Harsh Thakor
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Here I am trying to compare the overall merits as a cricketer of Viv Richards and Sachin Tendulkar.Experts like Cristopher Martin Jenkins,Geoff Armstrong,David Gower,rank him overall ahead as a cricketer.However in the jury of cricketers on all-time test xi's Viv gained 64 votes against Tendulkar's 42.Many Pakistanis of Sachin's generation prefered Viv to Sachin like Inzamam,Anwar and Wasim.
A discussed before Viv was the greater match-winner.Viv's style of domination was more imperious and he could turn the complexion of a game more.Viv intimidated great opposition more .Viv also was a better player of genuine quick bowling.No batsmen arguably ever played genuine pace better or was ever more intimidating.
Tendulkar had more finesse and better technique.He was a better player of spin bowling.He had considerably greater longevity and faced greater pressure.Viv carried half the burden of his team as Sachin did in the 1st half of his career.Statistically in terms of average and aggregate he overshadowed Viv.No batsmen attained the landmarks of 4000 to 12,000 runs at such a young age as Tendulkar.Arguably no batsmen was more complete than Tendulkar blending agression and technical skill so proportionately.Tendulkar's period of domination at the top is more than any sportsman,let alone cricketer.
Tendulkar was a different batsmen in the 1st half of his career than 2nd.He never curbed his strokeplay or attacking instinct before 2002 but after 2003 he imposed restraint on his batting.In his peak Viv exhibited more flair but in the later part fell out as he lost his incredible earlier reflexes which was not compensated with the technical skil of a Barry Richards or Gavaskar.Unlike Sachin Viv played for a world champion team in almost every stage of his career while Tendulkar represnted a relatively weaker team in the 1st part of his career.Viv did not face hios own lethal pace quartet but neverthless had to contend with the likes of Lillee,Thomson,Imran,Willis,Botham ,Hadlee,Kpail Dev etc.Tendulkar had to face likes of Alan Donald,Wasim,Macgrat,Ambrose,Walsh but did not atack them with the same degree of contempt as Viv Did.However Sachin's career graph was more consistent than Viv's with his average not drifting so much.
In One day cricket Viv had a phenomenal strike rate but Sachin scored many more centuries.Viv was the better player in finals and turned games more but still it was Tendulkar who was more the epitome of consistency.
The most important aspect is what is the criteria of the comparison.For mere figures and longevity at the top Sachin would win.For impact in peak period Viv's contribution was greater.As a skipper Viv was a better leader.in terms of consistency Sachin would win the race.For sheer genius Viv would win by a mater of inches.On technical merit Tendulkar was sounder.Viv would rate ahead in overall match performances analyzing al the scores in terms of strength of opposition,nature of wicket,situation and impact on the game etc.Tendulkar was better in terms of aggregate and average and average % of team's total.Tendulkar arguably faced twice the pressure Viv did.Both were effective spin bowlers making crucial break throughs.Sachin's death bowling against South Africa won India the 1993 Hero cup .Great opponents by a whisker prized Viv's dismissal compared to other great batsmen of his era more than Tendulkar's oponents in his era.In his peak Imran placed Viv in adifferent class from even Barry Richards or the Chappell brothers.Tendulkar did not receive the accolade from the best paceman of his day like Wasim and Mcgrath as Viv did from Dennis Lillee.Sachin did not equal Viv's aura of superiority in the era of 1976-80 In terms of setting records in terms of age Tendulkar is head and shoulders above Viv as well as in longevity.Although not as great a match-winner as Viv Tendulkar defined the image of Indian cricket marginally more than Viv did of his own country.Significant that Bradman chose Tendulkar and not Viv in his all-time xl.Still Greg Chappell chose Viv with Graeme Pollock and not Tendulkar.Martin Crowe selected Viv and Tendulkar but rated Sachin ahead.Viv has a better average and better bets performances in the world cup but Tendulkar has a convincingly higher aggregate again.Viv has scored a higher percentage of his centuries and runs in wins than Tendulkar but Tendulkar's mere presence in the side.has had a great impact on India's performnaces than Viv's.Tendulkar has a better average home and away against the best team of his generation Australia than Viv did against them who were mainly the 2nd-3rd best team of that era.Sachin did not equal Viv in WSC cricket in 1977 or in 1979-80 in Australia but was still more consistent .In 4th innings scores Viv has the higher average but again Tendulkar is ahead on 1st innings batting,particularly batting 1st.Viv has a considerbaly better record in ODI tournmaent finals and in the Tri-series down under but it is Tendulkar who has been more consitent in games if you ases his tenure .What is remarkable that Sachin was an opening batsmen in O.D.I's.Argubaly in test Viv did not surpass Tendulkar's best innings in the testing conditions be it turning wickets or overcast atmosphere even if he wa s generally better on a bouncy surface.In my view the best ODI knocks I have seen by Sachin like his 98 v Pakistan in the 2003 world cup and his centuries against Australia at Sharjah are as good if not better than those of Viv Richards at his best.Viv came in at one down unlike Tendulkar but still faced half Sachin's pressure generally.
If I add Kerry Packer supertests the Viv would have to his name 28 test centuries and average of 52.with an aggregate of 9821 runs.Where Viv won outright was as a skipper never losing a series but again he inherited an empire from Clive Lloyd.Sachin had moments of glory like 1993 hero cup and series win v South Africa in 1996 but later India declined under his leadership.
