All things considered, is Tendulkar as good as Bradman?

The argument for-

Bradman only really played against 2-3 teams during his career, and only England were really any good. He got to know their bowlers extremely well, and there was no video footage for the opposition to study in order to find out his weaknesses.

Bradman's schedule was nothing like Tendulkar's. No ODI cricket. No T20.

I know there was some very good bowlers in Bradman's era (Larwood etc), but having seen some footage of Bradman, some of the bowling he faced was absolute rubbish. i'm talking 40mph pies.

Bradman never faced the intense media scrutiny that Tendulkar has. Sure, Bradman was a household name but there was no real TV, and no internet. Australia's population at the time was around 10 million. India is 1 billion, and a good deal of them are cricket crazy. The fact that Tendulkar has remained so consistent and focussed on his game is quite extraordinary.

So, is Tendulkar as good as Bradman was?

Nice try, Trev.

SRT isn't even as good as Lara or Ponting . . .

tac's right Trev, there's a bit of subi in you.

One word answer: No.

Charles Davis (z-score) did a statistical analysis of Bradman's achievements. They didn't just shit on anyone else before or since in cricket, they shat on anyone in any sport.

I've often thought about compiling the stats of Bradman and all those who played in his time, and seeing what the difference would be, then trying to equate them with today's figures. But couldn't be bothered.

Also, in the Bradman argument, you forgot that in his day, travel interstate meant train travel, overseas tours meant long periods on boats, neither of which were condusive to keeping up form in the middle. There was also the small matter of WWII which interrupted his (and a bunch of other players') career for years.

As for the 'schedule' argument...

Australia in England 1930:
Worcestershire v Australians at Worcester, 30 Apr-2 May 1930
Leicestershire v Australians at Leicester, 3-6 May 1930
Essex v Australians at Leyton, 7-9 May 1930
Yorkshire v Australians at Sheffield, 10-13 May 1930
Lancashire v Australians at Liverpool, 14-16 May 1930
Marylebone Cricket Club v Australians at Lord's, 17-20 May 1930
Derbyshire v Australians at Chesterfield, 21-23 May 1930
Surrey v Australians at Kennington Oval, 24-27 May 1930
Oxford University v Australians at Oxford, 28-29 May 1930
Hampshire v Australians at Southampton, 31 May-2 Jun 1930
Middlesex v Australians at Lord's, 4-6 Jun 1930
Cambridge University v Australians at Cambridge, 7-10 Jun 1930
1st TEST: England v Australia at Nottingham, 13-17 Jun 1930
Surrey v Australians at Kennington Oval, 18-20 Jun 1930
Lancashire v Australians at Manchester, 21-24 Jun 1930
2nd TEST: England v Australia at Lord's, 27 Jun-1 Jul 1930
Yorkshire v Australians at Bradford, 2-4 Jul 1930
Nottinghamshire v Australians at Nottingham, 5-8 Jul 1930
3rd TEST: England v Australia at Leeds, 11-15 Jul 1930
Scotland v Australians at Edinburgh, 16-18 Jul 1930
4th TEST: England v Australia at Manchester, 25-29 Jul 1930
Somerset v Australians at Taunton, 30-31 Jul 1930
Glamorgan v Australians at Swansea, 2-5 Aug 1930
Warwickshire v Australians at Birmingham, 6-8 Aug 1930
Northamptonshire v Australians at Northampton, 9-12 Aug 1930
5th TEST: England v Australia at Kennington Oval, 16-22 Aug 1930
Gloucestershire v Australians at Bristol, 23-26 Aug 1930
Kent v Australians at Canterbury, 27-29 Aug 1930
Sussex v Australians at Brighton, 30 Aug-2 Sep 1930
England XI v Australians at Folkestone, 3-5 Sep 1930
HDG Leveson-Gower's XI v Australians at Scarborough, 10-12 Sep 1930

