Sachin -- in Stats and Figures

Mohandas Menon

Barry Richards, the other day, came up with the startling comment that Sachin Tendulkar is good only at home. Further, the South African batting maestro said that in his opinion, the likes of Graeme Pollock and Vivian Richards were, to his mind, the best batsmen in 'away' conditions.

Do the facts support this contention? That is what we attempt to explore, in the tables given below. It needs bearing in mind that 'good', 'best' etc are all relative, and that statistics can only tell one part of the story. With that qualification, here goes:

Place	Mts	Ins	No	Runs	HS	Avg	100	50	0s
Sachin Tendulkar (1989 to 2000)
Home	34	55	7	3023	217	62.98	11	10	3
Away	45	70	6	3393	177	53.02	13	14	4
Total	79	125	13	6416	217	57.29	24	24	7
Viv Richards (1974 to 1991)
Home	48	67	4	3136	182*	49.78	11	14	3
Away	73	115	8	5404	291	50.50	13	31	7
Total	121	182	12	8540	291	50.24	24	45	10
Graeme Pollock (1963 to 1970)
Home	14	26	4	1513	274	68.77	4	9	1
Away	9	15	-	743	175	49.53	3	2	0
Total	23	41	4	2256	274	60.97	7	11	1
Barry Richards (1970) played only one series
Home	4	7	-	508	140	72.57	2	2	0

As is evident from the above table, Sachin Tendulkar does have a better average at home than away. However, it is also worth noting that Sachin's away average of 53.02 is not to be sneezed at -- in fact, it is better than the away averages of both Vivian Richards and Graeme Pollock. Interestingly, the figures also show that Graeme Pollock was a much better batsman at home than away -- there is a difference of 19 points between his home average and his figures in away games. Viv Richards, meanwhile, is -- albeit marginally -- a better player away than at home.

So who, then, are the best 'away' batsmen of all time? That is the question we attempt to answer in the table below:

Leading test batsmen in "away" matches:
(Listed on the basis of batting averages. Minimum qualification: 2000 runs)

Player	Runs	For	M	Inn	NO	Ave	HS	100	50	0
DG Bradman	2674	Aus	19	30	4	102.85	334	11	3	2
KF Barrington	3459	Eng	36	58	8	69.18	172	14	14	2
WR Hammond	4245	Eng	41	72	8	66.33	336*	13	14	1
JB Hobbs	3475	Eng	34	62	4	59.91	187	10	17	3
AR Border	5431	Aus	70	120	24	56.57	200*	14	28	4
SR Waugh	4198	Aus	62	97	22	55.97	200	12	201	0
L Hutton	3041	Eng	35	61	6	55.29	205	6	18	1
ER Dexter	2307	Eng	30	48	5	53.65	205	6	12	3
SR Tendulkar	3393	Ind	45	70	6	53.02	177	13	14	4
GS Chappell	2595	Aus	32	55	6	52.96	247*	8	10	4
SM Gavaskar	5055	Ind	60	106	9	52.11	221	18	22	6
M Amarnath	3008	Ind	37	63	5	51.86	138	9	17	3
RN Harvey	3343	Aus	43	71	6	51.43	204	13	13	5
DL Amiss	2002	Eng	24	43	4	51.33	262*	7	5	5
GStA Sobers	3957	WI	49	85	7	50.73	198	12	18	6
IVA Richards	5404	WI	73	115	8	50.50	291	13	31	7

The above table lends itself to plenty of interesting analysis. But to stick to the question on hand, it is worth noticing that of the contemporary batsmen, Steve Waugh (6th place) occupies the highest position in a list headed by the incomparable Donald George Bradman, while Sachin Tendulkar leads a parade of three Indians, coming in at number 9.

A quick glance down the table also reveals an interesting fact -- Allan Border and Steve Waugh, both of Australia, occupy very high positions (5 and 6 respectively) -- and they both have, in comparison to the rest, an enormous number of unbeaten innings. Which, while not really shedding much light on the question being debated, does tell you (at least in the case of Steve Waugh) that in recent times, Australia has been in the luxurious position of being able to declare its innings on an inordinate number of occasions. Anyway, that is really neither here nor there.

The even more interesting aspect on view here -- and it in fact lends itself to another in-depth analysis, on the question of whether the art of batsmanship is dying out -- is that in the top 16 (significantly, Vivian Richards comes into the list at number 16, well behind Tendulkar), there are only two contemporary batsmen. Which does seem to support a feeling that is gaining currency, that they don't make batsmen these days like they used to.

That in turn raises the question -- who are the best batsmen, among today's lot, in "away" conditions?

Leading contemporary test batsmen in "away" matches, based on averages (qualification: 2000 runs minimum):

Player	Runs	For	M	Inn	NO	Ave	HS	100	50	0
SR Waugh	4198	Aus	62	97	22	55.97	200	12	20	10
SR Tendulkar	3393	Ind	45	70	6	53.02	177	13	14	4
Saeed Anwar	2131	Pak	26	45	1	48.43	188*	7	11	3
Inzamam-ul-Haq	3025	Pak	42	70	7	48.02	200*	9	16	3
G Kirsten	2111	SA	30	52	4	43.98	210	6	12	4
BC Lara	3107	WI	43	77	1	40.88	277	8	15	6
Ijaz Ahmed	2086	Pak	33	55	3	40.12	211	7	9	3
ME Waugh	3182	Aus	53	88	8	39.78	153*	7	19	9
SP Fleming	2051	NZ	33	59	6	38.70	174*	1	16	3
AJ Stewart	3428	Eng	52	95	6	38.52	173	7	19	6
MA Atherton	2883	Eng	45	82	4	36.96	185*	7	15	11
MJ Slater	2134	Aus	34	61	3	36.79	152	5	8	5
M Azharuddin	2803	Ind	53	81	4	36.40	192	9	10	3
PA de Silva	2868	SL	46	82	2	35.85	267	9	8	6
Note: SR Waugh's high number of "not-outs" boosts his avg. (if his "not-outs" are reduced to six (same as Tendulkar) his average come down to 46.13!

In this table, Steve Waugh and Sachin Tendulkar are clearly ahead of their contemporaries -- and are, in fact, the only two batsmen today who have 50+ averages in 'away' conditions. In this connection, it is interesting to note that overall, as many as 16 international batsmen have 50+ averages -- which underlines the falling standards of batsmanship today.

But there is another point that, while tangential, might spark your own thinking. Is it true that a batsman is only as good as his team? Then consider this -- Steve Waugh has, for company, Mark Waugh and Michael Slater, both with respectable averages. Similarly, Saeed Anwar has Inzamam, and even Ijaz. Stewart and Atherton, similarly, form a high-performance team for England. South Africa, by the same token, have only a Kirsten in that list --but then, South Africa depends for its victories on their lineup of top-quality quicks, led by Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock.

India, however, has following the exit of Azharuddin only a Tendulkar -- just as the West Indies only have a Brian Lara.

Does that tell you something?

Design: Devyani Chandwarkar