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His wonderful hand/eye co-ordination, exquisite foot movement, his ability to concentrate for long periods of time, dominate bowling attacks and score runs all around the wicket, will be remembered and talked about forever. Bradman is one of the very few cricketers who have survived the test of time. There will be some arguments and some interesting discussions about who is the next best batsman.

During my playing career, from 1972 to 1990, I bowled to many of the world’s leading batsmen. During the last 13 years as a commentator, coach and now as a selector, I have watched and admired many other great batsmen. Therefore, I make my judgements based on over 30 years of first-hand experience.

The word ‘great’ is often misused and overdone. To be called a great player, it is important for a player to have been successful in different types of conditions and in difficult match situations all over the world, not just at home. The player would also have needed to succeed against his peers during that era and perhaps have succeeded in any era - a very subjective argument.

Before my time there was Sir Jack Hobbs, Wally Hammond, Sir Garfield Sobers, Graeme Pollock, and many others who were rated very highly as some of the best batsmen of all time. Even today, Matthew Hayden, Brian Lara, Steve Waugh, Adam Gilchrist, Rahul Dravid and many others have big reputations.

Players will be rated for different reasons. During my time as a player, Australia produced Greg Chappell and Allan Border. Chappell was a tall, fluent and elegant player who looked to score his runs freely all around the wicket with drives, cuts, pulls and hooks. Border, perhaps not a naturally gifted player but still the world’s leading run scorer, was a gutsy, gritty determined batsman who scored his runs with ease, square of the wicket.

Javed Miandad was nuisance value for opposing teams with quick singles and pushes, along with his powerful off drives. West Indian Sir Vivian Richards, was one of the most destructive and unorthodox batsmen I have seen, let alone bowled at. He had a physical presence about him as he swaggered to the wicket.

He would hit the first ball to the boundary if he could, wanting to stamp his authority on the game and intimidate the opposition. His off and on side drives along with powerful cuts and hooks made him a daunting batsman to bowl to.

England’s David Gower was a graceful player who had plenty of time to get into position to play the ball – he was a lovely driver of the ball. Geoff Boycott, England’s opening batsman, was the most difficult batsman to dismiss because he was a craftsman, technically efficient and he knew where his off stump was. His greatest asset was his immense concentration and his desire to wear the bowler down and bat for hours if not days.

New Zealand’s Martin Crowe was one of the most technically correct batsmen around. His powerful off drives and his ability to work the ball around the field was admirable. For a New Zealand batsman to average over 40 and produce hundreds against the best bowling attacks in world cricket makes him one of for best. If it wasn’t for a serious knee injury that ended his career prematurely, he would have scored many more runs.

India’s Sunil Gavakar was a neat, compact, well organised and efficient batsman who had the ability to be a wonderful accumulator of runs. He was very watchful and played well within his limitations and despite his small stature, he was able to handle the world’s fastest bowlers with a high degree of success.

Sachin Tendulkar would have learned a lot from Sunil – bat time, bat sessions, get in to assess the conditions, look to dominate the bowlers and take control of the innings. I bowled against Sachin during my last home series in 1989/90. This young looking 16-year old schoolboy scored 88 at Napier. Even then there were signs that he had immense talent but it was difficult to predict then that he would achieve what he has done over the last 13 years.

Sachin can play any type of innings but it his ability to time the ball and hit the ball with some ease to any part of the ground against any type of bowler, which makes him a special player that any team would lover to have in their side.

So who is the world’s second best batsman? Somehow, I do not think that there will be too many arguments. In my opinion, Tendulkar holds that position. Wisden, the world’s cricket bible rates Tendulkar also that highly, and they would have done their research supporting that rating very comprehensively.

After all, Sachin’s record is already very impressive. If he can remain fit and motivated for the next five or more years, he will end his playing career having scored more Test and one-day runs than any other batsman in the history of the game. He will have scored more centuries and half centuries in both forms of the game and performed in different conditions, in different match situations, against the world’s best bowlers and teams.

Before he retires, I am sure he would like to get his Test average up from 58 to 60. He is the most feared and respected batsman in world cricket today with his wicket the most valued by a bowler and team. (Sir Richard Hadlee )

GE Features/www.hadlee.co.nz