What Sachin Tendulkar has that Don Bradman didn’t - Atherton

[afridi6666]

Exactly 77 years ago to the day, in Melbourne, Harold Larwood instigated what eventually became known as bodyline when he struck Bill Woodfull, the opener, near the heart during a four-day match between MCC and an Australian XI. It was to herald the most rancorous series of all time. Douglas Jardine was not playing in the match and it was his deputy, Bob Wyatt, who carried out the instructions to try “leg theory†as a precursor for what was to follow. Donald Bradman, whose gargantuan scoring the theory was intended to curb, failed twice in the match, falling to Larwood on each occasion for 36 and 13 — a sign of his troubles ahead. This week Sachin Tendulkar celebrated 20 years as an international cricketer. There followed a slew of paeans to the India batsman’s longevity and greatness from some of the best writers on the game. The only discordant note came from Kapil Dev, who believes, oddly, that Tendulkar has failed to make full use of his talent. They should make Kapil a judge on Strictly Come Dancing. If these two strands have little in common, bear with me for a moment. Images of Tendulkar have adorned newspapers and websites throughout the week. Images, mostly, of the “Little Master†at the crease, compact and balanced. So compact and balanced, in fact, that Bradman said Tendulkar was the modern player whose method most closely resembled his own. There was, though, one crucial difference, which the image of Tendulkar on these pages on Monday highlighted. Perched on top of Tendulkar’s head, adorned with the tricolour of India, was a bright blue helmet and, for good measure, a grille to protect his features. Wearing blue, Tendulkar was batting in a one-day game, but had the image been of him batting in whites, there is a good chance that, along with a helmet, Tendulkar would have been wearing an arm guard and a chest guard, too. He is always amply protected. Which is not to say that Tendulkar lacks bravery. Indeed, he proved his “manhood†in his first Test series when Waqar Younis bloodied his nose and Tendulkar refused treatment and carried on batting. He wore a grille from then on, though, so that when James Anderson sent a ball crashing into it at Trent Bridge in July 2007, Tendulkar was able to shake his head and carry on as if he had been hit with a wet sponge. Tendulkar’s method suggests that he would be little inconvenienced by not wearing a helmet. He does not hook, nor does he plunge on to the front foot. And he watches the ball like a hawk. Nevertheless, would he have lasted as long, would he have scored as many runs, would that blow to his face by Anderson not have affected his confidence in any way? We cannot know for sure. The advent of protection for batsmen from the late 1970s has been the biggest change to the game since the introduction of overarm bowling. It has altered profoundly the balance between bat and ball and changed batting techniques, to the point at which modern batsmen (Matthew Hayden and Kevin Pietersen, for example) can walk down the pitch to 90mph balls and where some (Justin Langer, say) can play on despite numerous blows to the head. That is before we even start talking about the strokes, such as the overhead “Dilscoop†that are routinely played in limited-overs matches, which would be a non-starter without helmets. Bradman’s average plummeted in the Bodyline series, when the need for raw courage was added to the equation. A few modern players would suffer, too. The ball is no softer now and the bowlers no less quick, but standing at the crease knowing that you can be killed demands a different level of courage from the realisation that you might just get hurt. As someone who did not wear a helmet throughout his career, Viv Richards knows what it is like to bat with just a cap on, which is why, on his short trip to London this week, he poured scorn on modern batsmanship. It is, he said, no longer a man’s game, more like a pampered nursery where batsmen use body protection as a “form of staying powerâ€. Richards was a magnificent player, fuelled by a pride that made him scorn a helmet, arm guard or chest guard, even in an era when the game became nastier and more brutish. I have a lot of sympathy with him. Unlike boxing, say, which has remained true to its pugilistic roots, making comparisons between eras so much easier, the nature of batting has changed so fundamentally that it renders comparisons meaningless. Nobody, bar Richards probably, is crazy enough to suggest that helmets should be banned. Nobody wants to see people dying for their sport. But to suggest that Tendulkar — or, indeed, any modern, armoured or, to use Richards’s phrase, “pampered†player — is the best ever is demeaning to those former greats who stood at the crease in the knowledge that their next ball could be their last.

[Jai Ho]

Marilyn Monroe. :cantstop:

[Sooda]

Its a fair point, thats what makes it so hard to compare. Thins like uncovered pitches made it hard to bat on back then too. OTOH, Bradman didnt have opposition coaches dissecting his technique looking for weaknesses with video technology. Amongst NUMEROUS other things I am sure. Swings and roundabouts

[fuub]

would be awesome if ICC decided to disallow helmets for the world cup tournament or something like that and got rid of the 1 bouncer rule.

[DomainK]

would be awesome if ICC decided to disallow helmets for the world cup tournament or something like that and got rid of the 1 bouncer rule.

That's a cool idea. I think we should have a tournament in the old style- no helmets, no guards except the abdomen guard and uncovered pitches. That will be fun.

[kabira]

well you have what you have. If Bradman had helmets he would have used it. You get used to what you have. If today's batsman had no helmets, they would get acquainted and won't be much issue.

[Gambit]

What Atherton has that Cardus didn't = bhoosa instead of brain + a computer

[goose]

If you want to go down the what one player had to contend with that the otherr didn't road, Tendulkar beats Bradman into a pulp.

[Fontaine]

Atherton does make a valid point. Today's batsmen have no fear against modern bowlers. But, as is the usual case for Atherton, his tedious thoughts are hardly original and pedestrian for the most part, just like his batting.

[bunny]

Forget helmets, first Sachin needs stats which can establish him as the best ever.

[Sachinism]

If you want to go down the what one player had to contend with that the otherr didn't road' date=' Tendulkar beats Bradman into a pulp.[/quote'] Exactly. - Easy schedule for Bradman compared to Tendulkar - Pressure on Tendulkar > Bradman - Open fields for Bradman as most of fielders were in attacking positions behind the wicket and more

[DomainK]

Exactly. - Easy schedule for Bradman compared to Tendulkar - Pressure on Tendulkar > Bradman - Open fields for Bradman as most of fielders were in attacking positions behind the wicket and more

Most of all, a variety of oppositions to score against and a variety of tracks to play on. Bradman played against two oppositions mainly on similar wickets.

[fuub]

i dont really get the argument that tendulkar has more pressure to contend with and therefore better

[Sachinism]

i dont really get the argument that tendulkar has more pressure to contend with and therefore better

Have you ever played any competitive sport. Or have you performed any activity where you have added pressure on you. You'll know how different things are when the pressure is on.

[fuub]

I understand pressure can make activities harder, but who can really say tendulkar feels more pressure to perform than someone on debut for any international team.

[Sachinism]

I understand pressure can make activities harder' date=' but who can really say tendulkar feels more pressure to perform than someone on debut for any international team.[/quote'] Have you seen what Indian fans are like, he can smash 4 100's in a row and next game score 2 and people will start calling for his head. Plus the way he carried the team through most of the 90's

[rishi008]

What Sachin Tendulkar has that Don Bradman didn’t=- Atherton???? FERRARI :winky:

[champ]

would be awesome if ICC decided to disallow helmets for the world cup tournament or something like that and got rid of the 1 bouncer rule.

are n't the recent injuries faced by various teams enuf for u ??

[champ]

i dont really get the argument that tendulkar has more pressure to contend with and therefore better

ya u r not in that level of these great men to understand .. bye bye

[King Tendulkar]

Atherton is full of such hatred and jelously towards india. He had to take a pop at the master tendulkar in his comparisaon. No murmur against equally protected Lara and Ponting Question is why with such protection was his own record so pathetic?