Quote:Okay the mantra being touted is "The Modern Game".
But we're comparing Gayle to contemporaries.
And look at all the great current ODI batsmen: Sanga, Kohli, Root, Kane, Amla, Smith....which of these is a "modern", "cowlasher"?
Aside from ABDV, they're all old school. They're very traditional.
It's the explosive guys like Mccullum, Sehwag and Gayle that average in the 30s. They slog, the opposition takes out the slips, and they live a charmed life - no catches in the back - until they're out. Or they post a fast ton.
Quote:Why this addiction to compare previous eras ?
You can compare to previous eras, but you have to factor in the way stats change.
Tendular averaging 40+ in the 90s is awesome when everyone else is averaging in the 20s and 30s.
Kohli averaging in the 50s in the 00s is not inherently "more awesome" than Tendulkar, when Kohli's opponents are likewise also averaging a full ten runs more.
Guys like Anwar, Inzi and Jayasuriya were the Gayles of the 90s. They averaged about 32-39 in ODIs, which was high for that era. For Gayle to be batting the same way and be averaging the same or less in the 00s, when the averages of his opponents have gone up by about ten runs, is poor.