Random things you may not know

[aussie tragic]

Please let us know of anything special in cricket that may not be well known...

Some examples to start...

George Headley would have had a Test average of 66.71 if he didn't play after his last pre-war test in 1939. He had 3 Tests after WW2 scoring 29, 17* and 2 in 1948 at 39 years old and then 16 and 1 in 1954 as a 45 year old, therefore dropping his average to 60.83 (fractionally below 2nd best ever Pollock at 60.97)

Allan Border averaged 70.44 after his first 6 Tests, meanwhile his captain was Kim Hughes who had played 12 Tests with an average of 29.90 (Kim Hughes was appointed captain after 10 Tests with an average of 27.00 - is the lowest average of an Australian batsman made captain ever?)

After 25 Tests, Ian Botham had 1336 runs @ 40.48 and 139 wkts @ 18.52... is the best all-round record ever in their first 25 Tests?

Please add more

 

[mr_mister]

was i the inspiration for that Headley stat? lol glad i sparked something in you

 

[mr_mister]

on the subject of people starting their careers good/bad(and I don't think that Border stat is that impressive really) I know a lot of this forum already know about Hussey, Kambli and of course Voges now. And they probably know about Jimmy Adams too, but I find it remarkable.

This is a guy nobody considers to be more than an 'okay' batsman these days and many consider his average of 40 to flatter him. Yes it's said he was never the same after he was struck by a bouncer, and it's true. It's a little sad that he could only manage 2 more tons in his final 6 years as test batsman to add to the 4 he got in his first 14 tests. And it's very sad that it was his head on the chopping block after the 00-01 series drubbing at the hands of Australia and that he never played test cricket again despite only being 30 or so

But at one point in his career, after 14 tests, the man averaged 86.40. If he had stopped playing for whatever reason at that time he'd go down in history as one of the next best after Bradman, with people always saying 'what if'

 

[aussie tragic]

Another, Geoff Boycott played 36 ODIs.

In his first 18 games, he scored 235 runs @ 16.78 with a strike rate of 36.60

In his last 18 games, he may have figured out it's not Test cricket as he scored 847 runs @ 52.93 and SR of 61.61

 

[mr_mister]

another from me as well


easily Sri Lanka's two most prolific run scorers before the emergence of Sanga and Mahela around 2000, Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda De Silva had nearly their entire playing career crossover. And they both passed 50 a total of 42 times each in their 18 year careers(82-00 and 84-02). They both played exactly 93 tests too. Sadly Arjuna had one of the worst conversion ratios in cricket, turning only 4 of these 42 into 100s and leaving himself with 38 half centuries. Mr Blue Balls he is colloquially known as(by me as of now)

Aravinda had an amazing ratio on the other hand and turned 20 of his 42 into centuries, nearly every second time he reached 50 he went on with it. The difference is clear in their averages and reputations with nobody considering Arjuna as good as Aravinda

 

[aussie tragic]

was i the inspiration for that Headley stat? lol glad i sparked something in you

Yes Mate, I always knew about Headley but didn't know he played 3 random Tests after WW2 which chopped 6 runs off his average

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

Tony Dodemaide once ate nine BBQ chicken pizzas in one sitting.

 

[mr_mister]

read that as one shitting

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

Lee Germon was born in the town of Mongo in Chad.

 

[aussie tragic]

on the subject of people starting their careers good/bad(and I don't think that Border stat is that impressive really) I know a lot of this forum already know about Hussey, Kambli and of course Voges now. And they probably know about Jimmy Adams too, but I find it remarkable.

This is a guy nobody considers to be more than an 'okay' batsman these days and many consider his average of 40 to flatter him. Yes it's said he was never the same after he was struck by a bouncer, and it's true. It's a little sad that he could only manage 2 more tons in his final 6 years as test batsman to add to the 4 he got in his first 14 tests. And it's very sad that it was his head on the chopping block after the 00-01 series drubbing at the hands of Australia and that he never played test cricket again despite only being 30 or so

But at one point in his career, after 14 tests, the man averaged 86.40. If he had stopped playing for whatever reason at that time he'd go down in history as one of the next best after Bradman, with people always saying 'what if'

He may have averaged 86.40 after 14 Tests, but his next 40 Tests he averaged only 29.58, so not hard to see why he was dropped. When was he hit by the bouncer as 1995 in Australia was when he started to suck a little

 

[mr_mister]

yeah I know all that and I know he didn't deliver in the long run. But if he had stopped playing for whatever reason when he was the number 1 ranked batsman and averaging in the mid 80s he would be remembered in a total different light. you'd see people clamouring to pick him in the draft threads here that i know for sure

 

[aussie tragic]

Tony Dodemaide once ate nine BBQ chicken pizzas in one sitting.