So who would win the vote if there was a winner at all?Would it even be fair to make a comparison?The verdict would be not be more than the margin of a whisker.On a fast wicket or against sheer pace Viv,while on a turning track easily Sachin.In a 4th innings run chase Viv while on a good 1st day wicket Sachin.On a bad wicket with his superior technical skill Sachin and also arguably in a crisis.Ultimately overall with a gun on my head Tendulkar may just prevail over Viv giving priority to test cricket and overall impact.Apologize if I am biased or influenced by cricketing judges like cricinfo etc.
Below are a set of statistical analysis;s of S.Rajesh from cricinfo.My great thanks to him for it's use here.I have separated the test part from the section on ODIS.In tests Tendulkar is ahead while Viv is rated ahead in ODI'S.
VIV RICHARDS IN TEST CRICKET-FIGURES COMPILED COURTESY OF S.RAJESH ON CRICINFO.
Viv Richards in World Series Cricket Matches Innings Runs Average 100 50
14 25 1281 58.23 4 4
Richards' best years were between 1976 and 1988. In 92 Tests during this period he scored 22 hundreds and was the only batsman to average more than 55 (among those who scored more than 4000). That was an era when several all-time greats were around - Greg Chappell, Allan Border, Sunil Gavaskar and Javed Miandad are all listed in the table below - but Richards' average was marginally higher than theirs (though he obviously didn't have to face his own bowlers, who were easily the most fearsome attack during that period). He averaged more than 50 in 13 out of the 23 series he played during this period.
Performance of top batsmen in Tests between 1976 and 1988 (Qual: 4000 runs) Batsman Matches Innings Runs Average 100 50
Viv Richards 92 135 7091 55.39 22 34
Greg Chappell 50 87 4233 54.97 13 18
Javed Miandad 95 146 7033 54.94 19 35
Allan Border 100 175 7670 52.17 23 35
Sunil Gavaskar 108 180 8655 51.51 29 36
Gordon Greenidge 83 139 6025 48.58 14 30
The table below summarises Richards' career series averages. Of the 29 series he played, 14 times he averaged more than 50, and less than 30 on just seven occasions, most of them coming either during the early years or at the end.
Viv Richards' series averages Total no. of series Ave > 70 Ave between 50-70 Ave between 40-50 Ave between 30-40 Ave < 30
29 5 9 3 5 7
Of the 24 Test hundreds he scored, 12 were in wins. Between 1974 and 1991, which is when Richards played his 121 Tests, only Greenidge scored more centuries in wins. Richards also averaged nearly 54 with six centuries in away wins. Unlike some batsmen who struggle to score in the last innings of Tests, his stats were remarkably consistent over the four innings of a match: his average in the first innings of matches was 53, while his average in the fourth innings was nearly 48, which represents one of the lowest variations among top batsmen. (Click here for his career summary.)
Richards saved his best for England, against whom he scored 2869 runs at an average of over 62 with eight centuries. Among those who've scored at least 2000 runs against England, only Don Bradman has a higher average. Richards also leads the list of batsmen with the mosthundreds against India - he added seven more to the century he scored in his second Test. His most destructive knock against them, though, was arguably in Kingston in 1983, when he scored a rapid 61 off 36 balls to lead West Indies to an unlikely win; his fifty came off just 32 balls in that innings.
Richards batted at various positions during his career but was at his best at the pivotal No. 3 spot. Of all the batsmen who've played a minimum of 50 innings in that position, only Bradman and Wally Hammond have a higher average.
Best Test batsmen at No. 3 (Qual: 50 innings) Batsman Matches Innings Runs Average 100s 50s
Don Bradman 40 56 5078 103.63 20 10
Walter Hammond 37 52 3440 74.78 14 4
Viv Richards 45 59 3508 61.54 12 14
Brian Lara 45 66 3749 60.46 9 13
Kumar Sangakkara 84 131 7355 60.28 22 31
SACHIN TENDULKAR
Best Test batsmen between Jan 1997 and Dec 2002 Batsman Tests Runs Average 100s/ 50s
Sachin Tendulkar 59 5705 63.38 21/ 20
Andy Flower 41 3464 56.78 9/ 18
Matthew Hayden 35 3054 56.55 12/ 10
Rahul Dravid 62 5178 55.08 14/ 25
Aravinda de Silva 38 3134 54.98 12/ 9
Inzamam-ul-Haq 49 3740 51.94 12/ 15
Jacques Kallis 63 4447 51.70 11/ 25
Ricky Ponting 57 3916 50.85 14/ 14
Unfortunately for Tendulkar, his best period coincided with one where India had a poor bowling attack, especially overseas, and a batting line-up that tended to crumble quite often on tours. In 69 Tests between the beginning of 1993 and the end of 2001, India won 23, but only three of those came abroad. During this period, Tendulkar contributed almost 20% of all runs scored off the bat by India, and more than 21% when they played in Australia, South Africa, England, New Zealand or the West Indies. From 2002 onwards, there were many more batsmen contributing - Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman weighed in consistently both home and away, which significantly reduced the dependence on Tendulkar: he has contributed only 14.30% of the team runs since 2002. With the bowling attack getting stronger as well, Tendulkar has been a part of 15 away Test wins during this period, and 32 wins in all in these eight-and-a-half years.
