by Nelson Lewis - Bahrain

Bahrain, Jun 29: It is natural for present day enthusiasts to consider contemporary batsmen to be amongst the best that the game has produced.  To stick to their contention, they would say that present day batsmen play in a highly competitive environment and face genuine fast bowling.  They do not realise that though batsmen of the yore did not play in such a charged atmosphere, nevertheless they faced quality fast, fast medium and spin bowling and did very, very well.  Moreover, many of the all-time great batsmen were of earlier generations (and very few from the present lot), who played the game because they passionately loved it and felt proud to represent their countries and not because of big megabucks, money earned through sponsorships, product endorsements, advertisements, writing articles, etc., because the money earned those days were peanuts and they had to depend on steady jobs or business for earning their livelihood.  Therefore, they were totally focussed with the game and there were very little attractions or distractions.  This could be one explanation why most of the great batsmen were old timers and a few from the present lot.

If one were to consider batsmen with test averages of 55 or in excess, only four (or a few more) present day batsmen fall in that bracket, namely Ricky Ponting, Rahul Dravid, Mohammed Yousuf and Jacques Kallis.  The other batsmen, namely Sachin Tendulkar, Mathew Hayden and Brian Lara and others are below 55 and above 50. 

One has to realise that cricketers of yore played genuine fast bowling and short pitched stuff without helmet or other superior protections that are presently available to protect them from injuries.  They depended on very sharp eyesight and quick reflexes to protect themselves and score runs.

I have always felt surprised and dismayed when enthusiasts compare Sachin Tendulkar (135 tests, 10,668 runs), Brian Lara (131 tests, 11,953 runs) and other batsmen whom they admire as greatest batsmen, probably only next to Sir Don Bradman.  From my memory and with a bit of research, I have come across the names of 17 batsmen, whose averages were 55 or above.  However, there may be more, but I am not a cricket buff who can recall all the greats with ease.  Anyway, the same are given below to those who believe in the superiority of batsmen based on statistics and nothing else:

Test statistics of all-time leading batsmen/legends
Minimum test averages (55 and above)

However, whatever explanations cricket enthusiasts would like to make about their contemporary idols, they have to realize that many cricketers of yore would have had still better performances and averages had there not been interruptions to their careers due to the World War II, which raged from 1939 to 1945 or due to other reasons.  Moreover, just one series of three or five tests were played in a calendar year or two and, in earlier days, teams travelled and practiced on ships. 

In the case of Sir Don Bradman, his career started in 1928 and ended in 1948. 

Len Hutton, one of the finest opening batsmen, played from 1937 to 1955 and during the World War II, while an Army PT Instructor, he badly broke his left hand in a gymnasium accident.  He had to have bone grafts to repair his hand and spend eight months in a hospital.  When he left the hospital, his left hand was two inches shorter than the right one.  However, after the war his performances were much better, compared to what it was before – in spite of the injuries he sustained during the World War II. 

Barry Richards' career was affected due to South Africa being banned from international sports due to its Apartheid policies.  Nevertheless, other than him, no other batsmen have dominated the English county cricket scene.  He was simply great.

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