CRICKETNEWZGURU:bradman vz tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar has been on the cricket scene for nearly two decades and has piled up records galore. Bradman also had a career span of two decades (though a portion was cut short by the war years) and has the highest first class and test batting average ever. But when you compare two greats from different eras comparisons can apt to get colored. Thus it is important to fix some parameters while judging the greats.
As far as cricket is concerned the period when Bradman played his cricket, it was not a Global sport and most of the Dons career centered on playing fields in Australia and England. It was certainly not Bradmans fault,but then it has to be considered that Bradman made his records only in two countries and never toured the sub continent or the West Indies.
Tendulkar on the other hand has played most of his cricket in an era when the game is globalised and thus he his has played cricket in venues as diverse as Durban and Kingston to Lords and Auckland. He has batted on all types of wickets and his records stand after his having batted at all cricketing venues around the world and faced all types of bowling.
Bradman when faced with the infamous body line series of the early thirties was cut to size and returned an ordinary average. Harold Larwood played hell into the Australian team at that time. This series showed the Don as human. But on hard batting wickets he was a veritable run machine and Tendulkar may not be able to match that. Bradman's record of hitting 300 runs in day is indeed difficult to emulate. But then it is a matter of conjecture as to how the Don would have fared facing the likes of Mankad and Ghulam Ahmed on rank turners in India. Would he have had the same effect? Also how would the Don have fared in the West Indies and facing bowlers like Holding on fast and fiery wickets like at Kingston.
Tendulker with his recent 200 not out in a one day game against the South Africans has achieved the impossible. One day cricket is a different ball game but Bradmans 309 not out in a day in a test could be ranked as a similar effort. Over a period of time figures do not lie and it is here that Bradman scores. His batting average of 99 just cannot be surpassed. The greats like Hammond, Sutcliff, Sobers, Richards and Gavaskar all lag behind by at least 35 to 40 percentage points.
As far as cricket is concerned the period when Bradman played his cricket, it was not a Global sport and most of the Dons career centered on playing fields in Australia and England. It was certainly not Bradmans fault,but then it has to be considered that Bradman made his records only in two countries and never toured the sub continent or the West Indies.
Tendulkar on the other hand has played most of his cricket in an era when the game is globalised and thus he his has played cricket in venues as diverse as Durban and Kingston to Lords and Auckland. He has batted on all types of wickets and his records stand after his having batted at all cricketing venues around the world and faced all types of bowling.
Bradman when faced with the infamous body line series of the early thirties was cut to size and returned an ordinary average. Harold Larwood played hell into the Australian team at that time. This series showed the Don as human. But on hard batting wickets he was a veritable run machine and Tendulkar may not be able to match that. Bradman's record of hitting 300 runs in day is indeed difficult to emulate. But then it is a matter of conjecture as to how the Don would have fared facing the likes of Mankad and Ghulam Ahmed on rank turners in India. Would he have had the same effect? Also how would the Don have fared in the West Indies and facing bowlers like Holding on fast and fiery wickets like at Kingston.
Tendulker with his recent 200 not out in a one day game against the South Africans has achieved the impossible. One day cricket is a different ball game but Bradmans 309 not out in a day in a test could be ranked as a similar effort. Over a period of time figures do not lie and it is here that Bradman scores. His batting average of 99 just cannot be surpassed. The greats like Hammond, Sutcliff, Sobers, Richards and Gavaskar all lag behind by at least 35 to 40 percentage points.
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