The sport has seen many great individuals since its inception, and I am going to shortlist the 10 best players to have ever played the game. I’ll also need your help to figure out who is the real GOAT of the game. 

Players currently playing any form of cricket whether international or domestic  formats are not under consideration as the statistics would be skewed mainly due to recency bias as well as the addition of newer rules, format (T20i) and enhanced equipments. 

1. Sir Donald Bradman: Regarded as the Don of cricket, he made his International debut for Australia in 1927. An illustrious 22 year career saw him scoring 6,996 runs in the game’s oldest format, test cricket. He played 52 test matches in his entire career. The record that has always set him apart from many is his average of 99.94, the second highest average being 61.87. This tells you about the greatness of the man. His cricket was one aspect, as he was very well known to be a man of integrity. He played in an era where the pitches were not covered, and you didn’t’t know what to expect from it. He still went about his business and finished with 29 test centuries in 1949. 

Sir Garfield Sobers: The West Indies all rounder could do anything on a cricket field. He made his debut in 1952 and retired in 1974. He scored 8,032 test runs at an average of 57.78, and also picked up 235 test wickets at an average of 34.03. One of the most complete players to have ever played the game. A cricketer who was popular for always giving his 100% on the field, and a role model for all youngsters at that time. The ICC Cricketer of the year trophy is also known as Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy.

Sir Viv Richards: The greatest entertainer the game has ever seen. Sir Viv was way ahead of his time, and would certainly give sleepless nights to bowlers across the globe. He made his debut in 1974, and that’s when cricket had a new baby, ODI cricket. The newest format needed new superstars, and Sir Viv was always there. In his 17 year long career, he scored over 15,000 International runs, and more importantly, won 2 world cups for West Indies. It is also believed that when he came out to bat, the battle wasn’t between him and the bowler, the real battle was between him and his chewing gum. He was the king without a crown, but with a bat in his hand.

Wasim Akram: Pakistan’s Sultan of Swing made his debut in 1985 and finished his career with over 900 wickets. The left arm seamer was a magician, and is also a 1992 world cup winner. He is undoubtedly the greatest left arm pacer the world has seen. He could do unimaginable things with the ball. He was fierce on the field, and his partnership with Waqar Younis is one of the deadliest in cricket history. He could swing the ball both ways, had pace, could bowl leg and off cutters. He is just the most complete fast bowler by a distance.

Sachin Tendulkar: 15 November, 1989 was a very special day as a 16 year old boy was making his international debut. At that age, many of us didn’t even know how to buckle up our trousers properly, and this guy was debuting the Sultan of Swing in his own backyard. The world took notice instantly, and everyone knew that a star is born today. In his 24 year career for India, Sachin scored over 34,000 international runs, which is still a record. He became the only person to score 100 international centuries, a record unlikely to be broken. He played 6 world cups, and finally became a world champion in his last one. He is regarded as the God of Cricket, and he is surely the sole reason for cricket’s global popularity. He was the one who brought money into cricket. He started endorsing products, and because of his popularity, the broadcasting rights would bring in a lot of money. Its safe to say that he was the first superstar the game had seen. He was also honoured with the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour. 

Shane Warne: At first there were nerves and chubbiness. Then came wild soaring leg breaks, followed by fame and flippers. He finished his career with 1,001 international wickets. The greatest leg spinner the world has ever seen. His ball that bamboozled  Mike Gatting in 1993, bouncing outside leg stump and cuffing off, is unanimously esteemed the most famous in history. He revived leg spin, thought to be extinct, and is now pre-eminent in a game so transformed that we sometimes wonder where the next champion fast bowlers will come from. 

Muttiah Muralitharan: The wizard of the Emerald Isle. A wizard who spun magic without a wand in hand, Muttiah Muralitharan‘s exploits at the International level will never ever be forgotten. The champion bowler from Sri Lanka went on to become the first cricketer ever to pick 1000 wickets in International cricket and only one person named Shane Warne emulated that feat at this level. He made his debut in 1992, and ended up as the highest wicket taker in cricket history, taking 1,347 wickets. Muralitharan was also known for his sportsmanship and is one of those cricketers who is universally admired. Despite all the adversities he faced because of his action, he ensured his performances did the talking and boy, they delivered quite a staggering output.

