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The best batsman and bowler of the 1990s

Sir Alex

Banned
He didn't really do much against McGrath in 99/Australia. Even in 99 McGrath was comfortable; he went for barely any runs. Most of the runs came against the others, namely Warne. And no, India's conditions suited Tendulkar much more than it suited McGrath.
In 99 he did dominate McGrath on occassions. I still remember the last test match where Tendulkar was batting with gay abandon and he pulled, hooked and drove McGrath in one over before McGrath was able to get him out with a ridiculous lbw decision (that series had some serious umpiring blinders and am not referring to the shoulder before wicket). McGrath abused Tendulkar verbally after that and that showed how much the little master had got under the skin of the master bowler.
 

Sir Alex

Banned
No, Warne didn't struggle against Pakistan. He struggled against India, but during the time where he pretty much had most his tests against him he suffered with multiple injuries.

Anyway, I thought we were talking about pace?
You were indeed talking about Warne being out of form. Strange the argument applies only whenever he played against Tendulkar. Remember Tendulkar played 90% of his cricket since 99 till date with career threatening and painful injuries.

Warne had his day out in the sun against mediocre players of spin (mainly England) but when it came to the real deal he struggled.
 

subshakerz

Hall of Fame Member
He didn't really do much against McGrath in 99/Australia. Even in 99 McGrath was comfortable; he went for barely any runs. Most of the runs came against the others, namely Warne. And no, India's conditions suited Tendulkar much more than it suited McGrath.
I wouldnt split hairs that far. If McGrath bowled against him in 99 and Tendulkar managed to score well overall, Tendulkar should get credit for it.

Let's not forget that Tendulkar did very well against an attack with Brett Lee bowling at worldclass quality, along with quality support from Clark and Johnson. Tendulkar has pretty much done well every time he's gone to Australia.
 

Ikki

Hall of Fame Member
In 99 he did dominate McGrath on occassions. I still remember the last test match where Tendulkar was batting with gay abandon and he pulled, hooked and drove McGrath in one over before McGrath was able to get him out with a ridiculous lbw decision (that series had some serious umpiring blinders and am not referring to the shoulder before wicket). McGrath abused Tendulkar verbally after that and that showed how much the little master had got under the skin of the master bowler.
No, he didn't. Tendulkar merely played him well. Not brilliant, not dominating...nothing of that sort. If you mean a shot here and there, then that's not really domination.

1st test:
1st Inning
Tendulkar: 61 runs @ 45.86
McGrath: 2 wickets for 49 runs; with 13 Maidens in 30 overs at an ER of 1.63

2nd Inning
Tendulkar: 0 runs - McGrath got him.
McGrath: 3 wickets for 35 runs; with 2 Maidens in 12 overs at an ER of 2.91

2nd test:
1st Inning
Tendulkar: 116 runs @ 60.73
McGrath: 3 wickets for 39 runs; with 3 Maidens in 18.1 overs at an ER of 2.14

2nd Inning
Tendulkar: 52 runs
McGrath: 0 wickets for 22 runs; with 8 Maidens in 17 overs at an ER of 1.29

3rd test:
1st Inning
Tendulkar: 45 runs @ 84.90 - McGrath got him.
McGrath: 5 wickets for 48 runs; with 7 Maidens in 18.5 overs at an ER of 2.54

2nd Inning
Tendulkar: 4 runs @ 100.00
McGrath: 5 wickets for 55 runs; with 1 Maiden in 17 overs at an ER of 3.23

---

As I said, McGrath went for peanuts, even when Tendulkar was scoring runs. So it obviously wasn't him that was being shellacked. This is also illustrated by the ER. The two times McGrath actually has a pretty high ER Tendulkar made pretty much no runs.

I wouldnt split hairs that far. If McGrath bowled against him in 99 and Tendulkar managed to score well overall, Tendulkar should get credit for it.

Let's not forget that Tendulkar did very well against an attack with Brett Lee bowling at worldclass quality, along with quality support from Clark and Johnson. Tendulkar has pretty much done well every time he's gone to Australia.
I agree with you, so I sum up by saying he did pretty well. Where I draw the line is "brilliant and dominated McGrath".

And I'd also have a hard time equating the attack with Lee, Clarke and co with McGrath, Gillespie and co.
 
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Ikki

Hall of Fame Member
You were indeed talking about Warne being out of form. Strange the argument applies only whenever he played against Tendulkar. Remember Tendulkar played 90% of his cricket since 99 till date with career threatening and painful injuries.

