CW's Top 50 Test Batsmen. 2022 Results

[Line and Length]

Firstly, my thanks @gftw for initiating the voting thread and thanks to all who contributed votes and comments. With voting and comments dwindling, it was felt we should stop at a final Top 50.

I have added stats to the list as a matter of interest and for discussion points and here is the list.

The List	Tests	Runs	Ave	Centuries	Most Usual position
1. Don Bradman	52	6996	99.94	29	3
2. Jack Hobbs	61	5410	56.95	15	Opener
3. Garry Sobers	93	8032	57.78	26	5 & 6
4. Sachin Tendulkar	200	15921	53.79	51	4
5. Viv Richards	121	8540	50.24	24	3 - 5
6. Brian Lara	131	11953	52.89	34	4
7. Len Hutton	79	6971	56.67	19	Opener
8. Wally Hammond	85	7249	58.46	22	3 & 4
9. Sunil Gavaskar	125	10122	51.12	34	Opener
10. Steve Smith	85	8010	59.78	27	4
11. George Headley	22	2190	60.83	10	3
12. Herbert Sutcliffe	54	4555	60.73	16	Opener
13. Greg Chappell	87	7110	53.86	24	4
14. Ricky Ponting	168	13378	51.85	41	3
15. Graeme Pollock	23	2256	60.97	7	4
16. Kumar Sangakkara	134	12400	57.41	38	3
17. Allan Border	156	11174	50.56	27	4 - 6
18. Jacques Kallis	166	13289	55.37	45	3 & 4
19. Steve Waugh	168	10927	51.06	32	5
20. Ken Barrington	82	6806	58.67	20	3 & 4
21. Javed Miandad	124	8832	52.57	23	4
22. Rahul Dravid	164	13288	52.31	36	3
23. Everton Weekes	48	4455	58.62	15	4
24. Denis Compton	78	5807	50.06	17	4
25. Younis Khan	118	10099	52.06	34	4
26. Clyde Walcott	44	3798	56.69	15	3 or 5
27. Dudley Nourse	34	2960	53.82	9	4
28. AB de Villiers	114	8765	50.66	22	5 & 6
29. Geoffrey Boycott	108	8114	47.73	22	Opener
30. Andy Flower	63	4794	51.55	12	5
31. Victor Trumper	48	3163	39.05	8	Opener
32. Bob Simpson	62	4869	46.82	10	Opener
33. Rohan Kanhai	79	6227	47.53	15	3
34. Neil Harvey	79	6149	48.42	21	3 & 4
35. Frank Worrell	51	3860	49.49	9	3 or 5
36. Joe Root	117	9889	49.20	25	4
37. Graeme Smith	117	9265	48.26	27	Opener
38. Virat Kohli	101	8043	49.96	27	4
39. Kane Williamson	86	7272	53.47	24	3
40. Virender Sehwag	104	8586	49.34	23	Opener
41. Matthew Hayden	103	8625	50.74	30	Opener
42. Gordon Greenidge	108	7558	44.72	19	Opener
43. Shivnarine Chanderpaul	164	11867	51.37	30	5
44. Martin Crowe	77	5444	45.37	17	4
45. Inzamam-ul-Haq	120	8830	49.61	25	4
46. Peter May	66	4537	46.77	13	3 & 4
47. Stan McCabe	39	2748	48.21	19	4 & 5
48. Clive Lloyd	110	7515	46.68	19	5 & 6
49. Clem Hill	49	3412	39.22	7	3
50. Michael Clarke	115	8643	49.11	28	4 & 5

 

[ataraxia]

So


1st:

Hobbs
Hutton
Bradman
Tendulkar
Richards
Sobers

2nd:

Gavaskar
Sutcliffe
Headley
Hammond
Smith
Lara

3rd:

Boycott
Trumper
Ponting
Chappell
Pollock
Sangakkara

4th: (pretty boring)

Simpson
Smith
Kallis
Border
Barrington
Waugh

5th:

Sehwag
Hayden
Dravid
Miandad
Compton
Weekes

 

[Line and Length]

Bradman obviously stands head and shoulders above the rest and then we have a large number of players averaging over 50. It isn't until we reach #29 that we come across a sub 50 batting average, but I'm not going to deny Boycott's worthiness for his place.

After that averages in the 40s are more common with Trumper and Hill the only batsmen with sub 40 averages.

When the voting closed for the 51st position, there were more debates than votes but multiple votes had been received for Yousuf Youhana (Mohammad Yusuf) and Bruce Mitchell while others were ranking Hashim Amla highly. This trio could be regarded as unlucky not to make the final cut.

