEL. And, not to be surprised of the result, Sachin Tendulkar has evolved out as 'The Behavioural Role Model' for the young generation of the world.

What is the secret?

We are always keen to bring out-of-the-box the secrets. His joyful nature and passion to play are the secrets of his behavioural modelling. Whatever the circumstances may be, he always wears a smile and brings joy in more than thousand million hearts.

Sachin Tendulkar is not only a cricketer but is a model for the youth of the world. Sachin can rightly be called as an institution of Behavioural Role Model. The young generation need to learn a lot from Sachin Tendulkar.

If you look at Sachin Tendulkar, he is a great performer, and possesses the high degree of maturity, professionalism, judgement and leadership. Not only confined to this, he is also 'modelling' three important aspects of success.

How to become successful?
How to digest success? And
How to sustain success?
He has travelled the path to success. From the lessons of his life, we can know the key to become successful. Through humbleness, one of his ethics, Sachin has successfully able to digest success. And, through his simple way of living and professionalism he has able to sustain success.

Even though emerged out as a successful personality Sachin has some flaws.

He is a person with major five weaknesses.

His communication and presentation skills are very poor.
He is from middle class back ground (I mean he was not born with a golden spoon)
He does not possess any management degree or a post-graduate degree or even a graduate degree.
He is in the field of sports, a profession where you have to be physically fit and very strong. (If you take a glimpse of Sachin Tendulkar, his height is his weakness if compared with the manual of sports. His physique does not satisfy the standards of sports personality).
Every alternate year, he has to face a problem pertaining to his health. We usually find that unfortunately he has to take treatments or under go operations due to some or the other defects in the organs of his body. Hence, he is unable to perform. (I want to specify that he is not able to fulfil the fitness criteria).
In spite of these 5 weaknesses, he has proved himself as powerful performer while contributing the successful sports career of 18 years. In sports, trust me it is a long time.

Even though having these flaws, the little master has proved himself as a star and Behavioural Role Model for the youth of the world.

No body is perfect or free from weaknesses or none of us is complete. In order to succeed, we should focus on our innate strength and optimising strength is a way to lead the life. Weakness is death and strength is life. Man with matured mind and using the strength constructively can help you reach up to this level. Even at this age, the little master is still performing with the same zeal. Career, still soaring high and the sky is not the limit. I do not know when he will retire from his career but his last century on the ground of Chennai has stopped critics and forced them to appreciate his ability and skill. Most of the records are showcased on his name.

Modelling is a need of the country and life. Time has come to model Punctuality, Communication, Human relations, Goal achievement techniques, Personality, Mental maturity and commitment standards. I don't know when we will follow 'WALK THE TALK' modelling methods to track our lives on the success path. But, a single step taken will surely set a beginning.

By Dr. Shailesh Thaker

Our Official Website: http://www.drshaileshthaker.co.in/

Our Official Blog: http://www.drshaileshthaker.co.in/blog

About Author

Dr. Thaker is the world renowned management thinker and motivational speaker on organisational behaviour and development. He is the CLO of Knowledge inc. highly reputed training firm always helps organisations to achieve international benchmark. Dr. Thaker as a management guru is always on demand as a keynote speaker, business coach and training guru for the management and training conferences. Dr. Thaker has benefited 17 countries by 1320 workshops and motivates millions of professionals to achieve professional and personal goals. He has rich experience of 20 years and conducted nearly 11190 hours of training across the globe. He is PH.D in Cognitive thinking (India) and International Training Fellow (USA ).

Please send your suggestions & reviews. Also please forward this article to Sachin Tendulkar, if possible, as a token of appreciation. Also please publish this article in your website if you find it valuable.

Thankyou.
shyamamds | 22 December 2008

undoubtedly sachin is the best batsman of all time, he ve played against great bowling attacks, brilliant fielders under tremendous pressure, modern day techs, for over 15 years, "cricket is a religion where sachin is god"
Rishi | 27 December 2008

Sachin was not the best batsman ever until a few years back but lets not try to be taken aback by our prejudices.

Sachin's overall accomplishments can never make him God but yes he is now the best batsman ever!

