Author : Satadru Roy                    Date : 11th January, 2010

Often Cricket buffs ask the question, "Who is the Greatest Batsman to have ever played the game?" Many answers come to the forefront, with each name having a valid rationale to be put forth. Some of the names are: Don Bradman (The name that may strike more than most), Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Garry Sobers, Vivian Richards, Sunil Gavaskar, Ricky Ponting and the list goes on ......

The names may have come to the forefront because of the accomplishments that they have achieved and the perennial footprints that they have left in the game of cricket.

Let us start with rationalizing the pros and cons of some of the mentioned players for the claim to the greatest Batsman of all time. We can start with the Records only. However I will try to generalize the difficulty factors as well. Such as Pitch conditions, Opposition Bowling Attack (i.e. Pace & Spin), Fielding Standards.

Firstly beginning with the player with most astounding Batting Average of all time (for players with more than 20 innings). Sir Donald George Bradman, commonly known as Don Bradman was truly a ruler of the Cricket field. The astonishing average of 99.94 speaks for itself. 29 Centuries in 80 innings? Marvelous & truly commendable, considering the way he transformed the Australian team into an aura of invincibility. Certainly his batting average is secure forever. He played in the times before modern technology adorned the game of Cricket. He played when pitches were not ‘maintained', laws were less stringent & Helmets were things for some soldier in the battle-front. He excelled in almost every possible condition. Certainly he was the greatest Batsman that the world has ever seen till then & for some years to come, and definitely he was the greatest in his era. No doubt about it that he was the Ultimate Run-Machine. However, one interesting question remains to be answered. Did Sir Don ever face something that is truly called ‘Fast Bowling' or some really high quality ‘Spin Bowling'? The only known evidence of Fast Bowling that he faced was from Harold Larwood. The great bowler, obviously due to the indulgence of his captain switched to the controversial ‘Bodyline' approach & brought back the great batsman's average to 50s in the series. Sir Don still managed to score at an average of 50s regardless of the bowler obviously signifies his class nonetheless. Henceforth Bodyline tactics were used in modern cricket more often than less, but with much less success. Bradman did not get any opportunity to face some quality spinners, so we can't comment upon his skills on playing Spinners. Moving ahead with the quality of fielding during that period was at most leisurely; hence for a good batsman scoring was comparatively easier, once he masters the Pitch conditions. Since lack of scope disallows us to diagnose any further, let us move ahead to next Batsman in the List. Till then we can say Don Bradman was certainly way ahead of his time in terms of skill, resoluteness, courage and other good qualities for a great batsman. Despite some obvious minus points, he remains the primary candidate for the Greatest Batsman of all time.

Sir Garfield Sobers, who is universally considered as the Greatest Cricketer ever & most certainly the greatest All-rounder the game has ever seen (even if Jacques Kallis breaks his records as an All-Rounder) was also one of the finest Batsman of all time nonetheless. An astonishing Stroke-maker among the galaxy of fantastic West Indian players, he marked his presence with an amazing consistency. Gary Sobers was feared among the Bowlers around for his amazing stroke play and outright dominance. He was the first player to hit Six Sixes in an over in a first class cricket match, which became a folklore henceforth. His penchant for scoring big was signified with the undefeated 365 that he made against the Pakistan team (then infamous for their umpiring at home). Pitches were better but more variety is introduced as Spinning Track apart from the Swinging Conditions & bouncy Hard decks. Helmets were still in an experimenting phase. Bowlers' variety increased but still the best of the bowlers around the world belonged to his own team only (Wesley Hall, Charlie Griffith etc.). Fielding standards improved slightly in terms of ground fielding & close catching but still way behind any ‘good' standard in modern cricket. Gary Sobers is well known to repeatedly send the balls to nearby river-banks & houses out of the ground during his county-cricket days in England. With his supreme control over  his variety of left-arm bowling, agile fielding & legendary batting skills, Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers, definitely is the greatest Cricketer of all time and also one of the top contender for the Greatest Batsman of all time.

