The three batsmen who are almost unanimously considered to be the best of their generation at this present point in time are regarded as superior for elements in their performance that cannot be reflected in runs alone.
The fact Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara exist in an echelon above their contemporaries – who possess records similar to theirs – in the eyes of the often-uninformed majority, is exceedingly significant.
It evinces the status these players held over the course of their careers and the psychological impact their presence had on the outcomes of games, as it was flagrant to even the most innocent and intoxicated couch analyst.
Hindsight does afford us with many benefits, such as prolonged time and an absence of circumstance-fuelled narrow mindedness, but in some respects it fails to appreciate the influence certain people have on their concerned fields of existence.
These gentlemen shaped the very era they belonged to, through their respective unique and unprecedented batting styles, honing their own distinctive crafts to a pre-eminent level that enabled them to break records and endure highly successful Test careers.
The one individual who is revered more vehemently than Ganeesha himself on the subcontinent is Sachin Tendulkar.
A worthy recipient of his god status, this stocky, vertically challenged master will finish with a record that may be forever unsurpassable when he eventually calls time on an international career that commenced way back in 1989.
Blessed with quick hands and a classical technique, Tendulkar has been a favourite of commentators for the duration of his career, as the elegance of his strokeplay captures the eye of the game’s purists.
Tendulkar is the most diverse of the three, being able to score freely all around the ground and interchange comfortably between attack and defence, depending on situation.
Critics often marginalise his success for the high percentage of his runs being scored on batsman-friendly conditions in the subcontinent, and this is a legitimate criticism.
Despite the fact he has consistently performed exceptionally abroad, the bulk of his centuries in both forms of the game (disregarding T20 cricket) have been scored in Asia, where the fast bowling threat is almost completely nullified by the barren composition of their playing strips.
However, what is most important in this comparison is the acknowledgement of his fellow soldiers; Tendulkar donned the navy blue cap for nearly his entire career with a formidable army.
Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Saurav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag and MS Dhoni played their entire careers to date with Tendulkar.
With Dhoni as the exception, who will likely match the feats of these greats in the coming seasons, the four all played over 100 Tests, compiling over 100 centuries between them.
Even considering the great teams that have presided our game throughout the 20th century, this batting line-up would have to lie on the summit.
Had there not been such a major discrepancy in the bowling and fielding departments, this Indian side would have been a major hurdle for the dominant Australians to overcome on a consistent basis.
Consequently, although his wicket was always a bit of a prized scalp, the opposition still had to account for four or five other world class batsmen.
That is not to say he was devoid of pressure, on the contrary he had arguably the most out of any sportsman in the history of mankind, bearing the weight of over a billion hopeful Indians on his shoulders each time he took centre stage.
It is rather an understanding that his pursuit of runs was ameliorated by the reality that the fielding side had plenty of batting prowess to contend with when encountering India, not simply the Little Master.
It is unequivocal Tendulkar should exist in any expert’s greatest XI and he be a vowel in the cricket alphabet, but he was not the finest of them all.
That title goes to the ace that hails from a land where palm trees are as common as street signs and rum is consumed as invariably as water…
Linedropout
Roar Pro
totally agree
Linedropout
Roar Pro
It's all proportional - you can't say a player from another era is better than one from another. You could argue that Sachin is better because he batted with superhuman consistency with the weight of a billion cricket lovers on his shoulders.
xxx121
Guest
Sachin Tendulkar in test matches vs all country Country Tests Runs Best Ave 100s 50s 0s Australia 31 3151 241* 60.59 11 13 4 England 24 2150 281 58.97 6 11 2 Sri Lanka 25 1995 203 60.45 9 6 0 South Africa 24 1665 169 48.00 7 5 3 New Zealand 22 1532 217 49.41 4 8 1 West Indies 16 1328 179 57.73 3 7 3 Pakistan 18 1057 194* 42.28 2 7 2 Zimbabwe 9 918 201* 76.50 3 3 1 Bangladesh 7 820 248* 136.66 5 0 0
xxx121
Guest
1. "I want my son to become Sachin Tendulkar." -Brian Lara(WI) 2. ''V did not lose 2 a team called India , v lost 2 a man called Sachin'' - Mark Taylor(aus) 3. 'Nothing bad can happen 2 us if v were on a plane in India wit Sachin Tendulkar on it.''-Hashim Amla(SA) 4. ''He can play that leg glance with a walking stick also.-Waqar Younis (Pak) 5. ''There r 2 kind of batsman in the world. 1 Sachin Tendulkar and 2. all the others .-Andy Flower(ZIM) 6. "I have seen God. He bats at no.4 for India in tests.-Matthew Hayden (AUS.) 7. "I c myself when i c Sachin batting.-Don Bradman(AUS) 8. "Do your crime when Sachin is batting, bcos even God is busy watching his batting. -Australian Fan The Best One :--- 9. Barack Obama - "I don't know about cricket but still I watch cricket to see Sachin play..Not b'coz I love his play its b'coz I want to know the reason why my country's production goes down by 5 percent when he's in batting"...
