New Feature: The Greatest Test Innings

[Days of Grace]

Revised ratings after adding in a point-of-entry/top 5 wickets index, and making slight adjustments to the mulipliers.

1 B.C. Lara 153* Australia Bridgetown 1999 Won 25.57
2 I.T. Botham 149* Australia Leeds 1981 Won 25.52
3 G.A. Gooch 154* West Indies Leeds 1991 Won 25.32
4 C. Bannerman 165* England Melbourne 1877 Won 24.14
5 V.V.S. Laxman 281 Australia Kolkata 2001 Won 23.61
6 D.G. Bradman 270 England Melbourne 1937 Won 23.03
7 C.G. Greenidge 134 England Manchester 1976 Won 22.26
8 S.T. Jayasuriya 253 Pakistan Faisalabad 2004 Won 22.17
9 C. Hill 188 England Melbourne 1898 Won 22.05
10 Azhar Mahmood 132 South Africa Durban 1998 Won 22.02
11 V.V.S. Laxman 167 Australia Sydney 2000 Lost 21.90
12 S.J. McCabe 232 England Nottingham 1938 Draw 21.63
13 G.L. Jessop 104 Australia The Oval 1902 Won 21.32
14 V. Sehwag 201* Sri Lanka Galle 2008 Won 21.16
15 D.L. Amiss 262* West Indies Kingston 1974 Draw 20.82
16 Saeed Anwar 188 India Kolkata 1999 Won 20.64
17 B.C. Lara 213 Australia Kingston 1999 Won 20.57
18 K.J. Hughes 100* West Indies Melbourne 1981 Won 20.25
19 C.L. Walcott 220 England Bridgetown 1954 Won 20.12
20 R. Dravid 233 Australia Adelaide 2003 Won 20.10
21 G.S. Chappell 176 New Zealand Christchurch 1982 Won 20.05
22 Inzamam-ul-Haq 329 New Zealand Lahore 2002 Won 20.04
23 H.P. Tillekaratne 115 Pakistan Faisalabad 1995 Won 19.92
24 M.J. Slater 123 England Sydney 1999 Won 19.82
25 V. Sehwag 319 South Africa Chennai 2008 Draw 19.64
26 Asif Iqbal 146 England The Oval 1967 Lost 19.47
27 Mohammad Wasim 192 Zimbabwe Harare 1998 Won 19.38
28 K.C. Sangakkara 156* New Zealand Wellington 2006 Won 19.35
29 P.F. Warner 132* South Africa Johannesburg 1899 Won 19.32
30 R.E. Foster 287 Australia Sydney 1903 Won 19.12
31 D.G. Bradman 334 England Leeds 1930 Draw 19.00
32 D.G. Bradman 299* South Africa Adelaide 1932 Won 18.97
33 S.M. Gavaskar 221 England The Oval 1979 Draw 18.92
34 G.M. Turner 223* West Indies Kingston 1972 Draw 18.92
35 G.C. Smith 154* England Birmingham 2008 Won 18.91
36 N. Kapil Dev 129 South Africa Port Elizabeth 1992 Lost 18.90
37 S.M. Gavaskar 236* West Indies Madras 1983 Draw 18.79
38 A.C. Gilchrist 149* Pakistan Hobart 1999 Won 18.64
39 O.G. Smith 168 England Nottingham 1957 Draw 18.57
40 V.T. Trumper 159 South Africa Melbourne 1911 Won 18.56
41 M.E. Trescothick 180 South Africa Johannesburg 2005 Won 18.45
42 D.G. Bradman 103* England Melbourne 1933 Won 18.33
43 N.J. Astle 222 England Christchurch 2002 Lost 18.17
44 G. Kirsten 100* Pakistan Faisalabad 1997 Won 18.04
45 C.L. Cairns 80 England The Oval 1999 Won 18.02
46 W.R. Hammond 231 Australia Sydney 1936 Won 18.00
47 Hanif Mohammad 337 West Indies Bridgetown 1958 Draw 17.97
48 M.A. Butcher 173* Australia Leeds 2001 Won 17.92
49 Kamran Akmal 113 India Karachi 2006 Won 17.90