After Sobers retired, the World witnessed the brilliance of 2 of the finest batsmen the world has seen in aeons. From India emerged a diminutive Opener, a short, gentle mumbaikar - Sunil Manohar Gavaskar. The finest technician of the game with an outstanding cool head. West Indies whereas unearthed the most fearsome Batsman to arrive - Sir Vivian Alexander Richards - The unstoppable punisher. Whereas Gavaskar was symbol of perfection & proved the importance of sound technique repeatedly against the deadliest bowling attack of all time (comprising of Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Colin Croft & later Malcolm Marshall), Viv Richards was more of a free-willing dominator of the bowling attacks with lack of respect for almost any bowler. Gavaskar scored Runs like a clock-work while opening the Batting for India & he became the corner stone for India's further victories to come. Unlike Gavaskar, Richards simply enjoyed punishing the bowling attacks mercilessly irrespective of the Game conditions. Although Richards may have been one of the most feared Batsman of all time & certainly the deadliest of his era, he never had to face the greatest Bowling Attack of his or all the eras, that is his own team's bowling attack. Gavaskar earned respect like none other, where the foremost reason being the highest run-scorer & most century maker in West Indies (14) against the best bowling attack of all time. Both of these Batsmen declined to use Helmets despite others using it. Both of them scored heavily against the varieties of opponents. These 2 fine gentlemen became the most contrasting yet most dominating batsmen in display. With a Run-Scorer in Gavaskar & a Stroke-Maker in Richards, world Cricket found a new benchmark of consistency & flamboyance. Gavaskar went on to become the highest Run-Maker & highest Century maker till very recently the Records got secured with Sachin Tendulkar (before moving through a few hands). Richards remained a legend in his own right.

After both Richards & Gavaskar retired almost simultaneously, the world cricket was in a sudden halt, as what can now topple over the conquests of these 2 giants of the game. Again the answer to this question was provided by India & West-Indies. As in 1989 a 16 year old boy from India started his journey to live the hype & hope of a billion. Elsewhere in 1990, a supremely talented young West Indian began his Cricketing journey. ‘Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar' & ‘Brian Charles Lara' - the ‘symbol of aggressive consistency' & the ‘scintillating stroke-maker with a penchant for mammoth innings'. These 2 cricketers not only delighted the crowds like never before but went on to scale new summits in the upcoming years.

Cricket the game which was till now conquered by the fiery pacers & tricky spinners, took a head-turn. Contrary to the popular belief, Cricket never was such a Batsman dominated game for a major part of the time. Sunil Gavaskar facing the great Fast bowlers or Richards facing the English condition was a treat to watch, but if they failed, they were not held responsible by most. The Bowlers were supposed to dominate. The Batsmen's job was to survive the bowlers and score against them whenever it is possible. So, it is whenever they scored big, they earned accolades, and please make no mistake, they duly scored a lot.

However, it was both Sachin & Lara together changed the entire notion as they made a mincemeat of bowlers around the world, and Cricket as it is seen today is largely due to the effect of both Sachin & Lara. Both of these Batsmen scored runs freely & with a form of audacity never seen before. Both of these batsmen carried the hopes of their nations upon their able shoulders almost single-handedly. Now let us further look into these two greats considering all other aspects. Both Sachin & Lara made a mincemeat of Bowlers around the world with such an authority that the world bowed in respect & awe. Brian Lara - the ultimate symbol of a punishing stroke-maker. There is no shot in the Cricket book that this ‘Wizard' couldn't play, and he never hesitated in playing for the crowd with his usual flamboyance. Reaching century with a Six was no more a big deal. Sachin Tendulkar - the ultimate symbol of all-conquering hero. Like his childhood heroes, Sachin had an optimum mixture of Consistency & Technique of Gavaskar with Flamboyance & Fearlessness of Richards. There is no shot in the Cricket book or outside of it that this ‘Genius' couldn't or wouldn't play, and he also started hitting premium bowlers over their head for Sixes, even if to notch up a ton in the process.

Brian Lara with his meteoric rise with the big innings of record-breaking 375 & 501* seemed to be overawed with stardom & lost form for a bit, where Sachin carried forward with continuing acceleration. Sachin's amazing consistency in the Tests reflected in the ODIs also but in bits & pieces, before he was finally promoted to the Opening slot. With a 49 ball 82 runs he sealed his place at the top. Henceforth the world over saw the little man to literally tear apart the bowling attacks at the top apart from being a tower of consistency. It was a phase where India won the matches usually where the little master scored.

A surprising similarity for both Sachin & Lara is that, both of these players in their prime pulled up their team almost single-handedly match after match. They were the hopes of their nation, the national hero. Although West Indies still had a few world-class bowlers in Courtney Walsh & Curley Ambrose & later Mervyn Dillon, and a few good batsmen in Richie Richardson, Carl Hooper, Shivnarine Chanderpaul & later Ramnaresh Sarwan; the big match winner was still Lara. Similarly India had bowlers like Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath & later Harbhajan Singh & Zaheer Khan, and some good batsmen in Mohammad Azharuddin & Ajay Jadeja & later Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman & Virender Sehwag, still the nation's hope remained with it's beloved Sachin. A time was there before some of the later mentioned players were still not there & it was only Sachin for India & Lara for West Indies who brought people in the ground and kept others glued to the television & the radios. In India for a major part of last 2 decades, people would leave the ground or switch off the television & radios if Sachin is out.