Kenny
Guest
who can forget the desert storm..He dominated everybody.
Kenny
Guest
If u compare numbers..Nobody comes close to Sachin in this era.
Kenny
Guest
Sachin is the master..Lara second...I would pick Ricky third.
Desmond
Guest
Lara better then sachin anytime...anywer....anyhow....even in his worst days lara is better den sachin
dasilva
Roar Guru
I think with Tendulkar him in the 90's is different from him in the 00's onwards. TEndulkar in the 90's minus Zimbabwe and Bangladesh - 59.38 The whole second to Bradman was very legitimate there HOwever he decline in the 00 in probably one of the most batsman friendly era where we have 20 batsman averaging over 50 in that decade instead of just 3 players in the 90's. his batting average minus Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in the 00's is 47.19 and 47.32 so far this decade which is world class but far below the rest of the pack of Ponting, Kallis, Dravid. etc Sure it was due to injuries but they all count. I mean if we have a player who is willing to play partly injured that still counts to the record. also it shows the deterioration that comes with the aging process. Just like people in this post wrote about Lara that you don't know which Lara you will get, the one who scored 153* or the one who gets out cheaply well which Tendulkar you are going to get, the one who dominate in the 90's or the partly injured, aging Tendulkar in the 00's. onwards.
dasilva
Roar Guru
The overall aggregate batting average of matches involving a player gives a good indicator of the difficulty of the batting conditions or the amount of support his batting team have. SR Tendulkar average 51.08 (minus Bangladesh, Zimbabwe). The aggregate batting averages of matches involving him is 34.35 Brian Lara average 52.53 (minus Bangladesh, Zimbabwe). The aggregate batting averages of matches involving him is 29.39 The aggregate batting average in test cricket is 30.20.
Johnno
Guest
A young Damien Martyn was the next best thing. He was picked by Bob Simpson at 21, controversially Dean Jones was dropped for Marto. Bob Simpson said he was the most talented batsmen since Bradman at the time in the 90's when he got picked by him. Then Ponting cam on the scene 3 years later. Marto had a heap of talent, such a natural player.
JimmyB
Guest
Seriously Marty? Is he a relative of yours or something?
TGGOA
Guest
Brian Charles Lara was easily the best to watch. Tendulkar's 97/98 series against Australia was amazing, as was Lara's 99 series against Australia, great times for cricket. Tendulkar is now an accumulator of runs, Lara was always an entertainer.
marty
Guest
Damien martyn was the best i have seen obviously his stats dont stack up but he was poetry in motion
Johnno
Guest
Viv never wore a helmet, played in a time when no ropes existed, cricket bat technology was worse, and saftey gear worse, also no video analysis for batters unlike in Tendulkars time, so bowlers had a big advantage in Viv's time. And pitches much tougher in the 80's than the 2000's when Tendulkar played heaps of cricket. Viv played in a tougher era, and faced better bowlers. And in Viv's time a 3 would be a 4 in Tendulkar's time, coz no ropes.
Tony Shillinglaw
Guest
In a rare television interview Ray Martin asked the question:- "Why don't others play like you?" Don Bradman tellingly replied:- "I think it's because they are coached NOT to do it. It's a DIFFERENT technique". Surely it is time for the human fundamentals and essence of Bradman's golf ball and stump training to be understood so leading to the acceptance of the DIFFERENT "Continuous Rotary Batting Process" by which we have discovered and suggest his runs were scored.
Varun
Guest
Sir richards was good but sachin is better, look at his average
Johnno
Guest
Lara was my mistake, but Ponting only averaged 26 in India, He only got 1 century in 14 innings in India. Lara though never got a century in India, but had good batting averages in Asia. So 1 century between them in India.
Luke Smyke
Roar Pro
Lara was not a fine player of spin? I must have missed something here...was John Howard a socialist then as well?
Johnno
Guest
One thing that does annoy me is at time the contempt that is shown to pitches on the sub-continent, as easy, and tokenism runs. Nonsense. Some of the pitches have been dead tracks and batting paradises, but some have been dustbowls, and real turners, but it seems often we only grade batsmen who have the ability to play pace bowling. Hello shane warne anyone, graham swan,kumble,Murali,vettori,stuart mcgill. A batsmen has to be seen as being good vs spin to, not just pace. Some can play both, others can play just pace or spin. And Australia, should not brush aside it being okay not to play spin, as an excuse. Is it excuseable in Australian cricket to lose 4-0. Should we not be concerned that Graham Swan, was the leading wicket taker at the 2013 Ashes just done, should it not bother us that Harbajhan spun us out in 2001 when we were in our prime. Australia's inability to play spin bowling should be a massive concern. Tendulkar,Dravid,Kallis were all fine players of spin. Lara and Ponting were not. If the flat tracks of Asia are so easy, how come these so called greats have only managed one century between them in Asia. So maybe the other 3 are better as they may not have played pace as well, as lara or Ponting, but they played spin well. And Dravid played swing bowling well such was his highly impressive records in England, and vs Pakistan in Pakistan who were all exponents of reverse swing.