What if Tendulkar was an Aussie ?

[marc71178]

If Tendulkar was an Aussie, he'd have debuted 2 years later as an 18 year old ( 20-22 is absurd. Tendy was the biggest prodigy to play cricket in recent times and if he was averaging 50+ as an 18 year old in FC cricket,

That of course assumes he'd have been playing FC at that age - I personally have my doubts.

 

[C_C]

That of course assumes he'd have been playing FC at that age - I personally have my doubts.

If you are as prodigious a talent at Tendulkar, playing in any country/any era would've stalled his international career at best by two years.
He was good enough to get into the team after 1 year's worth of FC cricket. In India he started playing FC cricket at just under 15 i think. If this was OZ or WI of the 70s/80s, i see no reason why he'd not be a FC player by 17 and Test player by 18 or so.
Its not even a question of 'aussie way of things' - it isnt like Tendy would be trying to break into this aussie team. His competition back in 90/91 were Mark Waugh, Damien Martyn, etc.
People he could've easily come out on top of IMO.

 

[mohammad16]

"if" he was australian he would probably have been more organised as a player. made to work harder than he has been. less inclined to injury. played less cricket at an early age. and he would be alot less revered.

What if Peiterson or Hayden were Indian?

i dont think u could have made tendulkar worked harder the he has

hes probably the hardest wokring cricketer ever
thats whats so great about him, he was self motivated, really didnt amtter which system he was apart of

u cant say that bout most sub continent players who seem to require constant sources of motivation and lack self motivation

thats the foregn coaches dont tend to suit the sub continent because they focus more on the technical issues rather then motivating the players

australian players dont require constant motivation because they are more self motivated and know how to play at a high level consistently

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

It's extremely hard to break into first class cricket in Australia, simple as that. No doubt Tendulkar would have been into the first class setup earlier than most, but it's pretty unlikely he'd have been playing any earlier than 18 or 19. What area of Australia he was from would have some bearing on that, though. Ponting probably had an easier run into the first class setup in Tasmania than he would have if he was from Sydney.

There's really hardly anyone in the last decade that has played any significant amount of first class cricket in Australia before 20. Ponting did, and Henriques is currently on the fringes of the NSW team, but even he can't hold down a regular place and he's been dominating grade cricket and representing the country at youth level since his mid teens.

Anyway, when Tendulkar would have made his international debut, assuming he was an immediate success in first class cricket, would be dependant on how early he got into it. I think 21 or 22 is probably about right for the test side. If he'd come around a few years ealier when Australia was really struggling at international level he could have made it in earlier, and the same is true if he managed to get into a state side earlier because it was a bit weak in batting.

 

[silentstriker]

I dont really understand what the OP is trying to say. What if Shane Warne had been born in Sri Lanka and Muralitharan in Australia. There's something to think about.

 

[shortpitched713]

you relise you look like a pineapple?

Totally owned.

 

[Slow Love™]

If he'd been Australian his name would have been Simon Tentmaker.

I reckon if Tendulkar had been willing to open, he could have possibly got in and taken Geoff Marsh's spot in the test side at around the age of 18 or so...

 

[C_C]

It's extremely hard to break into first class cricket in Australia, simple as that. No doubt Tendulkar would have been into the first class setup earlier than most, but it's pretty unlikely he'd have been playing any earlier than 18 or 19.

People dont realise how precocious a talent Tendulkar was.
When you got a 11-12 year old kid playing U-15s or U-16s and averaging near bradmansque figures, it definately merits fast-tracking and i dare say if Australia or anyone had someone that precocious, they'd have played him at FC level at 16 or 17.
Its not a question of the setup- its also a question of talent. I agree today it'd have been extremely hard for Tendulkar to break into the Aussie team before he was maybe 19 or 20 but back in the time he came in, he could've cracked any team within a year or two of what he did.
Its not like he didnt earn his spot into the team !

