30 Test hundreds

[Furball]

Pretty sure it's the 2nd best run of 52 Tests after Bradman.

 

[GotSpin]

He always looked like he was going to come back and hit a big run of form but never really averaged more than low 40s for any of the years after 06/07. It was seriously frustrating watching his average free fall from high 50s to under 52 when he retired.

He had a gigantic run of form between about 00 to 07 where you were always surprised when he didn't hit a ton and averaged around 75 in those years. His poor start and the long tail of his career will forever statistically mask just how monstrous he was in his glory days.

Yeah he still showed glimpses of the old punter but he kept finding ways to get out. I remember a particularly frustrating series in India where he just butchered a number of starts.

I think it just defines how unselfish ponting was.

He could have easily retired and padded his stats but instead he stuck around when we desperately needed someone with his experience

 

[stephen]

I think if he had have retired at age 35 he would have been considered Tendulkar's equal and Lara's superior. With the extra years it's easy to remember him as inferior to both. In reality he had a better peak than either of them, Tendulkar had the best longevity and Lara played the most big innings. I think Tendulkar clearly had the best career of the three while Lara and Ponting weren't far behind. Kallis and Sangakkara round out the big 5 of the era and weren't far behind the big 3 in terms of output. Dravid, Hayden and Sehwag weren't that far behind them either. Such a great era of batting.

If I were asked to pick one for my local club side it would be Kallis though. It's hard to deny the impact of having a guy who has taken a couple of hundred wickets at test match level who is also an all time great with the bat, even if he wasn't quite as good as the top 3.

I think Kallis' legend will grow over the years as more people reflect on just how good he was. Behind perhaps Sobers and maybe Miller/Imran as an allrounder, he certainly is one of the most talented cricketers the world has ever seen.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Saying he would've been considered greater if he'd retired earlier is neither here nor there since it happens to a lot of players to some extent. And many of them have had similar records after playing that many tests.

Tendulkar :

After 112 tests: 9458 runs @ 58.4
After 177(!) tests: 14692 runs @ 57

Dravid:
After 104 tests: 9049 runs @ 58.8

Sobers:
After 82 tests: 7386 runs @60.04

 

[Howe_zat]

Hobbs averaged 61 after 50 tests and 20 years in the game, at a time when all the other top run test scorers in history averaged in the 30s.

 

[AndrewB]

Ponting had the best average for any batsman after 100+ Tests, but not by much:

59.99 after 107 matches: Ponting
58.95 after 127 matches: Sangakkara
58.76 after 104 matches: Dravid
58.46 after 103 matches: Tendulkar
58.21 after 111 matches: Kallis

Drop the requirement to 80+ Tests and Hammond and Sobers are top.

The top scorers in any stretch of 52 Tests are:

6996: Bradman
6004: Ponting
5780: Sangakkara
5667: Lara
5574: Sobers

Regarding the "unselfish" comment - are there any obvious examples of players who've retired to protect their averages, despite still being worth a place in the team?

 

[indiaholic]

Sanga

 

[Burner]

Phear emoticon unwarranted. It was **** that he retired when the series was on the line or was it decided beforehand? Either way should have atleast played the whole series.

 

[Furball]

Could SLC have afforded to pay him for the full series?

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Regarding the "unselfish" comment - are there any obvious examples of players who've retired to protect their averages, despite still being worth a place in the team?

Swann - managed to keep his bowling average under 30!

 

[Adders]

Bit harsh to say that was why he retired.......bloke was broken.

Didn't agree with how he left the tour but he was definately ****ed.

 

[GotSpin]

Kallis?

 

[Fuller Pilch]

If only the Don had faked an injury before that last test in 1948.

Average would've been 101.4

 

[TestMatch]

The thing about Ponting though, was that he flourished big time when it seemed like all the great bowlers had retired. The only established great around was probably Murali, and Ponting struggled vs him. I know he averaged in the 20s when Steyn played too. I suppose he did well vs Flintoff/Anderson.

 

[morgieb]

The thing about Ponting though, was that he flourished big time when it seemed like all the great bowlers had retired. The only established great around was probably Murali, and Ponting struggled vs him. I know he averaged in the 20s when Steyn played too. I suppose he did well vs Flintoff/Anderson.

Yeah, clearly struggling.

 

[Spark]

Yeah odd call there tbh.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Ponting in Mark Howard's podcast was interesting, talked about how he knew he'd probably reached his peak in 2006 at his 100th Test, that things on a personal note wouldn't get much better.

 

[TheJediBrah]

The thing about Ponting though, was that he flourished big time when it seemed like all the great bowlers had retired. The only established great around was probably Murali, and Ponting struggled vs him. I know he averaged in the 20s when Steyn played too. I suppose he did well vs Flintoff/Anderson.

weird post all-round

 

[GotSpin]

Ponting in Mark Howard's podcast was interesting, talked about how he knew he'd probably reached his peak in 2006 at his 100th Test, that things on a personal note wouldn't get much better.

The guy is such a champion

 

[OverratedSanity]

weird post all-round

Not to mention inaccurate. Ponting did perfectly fine when facing Steyn. His 100 and 99 vs SA in 2008 came in the same match Steyn took 10 to win the series...great knocks. No way he averages 20s vs him.