Most know about Rose Tinted glasses, but how about Poo Tinted glasses? For those afflicted with Poo Specs it is hard to fathom that players of yore could possibly be as good as modern players.
1) They don't hit as many fours. Never mind that the boundary is further away, that the grass is a jungle or that the bat is a toothpick. They didn't hit as many fours (or sixes) so they can't be right, right? Yeah....right!
2) The commentator isn't excited. Compare...."Lovely shot, that....." against "What the ****! WHAT - THE - ****! Did you see that shot? I just gave involuntary birth - that is the best shot in the world, like, EVA! Waaaa wa waaa, blaaa blaaa blardy blaaaaa - Kholi scores two runs". Clearly the commentators know their stuff. They are all ex players who know their stuff. If they say this is the best we've ever seen, they must be right, right? Yeah....right!
3) They scored less and did it so slowly. No amount of fat bats can account for such a diminished output. Never mind, that a combination of fat bats, shrunken boundaries and fielding restrictions might explain it. Never mind the fact that ODI cricket stats undeniably show an increase in both averages and scoring rates (that, by the way - could be used as crude weighting factors for a better comparison). just never mind all that. Kholi scores over 50 and no one has ever done that. Fogies who remind us about Jones can't be right, right? Yeah....right!
4) Their hair styles are doofy. Some of them don't even have hair! You can't play good cricket without getting your hair right, right? Yeah....right!
Taking off the Poo Specs, Dean Jones was 21 runs better than the average of 31 from 1985 to 1990. That is 67% better. His strike rate was 10 better than the average of 67 or 15% better. In today's terms Jones averaged 65 with a strike rate of 101.