#4
Sachin Tendulkar (483 points) FC average of 57.84, FC H.S of 248*. 81 FC centuries
The little master. The owner of nearly all of international cricket's longevity awards, from tests played to runs and centuries.
51 test centuries and nearly 16k test runs over 24 years. In the eyes of many these stats put him as as the clear number 2 behind the Don. His average, while still healthily over 50, was tainted a little as he played 20 tests too many in the quest for 200(and 100 international centuries). Those milestones can be unbecoming of a player can't they. Still, his test record is immense and well rounded. He doesn't average under 40 against any nation and in any nation. He's scored test hundreds everywhere and against everyone except for against Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe, but he only played 4 tests there in his defence. He more than made up for it in home tests against them. There is no true outlier in his record other than his ridic high average pf 136 against Bangladesh. From the non minnows his highest average is 60 against Sri Lanka, and lowest 42 against both Pakistan and South Africa. He faced basically three generations of test bowling attacks, and did well against both the superior 90's crop and the weaker attacks of the 2000s when he was aging.
His form dipped a bit over the 24 years, peaking around 2000, then dipping again before briefly rising again for an amazing 2010, which yielded him 7 test tons. What a renaissance. His final dreadful couple of years not withstanding, he had a reputation as the best batsman in the world nearly the entire time he was playing. The 1996 WC was when he really started the discussion as the best after the Don(correct me if I'm wrong), with his three centuries in that tournament being the first real signs he was something very special. He ended up with the record for most WC runs by a country mile and it was no surprise and quite just he was the first player to hit the first ODI double century.
His actual batting technique was said to be very similar to the dons. Slight in build, nimble on his feet with a great eye and terrific ability to work a ball onto the onside, even Bradman's wife remarked he reminded her of the Don's batting. His short height probably worked to his advantage, like the inverse of the way tall height helps a fast bowler. A low centre of gravity makes it quite easier to deal with varying bounce IMO, with a lot more balls being able to clipped off your hip.
Anyway, he cracks 4th on this list, just in front of his longtime rival Brian Lara. Like Headley and Pollock they finished within a whisker of each other.
But I rarely put him in ATG test XI. Sure there are some missing jewels in his record -- he never scored a hundred in each innings of a test, never scored more than 2 hundreds in a series, never hit 900 ICC rating points (see how many batsmen ambled past that threshold), never scored a 250 etc (he was the first to get 200 in 50 over format which is huge). But seeing how he excelled in all conditions, for so long and in all formats, it is tough to not put him next only to Bradman.
