Donald Bradman's average

[CricAddict]

This isn't logical. If Bradman could do it, there's no reason another couldn't come along. You think every wicket and bowler in the 30s and 40s was the same? If anything there was more variety with uncovered pitches and less restrictive rules (eg. bodyline being allowed). They also played a lot more First-class cricket and tour matches so the workload wasn't reduced. There was less Test cricket against minnows back then too, that's one factor that would make it easier to dominate now to a similar extent.

There's only been 1 of him in 150 years though so it might not happen in time before Test cricket goes extinct

Wow you really think there was more variety at that time than now?

 

[srbhkshk]

iirc isnt there another Indian bloke who scored more goals per game then Chand?

yes, Balbir Singh Sr. - He played only a third of Dhyan Chand's matches though. I am not quite sure how reliable the records from that time are, but the general hunch from whatever reporting remains and I have managed to read indicates that no one was anywhere close to Chand's level.

On a separate note, two other guys who might be mentioned here are Pakistan's Jahangir and Jamsher Khan - supposed to be the gold standard in squash.

 

[Xuhaib]

Jahangir Khan is the closest I can think off Went 6 years and 555 matches unbeaten Not sure what was more competitive and professional cricket in 30's or Squash in 80's

 

[TheJediBrah]

Wow you really think there was more variety at that time than now?

In many ways, definitely. It's not a compelling argument regardless.

 

[Jayro]

Speaking of other sports if darts is considered one, than there was an English guy who won many championships, his name was Phil I guess.

 

[Xuhaib]

Speaking of Bradman I wonder what stopped him from playing another series to hit the 100 average mark. From all written and spoken accounts the bloke had an ego and believed in his own hype and was stats driven and its not like he would have been dropped had he decided to play one more series.

 

[Coronis]

1v1 vs team sports is a bit of a different ball game I reckon.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Speaking of Bradman I wonder what stopped him from playing another series to hit the 100 average mark. From all written and spoken accounts the bloke had an ego and believed in his own hype and was stats driven and its not like he would have been dropped had he decided to play one more series.

He already decided to retire also I don't think he had an ego so much in regard to personal stats like Sachin wanting to play on until he reached a milestone. He was just a headstrong, kind of ****y guy who didn't have time for people who he didn't think were good enough

 

[srbhkshk]

Speaking of Bradman I wonder what stopped him from playing another series to hit the 100 average mark. From all written and spoken accounts the bloke had an ego and believed in his own hype and was stats driven and its not like he would have been dropped had he decided to play one more series.

Average isn't really like getting to X runs / Y wickets though, for all you know playing an extra series can further dent it - which would have perhaps been likelier assuming Bradman wasn't quite at his peak (given he was retiring and all)

 

[Socerer 01]

Speaking of Bradman I wonder what stopped him from playing another series to hit the 100 average mark. From all written and spoken accounts the bloke had an ego and believed in his own hype and was stats driven and its not like he would have been dropped had he decided to play one more series.

far easier to fall from 99.94 than to raise it to over 100 me thinks especially when you are in the phase of retirement. 99.94 also feels more romantic for some reason and I suppose Bradman saw the beauty in it by the time he was winding up

 

[Zinzan]

NO!!!

Haha, a resounding NO that. Good to see you JBMAC !

 

[Pap Finn Keighl]

Speaking of Bradman I wonder what stopped him from playing another series to hit the 100 average mark. From all written and spoken accounts the bloke had an ego and believed in his own hype and was stats driven and its not like he would have been dropped had he decided to play one more series.

He could have played another 15 years if he wanted to.

 

[Pap Finn Keighl]

iirc isnt there another Indian bloke who scored more goals per game then Chand?

Lohmann and Barnes aren’t as much outliers really are they? First of all there’s 2 of them, plus all the other bowlers with similar averages who also have similar WPM.

Got nothing for WG in first class though, bloke was ridiculous.

Similar average and similar WPM..? Can you name them?

 

[Coronis]

Similar average and similar WPM..? Can you name them?

Lohmann 10.75, 6.22
JJ Ferris 12.70, 6.78
Barnes 16.43, 7
Turner 16.53, 5.94
Peel 16.98, 5.05

Its no coincidence either that they all played in an era when a great batsman averaged 35-40. Not at all comparable to Bradman.

 

[Himannv]

Clearly a flat-track bully who only cashed in against minnows and reacted with outraged when faced with the short ball.

 

[weeman27bob]

Marion Tinsley - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Tinsley was world champion 1955–1958 and 1975–1991 and never lost a world championship match, and lost only seven games (two of them to the Chinook computer program, one of them drunk, one of them in a simultaneous exhibition) from 1950 until his death in 1995.


Maybe calling draughts a sport is stretching things a little though..

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Marion Tinsley - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Tinsley was world champion 1955–1958 and 1975–1991 and never lost a world championship match, and lost only seven games (two of them to the Chinook computer program, one of them drunk, one of them in a simultaneous exhibition) from 1950 until his death in 1995.


Maybe calling draughts a sport is stretching things a little though..

Didn't play the Soviets, doesn't count

 

[shortpitched713]

Isn’t Wayne Gretzky the closest someone is to being as much of an outlier in their sport as Bradman is in his?

At a cursory glance, no. And going deeper, on a year to year level there were other players competing with him on the individual points leaderboard on any given year, so it's not the same as with Bradman, where he was far and away better in production in every point of his career compared to his rivals.

 

[shortpitched713]

I wasn't just clapping back at _00_deathscar . If anyone can make a statistically based claim for a sportsman being as far above his peers as Bradman was to his in cricket, I'd really love to know.

To me Bradman's record is so absurd, that if I was new to cricket and didn't know about the documentation around his career, I'd be inclined to believe conspiracy theories or some ****, because certainly his opposition couldn't have been trying or must have conspired to manufacture that great of a record. But, as far as any indication goes, there was actual competition going on.

 

[trundler]

Dhyan Chand scores goals like runs in cricket - Don Bradman.

WG - 1868-1877

Lohmann and Barnes too

Lohmann is a really disingenuous example in test cricket because the matches he played against SA were not seen as representative and only given test status later. Those sides weren't even called South Africa or South African XI. They were called Major Wharton's XI or something.