Nintendo
Cricketer Of The Year
I don't think it ever happens. Graph below is how much better root and smith have been than other top 7 batters in there games overall, and since the end of the 2019 ashes (where I think we all agree Smith started to decline)
Have put a line graph below showing how Root and Smith would progress on this metric on a match by match basis, based on their respective performances from the 2019 Ashes (this is just before Root's post covid peak and just after Smith's 2019 ashes decline; Felt like an extrapolation that was generous to root and reflective of where both are at right now) and if neither retire ever it would take Root 120 games to pass Smith. If Smith retires at the end of the 2027 Ashes, Root could play another 150 tests and would still never come close (obviously he won't play 150 tests, just more as a realistic comparison because Smith won't play on forever).
I did the same thing for positions 3 to 7 since I think we all agree openers that have the same average as a middle order bat are worth a bit more and hence probably impact the metric, particularly given how bad the openers root have played with have been bar cook. Story is basically the same.
The table below isn't exactly the same (The ball by ball data I have doesn't capture Ponting or Lara completely, so used statsguru instead). These numbers are just Ponting and Lara overall vs the batting averages of No.1 to No.11 in each of there career's. The point i'm trying to make is that if Root plays another 40 games and Smith plays another 21 (2027 Ashes assumption), Smith will be ~61.5% better than the top 7 players in his games, Root will never get past 52.5% better unless he wakes up as Donald Bradman tommorow. Lara and Ponting are a decent comparison here insofar as Ponting made 2000 more runs than Lara and has a slightly lower average, but noone on the Forum as far as I know seriously considers those two to be comparable. My understanding is that the framing usually goes Bradman in tier 1, best since Bradman in tier 2 (Lara is usually here, along with Tendulkar, and Smith), and Ponting usually ends up in tier 3 with other guys from that Era (Sanga, Kallis, Dravid) purely as batsmen. I feel like it would take an extreme decline on Smith's side, and/or (probably and) a second, additional improvement from Root for this discussion to be any different for them by the end of there career's.
Relative Career Dominance (Player vs 1-11 Match Average)
Have put a line graph below showing how Root and Smith would progress on this metric on a match by match basis, based on their respective performances from the 2019 Ashes (this is just before Root's post covid peak and just after Smith's 2019 ashes decline; Felt like an extrapolation that was generous to root and reflective of where both are at right now) and if neither retire ever it would take Root 120 games to pass Smith. If Smith retires at the end of the 2027 Ashes, Root could play another 150 tests and would still never come close (obviously he won't play 150 tests, just more as a realistic comparison because Smith won't play on forever).
I did the same thing for positions 3 to 7 since I think we all agree openers that have the same average as a middle order bat are worth a bit more and hence probably impact the metric, particularly given how bad the openers root have played with have been bar cook. Story is basically the same.
The table below isn't exactly the same (The ball by ball data I have doesn't capture Ponting or Lara completely, so used statsguru instead). These numbers are just Ponting and Lara overall vs the batting averages of No.1 to No.11 in each of there career's. The point i'm trying to make is that if Root plays another 40 games and Smith plays another 21 (2027 Ashes assumption), Smith will be ~61.5% better than the top 7 players in his games, Root will never get past 52.5% better unless he wakes up as Donald Bradman tommorow. Lara and Ponting are a decent comparison here insofar as Ponting made 2000 more runs than Lara and has a slightly lower average, but noone on the Forum as far as I know seriously considers those two to be comparable. My understanding is that the framing usually goes Bradman in tier 1, best since Bradman in tier 2 (Lara is usually here, along with Tendulkar, and Smith), and Ponting usually ends up in tier 3 with other guys from that Era (Sanga, Kallis, Dravid) purely as batsmen. I feel like it would take an extreme decline on Smith's side, and/or (probably and) a second, additional improvement from Root for this discussion to be any different for them by the end of there career's.
Relative Career Dominance (Player vs 1-11 Match Average)
| Player | Player Average | Match Average (1-11) | Relative Difference |
| Brian Lara | 52.88 | 32.73 | +61.6% |
| Ricky Ponting | 51.85 | 33.56 | +54.5% |