And 1934:
Worcestershire v Australians at Worcester, 2-3 May 1934
Leicestershire v Australians at Leicester, 5-8 May 1934
Cambridge University v Australians at Cambridge, 9-11 May 1934
Marylebone Cricket Club v Australians at Lord's, 12-15 May 1934
Essex v Australians at Chelmsford, 16-18 May 1934
Oxford University v Australians at Oxford, 19-21 May 1934
Hampshire v Australians at Southampton, 23-25 May 1934
Middlesex v Australians at Lord's, 26-28 May 1934
Surrey v Australians at Kennington Oval, 30 May-1 Jun 1934
Lancashire v Australians at Manchester, 2-5 Jun 1934
1st TEST: England v Australia at Nottingham, 8-12 Jun 1934
Northamptonshire v Australians at Northampton, 13-15 Jun 1934
Gentlemen of England v Australians at Lord's, 16-19 Jun 1934
2nd TEST: England v Australia at Lord's, 22-25 Jun 1934
Somerset v Australians at Taunton, 27-28 Jun 1934
Surrey v Australians at Kennington Oval, 30 Jun-3 Jul 1934
3rd TEST: England v Australia at Manchester, 6-10 Jul 1934
Derbyshire v Australians at Chesterfield, 11-13 Jul 1934
Yorkshire v Australians at Sheffield, 14-17 Jul 1934
4th TEST: England v Australia at Leeds, 20-24 Jul 1934
Scotland v Australians at Edinburgh, 27-30 Jul 1934
Gloucestershire v Australians at Bristol, 1-3 Aug 1934
Glamorgan v Australians at Swansea, 4-7 Aug 1934
Warwickshire v Australians at Birmingham, 8-10 Aug 1934
Nottinghamshire v Australians at Nottingham, 11-14 Aug 1934
5th TEST: England v Australia at Kennington Oval, 18-22 Aug 1934
Sussex v Australians at Brighton, 25-28 Aug 1934
Kent v Australians at Canterbury, 29-31 Aug 1934
England XI v Australians at Folkestone, 1-4 Sep 1934
HDG Leveson-Gower's XI v Australians at Scarborough, 8-11 Sep 1934

1938:
Worcestershire v Australians at Worcester, April 30 - May 3 1938
Oxford University v Australians at Christ Church Ground, Oxford, May 4 - 6, 1938
Leicestershire v Australians at Aylestone Road, Leicester, May 7-10, 1938
Cambridge University v Australians at Fenner's Ground, Cambridge, May 11-13, 1938
Marylebone Cricket Club v Australians at Lord's, May 14-17, 1938
Northamptonshire v Australians at Northampton, May 18-20, 1938
Surrey v Australians at Kennington Oval, May 21-24, 1938
Hampshire v Australians at Southampton, 25-27 May 1938
Middlesex v Australians at Lord's, May 28-31, 1938
Gloucestershire v Australians at Bristol, June 1-3, 1938
Essex v Australians at Southend, June 4, 6, 1938
1st Test: England v Australia at Nottingham, 10-14 Jun 1938
Gentlemen of England v Australians at Lord's, June 15-17, 1938
Lancashire v Australians at Old Trafford, Manchester, June 18, 21, 1938
2nd Test: England v Australia at Lord's, 24-28 Jun 1938
Derbyshire v Australians at Queen's Park, Chesterfield, June 29-30, 1938,
Yorkshire v Australians at Bramall Lane, Sheffield, July 2-5, 1938
3rd Test: England v Australia at Manchester, 8-12 Jul 1938
Warwickshire v Australians at Edgbaston, Birmingham, July 13-14, 1938
Nottinghamshire v Australians at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, July 16-19, 1938
4th Test: England v Australia at Leeds, 22-25 Jul 1938
Somerset v Australians at Taunton, July 27-29, 1938
Glamorgan v Australians at Swansea, 30 Jul - 2 Aug 1938
Tour Match: Surrey v Australians at The Oval, 10-12 Aug 1938
Kent v Australians at St.Lawrence Ground, Canterbury, August 13-16, 1938
5th Test: England v Australia at The Oval, 20-24 Aug 1938
5th TEST: England v Australia, REPORT
Sussex v Australians at Hove, August 27, 30, 1938
An England XI v Australians at Blackpool, August 31-September 1, 1938
An England XI v Australians at Folkestone, 3-6 September, 1938
Leveson Gower's XI v Australians at Scarborough, September 10-13, 1938

And then there was 1948...

