Sachin Tendulkar: statistically the best No. 4 batsman of all time?

Sachin Tendulkar has excellent stats in virtually all parameters © Getty Images

Sachin Tendulkar holds more batting records in cricket than most other cricketers put together: most runs, most matches, most centuries; the list is nigh endless. Tendulkar batted for most of his career at No. 4 in Tests, a position usually reserved for the most vital batsman in the line-up. Shiamak Unwalla looks at the numbers to see if Tendulkar is statistically the best No. 4 batsman of all time.

NOTE: The numbers considered here are only when Tendulkar batted at No. 4 in the line-up. This excludes times he would ordinarily have come in at two-down but dropped lower to accommodate a night-watchman or a change in strategy.

On the face of it, Tendulkar easily wins the “battle of the No. 4s” based on runs scored. There is a difference of around 9,000 runs between Tendulkar and the man at No. 10 on this list, Martin Crowe. Let that sink in; 9,000 runs is more than anyone in England or Pakistan have ever scored in their entire careers. And that is merely the difference of runs between Tendulkar and Crowe batting at No. 4 alone. Here is the list of top 10 run-scorers at the No. 4 position in Tests:

However, if one looks at average then Jacques Kallis (61.86) is comfortably ahead of Tendulkar (54.40), while Javed Miandad (54.10) is close at Tendulkar’s heels. Mahela Jayewardene’s highest individual score of 374 is by far the best, though Tendulkar’s 44 tons is nine more than the next best Kallis (35) managed. READ: Sachin Tendulkar voted as greatest Test cricketer of 21st century

These were the aggregates. Let us look at how the top batsmen have fared away from home; this is usually what separates the good from the great. Here is the list of top 10 run-scorers away from home:

Again, unsurprisingly, Tendulkar is at the top with as many as 7,083 runs. But once again, in terms of average it is Kallis (57.58) who leads the way ahead of Younis Khan (57.96) and Tendulkar (57.58). It should be noted that Younis has played a lot in UAE, and his overseas numbers reflect that. READ: The leading run-getters in Test cricket for each team

Let us now look at a country-wise break-up of No. 4 batsmen. Given that Tendulkar made his debut in 1989, let us look at how opposition batsmen have done in every country since that year:

Visiting batsmen seem to enjoy higher averages in Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, UAE, New Zealand, and England, while they have traditionally struggled in Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, India, and Pakistan.

However, the numbers look quite different if one looks at the numbers post 2000:

Of late, England has become much harder to bat in, while West Indies and India have become considerably easier. South Africa, Australia, and Sri Lanka remain challenging though.

Given how vastly different the three countries are in terms of conditions and skills needed to survive — ability to play pace, bounce and spin — let us look at the top overseas batsmen in South Africa, Australia, and Sri Lanka:

It stands to reason that South African, Australian, and Sri Lankan players would not feature prominently on this list since their record at home would not be included. As such, Kallis still manages to feature. At this point it is no surprise that Tendulkar once again heads the charts, but his average pales in comparison with those of Ken Barrington (80.54) and Virat Kohli (80.33). The sample sizes of both men are, however, too small: only 15 Tests between them as opposed to Tendulkar’s 41.

Meanwhile, Tendulkar still averages a superb 54.59 collectively in these countries. It should be noted though, that Tendulkar has a lacklustre record in Pakistan, where he averages only 40.25. Of course, that is still a decent average.

Now let us look at where Tendulkar stands when pitted against the best team of his era — Australia. For much of the 1990s and certainly the 2000s, Australia were nigh invincible. Here is a list of the 10 leading run-scorers against Australia (whether home or away) in Tests since 1989:

Once again the usual suspects Tendulkar, Kallis, and Lara feature in the top three. For once, Kallis’ average is not the highest. Kohli (86.5) holds that honour, followed by Saleem Malik (75.25) — thanks to his epic 237 at Rawalpindi — and Younis (65.44). But while none of these three men have 1,000 runs at No. 4 against Australia, Tendulkar has 3,060 at 56.66. It should also be noted that of the three, none have played more than 5 Tests at No. 4, and so the sample size is quite small. Tendulkar meanwhile played 35 Tests, most of which were when Australia were the undisputed best team in the world.

That Tendulkar is excellent at setting up games cannot be doubted. But how good was he at batting in the toughest of conditions; the fourth innings? Here is a list of the leading run-scorers at No. 4 in the fourth innings of a Test since 1989:

To sum up, Tendulkar has scored more runs than anyone at No. 4. His average is bettered only marginally by Kallis, but Tendulkar has more runs and centuries. Tendulkar has scored more runs overseas than anyone, again at an average only fractionally less than that of Kallis. He has also done exceedingly well in countries where most visiting batsmen struggle. He did exceptionally well against the best team of his era, though has struggled in the fourth innings.

In addition, Tendulkar has scored over 400 runs in a series at No. 4 on four occasions, while he has averaged 100 or more at No. 4 ten times, two of which included averages of over 240 (he has also averaged 96.66 and 93 in two other series). He scored two centuries at No. 4 in a series on nine occasions, and hit at least three half-centuries in a series 11 times.

Is Tendulkar statistically the greatest batsman the world has ever seen? Maybe not; but the numbers suggest that he is certainly among the greatest No. 4 batsmen the world has ever seen.

(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek who loves cricket more than cricketers. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)