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January 26, 2001Sachin -- in Stats and FiguresMohandas MenonBarry Richards, the other day, came up with the startling comment that Sachin Tendulkar is good only at home. Further, the South African batting maestro said that in his opinion, the likes of Graeme Pollock and Vivian Richards were, to his mind, the best batsmen in 'away' conditions. Do the facts support this contention? That is what we attempt to explore, in the tables given below. It needs bearing in mind that 'good', 'best' etc are all relative, and that statistics can only tell one part of the story. With that qualification, here goes:
As is evident from the above table, Sachin Tendulkar does have a better average at home than away. However, it is also worth noting that Sachin's away average of 53.02 is not to be sneezed at -- in fact, it is better than the away averages of both Vivian Richards and Graeme Pollock. Interestingly, the figures also show that Graeme Pollock was a much better batsman at home than away -- there is a difference of 19 points between his home average and his figures in away games. Viv Richards, meanwhile, is -- albeit marginally -- a better player away than at home. So who, then, are the best 'away' batsmen of all time? That is the question we attempt to answer in the table below:
Leading test batsmen in "away" matches:
The above table lends itself to plenty of interesting analysis. But to stick to the question on hand, it is worth noticing that of the contemporary batsmen, Steve Waugh (6th place) occupies the highest position in a list headed by the incomparable Donald George Bradman, while Sachin Tendulkar leads a parade of three Indians, coming in at number 9. A quick glance down the table also reveals an interesting fact -- Allan Border and Steve Waugh, both of Australia, occupy very high positions (5 and 6 respectively) -- and they both have, in comparison to the rest, an enormous number of unbeaten innings. Which, while not really shedding much light on the question being debated, does tell you (at least in the case of Steve Waugh) that in recent times, Australia has been in the luxurious position of being able to declare its innings on an inordinate number of occasions. Anyway, that is really neither here nor there. The even more interesting aspect on view here -- and it in fact lends itself to another in-depth analysis, on the question of whether the art of batsmanship is dying out -- is that in the top 16 (significantly, Vivian Richards comes into the list at number 16, well behind Tendulkar), there are only two contemporary batsmen. Which does seem to support a feeling that is gaining currency, that they don't make batsmen these days like they used to. That in turn raises the question -- who are the best batsmen, among today's lot, in "away" conditions? Leading contemporary test batsmen in "away" matches, based on averages (qualification: 2000 runs minimum):
In this table, Steve Waugh and Sachin Tendulkar are clearly ahead of their contemporaries -- and are, in fact, the only two batsmen today who have 50+ averages in 'away' conditions. In this connection, it is interesting to note that overall, as many as 16 international batsmen have 50+ averages -- which underlines the falling standards of batsmanship today. But there is another point that, while tangential, might spark your own thinking. Is it true that a batsman is only as good as his team? Then consider this -- Steve Waugh has, for company, Mark Waugh and Michael Slater, both with respectable averages. Similarly, Saeed Anwar has Inzamam, and even Ijaz. Stewart and Atherton, similarly, form a high-performance team for England. South Africa, by the same token, have only a Kirsten in that list --but then, South Africa depends for its victories on their lineup of top-quality quicks, led by Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock. India, however, has following the exit of Azharuddin only a Tendulkar -- just as the West Indies only have a Brian Lara. Does that tell you something?
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