Is Sachin Tendulkar the greatest player of his generation?

Much has been made by pundits in the press, the commentary box and sitting around the bar in various establishments around the country this summer about Sachin Tendulkar's race to a century of international centuries.  Such discussions are often supplemented by a discussion about Tendulkar's legacy with most anointing him as the player of this generation and second only to Bradman.

I will be up front here: the focus on Tendulkar's search for his 100th 100 has done nothing for me.  Personally I have been overjoyed every time an Australian bowler has bested him.  I think Tendulkar is an exceptional player, particularly in his home conditions and I think that anyone who has had to live with the pressure of basically being a living deity deserves nothing but the utmost respect and admiration.

Tendulkar's statistics speak for themselves: 33,543 runs in both international forms of the game, 99 centuries, a test batting average of 55.71 and 199 wickets in both forms of the game.

Do those statistics mean he is the greatest player of his generation?  A consideration of the other "candidates" leads me to an answer that many will disagree with: No he is not!

Who are the other candidates?  I will consider 4 players for the purpose of this exercise:

1. Ricky Ponting
2. Jacques Kallis
3. Muttiah Muriliduran
4. Brian Lara

There are two aspects to consider here in my view:

1. A pure review of the statistics of each player.  For this purpose I will combine the efforts of the players in both tests and one day fixtures; and
2. A consideration of how each player has faired against the best team of this generation at their home venue: Australia.  Simply put, Australia in Australia has been the toughest test for any player during the span of the career's of all players a part of this discussion.

So the pure statistics first:

Player	Matches	Runs	Averages	100s	Wickets	Average	Catches
Tendulkar	640	33543	49.47	99	199	46.49	248
Ponting	531	26605	46.92	70	8		348
Kallis	469	23741	50.84	58	541	32.14	303
Muralitharan	483	1935			1334	22.85	202
Lara	430	22358	46.29	53	4		284

I will start by saying this: no matter the player we are talking about there is no team in the world that would not find a place in their best team during this period for them.

These numbers show that, in the grand scheme of things, each of the batting records of Tendulkar, Ponting, Kallis and Lara are pretty even.  On a percentage basis, if you extrapolate the runs scored by each player forward to the number of games Tendulkar has played then Kallis comes on in front but not by much.

Additionally the numbers show that Muralitharan is a freak.  His sheer weight of wickets will never be beaten in my view.  The record of Kallis though is also alluring.   541 wickets at 32.14 is nothing short of impressive.

So where do the numbers above leave us: as noted, the run scoring of the batsmen comes out pretty even and the wickets of Muralitharan are amazing.  The only batsmen to contribute with the ball are Kallis and Tendulkar.  When you compare Kallis to Tendulkar with the ball you are frankly comparing apples and oranges: one is a full time bowler and the other is a part timer.

Thus I come to the conclusion that, strictly on the numbers, Kallis is the superior player.

That view will not be a popular one: hence why I think it is necessary to consider how each player has gone against the best team in world during this period in their own conditions.  During the period 1990 to present day that team has to be Australia in Australia.   At the outset, based on my theory, this means that Ricky Ponting can not be the greatest player of his generation.  He has played in the best team of this generation and has been its star no doubt.  However, he has not played against the best on their home turf.  Therefore, for the purposes of this discussion, Ponting is removed from consideration.

So then: who has performed best in Australia against Australia between Tendulkar, Kallis, Lara and Murali?  For the purpose of this part of my theory I will focus on the test records of the players.  In Australia, the following is each players' record:

Player	Matches	Runs	Averages	100s	Wickets	Average	Catches
Tendulkar	20	1809	53.2	6	7	44.22	16
Kallis	12	915	45.75	2	19	43.78	16
Muralitharan	5	42	0	0	12	75.41	6
Lara	19	1469	41.97	4	0	0	19

The immediate thing that strikes one on considering these statistics is that of all of the players, Tendulkar has performed closest to his statistical average performance.  Murali only played 5 tests in Australia: frankly that was his choice and when he did come to Australia he did not bowl well.  Lara, 277 in Sydney and 210 in Adelaide aside, struggled with the conditions and the crowds and did not lead his team any identifiable victory in Australia.

That leaves Kallis: do his performances in Australia stack up or are they explainable for the purposes of this blog?   The short answer is that there are obvious reasons for Kallis' dip in form in Australia.  The most obvious of reasons is that on the recent occasions Kallis has been in Australia he has been injured which has effected the amount he has bowled and his presence at the crease.

Ultimately though: it is hard to argue against Tendulkar in Australia against Australians.

So then: what is the answer?  Is Tendulkar the greatest player of his generation?  Tendulkar is no doubt the greatest batsman of his generation but the question to consider is: if you had a choice between Tendulkar and Kallis who would you choose?  Both are batsmen of the highest quality, both are good in the field BUT one is also a recognised fast medium bowler with over 500 international wickets to his name whereas the other is a part timer.

The answer then is obvious: I choose Kallis.  When it comes down to it for what he brings to his team with ball, when you consider that they are basically even with the willow,  he must be the greatest player of his generation.