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Sachin Tendulkar for the 1990-2007 ODI XI

Where should Sachin Tendulkar bat?


  • Total voters
    41
  • Poll closed .

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
The CW ODI XIs get started. First question - where should Sachin Tendulkar bat? IMO there's a very strong case for him batting four, as there were many who could do an equally good job at the start of the innings and few who could do an equally good one in the middle. There has been enough uncertainty for him to be shifted around by India many times, unlike, say, Mark Waugh and Sanath Jaysuriya who had two distinct parts to their careers: the first as a middle-order player and the second a second as an opener.

Nonetheless, Tendulkar's record as an opener shows he has obviously done the job there. The question is more, IMO, are there more openers who demand selection than middle-order players? Would you be leaving-out more quality to exclude an opener, or a middle-order batsman to fit in Tendulkar?

So, make your pick.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Because there are other openers who do almost as good a job, but there are not as many who do such a good job in the middle.
 

open365

International Vice-Captain
He didn't do such a good job in the middle, he averaged 38, that's nothing special.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
It's not a case of by-position numbers, it's case of analysing his skills. He was better than almost anyone at playing the overs in the middle. However, plenty matched his skills of hitting at the top of the innings.
 

Matt79

Global Moderator
He's one of the greatest - let him play wherever he wants - which would be at the top of the order. There are also stacks of great middle order players to pick from - I'd rather forego a Jayasuriya or M. Waugh at the top of the order than a Bevan, Pietersen, Symonds, Hussey, Clarke, Inzi, Lara etc in the middle order.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
There's a very strong case for Lara opening along with Tendulkar, in fact. That, too, will be put to the poll.
 

open365

International Vice-Captain
It's not a case of by-position numbers, it's case of analysing his skills. He was better than almost anyone at playing the overs in the middle. However, plenty matched his skills of hitting at the top of the innings.
His skills as an opener led to him averaging 48, who rivals that?

And whatever skills he has for the middle order it doesn't change the fact a lot more people score more runs in the middle order than he does.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
They don't, though, because even as an opener he's batted there countless hundreds of times.

Sadly, there are no stats that reflect runs scored between overs 15 and 40, only by-position. And IMO said stats are far more accurate reflections of such matters than by-position numbers.
 

open365

International Vice-Captain
What the hell are you talking about? I can't make any sense of that last post whatsoever
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
What the hell are you talking about? I can't make any sense of that last post whatsoever
Stats by position don't really give a clue as to stats by time at which someone batted.

The more important thing is not what SRT's simplistic positional average is, but how he performed in overs 15-40 compared to 1-15.
 

open365

International Vice-Captain
How convinient, you manage to base your argument on a stat that just happens to be unattainable.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
It's a damn shame that stat's unavailable, otherwise my argument would be far stronger than it is.
 

silentstriker

The Wheel is Forever
Opener. He's the best opener in ODI history, should stay there. There are more middle order batsman than top order IMO.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
It's not a case of staying anywhere - to stay somewhere you have to be there. No-one - yet - is anywhere in this team.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Well there is, actually, as it's my team I could veto this, but that would kinda defy the point of polling ITFP.

People have made perfectly constructive points (ss and Matt of the 79 variety) that there is more competition in the middle than at the top. Me, I think it's probably equal either way. Therefore, allowing Tendulkar to bat where he'd prefer is probably fair noof.
 

Anil

Hall of Fame Member
he has done best as an opener, he is inarguably the greatest opener, just because he can be adequate in the middle order is a silly reason to move him there...
 

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