Tendulkar's contribution to the team Period Tendulkar's runs Team runs Percentage
Till Dec 1992 1085 9122 11.89
Jan 1993 to Dec 2001 6334 32,048 19.76
Jan '93 to Dec '01, in Aus, SA, NZ, Eng, WI 1783 8368 21.31
Jan 2002 onwards 6028 42,140 14.30
Overall 13,477 83,310 16.18
A standout feature of Tendulkar's career has been his tendency to save his best for the greatest team of his generation. Few batsmen have consistently got the better of Australia over the last two decades, but Tendulkar is clearly one of them. His two stunning hundreds on his first tour to Australia announced him as a special talent, while his Boxing Day century in 1999 showed the gulf between him and the rest of the Indian batsmen. Later in his career some of the others - Laxman and Sehwag, especially - also showed their liking for the Australian attack, but Tendulkar is the one player who has sustained his performances against Australia for 20 years.
Highest run-getters at No.4 in Tests Batsman Innings Runs Average 100s/ 50s
Sachin Tendulkar 275 13,492 54.40 44/ 58
Jacques Kallis 168 8918 61.93 34/ 36
Mahela Jayawardene 177 8656 52.46 28/ 30
Brian Lara 148 7535 51.25 24/ 31
Javed Miandad 140 6925 54.10 19/ 31
Mark Waugh 170 6662 42.43 16/ 39
Kevin Pietersen 130 6199 49.59 19/ 25
Gundappa Viswanath 124 5081 43.05 12/ 31
Inzamam-ul-Haq 98 4867 52.90 15/ 21
Martin Crowe 106 4841 49.39 16/ 16
Aravinda de Silva 113 4543 44.10 15/ 16
Greg Chappell 86 4316 59.12 15/ 19
The table below lists Tendulkar's stats at No. 4 sorted by the team scores at which he came in to bat. Like you'd expect of any batsman, he was more prolific when the top three batsmen had given the team a good start: when he came in with the score reading 100 or more for the loss of two wickets, Tendulkar averaged 70.49, and scored 21 centuries from 97 such innings.
When he came in to bat very early - before India had scored 20 - Tendulkar's average dropped to 40.53. However, some of his most memorable innings came in such situations: when he scored 122 at Edgbaston against England in 1996, he came in at 17 for 2, and scored 122 out of a team total of 219. (The second-highest score in the innings was 18.) His 136 against Pakistan in Chennai came from an entry score of 6 for 2, while the Boxing Day 116 started from 11 for 2.
But it's also true that he was dismissed cheaply fairly often when he came in early: of the 37 times he came in at No. 4 before the total had reached 20, 15 times he was dismissed for single-digit scores.
However, his average went up to almost 51 when he came with the score between 20 and 49. Two of his double-centuries - 248 not out against Bangladesh and 214 against Australia - came from these entry scores, as did the 155 in Bloemfontein (2001) and the 146 in Cape Town (2011).
Tendulkar at No. 4 by point-of-entry scores Score Innings Runs Average 100s/ 50s
Less than 20 37 1459 40.53 5/ 5
21 to 49 68 3364 50.97 9/ 15
50-75 42 1409 40.26 4/ 8
76-99 31 1409 50.32 5/ 8
100-149 50 2640 61.39 9/ 9
150 and above 47 3211 80.28 12/ 13
At his best against the best
One of the most impressive aspects of Tendulkar's career is his record against the best team of his generation. Towards the last few years of his career Australia were clearly not the best team around, but for nearly two decades they set the standard, and Tendulkar was pretty impressive against them in almost every series. In 39 Tests against them Tendulkar averaged 55, with 11 centuries in 74 innings. This, despite averaging only 34.21 in his last 15 innings against them. In Australia, he averaged 53.20 from 20 Tests, with six centuries. Only Jack Hobbs, who made 12 hundreds from 41 matches, has scored more centuries against Australia than Tendulkar.
Between 1990 and 2008, no batsman who played at least 20 innings against them averaged more than Tendulkar's 56.08. In 30 innings in Australia during this period, Tendulkar averaged 58.53. With a 12 innings cut-off, only Virender Sehwag (59.50) averaged more. In 35 innings that Lara played in Australia over the same period, he averaged 41.97.
Highest batting averages v Aus between 1990 and 2008 (Qual: 20 inngs) Batsman Innings Runs Average 100s/ 50s
Sachin Tendulkar 55 2748 56.08 10/ 11
VVS Laxman 44 2204 55.10 6/ 10
Kevin Pietersen 20 963 53.50 2/ 6
Virender Sehwag 30 1483 51.13 3/ 7
Brian Lara 58 2856 51.00 9/ 11
Ijaz Ahmed 20 913 50.72 5/ 1
Richie Richardson 24 1084 49.27 4/ 4
Shivnarine Chanderpaul 29 1210 48.40 4/ 7
Michael Vaughan 20 959 47.95 4/ 1
Graham Thorpe 31 1235 45.74 3/ 8
The fourth-innings chink
The one aspect of his Test batting which was underwhelming was his performances in the fourth innings. He still holds the record for most runs in this aspect as well, but this one is unlikely to remain with him for too long: his aggregate of 1625 is only 50 more than the second-best, and 92 more than the best among active players (Graeme Smith's 1533). Tendulkar scored only 10.2% of his total runs in the fourth innings, compared to 17% for Smith.
