Mohammad Azharuddin vs Hansie Cronje: A Statistical Comparison

Cronje (L) and Azharuddin (R) were two iconic players as well as captains until allegations marred their careers

The ongoing ‘Freedom Series’ between India and South Africa has seen some young guns firing from all cylinders and proving their worth with brilliant performances. Talking about match winning performances, it is not easy to forget two iconic players who had captured the imagination of the cricketing fraternity with their scintillating contributions during the 90's.

Be it captaincy or batting, Mohammad Azharuddin and Hansie Cronje have always remained in the thick of things and propelled their teams to great heights. Here is a take on how their careers spanned out through numbers.

Test Cricket: The Ultimate Test

While some people argue that Test cricket has lost its charm after the advent of the shorter versions of the game, teams have become more competitive and have understood the importance of Test Cricket in developing skill and temperament in the longer run.

Azharuddin was praised by one and all for his leg-side play.He had an amazing pair of wrists and was a beauty to watch. Known for his effortless playing style, Mohammad Azharuddin made his Test debut for India against England at Kolkata in 1985.

He had a dream start to his international career where he scores 3 centuries in his first 3 Test matches. Batting in the middle order, he scored a graceful 110. The match was drawn, but Azharuddin had announced the world of his arrival in style.

On the other hand, Hansie Cronje was a fearless batsman, an effective medium pacer and a scintillating fielder. His all round brilliance and shrewd captaincy propelled him to the peak of his career and earned him a respectable position.

He made his Test Debut against West Indies in 1992 at Barbados. In contrast to Azharuddin’s flourish, Cronje failed miserably with the bat and scored 5 and 2 in the first innings and second innings respectively. Despite this failure, he went on to construct some memorable innings for South Africa throughout the 90’s.

Here is a compilation of their Test statistics:

Player	Matches	Innings	Runs	Average	Best	100’s	50’s	wickets
Mohammad Azharuddin	99	147	6215	45.03	199	21	22	0
Hansie Cronje	68	111	3714	36.41	135	6	23	43

Though it may seem that Mohammad Azharuddin has performed better than Hansie Cronje in terms of batting, what should be noticed is Cronje’s all round abilities. His ability to send in a few quick overs and break partnerships made Cronje a valuable asset for the Proteas. Azharuddin boasts of a brilliant conversion rate and has performed exceedingly well and his numbers are truly reflective of his exploits.

In terms of batting, Cronje’s performance peaked in 1998 when he scored more than a 1000 runs in a calendar year. Interestingly, Azharuddin’s best year was 1990 where he managed 752 runs from 7 matches at an average of 75.20 which comes as a surprise to many.

Both Azharuddin and Cronje are very different in terms of style of play and have hugely contributed to their team’s cause in their own way. Taking numbers into account, it is however clear that Azharuddin is way ahead than Cronje in terms of Test Cricket.

ODIs:

When it comes to ODIs , Azharuddin the captain took centre stage more than Azharuddin the player. He was one of the most successful Indian captains and tasted tremendous success during the later part of the 90’s. He made his ODI Debut against England in 1985 at Bangalore.

Despite being in a team that boasted of big names like Kapil Dev, he showed no jitters and scored a fighting 47 not out in a losing cause. This futile knock was only one of the many battles that he would fight for the team’s cause.

Hansie Cronje opened his ODI account against Australia during the 1992 World Cup at Sydney. He bowled 5 overs and went wicketless and did not get a chance to bat. South Africa won the match after heroics from Keppler Wessels and Gary Kirsten.

In contrast to his ODI Debut, Cronje played a major role in many memorable victories in the following years. He performed exceedingly well with the ball when the Indians toured South Africa in 1992 and took a career best five wicket haul. He was soon named as the captain in 1995.

Let us have a closer look at their ODI numbers:

Player	Matches	Innings	Runs	Average	Best	Strike Rate	100s	50s	Wickets
Mohammad Azharuddin	334	308	9378	36.92	153*	74.02	7	58	12
Hansie Cronje	188	175	5565	38.64	112	76.47	2	39	114

Both Azharuddin and Cronje were extremely successful captains in their own regard. While one was tactical and shrewd, the other was aggressive and lead by an example. Azharuddin was a prolific run scorer and a tally of almost 10000 runs speaks volumes of his ability.

Cronje’s statistics in ODIs truly reflect his class and his talent. He was truly one of the best all-rounders in limited overs cricket during the 90’s.

In the 1998/99 season, Azharuddin had a brilliant run with the bat and scored more than 1200 runs with an average of 43. On the flipside, Cronje enjoyed tremendous success in 1994 with 1133 runs at an average of 43.57 with the bat and complemented it with 13 scalps. Both these players match each other in terms of their contribution to the team across all fronts.

Conclusion:

Mohammad Azharuddin and Hansie Cronje are two powerhouses of talent. However, it is extremely unfortunate that their careers were marred by allegations and subsequent bans in view of the match-fixing scandal that rocked the cricketing fraternity. They became classic cases of talent gone astray after a period of promise. With Hansie not among us anymore and Azharuddin fighting his legal battles, we would have loved to see more of them on the field, doing what they do best.