Both of these Batsmen reached amazing peaks in their career. Sachin broke Brian Lara's record of highest Test Runs (which Lara had done overtaking Allan Border) of 11953, the highest runs in away matches and a few others. Brian Lara however with all his might could never match Sachin's abilities in limited overs cricket. Sachin scored mercilessly against every opposition around the world, and his volume of runs & number of centuries all became astronomical - way ahead of anyone can even imagine. One primary reason could be Brian Lara despite being a murderous stroke player was not really a modern batsman - one who can steal singles, one who can play unorthodox cricket when required, one who can play amazing mind games with the hapless bowlers, one who can curb his attacking instincts when required & play to accumulate runs for the team rather than pleasing the crowd. Brian Lara is by far the greatest player of back foot the world has ever seen, he is also the very best even in his front foot, his footwork is amazing, his bat-speed is mind-blowing, his defence is perfect & his strokes are a treat. Lara is one of the old guard, the stroke maker, the sharp shooting cowboy who just arms himself with several weapons, all of which have their origins in the early 20th century, and takes on the bowler. And boy, glorious he is: when in full cry, there is hardly any better scene in cricket. There's something decidedly romantic about that vision, and any witness to Lara's 375, 277, 153*, 226, 400* and various other mammoth scores can only attest to that. Tendulkar, for all his wizardry and versatility, will never be able to truly win over fans' emotions like Lara did. Warts and all, with his questionable mental abilities over his own game, with his flat out poor shot selection, with his tantrums and with his inconsistency, Lara, in terms of pure skill and technique, still is just better at batting than anyone else in the game.

However, despite not being at par with Lara in a few departments, Sachin still moves ahead by leaps & bounds when it comes to scoring. Despite having some of the finest of the traditional Cricket shots in his armoury, Sachin does not hesitate to invent some his unorthodox Cricket shots, when occasion calls for it. Sachin even brings back those old, rarely used shots (like the Upper Cut or the backfoot punch) to effect when he wants to manipulate the fielding position to his liking. Sachin is not egoistic or moody like Lara is & moreover Sachin Tendulkar is one of the most disciplined Cricketer the world has ever seen, who has passion for the game like very few other & a hunger for runs like no one. Sachin among every other of his cricketing qualities also possesses an outstanding judgement for his Running between Wickets. With a keen cricketing mind, Sachin sizes up the opposition & plays bowler specific, fielding specific shots with some immaculate timing that makes everyone speechless. Since the fielding standards has come to an unheard of proportions, every team plotted for the Genius' fall in their own way. It needs not to be told, Sachin thwarted their effort more often than less. It is this innovation, nous and wizardry that have taken Tendulkar to the very top of the game. His ability to push singles, his ability to literally invent strokes that no one else plays, such as the one above, his penchant for reviving old, rarely used strokes and put them in creative settings (his back foot off drive: originally invented as a forcing shot to finger spinners; that he has used against Glenn McGrath time and again, is a great example) and most importantly, his mind. Sachin gets his runs on a mixed diet comprising of traditional drives, improvised, bowler-specific strokes, off-the-charts cricketing IQ, top notch shot selection, an ability to pinch singles where none exist (especially off his legs), inch-perfect placement, and hard running between wickets.

Both of these Batsmen excelled in every condition, scored in every kind of pitches, against every kind of bowlers, against all odds. Also the same generation produced some of the finest bowlers the world has ever seen. Shane Warne & Muttaiah Muralitharan took the art of both Leg Spin bowling & Off Spin bowling to a height never achieved before (and unlikely for the future generation) & competed for the greatest bowler in the history of the game. Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Allan Donald, Shawn Pollock, Glenn McGrath, Michael Kasprowicz, Jason Gillespie, Shoaib Akhtar, Brett Lee, Courtney Walsh, Curtley Ambrose, Shane Bond and others established a pace bowling dynasty like few ever seen. However, both Sachin & Lara ruled against them all. In 1998, Sachin single-handedly defeated Australians, both in Test series & ODIs in India & Sharjah & took his dominating form to such a peak that all the greats along with Bradman hailed the Genius, still at 25. An unsaid competition existing between Tendulkar & Lara as been spiced up by Media was stopped as all the current & previous greats remained awestruck. In the 1997 test series against West Indies, Sachin earned Lara as his unabashed admirer. However, their undiminished mutual respect reflects still today as Sachin recently in an interview described Brian Lara as his favourite batsman once again. Lara on the other hand controlled the attention of the world audience like a charm of a Magician, his innings of 153*, 375, 277 on debut had gone onto folklore. The way he single-handedly exited the unstoppable South Africans in the 96 world cup with a score of 111 of 94 balls was a treat to watch.