Tendulkar's fourth-innings average of 36.93 is disappointing too: among the 21 other batsmen who've scored 1000-plus fourth-innings runs, 18 have a better average. One of them who doesn't, though, is Brian Lara: his 1440 runs in the last innings came at an average of 35.12. And then there's also the curious case of Steve Waugh, who scored only 613 fourth-innings runs at an average of 25.54.
Highest batting averages v Aus between 1990 and 2008 (Qual: 20 inngs) Batsman Innings Runs Average 100s/ 50s
Sachin Tendulkar 55 2748 56.08 10/ 11
VVS Laxman 44 2204 55.10 6/ 10
Kevin Pietersen 20 963 53.50 2/ 6
Virender Sehwag 30 1483 51.13 3/ 7
Brian Lara 58 2856 51.00 9/ 11
O.D.I's
Highest run-scorers in ODIs against Australia Batsman ODIs Runs Average Strike rate 100s/ 50s
Sachin Tendulkar 71 3077 44.59 84.74 9/ 15
Desmond Haynes 64 2262 40.39 65.14 6/ 13
Viv Richards 54 2187 50.86 84.63 3/ 20
Brian Lara 51 1858 39.53 76.58 3/ 15
Kumar Sangakkara 44 1706 42.65 77.02 1/ 12
Jacques Kallis 50 1660 34.58 72.87 1/ 13
Jonty Rhodes 55 1610 40.25 77.92 0/ 10
Richie Richardson 51 1498 32.56 63.26 0/ 15
Highest averages in wins in ODIs (Qual: 5000 runs in wins) Batsman Innings Runs Average Strike rate 100s/ 50s
Brian Lara 134 6553 61.82 86.32 16/ 42
Viv Richards 114 5129 56.98 93.01 11/ 32
Sachin Tendulkar 231 11,157 56.63 90.31 33/ 59
Mohammad Yousuf 151 6426 55.87 78.59 14/ 41
Sourav Ganguly 147 6938 55.06 77.87 18/ 41
Michael Clarke 134 5084 52.95 80.62 4/ 42
Sachin Tendulkar's ODI career Period ODIs Runs Average Strike rate 100s/ 50s
Before 1994 65 1679 31.09 74.32 0/ 12
1994 to Dec 2000 198 8220 45.66 88.96 27/ 38
Jan 2001 onwards 200 8527 48.17 86.41 22/ 46
Career 463 18,426 44.83 86.23 49/ 96
Viv Richards' ODI record Matches Innings Runs Average 100 50
Overall 187 167 6721 47.00 11 45
World Cup 23 21 1013 63.31 3 5
Australian tri-series 65 60 2563 46.60 3 22
Tournament finals 18 17 836 55.73 1 9
In the 1984 series against England, Richards made an extraordinary unbeaten 189 out of a total of 272, which is still the highest percentage contribution to a completed team innings. He shared a last-wicket stand of 106 with Michael Holding, which is a record for the 10th wicket. In fact, West Indies did not lose a single ODI when Richards scored a century.
While batting was clearly his best suit, Richards was also a more-than-useful contributor with the ball, especially in ODIs. He picked up 99 wickets at an average of 32.05 and an economy rate of 4.43; against India his 33 wickets came at fewer than 20 runs apiece. In 1987 against New Zealand, he became the first player to score a century and pick up four wickets in an ODI.
Richards has the astonishing record of winning 31 Man-of-the-Match awards in just 187 games, which is one award every six games, easily the highest among all players to win more than 25 awards. The table below summarises this record for the top players and clearly establishes Richards as one of the greatest match-winners in ODIs.
Even if Richards' stats are compared with the top-order numbers during Dhoni's era, he still comes up with a ratio of 1.71, which indicates how far ahead of his time he was as an ODI batsman.
Batsmen with the best ratios across eras Batsman ODIs Ave/ SR Ave*SR Overall ave#/ SR Overall ave*SR Ratio
Viv Richards 187 47.00/ 90.20 42.39 29.38/ 65.96 19.38 2.19
MS Dhoni 194 50.44/ 88.34 44.56 31.74/ 77.92 24.73 1.80
Michael Bevan 232 53.58/ 74.16 39.73 31.04/ 72.63 22.54 1.76
Sachin Tendulkar 453 45.16/ 86.32 38.98 31.06/ 73.78 22.92 1.70
Dean Jones 164 44.61/ 72.56 32.37 29.65/ 66.56 19.74 1.64
Matthew Hayden 148* 45.32/ 80.82 36.63 31.30/ 74.98 23.47 1.56
Virender Sehwag 236 35.11/ 104.07 36.54 31.25/ 75.59 23.62 1.55
Gordon Greenidge 128 45.03/ 64.92 29.33 29.33/ 65.99 19.35 1.51
Adam Gilchrist 287 35.89/ 96.94 34.79 31.03/ 74.09 22.99 1.51
The formula of multiplying average with strike rate is an intuitive one, given that both runs scored and the rate of scoring them are important in ODIs. If, however, the scoring rate is seen as slightly more important, then that can be given a slightly higher weightage. When the value of the strike rate is raised to the power of 1.1 (which gives it a 1.1 times importance compared to the average), Richards' ratio moves up from 2.19 to 2.26, while Bevan's moves up only from 1.76 to 1.77. Sehwag goes past Hayden, while Lamb inches closer to Greenidge. The top ten then looks like this: Richards (2.26), Dhoni (1.82), Bevan (1.77), Tendulkar (1.73), Jones (1.65), Sehwag (1.60), Hayden (1.57), Gilchrist (1.55), Greenidge (1.51) and Lamb (1.50). Ten top-class names, but the leader of the pack is still far away from the rest.