Glenn McGrath: The young Glenn McGrath was described by Mike Whitney as “thin – but Ambrose-thin, not Bruce Reid-thin”. Much later, Mike Atherton compared McGrath to Ambrose on a vaster scale. Catapulted from the outback of New South Wales into Test cricket to replace Merv Hughes in 1993, McGrath became the greatest Australian fast bowler of his time. He went on to beat Courtney Walsh’s 519 wickets in the 2005 Super Test to become the leading wicket-taker among fast bowlers and his claim to the title of Australia’s greatest fast man is contested only by Dennis Lillee. McGrath’s USP was an unremitting off-stump line and an immaculate length. He gained off-cut and bounce, specialised in the opposition’s biggest wickets and he was unafraid to back himself publicly in these key duels.

Ricky Ponting: Ricky Ponting, the most uncompromising player of his generation, grew into Australia’s most successful run-maker and only sits below Bradman in the country’s overall ratings. It took an extremely critical eye to diminish his run-scoring achievements, which seem to collect new records in every series. Like spotting a celebrity, it’s necessary to look twice when analysing Ponting, first as the archetypal modern batsman, then as the world’s most successful captain. He has won 2 world cups as a captain, a feat only achieved by Clive Lloyd before him. He was a passionate leader of undoubtedly the greatest cricket team ever. He scored over 27,000 international runs along with 71 international centuries. Only Sachin Tendulkar has more. 

Jacques Kallis: No batsman prized his wicket more highly, and no wicket in all of cricket was more highly prized. Jacques Kallis was the broad-shouldered colossus of the South African team, a figure whose looming presence inspired calm in some and dread in others. Kallis was a fine, forceful batsman who had at his disposal both a rock-solid technique and a mind impervious to distraction. Though his role as a bowler diminished with each passing season, he will be remembered as a  purveyor of sometimes surprising pace and swing, and awkward bounce. In the slips, his sure-handedness and rattlesnake reflexes make ridiculous catches look regulation. He finished his career with over 25,000 international runs and almost 600 international wickets. He was one of the most complete cricketers of all time.

According to the knowledge I have of the game, these are the 10 best cricketers to have ever played the game of cricket. This is where the tough part begins. I would like to know that in your opinion who among these 10 is the real GOAT of cricket. Please leave your answers in the comments section. Thank you for your patience and cooperation. 

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7MARK033

INDIVIDUAL BLOG POST

ADIT RAAJ GUPTA

W1847111

Social Media Listening

SAGG Foundation Social Media Audit

Sponsor A Gambian Girl (SAGG Foundation) is a non profit organisation which tries to educate girls in Gambia and bring about equality in the country. It is an organisation which tries to raise money from potential donors for the benefit of Gambian girls.

The social media reach of the SAGG foundation across the 4 major platforms is divided unequally.

They have 3000 followers on Facebook, 1660 on Instagram, 536 on LinkedIn, and 176 on Twitter. 

All the posts across platforms are same and have been posted at the same time as well. These 4 platforms are very different and the audiences they target is also very different. For example: Facebook is more for older people and Instagram has more appeal towards the younger generations.  

It is the earning people that are likely to donate more towards the foundation. Hence, we will look at people aged 25 and more and which platforms they are most likely to use. These are the people who are making a living for themselves and also want to make this place a better world.

Platforms used by people aged 25 or above:

• Facebook: 79.6%
• Instagram: 61.3%
• Linkedin: 83.8%
• Twitter: 67%

The content posted by the foundation is very informative, which keeps their followers interested. The post frequency is not the best, as on certain days they post multiple times, whereas on other days they do not post at all.Their major social media reach is in African countries, where people are not earning as much as they do in UK or the US. 