Worcestershire v Australians at Worcester - Apr 28-30, 1948
Leicestershire v Australians at Leicester - May 1-4, 1948
Yorkshire v Australians at Bradford - May 5-6, 1948
Surrey v Australians at The Oval - May 8-11, 1948
Cambridge University v Australians at Cambridge - May 12-14, 1948
Essex v Australians at Southend-on-Sea - May 15-17, 1948
Oxford University v Australians at Oxford - May 19-21, 1948
Marylebone Cricket Club v Australians at Lord's - May 22-25, 1948
Lancashire v Australians at Manchester - May 26-28, 1948
Nottinghamshire v Australians at Nottingham - May 29-Jun 1, 1948
Hampshire v Australians at Southampton - Jun 2-4, 1948
Sussex v Australians at Hove - Jun 5-7, 1948
1st Test: England v Australia at Nottingham - Jun 10-15, 1948
Northamptonshire v Australians at Northampton - Jun 16-18, 1948
Yorkshire v Australians at Sheffield - Jun 19-22, 1948
2nd Test: England v Australia at Lord's - Jun 24-29, 1948
Surrey v Australians at The Oval - Jun 30-Jul 2, 1948
Gloucestershire v Australians at Bristol - Jul 3-6, 1948
3rd Test: England v Australia at Manchester - Jul 8-13, 1948
Middlesex v Australians at Lord's - Jul 17-20, 1948
4th Test: England v Australia at Leeds - Jul 22-27, 1948
Derbyshire v Australians at Derby - Jul 28-30, 1948
Glamorgan v Australians at Swansea - Jul 31-Aug 3, 1948
Warwickshire v Australians at Birmingham - Aug 4-6, 1948
Lancashire v Australians at Manchester - Aug 7-10, 1948
Durham v Australians at Sunderland - Aug 11-12, 1948
5th Test: England v Australia at The Oval - Aug 14-18, 1948
Kent v Australians at Canterbury - Aug 21-23, 1948
Gentlemen of England v Australians at Lord's - Aug 25-27, 1948
Somerset v Australians at Taunton - Aug 28-30, 1948
South v Australians at Hastings - Sep 1-3, 1948
HDG Leveson-Gower's XI v Australians at Scarborough - Sep 8-10, 1948

Which would suggest to me that today's players can take their 'we're so busy and play sooooo much cricket' malarkey and shove it fair up their clakcers.

No. He's better.

Can't believe Zat even bothered to defend Bradman.

I think he was just commenting on the myth of busy modern schedules rather than taking any real credence of Trev's wanking. . .

It's hard to say - Bradman never got to play in his peak.

who cares? he's almost certainly the best since bradman, and all i can say is that i'm privileged to have seen almost his entire career

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A man dies and goes to heaven. St. Peter takes him for a tour. On his tour he comes across this rather aged man on a cricket field batting.

The man faces the first ball and gets rapped on the pads- loud appeal, turned down by the umpire"

Second ball takes the edge but falls just short of first slip.

Third ball swing and a miss

Fourth ball, ball takes the inside edge and misses everything - stumps, keeper and third man to be signalled for a very lucky boundary

Fifth ball- BOWLED! middle stump.

The dead man asks St. Peter "Who is that man"

St. Peter replies rather disgusted " Oh him! Thats GOD. He thinks hes Sachin Tendulkar"

The One wrote:who cares? he's almost certainly the best since bradman

I wouldn't say almost certainly, he's definately in with a shout though.

Nasser Hussain agrees with Trev.

I have never liked comparisons between great players, but after Wednesday’s incredible game it must be said — Sachin Tendulkar is the greatest batsman of all time.

Better than Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting, the other two great players of my era. Better than Sir Viv Richards, Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border. And I would even say better than Sir Don Bradman himself.

Now he has the first double hundred in a one-day international — hitting 25 fours and three sixes as India beat South Africa by 153 runs — he has swung it for me.

I played against Tendulkar on my first England tour, the Nehru Cup in India in 1989, and I could still see that excited boy in big pads in Gwalior.

That extraordinary drive and enthusiasm are what make Tendulkar so special. He has been playing international cricket for 20 years under the intense scrutiny being an Indian superstar brings, so it is remarkable he still loves holding a bat as much as ever.

Halfway through the Indian innings on Wednesday, Tendulkar was already on more than a hundred. It’s almost a given that he will reach three figures. But even he had not turned it into a double in a 50-over international before, and this was not against a lowly side but South Africa, one of the most formidable bowling attacks in the world.

There was no slogging — just pure, attacking strokeplay.