50 G.R. Viswanath 97* West Indies Madras 1975 Won 17.84
51 D.G. Bradman 304 England Leeds 1934 Draw 17.80
52 W.R. Hammond 336* New Zealand Auckland 1933 Draw 17.79
53 B.C. Lara 226 Australia Adelaide 2005 Lost 17.77
54 D.L. Amiss 179 India Delhi 1976 Won 17.76
55 Hanif Mohammad 187 England Lord's 1967 Draw 17.70
56 B. Mitchell 164* England Lord's 1935 Won 17.65
57 D.I. Gower 154* West Indies Kingston 1981 Draw 17.60
58 G.S. Sobers 168 Australia Sydney 1961 Won 17.48
59 G.A. Headley 270* England Kingston 1935 Won 17.46
60 R.G. Pollock 125 England Nottingham 1965 Won 17.44
61 L. Hutton 205 West Indies Kingston 1954 Won 17.30
62 G.J. Bonnor 128 England Sydney 1885 Won 17.29
63 G.R. Viswanath 114 Australia Melbourne 1981 Won 17.27
64 A.R. Border 163 India Melbourne 1985 Draw 17.25
65 J. Ryder 201* England Adelaide 1925 Won 17.22
66 D.G. Bradman 212 England Adelaide 1937 Won 17.18
67 G.P. Thorpe 200* New Zealand Christchurch 2003 Won 17.18
68 Inzamam-ul-Haq 138* Bangladesh Multan 2001 Won 17.18
69 P.S. McDonnell 147 England Sydney 1882 Won 17.11
70 M.C. Cowdrey 102 Australia Melbourne 1954 Won 17.09
71 C.G. Greenidge 213 New Zealand Auckland 1987 Won 17.08
72 B.F. Butcher 133 England Lord's 1963 Draw 17.03
73 A.M.J. Hilditch 113 West Indies Melbourne 1984 Draw 16.93
74 M.E. Waugh 116 South Africa Port Elizabeth 1997 Won 16.93
75 J.V. Coney 111* Pakistan Dunedin 1985 Won 16.93
76 D.J. McGlew 255* New Zealand Wellington 1953 Won 16.91
77 C.G. Greenidge 214* England Lord's 1984 Won 16.90
78 R.G. Pollock 274 Australia Durban 1970 Won 16.88
79 D.C.S. Compton 278 Pakistan Nottingham 1954 Won 16.79
80 D.N. Sardesai 212 West Indies Kingston 1971 Draw 16.77
81 M.A. Taylor 144 West Indies St. John's 1991 Won 16.73
82 C.H. Lloyd 161* India Calcutta 1983 Won 16.71
83 K.D. Walters 104* New Zealand Auckland 1974 Won 16.67
84 W.W. Armstrong 159* South Africa Johannesburg 1902 Won 16.63
85 Inzamam-ul-Haq 95 South Africa Johannesburg 1995 Lost 16.62
86 L. Hutton 364 Australia The Oval 1938 Won 16.61
87 G.R. Viswanath 124 West Indies Chennai 1979 Won 16.56
88 A. Flintoff 73 Australia Birmingham 2005 Won 16.52
89 Aamer Sohail 133 Australia Karachi 1998 Draw 16.49
90 J.B. Hobbs 93* South Africa Johannesburg 1910 Won 16.44
91 M.G. Burgess 119* Pakistan Dacca 1969 Draw 16.44
92 G.S. Chappell 182* West Indies Sydney 1976 Won 16.40
93 M.J. Greatbatch 146* Australia Perth 1989 Draw 16.36
94 C.H. Gayle 333 Sri Lanka Galle 2010 Draw 16.35
95 K.P. Pietersen 142 Sri Lanka Birmingham 2006 Won 16.32
96 D.P.M.D. Jayawardene 374 South Africa Colombo 2006 Won 16.31
97 M.A. Atherton 185* South Africa Johannesburg 1995 Draw 16.27
98 Moin Khan 117* Sri Lanka Sialkot 1995 Lost 16.20
99 V.V.S. Laxman 96 South Africa Durban 2010 Won 16.15
100 R.G. Pollock 209 Australia Cape Town 1967 Lost 16.14

