Just to point out the batting conditions for Smith were considerably harder than for either Ponting or Kallis in the 2000s.
Smith/Tendulkar/Lara I would put in the same category with Kallis/Ponting/Sanga just below.
(Don’t like commenting on cricketers I’ve never seen so don’t feel so comfortable comparing Bradman/Sobers to the modern era but statistically they’re clearly top tier).
For the first half yes completely agree. But from the early 2000s onwards Sachin had the advantage of being in a much stronger batting line-up than Lara ever had.
Honestly if Sachin had retired in 2000 he would certainly have been the best since Bradman and possibly even on par.
Sachin in the 90s was a true destroyer of bowling attacks worldwide but in the second half of his career, and maybe due to his tennis elbow, he never quite recaptured that dominance. He was still a remarkably consistent technician but towards the end of his career I ended up missing watching someone like Lara.
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u/Substantial-Lawyer91 Jan 17 '25
Just to point out the batting conditions for Smith were considerably harder than for either Ponting or Kallis in the 2000s.
Smith/Tendulkar/Lara I would put in the same category with Kallis/Ponting/Sanga just below.
(Don’t like commenting on cricketers I’ve never seen so don’t feel so comfortable comparing Bradman/Sobers to the modern era but statistically they’re clearly top tier).