Tendulkar has gone back to being the fluent, almost flamboyant, batsman he used to be. In recent years his innings had become a bit mechanical, but I think he has remembered what made him great.

I interviewed Sachin for Sportsmail when he was touring England a couple of years ago — one of the highlights of my career since I stopped playing, and it was noticeable that he is not driven by money.

He has become a very wealthy man, but that has been as a result of doing what he does best and enjoying it. It has not been the be all and end all for him.

What else is left for Tendulkar now? What better, then, than to score a hundred in the World Cup final against Australia — or maybe even England — on home soil this time next year.

That would be the full stop that would enable Tendulkar to ride off into the sunset with everything achieved in his career.

My admiration for him is total. To steal the nickname of a certain football coach who led Inter Milan against Chelsea on Wednesday, Sachin Tendulkar truly is The Special One.

i said almost certainly since he still has 3-4 years left. once he's done or maybe 4-5 years after he's done i think it will be pretty certain. its hard to judge a current player against people who have retired. your memories are always different

Naz had clearly been snorting prior to that quote.

Shane Warne also agrees with the thread opener.

SG wrote:Nasser Hussain agrees with Trev.

Subis all think the same, don't they?

Given that Bradman once made a triple ton in a day in test cricket you could reliably assume that he might adapt to one day cricket. It seems that people use the fact that he didn't play this format against him when mounting a case for the modern day players as a 'package' ahead of him.

Bradman wasn't great at hitting the ball in the air. Just like Michael Slater, just like VVS Laxman. This makes his ability to be a great ODI and T20 player doubtful.

yet he was a master at finding the gap, which makes most knowledgeable cricket fans think he might have been pretty adept . . .

I dread to think what Bradman's averages would have been had he faced the likes of the Bangles, the Zimboks and the present WIndian side .. recent England, Indian and Kiwi too - with ALL of his innings played on batsman friendly protected/covered wickets using a bat the size of a railway sleeper !!

Hazard a guess ... 130 + ... ??

He averaged 99 in an era when only the very best of his contemporaries managed half that - which was still less than Don averaged in his worst series..

Now that every Tom. Dick, Sachin and Brian can churn out 60 an innings wiith so little trouble, or so it seems, 130 for a Bradman would be very much the bottom end of expectations.

Merlin wrote:I dread to think what Bradman's averages would have been had he faced the likes of the Bangles, the Zimboks and the present WIndian side .. recent England, Indian and Kiwi too - with ALL of his innings played on batsman friendly protected/covered wickets using a bat the size of a railway sleeper !!

Hazard a guess ... 130 + ... ??

Perhaps a bit of hyperbole there, maybe intentional. Certainly Bangles would have boosted his average, very few play against Zimbos now but I also believe the Windies circa late 70s and just beyond would have tested him in a manner that might have threatened his average. Still find it amazing that the so-called most fearsome bowler of his era Larwood was only just over five foot seven. And in the famous Bodyline series he did effectively halve his average. Some believe the 70s and 80s with their bumper wars featured bowling much more challenging than that series even the peculiar field placings notwithstanding. The height, strength and superior fitness and stamina of modern day bowlers allows them to generate speed and bounce not generally seen in his day.

Fielding standards have improved immeasurably and that would have impacted on Bradman to some extent because even a cursory reading of descriptions of many of his innings suggests that he was often dropped, it was common in his era when they weren't professionals and athletic prowess didn't match the exploits of the cricketers of today.

Nonetheless Bradman's average relative to his contemporaries means that he would have been successful and dominant in any era and probably successful in any format of cricket he played. Remember Sachin made that double century in a limited overs game yesterday only hitting three sixes which showed that an orthodox player with a good technique can still score briskly and heavily regardless of the format.

He survived Bodyline (God Bless Dougie Jardine) so I doubt the 70's WIndies would have caused too great an inconvenience.
Hyperbole or not, it's all conjecture anyway - and hypothesising on the issue doesn't serve any purpose whatsoever other than ruin the several BanIndian orgasms.

Of course Tendulkar is as good as Bradman was. Of course he is, petals.

Bats, pitches, bowling variety ... they hardly come into it, now.

No. He's not even as good as BCL

skully wrote:Naz had clearly been snorting prior to that quote.

Of course, if SRT > DGB, that would make Nas > Hammond and Hobbs.