Unless there is youtube evidence, I don't believe it ..Merv Hughes, Shane Warne or Mark Cosgrove I may believe without youtube

 

[aussie tragic]

on the subject of people starting their careers good/bad(and I don't think that Border stat is that impressive really) I know a lot of this forum already know about Hussey, Kambli and of course Voges now. And they probably know about Jimmy Adams too, but I find it remarkable.

The quote about Border was more about Kim Hughes. While I know WSC was the reason, Kim Hughes being made captain of Australia with slightly better than a Mike Brearley average was a surprise to me (Kim Hughes is one of my favourite batsmen btw, just not at that time)

 

[aussie tragic]

Michael Slater could have been one of the greatest openers ever if he didn't have a 90's phobia...he was dismissed 9 times in the 90's out of 74 innings...at 12.2 % of innings completed, I think this is the highest ratio of any batsman?

Note: Alvin Kallicharran may be next best/worst at 10.6% (7 in 66 innings)

 

[mr_mister]

Speaking of Lee Germon

Germon scored 70 runs off one over when he faced Robert Vance's "no ball" over on 20 February 1990. The incident took place on the final day of Wellington's Shell Trophy match against Canterbury in Christchurch. It was Wellington's last game of the season and they needed to win to ensure that they secured the title. On the final morning they declared their second innings, leaving Canterbury to chase 291 in what turned out to be 59 overs.
Canterbury lost early wickets, and as John Morrison, the former New Zealand batsman and at the time Wellington's coach, later said, they "put the shutters up very early in a run-chase that was very feasible and we just couldn't remove them in the normal way".
Although Canterbury had looked set to lose when they slumped to 108 for 8, Lee Germon and Roger Ford had stopped the rot and seemed set to hold out for a draw.
Although when the penultimate over started Canterbury were eight wickets down, Germon, was still in and on strike. Morrison and Erv McSweeney, Wellington's captain-wicketkeeper, made a plan and Bert Vance, the New Zealand batsman who was nearing the end of his career and so had no bowling figures of any note to worry about, agreed to help them.
The idea was to feed Canterbury enough runs so that they would get close enough to the target and then perhaps risk their last two wickets going for glory. They began the over on 196 for 8 with Germon 75 not out.
Vance proceeded to bowl a succession of no-balls, and of his first 17 deliveries only one – the second – was legitimate. Full-tosses were repeatedly thrown down from two or three yards down the track – "Bert overdid it somewhat," recalled Morrison – and each one was cracked to the boundary past motionless fielders.
Germon brought up his hundred off the sixth ball, and in all he took 70 off the over, including eight sixes and five fours. Ford faced two balls midway through and scored five.
77 runs in all were conceded in the over of full tosses, which contained 17 no-balls and owing to the umpire's miscalculation, only five legitimate deliveries.
Off the pitch, the scorers and scoreboard operators lost track of what was happening and at one point resorted to consulting with spectators to try to resolve the chaos. Even the umpire was left confused, only allowing five legitimate deliveries before calling an end to proceedings.
The situation had not been resolved when Evan Gray bowled the final over. Unbeknown to both sides, Canterbury had moved to within 18 of victory, and another 17 from Germon off the first five balls levelled the scores.
But with the scoreboard rendered inactive as the scorers still battled to make sense of Vance's over, Ford blocked the last delivery of the match. Only when the players returned to their changing rooms did the position become clear.[10]
This has not been considered an official record, since it was achieved under contrived circumstances. It appears as a footnote in the official wisden records.

 

[aussie tragic]

I'm sure no one knows this...my mate who is 6'4" was a professional bouncer and we were drinking lots at a Qld-NSW match at Newcastle 1984 - Greg Matthews walked past greeting the crowd with a spiked haircut and punk attitude and my Mate called him a wanker...Matthews actually stopped and considered fighting him...total respect for Matthews after that moment and I noticed his batting ability increased considerably after that...maybe he realised life is short so make the most of it

Note: I also think Matthews would have made a great no. 6 batsman (averaged 41) who bowls a bit rather than filling a spin bowler role.

 

[mr_mister]

yeah i've always felt confidence and happiness with your life outside of cricket was a huge part of batting

 

[aussie tragic]

Herb Sutcliffe holds the record for the highest ever lowest batting average of 60.73, yes this was his lowest average ever which was in his last Test and is much more impressive than those early Test bright sparks

 

[mr_mister]

so what he hovered around the 60 mark his whole damn career? What a legendary player

There is literally no reason for him to not be included in the conversation about best after Bradman except for the fact his long term batting partner Hobbs seemed a more interesting character and was possibly more exciting to watch bat.

Stastically, Herb is an ATG

 

[mr_mister]

he's what Statham was to Trueman. Statistically just as impressive, if not more so, but not as flashy and so not as fondly remembered