Tanya Aldred reflects on the flourishing of batsmanship at Test level today:
Of the batsmen with the highest averages in Test history, five of the top 20 were in the same match in Sydney last week: Matthew Hayden (58.28), Rahul Dravid (57.42), Sachin Tendulkar (57.19), Ricky Ponting (55.97 ) and Adam Gilchrist (55.59). And, of course, Steve Waugh (51.06) was also there.
Nearly 7,000 miles away across the ocean, that new accumulator Graeme Smith (18th at 55.45), and his bludgeoning sidekick Jacques Kallis (52) were playing against Brian Lara (52.69), aka West Indies. Those with Sky and an unhealthy dislike of their own beds could flick from Australia to Africa via Charles Colvile and overdose in a sugary confit of runs.
Welcome to another Golden Age of Batting. Those all-time greats Lara and Tendulkar, hailed since they made their debuts in the early 1990s, are being jostled in the upper echelons. Hayden, once as strong and as vulnerable as Goliath, is now the owner of the highest Test score; Dravid, still sometimes booed as he comes in for keeping Tendulkar in the pavilion, is consistently brilliant both on the flat pitches of the sub-continent and away from home; Ricky Ponting is a pub-brawler turned prolific Australian captain and Gilchrist is the most run-hungry wicketkeeper in history.
Read the rest – it’s a nice piece.
I cannot forbear, also, from noting this, though it comes from an article by a writer – Dominic Fifield – whose footballing prejudices are not congenial to me:
The club’s problems [he’s talking about Liverpool] stem from a knee-jerk willingness to harp back [sic] to a glorious era which really does now feel a millennium away. It is 20 years since Liverpool won the European Cup and 14 since they claimed the league championship…
Yup. As I’ve said once before, statute of limitations, folks. Still, they can sometimes win a game when it matters (to us) – like last night at Stamford Bridge. Well done, Liverpool!