Its time that the world shakes off the established and old notions.
singh | 01 February 2009

I think it's mot wise to compare players from different eras. Many of us have n't seen bradman play. But his record speaks for it. He had dominated world cricket while he was playing, nobody else was able to match him in his era. We cannot speculate how would he has performed against Walsh,Wasim etc. Cause a good batsman will adapt to whatever bowling he face.
They both are the greatest we have seen in history of cricket.
Even Sachin and Don both recognize each others establishment.
kiran | 27 February 2009

What ever anybody says sachin is the greatest player, because after the injuires and critics he come back and perfrom as good as any better player and he can challenge any player in the world with batting and can win and only one thing is that he has to learn handling pressure better and if so he can make 100 in each game. sachin is the cricket god no body can match him.
Cricketfan | 07 March 2009

Sachin is the greatest ever, without a doubt.
sreeram | 08 March 2009

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar,the greatest batsmen i have ever seen till now."I am big fan of Sachin",but honestly speaking thrz no one in thisworld that you can compare with Sachin.I am big fan for the cricket,i used to watch all the videos from 1970's and before also.All i can see in older cricket i.e in 1960 and 70's are very different from the present era cricket.There is a lot of variations in the game of cricket,like rules,ability of the bowlers and the most the important thing is that the "people's hope on their NATION".
But when you see the mathces in 60's and 70's you cant see people having much importance to the game ...i.e they cum just to watch,which in turn reduces the pressure on the players.But now,i am nt sure about other contries ,but i bet you that ,,wen it comes to INDIA people here have their hopes on their and like to see INDIA winning all the time and this truly can be acheived by "SACHIN".
I have seen some posts like sachin has not faced some bowlers like ambrose,walsh etc.Taz funnny yaaarrr,see its not the bowlers taht matters its the contribution and the determination the players shows.and like to remember you that bowlers at present are much better than bowlers in past,i mean they are in touch with good techniques and many new techniques are not there in the past i.e in the older cricket.Sachin has cum through the different era's he palyed with different cricketers in differnt era's.And his contribution to the contry has been raising tremendously.
Lastly,Let me tel you my views about "SACHIN"...he is a perfect cricketer.
In todays world he is the only player who plays the game with true spirit.Having played these many years he never abused anyone till date.And he is the players who performs and encourages the teammates all the time,even in worse conditions.When you observe during the match ......he contionuously keeps on suggesting his co-player.There are many ups and downs in his career,and there are times where his co-players tld taht its time to reitre for Sachin,but he came out with the best solution and made them to shut their mouths and that shows what sachin is capable of .
To be honest i just want to tell you onething ,'there is no one in this world that you can compare with SACHIN' and please dont do this again. And finally "SACHIN IS THE GOD OF CRICKET" and where all the other palyers(of all the era's) are his worshippers.
byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
sreeram | 08 March 2009

this is one more thing i would like to tell you,see the kind of shot Sachin played during recent years and these are not played by any of the veteran cricketers.And these shots are only played by sachin and are intoduced by SACHIN to the modern cricket.This is not done my any cricketers in the past.So "SACHIN THE GREAT." and he has been playing for the country although he had some bad ailments.
And onemore thing i like to tell you is that is his Patriotism.He is the only player who has the "NATIONAL FLAG TO HIS HELMET"
sreerram | 08 March 2009

hi mates...............
plz dnt compare "SACHIN" with any one pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee ......i request you .................he is the "GOD OF CRICKET".........to be honest SACHIN IS GREAT .......threzz no one u can compare with "SACHIN "..........SACHIN ZINDABAD.............SACHIN GREAT SACHIN GREAT......SACHIN FREAT......SACHIN GREAT.............................SACHIN GREAT..............SACHIN GREAT.............SACHIN GREAT...........SACHIN GREAT..........SACHIN GREAT.......SACHIN GREAT.....SACHIN GREAT.......SACHIN GREAT......SAACHIN GREAT.
steve | 19 March 2009

hi mates sorry to dissapoint you all but i think this reporter has his head stuck up sachins ass, bradmnan is the best and every1 knows it but indians. bradman was a great player under pressure something that sachin is not, bradman far greater a player. i dont want to talk about bradmans average and stats becouse thats gonna make sachin look more sh*t.
Sunny | 03 April 2009