As dip in form has frustrated Lara, severe injuries has ravaged Sachin over the years & quite a few time it seemed all over for both of them. However there is an old saying, form is temporary, class is permanent. Both Sachin & Lara overcame their obstacles with their astonishing returns to the world cricket with a ravishing new form. Brian Lara reclaimed his record of highest Test Innings with a 400* in the same Antigua where 10 years earlier he scored his mammoth 375 against the same opponent England in 1994. Sachin Tendulkar floored the world once again in 2003 world cup & surpassed his own record of maximum runs in a single world cup (he surpassed his tally of 525 runs in 96 world cup with a total of 673 runs). When some questionable decisions have gone against him in the following Australia tour, Sachin scored a big 241* without playing a single cover drive in the Sydney test. Like Bradman (post war era), Sachin re-emerged primarily as a Run accumulator, but the devastating batsman inside we could see every now and then switching roles to enthrall crowds all over once again (who can forget the 98 against Pakistan in 2003 world cup or 163 against Kiwis or 175 against Aussies).

Both Sachin & Lara scored heavily against every kind of opposition leaving them into shreds. They both scored against the best of the bowling attacks with some unprecedented fielding standards. They both negotiated all the critics & the criticism on & off the field with incredible poise & stamina. Brian Lara remained last of those batsmen who had such a confidence over their technique that they cared less for wearing helmets (although in the later part of his career, he wore grilled helmet all the time). Sachin more or less wore Helmet almost always (he used ‘elbow guard' much later). One cannot blame him as he took a blow from Waqar Younis' bowling during his early days (he didn't leave the field), which prompted him to be cautious then onwards. However one thing remains universally true. When we are deciding on the greatest batsman of all time, both Sachin & Lara would be quite a bit ahead of the competition and would compete directly with Sir Don himself.

Lastly one more competitor remains from our current generation. Ricky Ponting - a fearless stroke maker. Not the best in technique. But he makes it up with outstanding athleticism & supreme control of what modern cricket is all about - stealing singles, playing percentage cricket, curtailing unnecessary risks, hard running, targeting weak bowlers etc. From the year 2000 onwards Ricky Ponting scored runs with such consistency (he scored highest number of runs & most Centuries in both Tests & ODIs in this decade) that he came into reckoning & seemed to be chasing the highest runs & most centuries in Test Cricket. His consistency made him player of the year three times. He captained Australia to world cup triumph twice. However, it seemed his playing is much more single-dimensional than thought. He prefers the bouncy Australian pitches (a similar kind is found in South Africa & West Indies) very much and scores heavily there only. He lacks skills in scoring in Swinging, Seaming conditions of England (He could hardly score freely in English conditions & twice Australia lost Ashes under his captaincy). Also he could hardly score in Spinning tracks in India (he finally scored a ton in 2008). Another statistics shows that his scoring rate fell down drastically once Hayden/Langer retired from tests & Hayden/Gilchrist retired from ODIs - that is the regularly high scoring assured openers retired. It seems that either he lacks technically to come early in the innings when the ball is new or he is mentally just not tough enough to handle the pressure. Also his foul behaviour will put a big minus beside his name. Although himself being an outstanding fielder (one of the most feared) & a great batsman with great consistency, he will fail to make a cut for the greatest batsman of all time.

Now let us see the records pitted against each other for 3 of the greatest ever Batsmen.

As of 11^th January, 2010 :- 

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (Batting Records only)

Brian Charles Lara (Batting Records only)

Donald George Bradman (Batting Records only)

The statistics alone will show you, Bradman is way ahead of anyone in terms of overall batsmanship & inarguably should win the award of the greatest batsman of all time. However, I am quite confused over how can I select over the statistics alone when the great man has not faced any of the greatest of the bowlers (West Indian pacers, Lilee, Thompson, Warne, Murali, Akram, Donald, Shoaib, Mcgrath, Indian Spinners etc.). He was without doubt miles ahead of anyone during his era; but when the comparison is having such a big flaw, let me keep him out of the comparison. I will consider him the greatest ever batsman to grace the game before helmet era. So, that leaves us with the two modern greats, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar & Brian Charles Lara.