From my perspective, there are some interesting questions that can be posed. In most cases players had careers lasting many Tests but I find it interesting that George Headley (22 Tests) and Graeme Pollock (23 Tests) are ranked 11 and 15 respectively yet Adam Voges (averaging 61.88 in 20 Tests) and Eddie Paynter (59.23 in 20 Tests) were almost entirely overlooked. Why?

It is common for voters to ignore current players yet Steve Smith makes the Top 10 while Kane Williamson, with a superior average to those ranked around him, is only ranked 39th.

Players that were around over a century ago have a certain mystique legendary status and this might explain Trumper's ranking yet W.G.Grace and Ranjitsinhji didn't rate a mention in voting. The latter, with an average of 44.95, wouldn't have looked out of place in the list.

Some places on the list are self-explanatory but worthy of comment. Shivnarine Chanerpaul's longevity and performances suggest a higher ranking, but he has been criticised for being selfish and for batting too low. The fact that he was not out in over a quarter of the Tests he played seems to support this.

I could go on, and will add my occasional comment, but I am interested in seeing comments and critiques - especially from cricket followers who may not have been involved in the voting thread.

I hope to add similar threads for the Pace bowlers, spinners and all-rounders when voting wanes and a nice round number on the list is achieved.

 

[Xix2565]

From my perspective, there are some interesting questions that can be posed. In most cases players had careers lasting many Tests but I find it interesting that George Headley (22 Tests) and Graeme Pollock (23 Tests) are ranked 11 and 15 respectively yet Adam Voges (averaging 61.88 in 20 Tests) and Eddie Paynter (59.23 in 20 Tests) were almost entirely overlooked. Why?

Probably fame/reputation and career length. Of these 4 only Voges stands out in that his career didn't even last 1.5 years and I don't think the way he finished enhanced anything really (Hobart 2016 against SA).

Do find the Fab 4 + ABD placements to be very weird, and I'm also interested in the allure of some of the older players with regards to how they were voted in.

 

[Coronis]

Voges well, almost self explanatory, he failed against England, Sri Lanka and South Africa, cashed in against the West Indies and a Kiwi attack that had no bowlers average under 30 on a tour of Australia. 3/5 centuries were not outs, all 3 against the Windies.

For Paynter, 3 of his 4 centuries came against South Africa in 38/39 where England completely dominated. His 4th came during the 1938 Ashes (the series where England had that 903/7). In the first test England scored 658 and Australia had two 400+ innings prior to it being called a draw, Paynter ended up with 216*.

Both also had first class averages well below 50, 46.42 (Voges) and 42.26 (Paynter). Just for a comparison with Headley (69.86, almost identical to his test average prior to coming back after the war) and Pollock (54.67). Both also retired from FC at 38, compared with 44 for Headley and 42 for Pollock.

 

[Line and Length]

@Coronis - Excellent points that illustrate how wrong it is to simply look at averages.

Getting back to the list. Who is over-rated and who is under-rated?

 

[TheJediBrah]

Higher in the list than they should be: Dravid

Lower in list than they should be: G Smith

those 2 should swap places

 

[trundler]

Barrington, Kanhai and De Villiers being way overrated.

 

[TheJediBrah]

de Villiers as a Test batsman always overrated because of how good he was in white-ball

biggest downhill skier I ever saw

 

[HookShot]

Barrington, Kanhai and De Villiers being way overrated.

Very difficult to over-rate a combo of longevity and genius, especially in the case of Kanhai and ABDV

You can try of course, but their lengthy service to cricket was truly outstanding.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

For Clem Hill to be in it and David Gower and Colin Cowdrey not to be is a tad potty.

 

[HookShot]

I think that‘s a pretty good list.

I would have put Peter May and Clive Lloyd higher because of the positive impact they had on their respective teams, but that’s just a personal opinion.

 

[Line and Length]

Barrington, Kanhai and De Villiers being way overrated.

I can accept AB as being over-rated and perhaps Kanhai by a small margin. But Barrington? Why?

Alan Davidson, in his book "Fifteen Paces" described Barrington as "a player of grit and courage, ice-cool in a crisis, a tradesman of the highest order."
He goes on to describe his impressions of Barrington in the '62/'63 Ashes series: "Barrington's first tour of Australia came at the age of 32. When it was all over his record stood at 582 hard-won runs in the Tests at a commanding average of 72.75 ..... He had achieved these remarkable figures by hard sweat and pure dedication. His jutting, iron jaw depicted his resolute character. England had no greater hero in the Ashes struggle."

I believe Barrington's average speaks for itself. He may not have been a flamboyant stroke maker but he was one of the grittiest players I ever saw. He came to the crease like a bulldog swathed in a Union Jack - proudly fighting for his country. IMO opinion he was an ATG.

 

[HookShot]

For Clem Hill to be in it and David Gower and Colin Cowdrey not to be is a tad potty.