Sachin is the better batsman, He has faced quality bowlers and fielders from 12 countries, not part time English cricketers.
duke | 11 April 2009

bradman is nothing in front of Sachin
wayne | 01 May 2009

if sachin is the best batsman of all time that means micheal jordan cannot play basketball, pele cant play soccer and ali is not a great boxer. i am convince indians have to be the dumbest set of people on this planet.
wayne | 09 May 2009

how could anyone even think about comparing sachin tendulkar with bradman? it is RIDICULOUS! honestly it is, i could see a better comparison with brian lara even though lara is better, bradman scored 12 double centuries in 80 innings, sachin has scored 4 double centuries in 261 innings in which 2 were scored against bangladesh and zimbabwe who may even have wweaker bowlers than who bowled to bradman, so bradman has 3 times as much double centuries and batted in 181 innings LESS, bradman scored 2 triple centuries, how many sachin has scored? NONE! bradman scored over 500 runs in a test series 7 times, how many times tendulkar did it? HE NEVER DID IT! how anyone who have sense would even contemplate that thought never mind to put it in writing? they should go to prison.
wayne | 09 May 2009

then someone wrote some kind of crap in an article above talking about lara comes closest to sachin. LARA IS BETTER THAN SACHIN! then they went on to say sachin has humbled almost all the bowlers he faced, well maybe he humble RUBBISH BOWLERS not quality bowlers, he averaged 36.77 in test verses mcgrath, and 36 in one day internationals, average 35.95 in test verses donald, and 22.57 in one day internationls, averaged 38 verses wasim akram in test and 36.61 in one day internationals, average 38 verses waqar younis in test and 35.95 in one day internationls, average 43 verses murali, average 32 verses walsh NEVER SCORED A CENTURY VERSES CURTLY AMBROSE IN NO FORMS OF CRICKET, average 57 verses shane warne when he had no good bowlers at the other end because when warne played with mcgrath he average 40, then someone name GREG said sachin is the greatest but its quite clear you knows very little about this game,you said bradman played 59 test when he only played 52 so i wont elaborate on you for long cause i dont think you really know the game and by saying stats wise sachin is way ahead u really dont know what is going on, i could call 15 batsmen who are better than sachin statswise, BRADMAN, HOBBS, HAMMOND, SOBERS, BARRINGTON, LARA, PONTING, GREAME POLLOCK, HEADLEY, WEEKS, WALCOTT, HUTTON, SEHWAG and GARVASKAR, but that is besides the point, then someone said if you conduct a poll he would win well if india have over a billion people dont u expect him to win? i does stop and think if you all really have sense, honestly! then someone said in 1996 they when they were 12 they heard of someone name sachin tendulkar single handedley winning matches? THAT IS A LIE! well that is if u heard it, i think you all need to stop putting up these dumb articles.
peeds | 29 May 2009

TENDULKAR BETTER THAN BRADMAN
Woril Turner | 17 June 2009

Lara and Tendulkar are the only batsmen in the current erea whose name are worthy of mention. The fact that Tendulkar started his career facing the last breed of great fast bowlers and did well ranks him as the best.

As far as I am concern cricket today is a joke. The ICC has destroyed the game with the # of bouncer per over rule, the seam on the ball is smaller, the tracks are dead. So all kinds of clowns who would not have averaged more than 20+ in yester years are now averaging in the high 50s and claiming to be great. Does anyone believe its sheer accident that only Greg Chappell, Allan Border, Javed Miandad, Sunhil Gavaskar and Viv Richards of the 70s - 80s batsmen averaged over 50? It was because cricket was then a bowlers game, the rules were all stacked in favor of the bowler. So only the very best could average over 50.
pruff | 07 March 2010

tendulkar is better than don bradman. an average off 99.9 against average players. tendulkar is back and unstopable.
Robert | 18 July 2010

As an Aussie, I idolise the Don. However, Sachin has faced quality and professional bowlers and fielders over 20 years. The Don faced pommie bums. Big difference.
Paul | 21 July 2010

I was interested to read this from Hari dated 2 April 2010:

Steve Waugh said today that Sachin Tendulkar is a great batsman but Don Bradman is the greatest. I am a fan of cricket and of baseball. Both these games are related (Baseball is an offshoot of Cricket) and use similar terminologies. Both are summer games and in both cases tradition plays an important factor. In addition Cricket and Baseball are about numbers and statistics.