True, he scaled his greatest heights (so far) in his mid 20s but his test record before he turned 21 was : 2023 runs from 45 innings, 5 not outs, 50.57 average, 7x100, 10x50 and only two matches against Zimbabwe amongst it (62 runs total) against a minnow.
Agreed, he bashed SL good in that period and SL were a weak team but no weaker than a bond-less NZ or cairns-less NZ in the 90s. Took England and to an extent Australia to the cleaners as well.
This also at a time ( 1991 to be precise) when a grand total of THREE batsmen were averaging 50+ apart from Tendulkar - Viv Richards, Alan Border and Javed Miandad- all three, who were comming to the end of their roads.
Ie, before Lara 'briefly' stole the show in the 90s or even was anybody, Tendulkar was easily the foremost of the batsmen barring the absolute veterans.

In case like this, i dont think there could've been any justification for holding back tendulkar more than a year or two at most from international cricket.
I think people often forget the context of a particular event as time passes by and increasingly evaluate viewpoints by today's perspective. Australia back then was not as averse to giving debuts to young players.

 

[marc71178]

If you are as prodigious a talent at Tendulkar, playing in any country/any era would've stalled his international career at best by two years.
He was good enough to get into the team after 1 year's worth of FC cricket. In India he started playing FC cricket at just under 15 i think. If this was OZ or WI of the 70s/80s, i see no reason why he'd not be a FC player by 17 and Test player by 18 or so.
Its not even a question of 'aussie way of things' - it isnt like Tendy would be trying to break into this aussie team. His competition back in 90/91 were Mark Waugh, Damien Martyn, etc.
People he could've easily come out on top of IMO.

OK, in history, how many have played FC cricket at the age of 17 in Australia then?

I'd hazard a guess at very few indeed, so what makes you so sure that this would've changed for one person?

 

[Dasa]

I'd hazard a guess at very few indeed, so what makes you so sure that this would've changed for one person?

Very few is still something. What makes you think such precocious players wouldn't have played at such an early age?
In fact, Ponting played FC cricket at 17.

 

[Benny2k1]

What if Lara was an Indian and Sachin a West Indian, Would Lara be seen as a god and Sachin as mearly a very good/great player......

 

[silentstriker]

What if Lara was an Indian and Sachin a West Indian, Would Lara be seen as a god and Sachin as mearly a very good/great player......

In the eyes of Indians? Probably. In the eyes of West Indians, it would be flipped.

 

[Dasa]

What if Lara was an Indian and Sachin a West Indian, Would Lara be seen as a god and Sachin as mearly a very good/great player......

I don't know about that. I know that Lara is rated very highly in India and many think of him as Tendulkar's equal....so it's not as if Lara is seen as merely very good/great in India.

 

[C_C]

OK, in history, how many have played FC cricket at the age of 17 in Australia then?

I'd hazard a guess at very few indeed, so what makes you so sure that this would've changed for one person?

In history, how many 20 year olds have had 50+ average and 2000+ runs ?
This is not about precedence- Tendulkar defies precedence simply because of his stunningly precocious talent the likes of which the world hasnt seen probably since Sobers.

 

[marc71178]

In history, how many 20 year olds have had 50+ average and 2000+ runs ?

That means nothing though because there's no way he'd have played so much Cricket by that age if he'd been born in Australia.

 

[C_C]

That means nothing though because there's no way he'd have played so much Cricket by that age if he'd been born in Australia.

As i said, there is no basis in saying that. My quoting of Tendulkar's record before the age of 20 was to demonstrate his already established status- as i said, at the time Tendulkar, a 20 year old was averaging 50, only three other men- all over 30 (border, Richards and Miandad) were averaging over 50. Aus were not averse to giving debuts to youngsters then and even someone less prodigal like Ponting (not a knock on Ponting- but Tendulkar was truely peerless in his precocious development) got his FC break at 17. OZ FC cricket around 89-90 was not as strong as in the mid 90s either. So all in all, as i said, atmost a 1-2 year delay than what he debuted at.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

As i said, there is no basis in saying that. My quoting of Tendulkar's record before the age of 20 was to demonstrate his already established status- as i said, at the time Tendulkar, a 20 year old was averaging 50, only three other men- all over 30 (border, Richards and Miandad) were averaging over 50. Aus were not averse to giving debuts to youngsters then and even someone less prodigal like Ponting (not a knock on Ponting- but Tendulkar was truely peerless in his precocious development) got his FC break at 17. OZ FC cricket around 89-90 was not as strong as in the mid 90s either. So all in all, as i said, atmost a 1-2 year delay than what he debuted at.