A discussed before Viv was the greater match-winner.Viv's style of domination was more imperious and he could turn the complexion of a game more.Viv intimidated great opposition more .Viv also was a better player of genuine quick bowling.No batsmen arguably ever played genuine pace better or was ever more intimidating.
Tendulkar had more finesse and better technique.He was a better player of spin bowling.He had considerably greater longevity and faced greater pressure.Viv carried half the burden of his team as Sachin did in the 1st half of his career.Statistically in terms of average and aggregate he overshadowed Viv.No batsmen attained the landmarks of 4000 to 12,000 runs at such a young age as Tendulkar.Arguably no batsmen was more complete than Tendulkar blending agression and technical skill so proportionately.Tendulkar's period of domination at the top is more than any sportsman,let alone cricketer.
Tendulkar was a different batsmen in the 1st half of his career than 2nd.He never curbed his strokeplay or attacking instinct before 2002 but after 2003 he imposed restraint on his batting.In his peak Viv exhibited more flair but in the later part fell out as he lost his incredible earlier reflexes which was not compensated with the technical skil of a Barry Richards or Gavaskar.Unlike Sachin Viv played for a world champion team in almost every stage of his career while Tendulkar represnted a relatively weaker team in the 1st part of his career.Viv did not face hios own lethal pace quartet but neverthless had to contend with the likes of Lillee,Thomson,Imran,Willis,Botham ,Hadlee,Kpail Dev etc.Tendulkar had to face likes of Alan Donald,Wasim,Macgrat,Ambrose,Walsh but did not atack them with the same degree of contempt as Viv Did.However Sachin's career graph was more consistent than Viv's with his average not drifting so much.
In One day cricket Viv had a phenomenal strike rate but Sachin scored many more centuries.Viv was the better player in finals and turned games more but still it was Tendulkar who was more the epitome of consistency.
The most important aspect is what is the criteria of the comparison.For mere figures and longevity at the top Sachin would win.For impact in peak period Viv's contribution was greater.As a skipper Viv was a better leader.in terms of consistency Sachin would win the race.For sheer genius Viv would win by a mater of inches.On technical merit Tendulkar was sounder.Viv would rate ahead in overall match performances analyzing al the scores in terms of strength of opposition,nature of wicket,situation and impact on the game etc.Tendulkar was better in terms of aggregate and average and average % of team's total.Tendulkar arguably faced twice the pressure Viv did.Both were effective spin bowlers making crucial break throughs.Sachin's death bowling against South Africa won India the 1993 Hero cup .Great opponents by a whisker prized Viv's dismissal compared to other great batsmen of his era more than Tendulkar's oponents in his era.In his peak Imran placed Viv in adifferent class from even Barry Richards or the Chappell brothers.Tendulkar did not receive the accolade from the best paceman of his day like Wasim and Mcgrath as Viv did from Dennis Lillee.Sachin did not equal Viv's aura of superiority in the era of 1976-80 In terms of setting records in terms of age Tendulkar is head and shoulders above Viv as well as in longevity.Although not as great a match-winner as Viv Tendulkar defined the image of Indian cricket marginally more than Viv did of his own country.Significant that Bradman chose Tendulkar and not Viv in his all-time xl.Still Greg Chappell chose Viv with Graeme Pollock and not Tendulkar.Martin Crowe selected Viv and Tendulkar but rated Sachin ahead.Viv has a better average and better bets performances in the world cup but Tendulkar has a convincingly higher aggregate again.Viv has scored a higher percentage of his centuries and runs in wins than Tendulkar but Tendulkar's mere presence in the side.has had a great impact on India's performnaces than Viv's.Tendulkar has a better average home and away against the best team of his generation Australia than Viv did against them who were mainly the 2nd-3rd best team of that era.Sachin did not equal Viv in WSC cricket in 1977 or in 1979-80 in Australia but was still more consistent .In 4th innings scores Viv has the higher average but again Tendulkar is ahead on 1st innings batting,particularly batting 1st.Viv has a considerbaly better record in ODI tournmaent finals and in the Tri-series down under but it is Tendulkar who has been more consitent in games if you ases his tenure .What is remarkable that Sachin was an opening batsmen in O.D.I's.Argubaly in test Viv did not surpass Tendulkar's best innings in the testing conditions be it turning wickets or overcast atmosphere even if he wa s generally better on a bouncy surface.In my view the best ODI knocks I have seen by Sachin like his 98 v Pakistan in the 2003 world cup and his centuries against Australia at Sharjah are as good if not better than those of Viv Richards at his best.Viv came in at one down unlike Tendulkar but still faced half Sachin's pressure generally.
If I add Kerry Packer supertests the Viv would have to his name 28 test centuries and average of 52.with an aggregate of 9821 runs.Where Viv won outright was as a skipper never losing a series but again he inherited an empire from Clive Lloyd.Sachin had moments of glory like 1993 hero cup and series win v South Africa in 1996 but later India declined under his leadership.
So who would win the vote if there was a winner at all?Would it even be fair to make a comparison?The verdict would be not be more than the margin of a whisker.On a fast wicket or against sheer pace Viv,while on a turning track easily Sachin.In a 4th innings run chase Viv while on a good 1st day wicket Sachin.On a bad wicket with his superior technical skill Sachin and also arguably in a crisis.Ultimately overall with a gun on my head Tendulkar may just prevail over Viv giving priority to test cricket and overall impact.Apologize if I am biased or influenced by cricketing judges like cricinfo etc.
