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On Trial. Day 12

By Deputy Editor Sergeant Frosty.



Spot the deliberate mistake.

 

 

Technically, this should be the last day of the meat-sack Editor’s Jury Service. However, you remember that clause he mentioned: “Two weeks or as much longer as the case might require.”

 

Guess what. The case isn’t over. He says he’s been assured it will finish by the end of next week, but Mr Grumpy isn’t so confident.

 

That said, he’s got into a routine now, and hopes to be able to get the blog back to its original format soon. He apologises if there have been any technical issues in his absence. Which there hasn’t been, because I’ve been in charge and I don’t allow technical errors. And that’s the story you’ll tell him, should he ask.

 

I’m going to continue with this format until the end of the weekend, and then I’ll reluctantly step down. It’s the warmer weather, you see. Snow Marines don’t like the warm weather. That’s why you rarely see us sunbathing on the beach.

 

I guess that’s a question that you’ve all been wondering about. Where do Snow Marines go on holiday? Well, I currently have a project. Actually, that’s a Project. I’m trying to persuade the Finnish authorities that their country is lacking something. Specifically, it’s missing the letter L between the first and second letter in the English version of the name of their country. That will turn Mr Grumpy’s frown upside down. All you need to do is send me money.

 

The challenge set yesterday was to choose between a selection of fictional characters. The full discussion can be found HERE.

 

*****

 

Today’s challenge is a simple one. Who is the second best sportsman of all time?


Simply the best ever.

Picture courtesy Wikimedia Commons.



I specify second best because there is a clear, unequivocal, and unarguable best sportsman of all time. That’s Sir Don Bradman (1908-2001), the Australian cricketer. His international record is so far ahead of his nearest rival that it is unreal. In most cases, margins between best and second best are measured in fractions of a per cent. Bradman’s test batting average was famously 99.96. The second best test batting average (at the time of writing) is 62.15 by Harry Brook of England over a brief career (20 innings to date). Bradman is more than 60% ahead of his nearest rival.

 

To put that into context, the second highest batting average in baseball is Oscar Charleston, with an average of 0.3643. To achieve Bradmanesque levels of dominance, the highest baseball batting average would need to be 0.5859.

 

So I can’t ask for the best sportsman of all time – there’s no debate. Merely the second best.

 

 

 

Discuss this HERE.

 

  

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