For the most part American baseball fans consider Babe Ruth as the greatest player to every play the game. Between 1914 and 1935 Babe Ruth played for the famous New York Yankees and the Boston Rex Sox. As a batsman for the New York Yankees the “Babe” as he is known as put up numbers that was clearly in a league of its own. These numbers still stand up when compared to the power numbers put up by players of our generation.

The Donald Bradman story is very similar. He played test cricket for Australia for almost twenty years. His batting average and the rate at which he scored centuries will never be broken. His battles against the English team during the Ashes series are the stuff of legends. Don Bradman was not just a cricket player. Just like Babe Ruth in the United States, Don Bradman is also considered a cultural icon

I am not in favor of anointing any player in any sport as the greatest ever. They may be the greatest player of their generation but not the greatest player of all time. It is also interesting to note that the “greatest” players in most sports are players that played the game long before globalization, long before there was 24/7 media glare and long before average fans had the ability to analyze and criticize and express their opinions on the web or other forms of media. We have to accept them as the greatest because that’s the way it is.

In sports there are very few great players today. This is not because of lack of skill set or talent or records. Even when everything on the field is perfect we can always find something beneath the surface that we can use to take them down. I am confident that players like Bradman and Babe Ruth will not have the aura that they have if they were playing today. Remember a golfer by the name of Tiger Woods.

When comparing players of different generations we should also consider social and other critical facts that have changed since the playing days of Babe Ruth and Don Bradman. Bradman played 52 test matches. 37 of these 52 matches were against England. The remaining 15 were against India, South Africa and West Indies all of whom were English colonies at the time (the Indian, West Indian and South African citizens had very little input when it came to team selection). Would any modern day cricket fan consider this to be fair competition?

Similarly Babe Ruth played his entire career playing baseball in a segregated society (there was a separate league for non-white players). Today baseball is completely dominated by players from the Caribbean, Central and South America. Would Babe Ruth’s numbers be the same if he played in an integrated league? Probably not.

So let us not get carried away and crown somebody who played the game 100 years back as the greatest. It would be an insult to the advances that human beings make every day and every year in terms of physical fitness and athletic and mental ability and the level of competition.
varun | 04 September 2010

Both are greats of different eras cant be compared. Only God knows who is better.
jr | 24 November 2010

There is always some pillock trying to get his name in lights.
What an attention seeking moron.

How come bradman had an average pretty much double of anyone in his era? ANY era. If the bowling was so crap, then all batsmen would have been averaging well over 50.

Tendaulker, Lara, etc have far more advanced training, fitness, diets, sports medicine, video analysis, flatter pitches, etc, etc, to aid them.

Can you imagine an entire country devising an evil way to curb Tendulker's scoring (bodyline). The Indian cricket board would be crying like babies and threatening nuclear war. They threaten all sorts of things when something minor doesn't go their way as it is.

So its all relative. Anyone can come up with their own bias opinions (including myself). But the only thing that isn't subjective are facts. And the only fact that is not subjective is Bradman averaged 100. No one has, or will ever come close.

Anyone who thinks that any player is even close to Bradman is not from another country, but on another planet.
Rajesh | 14 December 2010

Bradman played for Australia when the Aussie economy was strong and cricketers could play cricket full time with no financial worries. The Don's English opponents on the other hand were poverty stricken and had to work long hours at a job and could only practise cricket 1 day a week.
So, there was a big diff in the standard of opposition the don faced. I'd say the British cricketers of that era could be compared to a good secondary school cricket team today.
If Sachin was fed a diet of secondary school bowlers, his average may also cross 100.
Smoke | 19 December 2010

First of all Sachin Tendulkar is a great batsmen, unquestionably. His record speaks for itself their is no need for me to comment more. He is without a doubt one of, if not, the greatest batsmen of his generation.

However,he still pales in comparison to bradman. And you only have glimpse at the statistics to compare.
With an average of 99, to that of 57.