Below are a set of statistical analysis;s of S.Rajesh from cricinfo.My great thanks to him for it's use here.I have separated the test part from the section on ODIS.In tests Tendulkar is ahead while Viv is rated ahead in ODI'S.
VIV RICHARDS IN TEST CRICKET-FIGURES COMPILED COURTESY OF S.RAJESH ON CRICINFO.
Viv Richards in World Series Cricket Matches Innings Runs Average 100 50
14 25 1281 58.23 4 4
Richards' best years were between 1976 and 1988. In 92 Tests during this period he scored 22 hundreds and was the only batsman to average more than 55 (among those who scored more than 4000). That was an era when several all-time greats were around - Greg Chappell, Allan Border, Sunil Gavaskar and Javed Miandad are all listed in the table below - but Richards' average was marginally higher than theirs (though he obviously didn't have to face his own bowlers, who were easily the most fearsome attack during that period). He averaged more than 50 in 13 out of the 23 series he played during this period.
Performance of top batsmen in Tests between 1976 and 1988 (Qual: 4000 runs) Batsman Matches Innings Runs Average 100 50
Viv Richards 92 135 7091 55.39 22 34
Greg Chappell 50 87 4233 54.97 13 18
Javed Miandad 95 146 7033 54.94 19 35
Allan Border 100 175 7670 52.17 23 35
Sunil Gavaskar 108 180 8655 51.51 29 36
Gordon Greenidge 83 139 6025 48.58 14 30
The table below summarises Richards' career series averages. Of the 29 series he played, 14 times he averaged more than 50, and less than 30 on just seven occasions, most of them coming either during the early years or at the end.
Viv Richards' series averages Total no. of series Ave > 70 Ave between 50-70 Ave between 40-50 Ave between 30-40 Ave < 30
29 5 9 3 5 7
Of the 24 Test hundreds he scored, 12 were in wins. Between 1974 and 1991, which is when Richards played his 121 Tests, only Greenidge scored more centuries in wins. Richards also averaged nearly 54 with six centuries in away wins. Unlike some batsmen who struggle to score in the last innings of Tests, his stats were remarkably consistent over the four innings of a match: his average in the first innings of matches was 53, while his average in the fourth innings was nearly 48, which represents one of the lowest variations among top batsmen. (Click here for his career summary.)
Richards saved his best for England, against whom he scored 2869 runs at an average of over 62 with eight centuries. Among those who've scored at least 2000 runs against England, only Don Bradman has a higher average. Richards also leads the list of batsmen with the mosthundreds against India - he added seven more to the century he scored in his second Test. His most destructive knock against them, though, was arguably in Kingston in 1983, when he scored a rapid 61 off 36 balls to lead West Indies to an unlikely win; his fifty came off just 32 balls in that innings.
Richards batted at various positions during his career but was at his best at the pivotal No. 3 spot. Of all the batsmen who've played a minimum of 50 innings in that position, only Bradman and Wally Hammond have a higher average.
Best Test batsmen at No. 3 (Qual: 50 innings) Batsman Matches Innings Runs Average 100s 50s
Don Bradman 40 56 5078 103.63 20 10
Walter Hammond 37 52 3440 74.78 14 4
Viv Richards 45 59 3508 61.54 12 14
Brian Lara 45 66 3749 60.46 9 13
Kumar Sangakkara 84 131 7355 60.28 22 31
SACHIN TENDULKAR
Best Test batsmen between Jan 1997 and Dec 2002 Batsman Tests Runs Average 100s/ 50s
Sachin Tendulkar 59 5705 63.38 21/ 20
Andy Flower 41 3464 56.78 9/ 18
Matthew Hayden 35 3054 56.55 12/ 10
Rahul Dravid 62 5178 55.08 14/ 25
Aravinda de Silva 38 3134 54.98 12/ 9
Inzamam-ul-Haq 49 3740 51.94 12/ 15
Jacques Kallis 63 4447 51.70 11/ 25
Ricky Ponting 57 3916 50.85 14/ 14
Unfortunately for Tendulkar, his best period coincided with one where India had a poor bowling attack, especially overseas, and a batting line-up that tended to crumble quite often on tours. In 69 Tests between the beginning of 1993 and the end of 2001, India won 23, but only three of those came abroad. During this period, Tendulkar contributed almost 20% of all runs scored off the bat by India, and more than 21% when they played in Australia, South Africa, England, New Zealand or the West Indies. From 2002 onwards, there were many more batsmen contributing - Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman weighed in consistently both home and away, which significantly reduced the dependence on Tendulkar: he has contributed only 14.30% of the team runs since 2002. With the bowling attack getting stronger as well, Tendulkar has been a part of 15 away Test wins during this period, and 32 wins in all in these eight-and-a-half years.
