by Kartikeya Date
Who is the better batsman - Tendulkar or Lara?
This type of question is commonplace in the cricket discourse.
We keep debating these questions using various approaches and methods. It is worth reflecting on what the question really means and to what extent and what ways it might actually be answerable.
Absent some specific cricketing definition of ‘better’, the question is not answerable.
There are several definitions of ‘better’, and no single one is anything like a complete definition. To some, better means performing better ‘under pressure’. This begs the question as to what ‘under pressure’ means. It does little more than to transfer the vagueness from the term ‘better’ to the term ‘under pressure’.
To others, ‘better’ means more consistent. This is less vague, in that, consistency can actually be identified by evaluating each player’s distribution of scores.
Tendulkar cross 50 in 36.2% of his innings, Lara in 35.7%.
Tendulkar was dismissed under 30 in 45.3% of his innings, Lara 46.5%.
Tendulkar was dismissed in single digits in 23% of his innings, Lara in 26.5%.
Tendulkar cross 200 in 1.8% of his innings, Lara in 3.9%.
It is possible to describe and compare consistency, and the picture is one where Tendulkar might, if the point is to be stretched pedantically, be marginally less inconsistent than Lara.
But now, this becomes a discussion about the records of Tendulkar and Lara. But it is still not a discussion of who is better in some general sense. But, if one continues to explore their records, then one keeps adding to the texture of your picture of each player, and in the process it leads to a better understanding of Tendulkar, Lara and cricket itself.
To be able to get lost in these records after starting with the question of who is better is one of the greatest things in cricket. The possibilities offered by the cricket record are rich. But fans are often resistant to getting lost in these records.
It is worth reflecting on why this might be. One explanation is that the original question “who is better, Tendulkar or Lara” is not really a question about Tendulkar or Lara at all. Instead, it is an anxiety about either the preservation or destruction of some holy cow which seems to reside rent free inside the minds of fans.
It is a question of defending the fan’s memory of one or both players. Learning more about either player would challenge this memory just as much as getting the answer which contradicts the fan’s preferred answer to the question would challenge it.
Often the original question “who is better, Tendulkar or Lara” is not really a question about Tendulkar or Lara at all. Instead, it is an anxiety about either the preservation or destruction of some holy cow which seems to reside rent free inside the minds of fans.
It is a question of defending the fan’s memory of one or both players. Learning more about either player would challenge this memory just as much as getting the answer which contradicts the fan’s preferred answer to the question would challenge it.
So the next time you find yourself in a discussion of this type, do ask yourself what the discussion is actually about and where it is heading.
Cricket and its records are not a mystery. They are finite and complete. Every action in a cricket match is unambiguous in terms of its cricketing meaning.
The correct way to count every action is known before the game begins and is consistent across games.
A discussion of cricket or cricketers ought to be a discussion of the cricketing records.
If it isn’t, then it is not really a discussion of any of those things.
Kartikeya Date is one of the most prolific analysts of the numbers left in the wake of cricket. He writes for various publications including Cricinfo, Hindu and others. He also has his own “irregular, opinionated podcast on matters cricketing and otherwise”