The most common argument i see above is the fact that Sachin is better, due to the fact that he has played more tests, and been more consistent over a number of years, facing a better bowling attack. And whilst it is true that Tendulkar trumps Bradman in longevity, with over 150 tests, which again is a tremendous achievement. This is an unfair argument to compare the two. Bradman could not possibly play the number of games needed to compare with Sachin, due to the lack of teams availible to compete on a test level. Even if he played for thirty years in his era, he wouldn't have played as many games a Sachin. So to compare the two on the basis of games played is obviously unfair to Bradman, (no discredit to Tendulkars achievement), maybe if he lived in the same era as sachin he could have played similar amount of games, but alas, he did not. So Immediately the argument of longevity is pointless, how can you say that bradman would not have been as dominant if he had the opportunity to face opponents like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Zimbawie... This is pointless...

This also brings me to the irrelvance of the quality of bowling in the era.
To say that he faced lesser quality of bowling line ups is stupid. The other players whom had to play, the line ups of bowlers of the era, didn't have the amazing record of Bradman, although the previous arguments should asume they should. The average batter of the period had an average of low 40's, similar to todays batsmens. This mens that Bradmen was light years ahead of his peers, specifically 50 runs better. So the batsmen were too of less quality. The increase in quality of bowling, corresponses with the increase of batting due to the fact of better training techniques. So Bradman was 50 runs better then his other rivals...
This would be equaivalent, keeping in mind a better bowling attack, of at least 30 runs better average, say 75 in the modern era.

Ok im over typing this i could go on but fuck it..
Steve | 21 December 2010

This argument is so ridiculous.
I think Tendulkar is a great batsman, but he doesn't come anywhere near Bradman!

I would argue that batting has become a lot easier in the modern era. Roped boundaries, protective equipment, bigger bats, flatter pitches and a lot more weak nations to play against.
As for Bradman never playing ODIs, who cares? That doesn't mean anything. He clearly could have if it had been invented when he played.
Anonymous | 22 December 2010

What a jaundiced and illogical view. If Bradman Played against "hacks" then so did all of his contemporaries - so why didnt ANY of them come even close to achieving Bradmans feats?!
In his last test series played in England - he was 40 years of age and averaged more than 70 against an excellent bowling attack (Jim Laker is still considered one of the best spinners in cricket history (ave 21) and the seamer Alec Bedser (ave 25))
To label them as twits just highlights your complete ignorance.
Anonymous | 14 April 2011

I'm sorry but Bradman is still miles ahead of Tendulkar despite his achievements. Paul stats can be misleading unless taken into account with other things but the fact is as good as Tendulkar has been Bradman's average is still 40 runs or more ahead despite modern day training techniques and covered pitches. Also if you want to talk about converting starts into centuries Tendulkar's 51 tons have come from 290 innings which works out to be a ratio of 1 century per 5.7 innings where as Bradman's 29 tons have come from just 80 innings which equates to a ratio of 1 century per 2.75 innings, less than half that of Tendulkar's.

Also in case you didn't know, those 29 tons only came from 42 half centuries where as Tendulkar's 51 centuries have come from 110 half centuries which if you do the math, means that when Bradman scored a half century 69% of the time he would go on to post 100 or more whereas Tendulkar could convert a 50 into a 100 46% of the time.

On top of that, despite today's cricket calendar being packed with test matches Bradman still remains the fastest player to reach 2000,3000,4000,5000 and 6000 career test runs in terms of matches played, he still holds the record for most runs scored in a test series (974), he has passed 600 runs in a series on 6 occasions where as Tendulkar hasn't come close, he still holds the record for most test double tons at 12, and he is still just one of three players to score 2 triple centuries. Not even Tendulkar has come close to matching those records so how can he be better than Tendulkar?

Also if you want to start talking down Bradman's achievements because of the opposition he faced then it could also be said that Tendulkar's averages, number of centuries and career runs have been inflated by playing most of his cricket on flat track dust bowls and the same could also be said for many subcontinent players such as Dravid, Laxman and Sangakkara.

Tendulkar is certainly this generation's greatest batsman but to me Bradman is still the greatest because when he played in his era, he dominated the game and made even the best bowlers of the time look like hacks. Perhaps it is because of his own brilliance that people talk down the level of bowling that he faced.

Tendulkar is a better batsman than Bradman ever was

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