***Official*** Tendulkar vs Ponting Thread

[aussie]

It's not really something a player can influence. Tendulkar cannot do anything about what XI the opposition choose to put out, for all intents and purposes it's Australia/SA's best XI at a given point in time.

I'm not saying its something he can influence.

The beauty & difficulty about touring & scoring runs in AUS & SA in the 90s was facing McGrath/Warne & Donald/Pollock. If by chance Tendy had toured those countries & had not encountered those bowlers & had to face & dominate second rate attacks/injured attacks (like the AUS attack he faced in IND 98). Then the runs cannot be rated on the same level, as if the legends where playing.

 

[Sanz]

What the above shows is that across all those innings, which is a fairly large sample, he made a significant amount of runs. It's veryunlikely for someone to fluke that kind of average across all those bowlers even if he were to play them 2 tests each. It's very unlikely. In fact, I can't think of a bowler who really got on top of Ponting be it pace or spin, international or domestic cricket. The only person who has routinely troubled him is Harbhajan and that only in India.

His record even against the likes of Steyn, Akhtar and Bond is incredible. Averages 62.30 against them - Tendulkar 39.31. He's so across the board good against these top class pacers that it's not much of a question for me, at least personally.

Who do you think has been the best player of pace during his career?

Anyone knows why Ambrose is missing from the list. I guess he wasn't the best fast bowler to play in last 20 years.

So much of Cherry picking, yes pick the one that suits the agenda and then claim the greatness. What is sad is that it is just not required.

 

[Sanz]

While we are on cherry picking.

Ponting Vs. Ambrose/Walsh :- 40, Tendy :- 62.81

Ponting Vs. Bishop :- 27.50, Tendy :- 50.25

Ponting Vs. Gough :- 39.38

 

[bagapath]

I've heard what TC has said about Donald from others but my impression of him overall was so different. He was so destructive - he has an SR even better than Marshall, which is unbelievable in itself.

I dont think so Ikki. they have the same SR. in fact, marshall's is slightly better (46.7 vs donald's 47)

 

[robelinda]

Sachin vid from 1989

YouTube - SACHIN TENDULKAR FIRST INTERVIEW

 

[Shri]

Lol, he started saying "the ball comes nicely onto the bat" right from that time.

 

[Slifer]

While we are on cherry picking.

Ponting Vs. Ambrose/Walsh :- 40, Tendy :- 62.81Ponting Vs. Bishop :- 27.50, Tendy :- 50.25

Ponting Vs. Gough :- 39.38

actually its 57 not 62

 

[Slifer]

I've heard what TC has said about Donald from others but my impression of him overall was so different. He was so destructive - he has an SR even better than Marshall, which is unbelievable in itself.

Donald does not have a better SR than MM, only Steyn and Waqar among bowlers wth over 200 wkts do.

 

[Sanz]

actually its 57 not 62

FTR, It is 62.81

Batting records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | Cricinfo.com

Even if it was 57, the point was made.

 

[Slifer]

Thats 62 for matches involving either player, for matches involving both its 57.8. Still ur point is taken. Just like to see stats stated accurately thats all.

 

[Sanz]

Thats 62 for matches involving either player, for matches involving both its 57.8. Still ur point is taken. Just like to see stats stated accurately thats all.

It was accurate. I said Ambrose/Walsh not Ambrose & Walsh. There was a reason behind it.

 

[Slifer]

Oh my bad then. But u do agree that Walsh alone vs Amby+Walsh is diff altogether no??

 

[ankitj]

Tendulkar incidentally is the rank 1 test batsman now: ICC Player Rankings | Cricinfo.com

 

[Ikki]

Sorry, you're right, for some reason I had remembered Marshall's SR as 49 and not 46.7. Well, it's close enough though, very impressive.

 

[weldone]

S.Africans; they just don't get their deserved respect for some reason.

Agree with you so much on this (especially for fast bowlers), and this is true across generations.

South Africa has produced amazing fast bowlers right from the 60's. Neil Adcock, Allan Donald and Mike Procter are the first three names that come to mind. And besides, there have been the likes of Dale Steyn, Peter Pollock, Shaun Pollock. All of them have had outstanding records and were considered greats of the game by those who played with or against them. But how many of them make a place too often in an all-time list? Donald sometimes, maybe. I guess most of these bowlers deserve at least a consideration for such lists.

Same for the great Saffie alrounders Clive Rice and Mike Procter (and Jacques Kallis too, though he has been more of a batting alrounder). Everyone who've seen them at their prime know that they stand in the same league as the likes of Imran, Botham, Kapil, Hadlee; and actually might have been even better than at least some of them. Mike Procter was definitely the best player in the world for a period. And it's not that they didn't succeed against the best of players. They bowled to, and batted against some of the greatests of the game with immense success. Still!

 

[ankitj]

In my time of watching cricket Ponting's the batsman I'd pick to face a great pace attack. Then probably Waugh, then probably Tendulkar.

On that - fair enough. Would Ponting figure in your top 3 players against spin? Or top 5? Or top 10?

 

[honestbharani]

It was sometime in mid 2006. And if I recall correctly he had had an unsuccessful surgery earlier on, soon after he acquired the condition, as well.

To be completely fair, Sachin himself said it did not hamper his batting in any way during that time... I would just take it as a dip in form that just about every cricketer has had. Excuses like that belie the great man, coz I am pretty sure he will never pay when he is feeling he can't give his best. Let's face it, India of the mid noughties was not the Wndies of late 90s or since... It was not like everything was dependant on Sachin.


I seriously do think that having some other batsmen blossom around him has made Sachin a lot freer towards his own game... He really seems to be enjoying his cricket since 2001 when you can say the fab 4 arrived, as an entity by themselves... And with more wins and more of a climb in the ranking, it really seems to be spurring him on to better deeds. I think his renaissance also has something to do with the fact that India were now seriously moving ahead in the rankings (not exactly the ICC rankings, but in the general perception of the cricketing world)... You just saw how much all this means to him yesterday after he hit the winning runs. He, more than anyone else, has always pointed out how much TEAM SUCCESS means to him and the numbers show that he is not kidding..

 

[Ikki]

On that - fair enough. Would Ponting figure in your top 3 players against spin? Or top 5? Or top 10?

Despite the fact that I've not really seen Ponting dominate spin bowling like Lara and Tendulkar; he still has an excellent record against spin bowlers - averaging 50 in matches against Murali is no fluke. Probably isn't amongst the best pure players of spin bowlers of all-time but is probably amongst the best in the all-time bat stakes.

 

[Prince EWS]

Probably isn't amongst the best spin bowlers of all-time

Selling him short there; I saw him bowl offies in an ING Cup game for Tasmania and he took a wicket. It was the best ball I've ever seen.

 

[Ikki]

LOL, yeah yeah...I edited.

@ weldone; I was looking at WSC bowlers and saw the S.African Garth Le Roux. His FC record looks marvelous; does anyone know how good he was? Would he have been amongst the Hadlees, etc.?