SACHIN TENDULKAR > RICKY PONTING

Australia have a win... They restore some of their "pride"! Captain Ponting and vice - captain Clarke get 90s. And as the Cricinfo commentary put aptly... Clarke did not manage to reach his 100 since he became a victim of his own inabilities to play the big shots.

During his innings of 92, Ricky Ponting became just the 3rd batsman in One Day International cricket to cross the landmark of 13000 runs (after Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jaisuriya). Great achievement, that!

However, over the past few years, Ponting's form (especially in Tests) has gone down. He is no longer the feared No. 3 player that he used to be in his prime... the early 2000s. In fact, ever since he crossed the landmark of 10000 ODI runs, Ponting's Test average has been less than 50. So I thought that I will do this little comparison of how the progression through ODI landmarks has affected the Test form of the two great champion batsmen of our times... Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting.

SACHIN TENDULKAR:

10K to 11K ODI runs - 7 Tests, 699 runs @ 69.90 (2 100s, 4 50s)
11K to 12K ODI runs - 16 Tests, 1392 runs @ 54.20 (4 100s, 5 50s)
12K to 13K ODI runs - 6 Tests, 454 runs @ 50.44 (1 100, 2 50s)
13K to 14K ODI runs - 18 Tests, 1121 runs @ 48.73 (3 100s, 4 50s)
14K to 15K ODI runs - 8 Tests, 536 runs @ 44.66 (2 100s, 2 50s)
15K to 16K ODI runs - 9 Tests, 860 runs @ 57.33 (2 100s, 6 50s)
16K to 17K ODI runs - 13 Tests, 991 runs @ 45.04 (3 100s, 4 50s)
17K to 17598 ODI runs - 7 Tests, 674 runs @ 84.25 (5 100s, 1 50)

RICKY PONTING:

10K to 11K ODI runs - 6 Tests, 408 runs @ 45.33 (1 100, 3 50s)
11K to 12K ODI runs - 20 Tests, 1569 runs @ 43.58 (4 100s, 9 50s)
12K to 13K ODI runs - 8 Tests, 583 runs @ 44.84 (1 100, 3 50s)

So, from the mark of 10000 ODI runs to his current peak of 17598, Sachin Tendulkar has been able to maintain a very decent form... his average dropping below 50 only in 3 such stretches and just once below 45. Two of such occasion (13K to 14K and 14K to 15K) coincided with his injury troubles... back, fingers, tennis elbow, et cetera.

On the other hand, Ponting's Test form has just gone southwards ever since he crossed the 10000 landmark in ODIs during the World Cup 2007. His average has never been above 50... and just once has bettered 45. His troubles have coincided more with Australia's lack of domination in cricket rather than any injury troubles of his own. His troubles, curiously, started with the retirements of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath. Or not so curious, is it?

I have been of the belief for a long time now that Ricky Ponting's good performances with the bat have come on the back of the knowledge that his team has great batsmen in the lineup to follow him and bowlers to skittle out or who've already skittled out the opposition for a meagre total. In such a context, Sachin Tendulkar's knocks, particularly during the first half of his career, have come when he's been the lone fighter for India. Complete dependency creates additional pressure. Ponting has succumbed to it more often than not. Tendulkar has not.

Such statistics and numbers sometimes make me marvel at the contributions of guys like Brian Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul... the lone fighters in West Indies squads for many long years. Nevertheless, as this post is basically a comparison of SRT and RTP, I guess my choice is clear!

DISBAND THE WEST INDIES

The venue shifts to Harare as India take on the hosts Zimbabwe... seeking revenge for the humiliation meted out to them in the first game of the tri - series. In another part of the world, West Indies will seek to salvage some pride by trying to beat the South Africans in the 5th ODI to be held at Port of Spain.

The Sulieman Benn incident left me completely muddled... I mean, have you ever heard of anything like this before? I was never ordered out of a cricket game even in school... even though I was pathetic. This was a top-flight One Day International! What's wrong with the West Indies? Is this the same team that was once represented by the likes of Gary Sobers, Viv Richards, Clive Lloyd and other men who gave it their all for the team and their captain?

I pity Chris Gayle's situation. He is a man with capability of being a part of most top international teams. Sadly though, he does not have many such men at his disposal. He may get a once-in-a-while exceptional performance from the likes of Dwayne Bravo, but that's about it. The likes of Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul are also not as consistent as they used to be... and the biggest problem is that when one man performs, the others fail. They just don't seem to remember how to click together as a team.

I do have a suggestion... totally mad though it may seem! DISBAND THE WEST INDIES!

Why do all the islands have to play under the banner of the West Indies Cricket Board? All the other teams play for the pride of representing their nation... what do the Carribbean cricketers play for? Pride of what? The pride of Carribbean cricket's rich past seems to have been sadly forgotten and swept deep under the carpet.

I had this idea when I saw Trinidad and Tobago perform admirably in the inaugual edition of Champions League Twenty20 last year. They played with a fervour that was possibly better than that shown by the World Champions England last month! And I guess that it was because they were playing for their country... with their countrymen. They didn't have to compete for  their spots with other nationalities and also suffer problems with a cricket board that governs cricket in several countries!

If Trinidad and Tobago or Barbados or Jamaica or even St. Lucia or St. Kitts represented themselves in international cricket instead of representing the West Indies, I believe it would do a lot of good for the game. They may not be world beaters straight away... but I feel it will encourage the growth of cricket in that region. The politics will reduce drastically and the competition will be a lot healthier.

And to top it all, it will also help if cricket is to be represented in events such as Olympics. West Indies cannot win a medal... but Barbados certainly can.

I don't know if anyone has thought of this idea before or if it is going to be implemented any time soon... but I really do think it is worth a shot! Simply because, the current situation seems completely hopeless... there is simply no light at the end of a tunnel! And when you see a glow there, it just turns out to be an oncoming train!

Something's got to be done... and something's got to be done fast!