 

[Days of Grace]

This is really fascinating -- thanks

I'm surprised to see no mention of Viv Richards -- can you do his three innings that were in the Wisden list?

192 Delhi 1974 2nd Test: India v West Indies at Delhi, Dec 11-15, 1974 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo

291 The Oval 1976 5th Test: England v West Indies at The Oval, Aug 12-17, 1976 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo

182 Bridgetown 1981 3rd Test: West Indies v England at Bridgetown, Mar 13-18, 1981 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo

192 at Delhi: 14.54
291 at The Oval: 14.63
182* at Bridgetown: 15.04

 

[Days of Grace]

I estimate if Sanga bats Sri Lanka to a draw today that his innings will make the top 100.

Will be interesting to see my formula working in a live situation.

 

[hang on]

dog,

speaking of sanga's current knock, of the memorable rearguards of recent times - gambhir in nz, ponting in 05, in particular - which one is the highest rated (but does not make the list) ie what kinds of points do they get?

 

[miscer]

i hope the point of entry addition does not penalize openers now because that would be unfair as well. unless ofcourse there is some variable that includes number of wickets that fall while you're on strike (so openers who carry the bat get added bonus to make up for the point of entry problem).

saying this because i noticed anwar and sehwag's knocks go down.

 

[Days of Grace]

It is basically a measure of what the score was when the 3rd/4th/5th wicket went down.

So, as an opener, if you were around when the score was 20/3, then you would get points.

It penalises openers if they had strong support at the top of the order, i.e. Sehwag's double vs. Sri Lanka.

 

[Ikki]

DoG, how about this ton by Hayden?

Batted 7 hours in unforgiving heat, and scored more than than opposition's two innings combined. Also scored almost 40% of his team's runs.

 

[sumantra]

how does dravid's 270 vs pak and 190 vs n.z rank in this?

 

[Redbacks]

Phil Hughes

115 & 160 in this game would be intersting
2nd Test: South Africa v Australia at Durban, Mar 6-10, 2009 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo

 

[Burgey]

Still cannot fathom the Botham 149. The bloke came I with his side losing and basically had a slog and got away with it. I mean, isn't that part of the context of these things?

 

[Spark]

DoG, how about this ton by Hayden?

Batted 7 hours in unforgiving heat, and scored more than than opposition's two innings combined. Also scored almost 40% of his team's runs.

I don't think those things would be taken into account tbh. What it'd see is a ton in a thumping.

 

[ankitj]

Yeah, heat was affecting the bowling side too, so it cancels out.

 

[Days of Grace]

dog,

speaking of sanga's current knock, of the memorable rearguards of recent times - gambhir in nz, ponting in 05, in particular - which one is the highest rated (but does not make the list) ie what kinds of points do they get?

Ponting 15.05
Sangakkara 14.85
Gambhir 6.32

DoG, how about this ton by Hayden?

Batted 7 hours in unforgiving heat, and scored more than than opposition's two innings combined. Also scored almost 40% of his team's runs.

11.94

how does dravid's 270 vs pak and 190 vs n.z rank in this?

Phil Hughes

115 & 160 in this game would be intersting
2nd Test: South Africa v Australia at Durban, Mar 6-10, 2009 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo

115: 10.20
160: 11.63

Still cannot fathom the Botham 149. The bloke came I with his side losing and basically had a slog and got away with it. I mean, isn't that part of the context of these things?

There is just no way to quantify such things, apart from adding mulipliers for the state of the match and the stage of the innings when he started batting.

It is without a doubt one of the. if not the most unlikely of victories every in test cricket. Whether he went for an ugly slog (was there any other way), or played a delightfully classical innings cannot really be added to a quantitative analysis.

 

[hang on]

thanks for the calcs.

 

[ankitj]

Days of Grace: I was wondering if it is not too much effort, it would be interesting to see the average points earned by centuries for all leading batsmen (may be those with >10 centuries). Thought came to my mind while looking at Sehwag today, he might figure quite high in terms of average value of a century considering how dominant his hundreds are.

 

[Days of Grace]

It may take some time, lad. Rating one innings takes me about 5-10 minutes on average.

But I will spoon-feed them to you one-by-one.

 

[robelinda]

Greg Blewett's 214....we have to know where this great innings stands!

 

[ankitj]

It may take some time, lad. Rating one innings takes me about 5-10 minutes on average.

But I will spoon-feed them to you one-by-one.

Don't bother if it's too much effort. Let's get on with more important things in life

 

[Satguru]

VVS's 167 too high for me... Great knock for sure,but dont see how it got to 11th of all time based on the calculation especially since it was a loss, and Sachin 136 at Chennai is rated far far below it. Sachin got 136 out of the 258 total which comes to 53% of the total, VVS got 167 out of 261 which is 63 %... not a massive difference really to justify VVS's 167 being at 11 and SRT's 136 not even in the top 100.

 

[Furball]

VVS's 167 too high for me... Great knock for sure,but dont see how it got to 11th of all time based on the calculation especially since it was a loss, and Sachin 136 at Chennai is rated far far below it. Sachin got 136 out of the 258 total which comes to 53% of the total, VVS got 167 out of 261 which is 63 %... not a massive difference really to justify VVS's 167 being at 11 and SRT's 136 not even in the top 100.

63% of the team total vs 53% of the team total is an enormous difference.

I'd be interested in seeing where Clarke's knock ranks once this Test is done. Seems to tick a few of the boxes - 40/3 when he came in, scored his runs at a strike rate of over 90, has scored 50% of his team's runs so far.