Comments
A new work of non-fiction titled Greater than Bradman, by Chennai-based author Rudolph Lambert Fernandez, claims to be the first book that compares the two legends and aims to prove that Sachin Tendulkar, not Donald Bradman, is the greatest batsman. On Thursday, the master blaster celebrated his first birthday post retirement from nearly 25 glorious years of cricket.
What’s newThe book turns the spotlight not on their personal lives but on the cricket field, where both men staked and won their claim to greatness. It is a first of its kind, forensic study that aims to set the record straight. The book uses illustrations from science, history and the martial arts to challenge the unanimous popular position.
It questions traditional measures of greatness that revolve around statistics. It offers an honest approach that respects a batsman’s figures but places them against the backdrop of his playing environment.
Do the math, and the statIt argues that an accurate portrait of a batsman’s greatness is impossible without the frame, the growth of cricket as a global game, the evolution of cricket legislation and the emergence of more muscular on and off-field play scrutiny. The book uses behaviour theory to compare the relative mastery of the two batsmen.
All roundersFernandez says, “Many of the statistics are new. This book is not about Sachin being the greatest batsman in 1998 or 2010. It is about him as the greatest batsman in cricket history. So you will need to take your eyes off the TV screen playing last year’s match, to appreciate the arguments here.”
The author adds, “I am eager to present a copy of the book to Sachin’s brother Ajit, his coach Achrekar and Sachin’s wife Anjali. The Maharashtra government plans to felicitate Sachin next month. I hope that fans and sponsors, who have supported Sachin through good times and bad, will help the book reach players, historians, critics, coaches, umpires and students of cricket.”
The eBook is already available at Amazon and the paperback version will soon be available from leading e-tailers.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.