Sachin Tendulkar better than Don Bradman, new study shows

[NasserFan207]

I'm as sick of Bradman veneration as of Sachin fanboys. The guy played in two countries against four countries for ****sakes, in a vastly different era with vastly differing levels of fitness, competitiveness, remuneration which directly ties in with professionalism. Even granting that you can only eat the gruel on your plate, there is just no way one can dismiss all other claims to greatness with such flippancy as is wont among the Don's worshippers.

Both sets of supporters are as bad as each other for me.

 

[Burgey]

I'm as sick of Bradman veneration as of Sachin fanboys. The guy played in two countries against four countries for ****sakes, in a vastly different era with vastly differing levels of fitness, competitiveness, remuneration which directly ties in with professionalism. Even granting that you can only eat the gruel on your plate, there is just no way one can dismiss all other claims to greatness with such flippancy as is wont among the Don's worshippers.

Then halve everyone else's averages from the early days and argue Hobbs, Hutton, Hammond, Sutcliffe, Headley et al would average between 25-30 now.

 

[Ruckus]

I'm as sick of Bradman veneration as of Sachin fanboys. The guy played in two countries against four countries for ****sakes, in a vastly different era with vastly differing levels of fitness, competitiveness, remuneration which directly ties in with professionalism. Even granting that you can only eat the gruel on your plate, there is just no way one can dismiss all other claims to greatness with such flippancy as is wont among the Don's worshippers.

Since when has using arguments based on overwhelming evidence become flippancy?

 

[Hurricane]

I'm as sick of Bradman veneration as of Sachin fanboys. The guy played in two countries against four countries for ****sakes, in a vastly different era with vastly differing levels of fitness, competitiveness, remuneration which directly ties in with professionalism. Even granting that you can only eat the gruel on your plate, there is just no way one can dismiss all other claims to greatness with such flippancy as is wont among the Don's worshippers.

The lock is coming.

 

[ganeshran]

How many has trott played?

38 innings @ 57.7.

 

[Burgey]

Well you can't say he would, unequivocally, but all the evidence points towards his test career as not simply being a purple patch but rather an accurate indication of just how good he was. I.e. there is no reason to believe if he had played more innings his average would have dropped by very much. That's all I was trying to say.

You don't have a 20 year purple patch.

 

[Ruckus]

yeah exactly, which is what makes those kind of insinuations all the more ridiculous.

 

[MrPrez]

Tendulkar was an early bloomer. Great. So was Wayne Rooney, does it make him a better striker than a guy like David Villa? Face it, guys like Ponting, Lara and Kallis were/are at the same level as him.

Fwiw I'm not saying Bradman is some supernatural being, in fact I think people overrate him majorly. Just not as much as Indians overrate Tendulkar.

 

[ankitj]

I'm as sick of Bradman veneration as of Sachin fanboys. The guy played in two countries against four countries for ****sakes, in a vastly different era with vastly differing levels of fitness, competitiveness, remuneration which directly ties in with professionalism. Even granting that you can only eat the gruel on your plate, there is just no way one can dismiss all other claims to greatness with such flippancy as is wont among the Don's worshippers.

Except there's hardly any Don's worshiper. If someone claims Agarkar is a better bowler than Akram, and I protest, I don't suddenly become Akram's worshiper, I still remain the guy who thinks Akram is over-rated.

 

[Jono]

Yes but he wasn't just an early bloomer, he kept up a high level for 22 years.

He's been more valuable to his team than other batsmen with 50-55+ averages because he's done that for 22 years. How do you not understand that?

 

[Hurricane]

How many has trott played?

I took a look at Hussey - after 79 innings it dipped to 50. And it is still 50 after 100 odd innings.

 

[GotSpin]

This thread is the pits. Well done CW

 

[Ruckus]

Yes but he wasn't just an early bloomer, he kept up a high level for 22 years.

He's been more valuable to his team than other batsmen with 50-55+ averages because he's done that for 22 years. How do you not understand that?

Difference between being more valuable and being better though. I definately think Tendulkar has been more valuable than the aforementioned players, but I also think, on the whole, he has been better (not by much though).

 

[ganeshran]

I took a look at Hussey - after 79 innings it dipped to 50. And it is still 50 after 100 odd innings.

Hussey was 84 after 30 innings

64 after 50 innings

50 after 79 and hovering around that mark for around 20 odd innings

If anything this proves that there is no way to accurately say at any given point of the career (n innings), what a player's aggregate and average will be after he completes (n+m) innings as long as the (n-m) difference is small enough to be able to be able to make an impact on his stats

 

[MrPrez]

Yes but he wasn't just an early bloomer, he kept up a high level for 22 years.

He's been more valuable to his team than other batsmen with 50-55+ averages because he's done that for 22 years. How do you not understand that?

Are we talking about who has had the most value overall for their team, or who is the best? There is a difference, you know.

 

[fredfertang]

I'm as sick of Bradman veneration as of Sachin fanboys. The guy played in two countries against four countries for ****sakes, in a vastly different era with vastly differing levels of fitness, competitiveness, remuneration which directly ties in with professionalism. Even granting that you can only eat the gruel on your plate, there is just no way one can dismiss all other claims to greatness with such flippancy as is wont among the Don's worshippers.

I wonder what Bradman's stats would have been if he had been able to devote all his time and energy to playing cricket

 

[zaremba]

Average after 80 Test innings:
Ponting 54.5
Lara 52.1
Hussey 51.8 (ish)
Dravid 54.5

Average now:
Ponting 52.3
Lara 52.9
Hussey 50.4
Dravid 53.2

These figures suggest that your average after 80 innings is a reasonable guide to where you will end up. I don't pretend this is scientific.

 

[Jono]

Yeah that's quite interesting.

 

[Ruckus]

It can only ever be used as a guide, because you can never know for certain what's going to happen in the future, but that looks pretty compelling to me. An interesting task could be to try and find counterexamples (are there any?) to that rule, and perhaps work out why the batsmen haven't meet that 'criteria'.

 

[Burgey]

You can tell Jono wants to say it.

Itching to say it........