Tendulkar's contribution to the team Period Tendulkar's runs Team runs Percentage
Till Dec 1992 1085 9122 11.89
Jan 1993 to Dec 2001 6334 32,048 19.76
Jan '93 to Dec '01, in Aus, SA, NZ, Eng, WI 1783 8368 21.31
Jan 2002 onwards 6028 42,140 14.30
Overall 13,477 83,310 16.18
A standout feature of Tendulkar's career has been his tendency to save his best for the greatest team of his generation. Few batsmen have consistently got the better of Australia over the last two decades, but Tendulkar is clearly one of them. His two stunning hundreds on his first tour to Australia announced him as a special talent, while his Boxing Day century in 1999 showed the gulf between him and the rest of the Indian batsmen. Later in his career some of the others - Laxman and Sehwag, especially - also showed their liking for the Australian attack, but Tendulkar is the one player who has sustained his performances against Australia for 20 years.
Highest run-getters at No.4 in Tests Batsman Innings Runs Average 100s/ 50s
Sachin Tendulkar 275 13,492 54.40 44/ 58
Jacques Kallis 168 8918 61.93 34/ 36
Mahela Jayawardene 177 8656 52.46 28/ 30
Brian Lara 148 7535 51.25 24/ 31
Javed Miandad 140 6925 54.10 19/ 31
Mark Waugh 170 6662 42.43 16/ 39
Kevin Pietersen 130 6199 49.59 19/ 25
Gundappa Viswanath 124 5081 43.05 12/ 31
Inzamam-ul-Haq 98 4867 52.90 15/ 21
Martin Crowe 106 4841 49.39 16/ 16
Aravinda de Silva 113 4543 44.10 15/ 16
Greg Chappell 86 4316 59.12 15/ 19
The table below lists Tendulkar's stats at No. 4 sorted by the team scores at which he came in to bat. Like you'd expect of any batsman, he was more prolific when the top three batsmen had given the team a good start: when he came in with the score reading 100 or more for the loss of two wickets, Tendulkar averaged 70.49, and scored 21 centuries from 97 such innings.
When he came in to bat very early - before India had scored 20 - Tendulkar's average dropped to 40.53. However, some of his most memorable innings came in such situations: when he scored 122 at Edgbaston against England in 1996, he came in at 17 for 2, and scored 122 out of a team total of 219. (The second-highest score in the innings was 18.) His 136 against Pakistan in Chennai came from an entry score of 6 for 2, while the Boxing Day 116 started from 11 for 2.
But it's also true that he was dismissed cheaply fairly often when he came in early: of the 37 times he came in at No. 4 before the total had reached 20, 15 times he was dismissed for single-digit scores.
However, his average went up to almost 51 when he came with the score between 20 and 49. Two of his double-centuries - 248 not out against Bangladesh and 214 against Australia - came from these entry scores, as did the 155 in Bloemfontein (2001) and the 146 in Cape Town (2011).
Tendulkar at No. 4 by point-of-entry scores Score Innings Runs Average 100s/ 50s
Less than 20 37 1459 40.53 5/ 5
21 to 49 68 3364 50.97 9/ 15
50-75 42 1409 40.26 4/ 8
76-99 31 1409 50.32 5/ 8
100-149 50 2640 61.39 9/ 9
150 and above 47 3211 80.28 12/ 13
At his best against the best
One of the most impressive aspects of Tendulkar's career is his record against the best team of his generation. Towards the last few years of his career Australia were clearly not the best team around, but for nearly two decades they set the standard, and Tendulkar was pretty impressive against them in almost every series. In 39 Tests against them Tendulkar averaged 55, with 11 centuries in 74 innings. This, despite averaging only 34.21 in his last 15 innings against them. In Australia, he averaged 53.20 from 20 Tests, with six centuries. Only Jack Hobbs, who made 12 hundreds from 41 matches, has scored more centuries against Australia than Tendulkar.
Between 1990 and 2008, no batsman who played at least 20 innings against them averaged more than Tendulkar's 56.08. In 30 innings in Australia during this period, Tendulkar averaged 58.53. With a 12 innings cut-off, only Virender Sehwag (59.50) averaged more. In 35 innings that Lara played in Australia over the same period, he averaged 41.97.
Highest batting averages v Aus between 1990 and 2008 (Qual: 20 inngs) Batsman Innings Runs Average 100s/ 50s
Sachin Tendulkar 55 2748 56.08 10/ 11
VVS Laxman 44 2204 55.10 6/ 10
Kevin Pietersen 20 963 53.50 2/ 6
Virender Sehwag 30 1483 51.13 3/ 7
Brian Lara 58 2856 51.00 9/ 11
Ijaz Ahmed 20 913 50.72 5/ 1
Richie Richardson 24 1084 49.27 4/ 4
Shivnarine Chanderpaul 29 1210 48.40 4/ 7
Michael Vaughan 20 959 47.95 4/ 1
Graham Thorpe 31 1235 45.74 3/ 8
The fourth-innings chink
The one aspect of his Test batting which was underwhelming was his performances in the fourth innings. He still holds the record for most runs in this aspect as well, but this one is unlikely to remain with him for too long: his aggregate of 1625 is only 50 more than the second-best, and 92 more than the best among active players (Graeme Smith's 1533). Tendulkar scored only 10.2% of his total runs in the fourth innings, compared to 17% for Smith.
Tendulkar's fourth-innings average of 36.93 is disappointing too: among the 21 other batsmen who've scored 1000-plus fourth-innings runs, 18 have a better average. One of them who doesn't, though, is Brian Lara: his 1440 runs in the last innings came at an average of 35.12. And then there's also the curious case of Steve Waugh, who scored only 613 fourth-innings runs at an average of 25.54.
