bagapath
International Captain
yes. i agree. and we have done this several times before. but i have to make one point in response to ikki. history ignores minor statistical differences and treats style and overall impact on the game more favorably than a fraction here or there. when you compare batsmen who average 50 and above they all are on the same statistical plane. that is why ponting is likely to lose out to sachin and lara (no one says "sachins" and "laras" even when comparing them with bradman). but there is no shame in it. every batsman in history, bar a handful, will be ranked below them. it is for the same reason miandad is not rated on par with viv richards despite having a superior record. it is for the same reason g.chappell (style) and border (overall impact on australian cricket) got rated above ponting in the recent cricinfo polls.Pretty sure we have a "Ponting vs Sachin" thread for precisely this kind of pointless argument fellas. It's an irrelevant issue in what should be a thread celebrating Ricky's achievement.
He's a pretty amazing player. I for a long time had him behind Waugh and Border, but in the last couple of years he's gone past them in my books. To have scored so much in relatively so few tests is amazing - doing most of it at three, rather than 5 or 6 as well. What a champion.
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