Lies, cricket lies and statistics

“There are three kinds of lies — lies, damned lies and statistics,” goes the old saying. Be that as it may, cricket aficionados may well scoff at a new “scientific” study by two economists which comes out of Australia and “proves” that Don Bradman is the greatest batsman of the game. But the study has taken the bull by the horns by adjusting batting averages to reflect the value to the team. This “scientific” approach makes Virender Sehwag India’s topmost batsman ever and, more surprisingly, puts Vinod Kambli just below Sachin Tendulkar.

Odd though all this sounds, there is no need to get exercised about the conclusions. The study of economics is itself stranger than statistics and which cricket captain would drop a Sachin to opt for a Kambli? The greatness of a sportsperson is determined in a number of ways, including his commercial sponsors. The advertiser  may well scoff at the economist and work out for himself or herself which player to support. But damning or otherwise, whatever adds spice to the study of life is worth a glance, a sniff and a laugh. Like this study.