Assessment of Competitors’ Social Media Presence

The competitors that will be focused on are:

• Goal For The Gambia 
• Prospect For Girls

These 2 foundations are quite similar to SAGG foundation, as they also focus on equality by providing education to young girls in Gambia.

Goal For The Gambia has its presence on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. They have 2000 followers on Facebook, 72 on Instagram, 905 on Twitter and are not present on LinkedIn. Their last post on Instagram was in 2019, hence they have shifted all their focus on Facebook and Twitter. The posts on both the platforms are same, and they too don’t post frequently enough. The content on their pages is less informative and more about what they have been doing. This is helpful in some aspects, but is not insightful enough.

Prospect For Girls is present only on Instagram and Twitter. They have 267 followers on Instagram and 145 on Twitter. Their reach is not even close to that of the SAGG foundation. Their content on both the pages is also very similar, and again, they too do not have the best post frequency.

Industry Social Trends

The pandemic came and changed our lives forever, but now post the pandemic, social media has only grown and will become more and more important for everyone, especially the charity industry. Charities around the globe are trying to increase focus on social media to improve social etiquette. They are becoming aware of what to post and when to post in order to build a social media strategy.  Majority of the charities have adopted a blanket model, they want to post on all platforms, which does not ensure personalised content.

Charities have focused on classic social media platforms for far too long, they need to adapt to newer channels, which brings together a new audience altogether.  TikTok and Snapchat have not been given the credit they deserve. Charities should try and diversify their style of social media marketing, and be prevalent on these platforms. 

Large charities have started to show interest in emerging social media platforms, and the smaller ones should do the same. This will be very effective in the years to come. Charities have started looking towards Artificial Intelligence (AI) for raising donations. It will increase efficiency and processing speed for the organisations. This can well and truly be the future for SAGG Foundation.

 Social Media Goals

From the data that has been shown above, there are certain things that SAGG Foundation can improve in their social media marketing. They should not focus on all 4 platforms that they are currently using, instead focus only on Facebook and LinkedIn as these are the platforms that have  a high number of people aged above 25, and it is these people who are likely to donate large sums of money. At the same time, the foundation should also focus on emerging channels like TikTok, Snapchat, Clubhouse and others, as they are the future for social media marketing. 

Artificial Intelligence for donations can be a long term goal for the SAGG Foundation as it will become part of our lives in a matter of few years. The content should be posted more often and on a regular basis. The content should not only be informative, but also engaging. This is a time when people are hooked to reels and short videos, this is one way for them to go forward. They should regularly post content regarding their day to day operations. 

The social audio market is one for the future, which can be seen with the number of people engaging themselves on Clubhouse, Facebook’s live audio, Twitter Spaces, and Spotify’s Greenroom.

SAGG Foundation knows what their target audience is and should try to meet them on social media platforms which are used by them. This ensures connectivity with your potential donors and can be very helpful in the long run. The Foundation should also try and increase its reach in countries like UK and USA, as people here are making more money on average, and are more likely to donate towards the cause.

In conclusion, one can say that there are few things that the organisation is doing right in terms of social media marketing, but there are many things they are not doing right. With time, they should look to improve these aspects and come out as a better organisation for all its potential donors.

REFERENCES:

Figure 1: Napoleoncat.com. 2020. Facebook users in United Kingdom – January 2020. [online] Available at: <https://napoleoncat.com/stats/facebook-users-in-united_kingdom/2020/01/> [Accessed 29 March 2022].

Figure 2: McLachlan, S., 2022. Instagram Demographics in 2022: Most Important User Stats for Marketers. [online] Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard. Available at: <https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-demographics/> [Accessed 29 March 2022].

Figure 3: Pokrop, J., 2019. LinkedIn users in the US, UK and Canada. [online] Napoleoncat.com. Available at: <https://napoleoncat.com/blog/linkedin-users-us-uk-canada/> [Accessed 29 March 2022].

Figure 4: Sehl, K., 2019. Top Twitter Demographics That Matter to Social Media Marketers. [online] Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard. Available at: <https://blog.hootsuite.com/twitter-demographics/> [Accessed 29 March 2022].

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