Highest batting averages v Aus between 1990 and 2008 (Qual: 20 inngs) Batsman Innings Runs Average 100s/ 50s
Sachin Tendulkar 55 2748 56.08 10/ 11
VVS Laxman 44 2204 55.10 6/ 10
Kevin Pietersen 20 963 53.50 2/ 6
Virender Sehwag 30 1483 51.13 3/ 7
Brian Lara 58 2856 51.00 9/ 11
O.D.I's
Highest run-scorers in ODIs against Australia Batsman ODIs Runs Average Strike rate 100s/ 50s
Sachin Tendulkar 71 3077 44.59 84.74 9/ 15
Desmond Haynes 64 2262 40.39 65.14 6/ 13
Viv Richards 54 2187 50.86 84.63 3/ 20
Brian Lara 51 1858 39.53 76.58 3/ 15
Kumar Sangakkara 44 1706 42.65 77.02 1/ 12
Jacques Kallis 50 1660 34.58 72.87 1/ 13
Jonty Rhodes 55 1610 40.25 77.92 0/ 10
Richie Richardson 51 1498 32.56 63.26 0/ 15
Highest averages in wins in ODIs (Qual: 5000 runs in wins) Batsman Innings Runs Average Strike rate 100s/ 50s
Brian Lara 134 6553 61.82 86.32 16/ 42
Viv Richards 114 5129 56.98 93.01 11/ 32
Sachin Tendulkar 231 11,157 56.63 90.31 33/ 59
Mohammad Yousuf 151 6426 55.87 78.59 14/ 41
Sourav Ganguly 147 6938 55.06 77.87 18/ 41
Michael Clarke 134 5084 52.95 80.62 4/ 42
Sachin Tendulkar's ODI career Period ODIs Runs Average Strike rate 100s/ 50s
Before 1994 65 1679 31.09 74.32 0/ 12
1994 to Dec 2000 198 8220 45.66 88.96 27/ 38
Jan 2001 onwards 200 8527 48.17 86.41 22/ 46
Career 463 18,426 44.83 86.23 49/ 96
Viv Richards' ODI record Matches Innings Runs Average 100 50
Overall 187 167 6721 47.00 11 45
World Cup 23 21 1013 63.31 3 5
Australian tri-series 65 60 2563 46.60 3 22
Tournament finals 18 17 836 55.73 1 9
In the 1984 series against England, Richards made an extraordinary unbeaten 189 out of a total of 272, which is still the highest percentage contribution to a completed team innings. He shared a last-wicket stand of 106 with Michael Holding, which is a record for the 10th wicket. In fact, West Indies did not lose a single ODI when Richards scored a century.
While batting was clearly his best suit, Richards was also a more-than-useful contributor with the ball, especially in ODIs. He picked up 99 wickets at an average of 32.05 and an economy rate of 4.43; against India his 33 wickets came at fewer than 20 runs apiece. In 1987 against New Zealand, he became the first player to score a century and pick up four wickets in an ODI.
Richards has the astonishing record of winning 31 Man-of-the-Match awards in just 187 games, which is one award every six games, easily the highest among all players to win more than 25 awards. The table below summarises this record for the top players and clearly establishes Richards as one of the greatest match-winners in ODIs.
Even if Richards' stats are compared with the top-order numbers during Dhoni's era, he still comes up with a ratio of 1.71, which indicates how far ahead of his time he was as an ODI batsman.
Batsmen with the best ratios across eras Batsman ODIs Ave/ SR Ave*SR Overall ave#/ SR Overall ave*SR Ratio
Viv Richards 187 47.00/ 90.20 42.39 29.38/ 65.96 19.38 2.19
MS Dhoni 194 50.44/ 88.34 44.56 31.74/ 77.92 24.73 1.80
Michael Bevan 232 53.58/ 74.16 39.73 31.04/ 72.63 22.54 1.76
Sachin Tendulkar 453 45.16/ 86.32 38.98 31.06/ 73.78 22.92 1.70
Dean Jones 164 44.61/ 72.56 32.37 29.65/ 66.56 19.74 1.64
Matthew Hayden 148* 45.32/ 80.82 36.63 31.30/ 74.98 23.47 1.56
Virender Sehwag 236 35.11/ 104.07 36.54 31.25/ 75.59 23.62 1.55
Gordon Greenidge 128 45.03/ 64.92 29.33 29.33/ 65.99 19.35 1.51
Adam Gilchrist 287 35.89/ 96.94 34.79 31.03/ 74.09 22.99 1.51
The formula of multiplying average with strike rate is an intuitive one, given that both runs scored and the rate of scoring them are important in ODIs. If, however, the scoring rate is seen as slightly more important, then that can be given a slightly higher weightage. When the value of the strike rate is raised to the power of 1.1 (which gives it a 1.1 times importance compared to the average), Richards' ratio moves up from 2.19 to 2.26, while Bevan's moves up only from 1.76 to 1.77. Sehwag goes past Hayden, while Lamb inches closer to Greenidge. The top ten then looks like this: Richards (2.26), Dhoni (1.82), Bevan (1.77), Tendulkar (1.73), Jones (1.65), Sehwag (1.60), Hayden (1.57), Gilchrist (1.55), Greenidge (1.51) and Lamb (1.50). Ten top-class names, but the leader of the pack is still far away from the rest.
A 16 year old tendulkar had more skill and fight than Viv ever had. He friggin never played in a weak bowling attack to get into pressure situations for you to claim that.