Many have said that the Prince of Trinidad has performed more decisively in crunch situations and has single-handedly won matches for his team (which is an opinion that does gross disservice to the outstanding bowling efforts of the warhorses Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh). But just to keep the competition going, let's look at their second innings stats: Lara averages 42.31 while Tendulkar averages 48.45 in second innings knocks. However, Lara holds a slight edge over the Mumbai Maestro in fourth inning performances with an average of 37.17 to an average of 35.68 for Tendulkar. Sachin has simply no competition in ODIs, and that is a fact. Moreover if we consider both Tests & ODIs together Sachin will triumph over the Caribbean great (probably the last of the batsmen with a brilliant technique, indomitable spirit,  unattainable flamboyance & outstanding temperament). Even if we keep the Test records only, despite Lara's tendency to score huge innings, Sachin's peerless consistency lets him take a dig at Lara at every possible chance. Lara is great, but it just seems Sachin is even greater when we look at the broader picture. We have to look at the nation India & its countrymen with a bit more depth to truly appreciate the burden of expectation that Sachin carries every time he walks into the crease. The expectation increased with each of his successes, and reached such a level that anything less than a 100 seemed a failure for Sachin followers. The expectations become quite impractical at times - ‘Like God, he must score every time he is out there'. However, Sachin dutifully scored like no one else. It is a duty for his fellow countrymen, which he fulfilled more often than less & broke records like pack of cards in the process.

But greatness cannot be judged by just records, there are so many other factors to consider. Being a national hero is not an easy task. Being an youth icon needs you to maintain yourself with such a conduct that will command respect and inspire even the most unlikely. After all, Adolf Hitler and Mahatma Gandhi were great men in their own right. But whom among them both does the world want to be take inspiration from? Which among them would you like to associate as your mentor?

There is always a question of character that comes into picture, even if achievements steal the limelight. Therein, Sachin Tendulkar would win the title. Let us revisit the points once more to understand the basis of my theory.

Let us take statistics first. What hasn't the great man achieved? A career spanning almost two decades, with 12,970 runs in Test matches, 17,394 runs in ODIs, with 43 and 45 centuries respectively. He has single-handedly won matches for India.

Whenever Sachin is at the crease, there is always hope in a billion hearts watching the game. He may not perform well, but that hope never ebbs as long as he is at the crease. And if he gets out cheaply there is a silent, but sure frustration in all those hearts. The mind would say "Why did he get out like that!!"

More importantly, as soon as Sachin marks his entry to the crease, the opposition too is forced to raise the bar to a higher level. There is that silent and potent respect that he commands, and his wicket is always a prize scalp for the opposition. The joy on their face when he gets out cheaply is unmistakable.

Yet, with that unparalleled list of achievements, Sachin has never deviated from playing the game with utmost integrity. Can any of us recall him having embroiled himself in a major controversy on the pitch? Barring that Mike Denness episode, there are none. That episode in itself is forgotten.

Can any of us recall him having a verbal spat with any player, and ugly ensuing scenes? Bluntly, do we know any cricketer who has said, "I don't like Sachin Tendulkar?"

Therein lies the aura of the man. So many achievements, records and awards, but still, Sachin is the greatest of gentlemen to have played the game. Aggression or pressure to perform never turned him into an animal. That aggression was diverted into scoring thousands of runs. Yet, when confronted with aggression, his bat always answered it. His co-players have become commentators, coaches & ex-cricketers within his playing-days & yet this man knows no end, he is playing till his heart wants for it & his performance is up to the standard (in fact a notch above the standard). In this ever-changing world, the only constant is change and Sachin Tendulkar is the ultimate example of that. He sort of blended with the generations that are foregone and the generation that is present and it seems the upcoming fast moving future generation will also be an easy platform for him.

He is an inspiration and a role model not just because of the records he achieved on the field, but for also teaching how to play the game with integrity. After all, cricket is a gentleman's game, and Sachin is the truest gentleman to have ever played the game. He has taught us not just to play and watch the game, but how to play the game itself ...

I can proudly say that Sachin is always an inspiration even after he completes an illustrious twenty years in the international arena, and I'd simply hate to see the day he retires. Cricket would lose not just one of its greatest sons, but it would lose a champion, a genius, and most importantly, a true gentleman and arguably the ‘Greatest Batsman of all time' .....