You should read Dave Wilson’s article. Clem Hill’s rating (894) had him ahead of both Cowdrey (874) and Gower (822). Legendary batsman too.

Having said that, I was a little disappointed that Cowdrey didn’t make the list as he was a superb bat, especially against the West Indian quicks.

Your Time is Gonna Come (Should We Discount the Golden Oldies?) | Cricket Web

 

[jayjay]

I can't say I agree with the placement or even inclusion of some on that list.. in which universe could Boycott be higher than Kohli, Smith, Root
Or Hobbs above Viv, Tnedulkar, Lara

BUT, the sheer amount of organisation by OP and the cricketing discussions that I read through were great...and it just goes to show how subjective a lot of this is. Great job!

And yes, one day I'll put my money where my mouth is and compile a list of 50 batsmen.

 

[Nikhil99.99]

Perfect top 3.
Bradman
Hobbs
Sobers
Great top 50 can’t argue with anyone of them. Unlucky for Barry Richards and I would have love to have bruce Mitchell in that top 50.

 

[The Sean]

I can accept AB as being over-rated and perhaps Kanhai by a small margin. But Barrington? Why?

Alan Davidson, in his book "Fifteen Paces" described Barrington as "a player of grit and courage, ice-cool in a crisis, a tradesman of the highest order."
He goes on to describe his impressions of Barrington in the '62/'63 Ashes series: "Barrington's first tour of Australia came at the age of 32. When it was all over his record stood at 582 hard-won runs in the Tests at a commanding average of 72.75 ..... He had achieved these remarkable figures by hard sweat and pure dedication. His jutting, iron jaw depicted his resolute character. England had no greater hero in the Ashes struggle."

I believe Barrington's average speaks for itself. He may not have been a flamboyant stroke maker but he was one of the grittiest players I ever saw. He came to the crease like a bulldog swathed in a Union Jack - proudly fighting for his country. IMO opinion he was an ATG.

I think this kind of sums up Barrington’s reputation for better or for worse – as an attritional grafter who was incredibly valuable to his team, and hugely admired by the men he played with and against, but who tended to get overlooked when it came to counting the very greatest batsman, where opinions would always lean toward those take-the-breath-away strokeplayers at the expense of the gritty fighters.

In addition to Davidson’s words above and your wonderful “bulldog swathed in a union jack” comment (which also mirrors something Ken Mackay said about Barrington), Tom Graveney in his Top Ten Cricket Book also placed Barrington at number one on his list of “batsmen to play for my life” noting his incredible tenacity and thou-shalt-not-pass approach.

And yet…in that same book, Graveney didn’t consider Barrington to be even one of England’s top three post-war middle order batsmen (and this was in 1982), as in his England post-war XI he chose a 3-4-5 of May, Compton and Cowdrey.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

I think this kind of sums up Barrington’s reputation for better or for worse – as an attritional grafter who was incredibly valuable to his team, and hugely admired by the men he played with and against, but who tended to get overlooked when it came to counting the very greatest batsman, where opinions would always lean toward those take-the-breath-away strokeplayers at the expense of the gritty fighters.

In addition to Davidson’s words above and your wonderful “bulldog swathed in a union jack” comment (which also mirrors something Ken Mackay said about Barrington), Tom Graveney in his Top Ten Cricket Book also placed Barrington at number one on his list of “batsmen to play for my life” noting his incredible tenacity and thou-shalt-not-pass approach.

And yet…in that same book, Graveney didn’t consider Barrington to be even one of England’s top three post-war middle order batsmen (and this was in 1982), as in his England post-war XI he chose a 3-4-5 of May, Compton and Cowdrey.

I think Tom Graveney received a fairly severe blow on the head at some point in his career.
This is an All Time World XI he selected in 1984.

1. Sunil Gavaskar
2. Bobby Simpson
3. D. Vengsarkar
4. Kim Hughes
5. Imran Khan
6. Farokh Engineer
7. Ray Lindwall
8. Rodney Marsh
9. Dennis Lillee
10. Michael Holding
11. Lance Gibbs

 

[The Sean]

I think Tom Graveney received a fairly severe blow on the head at some point in his career.
This is an All Time World XI he selected in 1984.

1. Sunil Gavaskar
2. Bobby Simpson
3. D. Vengsarkar
4. Kim Hughes
5. Imran Khan
6. Farokh Engineer
7. Ray Lindwall
8. Rodney Marsh
9. Dennis Lillee
10. Michael Holding
11. Lance Gibbs

What is the source or context for that? Because there's no way it could possibly be simply "Tom, what is your all time world XI mate?" - in fact, based on his top tens and team selections in that 1982 book, only one of that team actually holds up.

 

[trundler]

Imran Khan at 5 in 1984 is a pretty baffling call. Prophetic though.