...so...
Seeing that we are only comparing certain stats of the first 5000 runs rather than the last, what if Amla was picked earlier for ODI?...I mean, when he was still batting like a praying mantis with ADHD? Wonder what his first 5,000 runs would have looked like.
I wonder why guys haven't called you out for your excessive and troll-like attitude towards Amla, all in the name of needlessly defending AB. So now Amla batted like an inexperienced Steve Smith, and then transformed into something with more grace than Saeed Anwar overnight? How on earth is your mind able to process that? Can you imagine if I had ever said anything that bad about AB, yet it's said I dislike him purely for posting stats and you get away with being this negatively graphic? If the ire directed in my direction was in anyway genuine you should not be able to get away with such reasoning.
I seriously don't know what you want. Post-readmission Amla has arguably been our best Test+ODI batsman. He's scoring runs¢uries faster than AB de Villiers in both Tests&ODIs.
The highest ODI score belongs to Gary Kirsten (#2 is Gibbs); Test score Amla (#2 is Kallis). Highest Test average is Kallis (#2 is Amla). I have no doubt&hope that AB will be quicker than Kallis to 8000 Test runs, but Amla will get there much quicker still.
Globally, in ODIs, the fastest to 1000-5000 is Amla. Next is Kohli. No one comes close to Amla's ODI average in the history of the game, plus fastest to 20 centuries too, light years ahead of many greats, never mind those in the making - Kohli,AB,Williamson&SteveSmith. In Tests many middle order batsmen we generally considered much slower batsmen than AB, but are all ahead of him. Of the greater ones Miandad&Mahela batted generally in the same position as him, and have done so quicker at certain periods.
AB holds the milestones to quick knocks - dislodging illiustrious names like Afridi&Anderson. Hardly earth-shattering. The most likely candidates to break them are still Maxwell, Ronchi - again it would take them miracles to be called great. Of those in this bracket the only one who can genuinely said to be a great is Afridi, because his name&innings appear several times to show that he was frequently capable of going crazy and succeeding, no matter what foundation was laid for him by those batting above him.
What really do you want? AB has done a fantsatic job to rebuild his Test&ODI career after he had some pretty low periods for quite some time. The fact that he's now managed to even come close Amla shows how much effort he's had to put in lately. And credit to him for that. But Amla will continue to be Amla, and be as consistent as ever so if AB keeps up the Proteas will continue to be a force over the next 5 years at least.
As for overtaking Amla, or ending up with a higher average(despite batting lower)/more centuries, that's not going to happen.
The reality is for AB to do well consistently he needs Amla, but Amla doesn't need AB. So if Amla is inconsistent, AB won't be able to consistently deliver. The same was the case for Kallis. Amla rejuvenated him to a point where he now belongs alongside Ponting, Sachin, Chanderpaul, Dravid, Lara&Sanga, when it was seriously looking like he would stop at just a level below them at one point.
The consistently consistent point is that AB's career has non been consistently great like say Smith, Kallis or Amla. If it was then he would consitently be at the top or near it at various stages, but even his Test career is behind Kallis, Gibbs,Smith&Amla who batted higher than AB, yet other middle order batsmen from other cricketing nations did things quicker than those four.
AB has been playing catchup a lot. As you know, many players had the luxury to allow their averages drop because of what they achieved years before - Mahela, Ponting, Smith etc. It won't be easy for AB going forward as most people think. A srecently as 18 months ago he's displayed the ability to go for periods over a year without form. So don't forget that. You run the risk of calling up this thread many years later and sounding stupid to yourself when he winds up with a 46 odd average in Tests&ODIs.