Warne had his day out in the sun against mediocre players of spin (mainly England) but when it came to the real deal he struggled.
Not really that strange. It also applies to NZ and WIndies whom he never had problems with. IIRC he did worse against them than India/Tendulkar.

But funny where you expect me to take into account 2004 where Tendulkar wasn't fully fit but ignore Warne getting finger and shoulder operations. :laugh:
 

Sir Alex

Banned
Facing an attack consisting of Hughes, McDermott, Reid and Warne at 18 years of age and scoring 2 100s (one of them in the most hardest wickets in the world - Perth) certainly beats any supposition that Tendulkar withered against pace attacks.
 

Sir Alex

Banned
No, he didn't. Tendulkar merely played him well. Not brilliant, not dominating...nothing of that sort. If you mean a shot here and there, then that's not really domination.

1st test:
1st Inning
Tendulkar: 61 runs @ 45.86
McGrath: 2 wickets for 49 runs; with 13 Maidens in 30 overs at an ER of 1.63

2nd Inning
Tendulkar: 0 runs - McGrath got him.
McGrath: 3 wickets for 35 runs; with 2 Maidens in 12 overs at an ER of 2.91

2nd test:
1st Inning
Tendulkar: 116 runs @ 60.73
McGrath: 3 wickets for 39 runs; with 3 Maidens in 18.1 overs at an ER of 2.14

2nd Inning
Tendulkar: 52 runs
McGrath: 0 wickets for 22 runs; with 8 Maidens in 17 overs at an ER of 1.29

3rd test:
1st Inning
Tendulkar: 45 runs @ 84.90 - McGrath got him.
McGrath: 5 wickets for 48 runs; with 7 Maidens in 18.5 overs at an ER of 2.54

2nd Inning
Tendulkar: 4 runs @ 100.00
McGrath: 5 wickets for 55 runs; with 1 Maiden in 17 overs at an ER of 3.23

---

As I said, McGrath went for peanuts, even when Tendulkar was scoring runs. So it obviously wasn't him that was being shellacked. This is also illustrated by the ER. The two times McGrath actually has a pretty high ER Tendulkar made pretty much no runs.



I agree with you, so I sum up by saying he did pretty well. Where I draw the line is "brilliant and dominated McGrath".
McGrath's figures look great because of the remaining Indian batsmen who were terrible. Do you have the PvP records? I think that will give a better picture.
 

Ikki

Hall of Fame Member
McGrath's figures look great because of the remaining Indian batsmen who were terrible. Do you have the PvP records? I think that will give a better picture.
No, they look great because Tendulkar himself didn't score that many runs off him. Even if you take the proportion of runs Tendulkar made for his team and say he scored the same proportion against McGrath it really isn't much. And funnily enough, the two times Tendulkar doesn't make a real score is when McGrath is hit around a bit.
 
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Sir Alex

Banned
Not really that strange. It also applies to NZ and WIndies whom he never had problems with. IIRC he did worse against them than India/Tendulkar.

But funny where you expect me to take into account 2004 where Tendulkar wasn't fully fit but ignore Warne getting finger and shoulder operations. :laugh:
The difference is that while Warne had one bad series against them, he was generally poor in all the series he played against India. In 1991/92 he avged 228, In 98 he averaged 54, in 99 he averaged 41, in 01 51, and in 2004, above 30. Not even once he looked dominated India whether in Australia or India over a span of almost 14 years.
 

Sir Alex

Banned
No, they look great because Tendulkar himself didn't score that many runs off him. Even if you take the proportion of runs Tendulkar made for his team and say he scored the same proportion against McGrath it really isn't much. And funnily enough, the two times Tendulkar doesn't make a real score is when McGrath is hit around a bit.
You are cleverly sidestepping lack of proof with illogical suppositions. I saw that series and McGrath never looked "dominating" tendulkar. Actually I must admit the only time Tendulkar was really troubled in that series, it was by Warne during the Melbourne test, when he beat Tendulkar 2-3 times and finally had him LBW (although dubious).
 

Ikki

Hall of Fame Member
The difference is that while Warne had one bad series against them, he was generally poor in all the series he played against India. In 1991/92 he avged 228, In 98 he averaged 54, in 99 he averaged 41, in 01 51, and in 2004, above 30. Not even once he looked dominated India whether in Australia or India over a span of almost 14 years.
Not really. Warne played only 2 series outside of this period against India. In 92 when debuted he was green and hardly "Warne" as he became to be. And in 2004 Warne was hardly poor. The rest of the tests fall smack bang in that period 98-01 .

