Monthly Archives: March 2010

Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting

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Sometime back, I tried to analyze whether Ricky Ponting could overtake Sachin Tendulkar in Tests. At that time, the stats stood at

Player Tests Runs Avg 100s Age Comparison
Tendulkar 157 12499 54.58 41 - 4 tons ahead
Ponting 131 10948 56.43 37 -1y 8m 1551 runs behind

Today, it stands at

Player Tests Runs Avg 100s Age Comparison
Tendulkar 166 13447 55.56 47 - 8 tons ahead
Ponting 142 11859 55.67 39 -1y 8m 1588 runs behind

Ponting still looks in striking distance of Tendulkar’s total run aggregate. Assuming that he plays for two years after Tendulkar retires, he only has to get some 800-odd runs a year. Since Australia plays more Tests than the average nation, this is somewhat easy. Consider that in 2009, Ponting only scored at a poor average of 38.77, but because Australia played 13 Tests, he ended up scoring 853 runs for the year. You will also notice that Ponting has played two more Tests than Tendulkar in the same period. But if Ponting overtakes Tendulkar, it is also likely that Kallis will overtake Ponting very quickly. So it would probably be a very short reign at the top.

Overtaking the number of centuries Tendulkar scored looks more iffy. Since the beginning of 2007, Ponting has only scored 6 centuries. On the other hand, no one expected Tendulkar to go on a ton-hitting spree at age 36. So Ponting may be able to tap something similar. Also, India’s Test calendar looks barren at this point while Australia have Test matches lined up against New Zealand, Pakistan and England for this year, so that 8-ton deficit could see some reduction. All the other contenders are way behind at this point.

On the ODI side, there is simply no comparison. Tendulkar is so far ahead that there is no credible rival for the top spot (runs, centuries) for the near future.

Fun with Statistics

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From the “Ask Steven” page of Cricinfo:

Sachin Tendulkar had scored 31,055 runs in international cricket (13,447 in Tests, 17,598 in ODIs, and 10 in Twenty20 internationals). Of those, 16,140 have come in boundaries (3675 fours and 240 sixes), so he has had to run 14,915 of his own runs in singles, twos and threes, which adds up to 328,130 yards or over 186 miles (300 kilometres). He will also have covered a similar distance for his partners while non-striker – not quite so many runs, perhaps, but a significant number nonetheless. If we allow his batting partners 75% of Tendulkar’s output, that’s another 12,105 runs, or 266,310 yards, or 151 miles (243km). That makes a total of around 337 miles (543km).

Wish someone can do the math for the miles run by the fast bowlers to the bowling crease!

[On a side note, for those who were wondering where Kridaya went in the last few months, I was busy with the birth of my son. Regular blogging will now resume with this post, though at a more leisurely pace than before.]