It's certainly plausible, if he had the same opportunities as Ponting, but not all young players in Australia have those opportunities, which is the point you're missing I think. The players with the most ability at a young age don't just automatically walk into FC and international teams. There's a lot of luck and circumstance involved, especially in a FC arena as competitive as Australia's. Tendulkar would have needed to have a lot of things go his way to be representing his state at 17 or 18, just like Ponting did.

Ponting was from a state that had quite weak batting in the mid 90s, he was spotted as a teenager and talked up as having major potential before he even played a state game, and he was an immediate and significant success in first class cricket when he was picked. Hell, he was even related to a former Australian international. If he'd been from a different state, hadn't been spotted as such a young age for one reason or another unrelated to his ability, or didn't have such a good run through all the early stages of his career, he wouldn't have debuted so early. I think realistically Tendulkar would have waited until at least 18 or so before he made his FC debut, which is after he made his test debut for India, and then would have needed a consistent season or two at domestic level before he got picked, unless he played in a particularly woeful period of Australian test batting like 1985-87 or whatever.

Using Ponting as the benchmark again, he had three consecutive seasons averaging 48 to 60 for Tasmania before he was selected.

 

[C_C]

especially in a FC arena as competitive as Australia's.

For the last time- this is not OZ team of 2000s he is trying to break into. OZ FC cricket at late 80s/early 90s was of good robust standard but it wasnt exactly top of the world or creme de la creme either.
Yes, everybody requires lucky breaks so i dont know what the point of mentioning that is.
He wouldnt have to be more lucky than Ponting, considering that he achieved far more than Ponting at junior levels at a far younger age. I think you are speaking too much with 'OZ of the last decade' mentality rather than thinking of the 89-91 period, when OZ were essentially a very good robust team no different than South Africa at the 90s - ie, not much bench strength.
Realistically, if Ponting made his FC debut at 17, there can be no argument against Tendulkar making his FC debut atleast by the age of 16-17 as well - if someone less stellar (at that age-ie, Ponting) could crack a bit harder FC team at age 17, i see no reason why a better performing Tendulkar would've struggled to crack the FC squads in OZ in early late 80s/early 90s, given it was of lower standard than when Ponting came in, let alone today.

 

[nightprowler10]

if someone less stellar (at that age-ie, Ponting) could crack a bit harder FC team at age 17, i see no reason why a better performing Tendulkar would've struggled to crack the FC squads in OZ in early late 80s/early 90s, given it was of lower standard than when Ponting came in, let alone today.

I think that is the point he is trying to make though. The only way Tendulkar (Tentmaker) would've made an FC debut at such a young age is if he was part of a state with a weakish batting strength, as was the case for Ponting.

 

[PrincePeiterson]

I think that is the point he is trying to make though. The only way Tendulkar (Tentmaker) would've made an FC debut at such a young age is if he was part of a state with a weakish batting strength, as was the case for Ponting.

I have read some things on Ricky Ponting and I dont see how someone can establish that as a young teenager he was performing at a lesser standard than Tendulkar.

Ricky Ponting as a junior of around 11-13 in Tasmania was so dominant that during one junior carnival he made so many runs that they had to change the rules to say that batters had to retire when they made a certain score.

Ponting was considered a prodigy and there are famous quotes from one of the worlds most famous junior coaches Rod Marsh that Ponting was the "best teenaged batter he had ever seen."

Ponting being from Tasmania (a state of australia with a population of only 350,000 people) had an advantage of being from a tiny state that lacked players of real quality. He had little competition for a spot and made his debute for his state of birth at the age of 17. Over the course of 3 years he made alot of runs in domestic cricket and was selected to play for australia at the age of 20.

If Ponting had been from any other state in australia he would not have made his debute till the age of 19. With all this in mind I think that if Tendulkar was also from Tasmania he would have made his debute for Tasmania at about the same age and then he would have had to play domestic cricket for at least 2 seasons meaning he wouldnt have made his debute till about 19

If ricky ponting was from any other country than England or Australia he would be considered a better player.