You are cleverly sidestepping lack of proof with illogical suppositions. I saw that series and McGrath never looked "dominating" tendulkar. Actually I must admit the only time Tendulkar was really troubled in that series, it was by Warne during the Melbourne test, when he beat Tendulkar 2-3 times and finally had him LBW (although dubious).
McGrath rarely looks like he dominates batsmen; that's his beauty. But I never recall Tendulkar taking McGrath to the cleaners. I remember Lara doing very well, but Tendulkar? No. He was happy to see him off and dig into the others.
 
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Sir Alex

Banned
Not really. Warne played only 2 series outside of this period against India. In 92 when debuted he was green and hardly "Warne" as he became to be. And in 2004 Warne was hardly poor. The rest of the tests fall smack bang in that period 98-01 .



McGrath rarely looks like he dominates batsmen; that's his beauty. But I never recall Tendulkar taking McGrath to the cleaners. I remember Lara doing very well, but Tendulkar? No. He was happy to see him off and dig into the others.
And yet the greenhorn argument somehow does not apply to Tendulkar? He was just 18 when he first toured Australia and outdid all his peers. That is genius.

Secondly Warne indeed had good series between 1998 and 2001 (Sri Lanka series comes to mind). And prior to 1998, he was dominating all attacks. I think the 1998 assault lessened his confidence which was reflected in his performances for about a year, after which he recovered, again to stumble against the same opposition. And post 2001, he was in brilliant form, but couldnt really dominate India again although Tendulkar's absence meant his figures were respectable 30 odd.

As regards to dominating McGrath, in test cricket he hardly got smashed around because players used to treat him like what he is a master. However Tendulkar was rarely troubled by Mcgrath in the 99 series and he ut loose against him whenever he wanted to.

In ODIs, Tendulkar has singlehandedly smashed McGrath in many matches.
 
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bagapath

International Captain
bringing warne into this argument is completely irrelevant. he was a leg spinner and he would have been butchered by indians irrespective of his fitnesss because that is what happenes to leggies when the play india. so please leave him out of the discussion.

coming back to sachin against pace.... I think it is absolutely ridiculous to rule out the 91-92 aussie pace attack. it was good enough to blow the indian team out 4-0. mcdermott-hughes-reid is quite handful for any opposition. the indians played them like rabbits facing tigers. the 18 year old sachin's two centuries in that series (at the age of 18) showed how good he was against pace.

in the 99-00 series, again, australia thrashed india 3-0, and, again, without any significant support from spinners (including the great SKW). sachin showed his class with the bat once more and was good enough to be the MOS.

lets not question his ability to face great pace anymore and just move on.
 

Ikki

Hall of Fame Member
Facing an attack consisting of Hughes, McDermott, Reid and Warne at 18 years of age and scoring 2 100s (one of them in the most hardest wickets in the world - Perth) certainly beats any supposition that Tendulkar withered against pace attacks.
Warne was crap; Hughes was pretty good, but not in the top rung of pacers, Reid was at the end of his injury-filled career. McDermott was good, although injury-prone, but not particularly great against teams outside of England.

Certainly does not compare to the attack we had from mid-90s onwards when McGrath and Gillespie came into the fold.
 

bagapath

International Captain
Warne was crap; Hughes was pretty good, but not in the top rung of pacers, Reid was at the end of his injury-filled career. McDermott was good, although injury-prone, but not particularly great against teams outside of England.

Certainly does not compare to the attack we had from mid-90s onwards when McGrath and Gillespie came into the fold.
their averages in the 91-92 series...

BA Reid 59.2 16 136 12 11.33 6-60 2 1 2.30
MR Whitney 116.5 21 359 17 21.11 7-27 1 1 3.08
CJ McDermott 264.2 75 670 31 21.61 5-54 3 1 2.54
MG Hughes 199.3 46 511 22 23.22 4-50 - - 2.57

their stats are as good as any pace attack in test cricket history including the west indies pace battery at its peak.

scoring two hudreds against them is, indeed, a very very special feet.
 
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Ikki

Hall of Fame Member
And yet the greenhorn argument somehow does not apply to Tendulkar? He was just 18 when he first toured Australia and outdid all his peers. That is genius.
It depends. When you mention Pakistan...people start talking about Tendulkar being a green-horn too :laugh:. But it wasn't a particularly great feat outdoing his teammates...they weren't that good.

Secondly Warne indeed had good series between 1998 and 2001 (Sri Lanka series comes to mind). And prior to 1998, he was dominating all attacks. I think the 1998 assault lessened his confidence which was reflected in his performances for about a year, after which he recovered, again to stumble against the same opposition. And post 2001, he was in brilliant form, but couldnt really dominate India again although Tendulkar's absence meant his figures were respectable 30 odd.
He had a good series...but mainly bad ones. Should we list them? Again, he did worse against NZ and WIndies than he did against India in the same time.

Warne after facing India in March 98 had a shoulder operation in April.

As regards to dominating McGrath, in test cricket he hardly got smashed around because players used to treat him like what he is a master. However Tendulkar was rarely troubled by Mcgrath in the 99 series and he ut loose against him whenever he wanted to.

In ODIs, Tendulkar has singlehandedly smashed McGrath in many matches.
Tendulkar rarely got the best of McGrath; it was the other way round. They played 9 matches against each other of which Tendulkar averages in the 30s. Tendulkar "let loose whenever he wanted to"? Why didn't he want to more often? :laugh:

bringing warne into this argument is completely irrelevant. he was a leg spinner and he would have been butchered by indians irrespective of his fitnesss because that is what happenes to leggies when the play india. so please leave him out of the discussion.
:laugh:...right, because they're gods.

coming back to sachin against pace.... I think it is absolutely ridiculous to rule out the 91-92 aussie pace attack. it was good enough to blow the indian team out 4-0. mcdermott-hughes-reid is quite handful for any opposition. the indians played them like rabbits facing tigers. the 18 year old sachin's two centuries in that series (at the age of 18) showed how good he was against pace.
India in 91-92 were hardly a good team, and certainly weren't going to trouble Australia in Australia.

in the 99-00 series, again, australia thrashed india 3-0, and, again, without any significant support from spinners (including the great SKW). sachin showed his class with the bat once more and was good enough to be the MOS.

lets not question his ability to face great pace anymore and just move on.
Sachin was very good in 99, but like MrIncredible I wonder how well he would have done had he had to face the best Australian attack more - like Lara for instance. His ability against pace in general shouldn't be questioned, but he had successes (Aus/WI) as he had failures (Pak/SA). It shouldn't be sacrilegious to analyse them deeply.

their averages in the 91-92 series...

BA Reid 59.2 16 136 12 11.33 6-60 2 1 2.30
MR Whitney 116.5 21 359 17 21.11 7-27 1 1 3.08
CJ McDermott 264.2 75 670 31 21.61 5-54 3 1 2.54
MG Hughes 199.3 46 511 22 23.22 4-50 - - 2.57

their stats are as good as any pace attack in test cricket history including the west indies pace battery at its peak.

scoring two hudreds against them is, indeed, a very very special feet.
That's because your batting attack sucked. Not that they were that good. IIRC, Reid got injured and his career pretty much ended a year after this series. Good attack, definitely not great.
 
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Sir Alex

Banned
Use of :laugh: kills of any encouragement to indulge in a discussion and actually implies it has become a fan fight. I do not wish to venture forth, thanks.
 

Ikki

Hall of Fame Member
Use of :laugh: kills of any encouragement to indulge in a discussion and actually implies it has become a fan fight. I do not wish to venture forth, thanks.
Apologies. I just find it tedious when someone mentions the fact that Tendulkar in one instance was too young, but gives him credit in another instance for doing well. Not that you did that but others have. It really doesn't matter if Tendulkar started off well (even though he didn't really, it only seems good with respect to his age) and Warne didn't. They faced different troubles, had different growth, etc. To name Warne in a line-up in 92 and expect people to take that attack seriously ...well you're not going to have many buyers.

Furthermore, you can't be serious with "he scored runs against McGrath when he wanted to". What possibly made him not want to? Either I question that seriously, and waste both our time, or just laugh it off. I guess I chose the latter.
 
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bagapath

International Captain
That's because your batting attack sucked. Not that they were that good. IIRC, Reid got injured and his career pretty much ended a year after this series. Good attack, definitely not great.
if you claim the aussie attack was not great and it succeeded only because the entire indian batting line up sucked, what do you say about a guy who scores two centuries ignoring all the nonsense happening around him? BTW, shastri scored a double in sydnbey and azhar scored a run a ball hundred as well. it was a good indian batting line up that was blown away by a superb aussie attack. the point is, the pace attack did exceptionally well in that series. you cant hide that fact.
 

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