Is this the era of the oldest teams ever?

[Flem274*]

Inspired by realising Ashwin is 57 today and the prediction thread.

Looking around, I swear every player is like 5 years older than I think they are. It's across every team too (at full strength). Look at this ****, Pakistan and Bangladesh* excepted (and I've currently left out SA and Windies until the Bs vs the mercenary As is sorted out). Guys under 30 underlined.

I used to be worried NZ were getting old, but they aren't even the oldest team. International cricket appears to be a 30 year olds game these days.

*Bangers have just had 2 major retirements as well.

Australia
Khawaja 37
Smith 34
Labuschagne 29
Green 24
Head 30
Marsh 32 years young
Carey 32
Starc 34
Cummins 30
Lyon 36
Hazlewood 33

English scum (hard team to predict a bit)
Crawley 26
Duckett 29
Pope 26
Root 33
Brook 24
Stokes 32
Bairstow 34/Foakes 30
Robinson 30
Wood 34
Leach 32
Anderson 41

India
Brohit 36
Jaiswal 22
Gill 24
Kohli 35
Iyer 29
Jadeja 35
Bharat 30
Axar 30
Ashwin 37
Shami 33
Bumrah 30

New Zealand
Latham 31
Conway 32
Williamson 33
Ravindra 24
Mitchell 32
Phillips 27
Blundell 33
Santner 32
Jamieson 29
Henry 32
Southee 35

Pakistan
Shafique 24
Ayub 21
Masood 34
Babar 29
Shakeel 28
Rizwan 31
Salman 30
Sajid 30
Jamal 27
Hasan 29
Shaheen 23

Sri Lanka
Karunaratne 35
Madushka 24
Kusal 29
Mathews 36
Chandimal 34
DdS 32
Samarawickrama 28
Gunsekara 24
Prabath 32
V Fernando 32
A Fernando 26

Bangbros
Litton 29
Joy 23
Shanto 25
Mominul 32
Rahim 36
Shahadat 22
Miraz 26
Nurul 30
Nayeem 23
Taijul 32
Shoriful 22

 

[Adders]

Ok

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

Inspired by realising Ashwin is 57 today

Explains a lot tbh

 

[Molehill]

Explains a lot tbh

Although working a 17 year old's haircut!!

 

[Howe_zat]

Around 2011-12 there were loads of guys, mostly batsmen, who started in the 90s and were still clinging on.

India especially had pretty much the same batting lineup they'd had for years with Sehwag, Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman and Dhoni, plus Harbhajan

Aus had Katich, Ponting, Hussey and dropped Katich just because the other two existed

Sri Lanka still had Sanga, Jayawardena and Samaraweera and had just recalled Herath

Pakistan had Misbah and Younis, plus late career Hafeez and the odd appearance from Shoaib Malik

The bowlers around are older now though.

 

[Ali TT]

Does this mean in about 3y time we'll be in the era of youngest teams of all time?

We must certainly be at the cusp of the first generation who were all brought up and learnt their game fully in the era of T20 cricket too. Think we might see a marked change in how test cricket is played at that point.

 

[Qlder]

Aus had Katich, Ponting, Hussey and dropped Katich just because the other two existed

Pretty sure Simon Katich was only dropped because he held Captain Michael Clarke by the throat against the dressing room wall

 

[Howe_zat]

Does this mean in about 3y time we'll be in the era of youngest teams of all time?

We must certainly be at the cusp of the first generation who were all brought up and learnt their game fully in the era of T20 cricket too. Think we might see a marked change in how test cricket is played at that point.

Professional T20 cricket started when Joe Root was 10 so I think the first gen of those players have already had full careers.

Other than Jimmy Anderson pretty much everyone playing tests now will have played youth T20s.

 

[andruid]

Does this mean in about 3y time we'll be in the era of youngest teams of all time?

It means test cricket is, as always, on its deathbed.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

Asterisk on the Bangladesh side.

Some players have birthdate as 1971, their independence from Pakistan (?)

 

[Coronis]

Has Shakib officially retired from tests?

 

[Ali TT]

Professional T20 cricket started when Joe Root was 10 so I think the first gen of those players have already had full careers.

Other than Jimmy Anderson pretty much everyone playing tests now will have played youth T20s.

Yes and no. While professional T20 started in the early 2000s it was probably a good decade before it fully established itself as the "dominant" format. Players born in the 90s would've still learnt the fundamentals in the way those of the past generations had and adapted to the T20 game as adults or in their late teens. A twenty year old today would have barely even picked up a bat/ball before the IPL launched and will have learnt the technique and skills needed for T20 alongside, if not ahead of, those required for tests.

 

[sledger]

Sports science, nutrition and conditioning and all that other good stuff is way more advanced now than it was even ten years ago, let alone in the 90s/early 00s. I suspect this in no small part provides some explanation for players' increased longevity.

 

[Coronis]

Maybe some of the 1920’s teams might have them beat lot of pre-war players still being picked and all.

 

[Coronis]

Just some checking from the first test of the 20/21 Ashes. Not a single player under 25, 16 players over 30, 6 of those over 35.

England
Jack Russell 33
Jack Hobbs 38
“Young Jack” Hearne 29
Patsy Hendren 31
Frank Woolley 33
Johnny Douglas* 38
Wilfred Rhodes 43
Bill Hitch 34
Abe Waddington 27
Ciss Parkin 34
Bert Strudwick+ 40

Average age: 34 and a half

Australia
Charles Macartney 34
Herbie Collins 32
Warren Bardsley 38
Charles Kelleway 34
Warwick Armstrong* 41
Jack Gregory 25
Johnny Taylor 25
Nip Pellew 27
Jack Ryder 31
Bert Oldfield+ 26
Arthur Mailey 34

Average age: 31 and a half

Players who were debuting: Russell, Hendren, Waddington, Parkin, Collins, Taylor, Pellew, Ryder, Gregory, Oldfield and Mailey.

Players whose test careers were done by the following summer: Hitch, Waddington, Armstrong and Pellew. Pretty impressive for such old teams that 9 players were still in test cricket 3 years later. (i’m sure some weren’t regular selections but still)

Rhodes’ debut was in 1899 and Oldfield’s swansong was in 1937.

 

[Coronis]

Just some checking from the first test of the 20/21 Ashes. Not a single player under 25, 16 players over 30, 6 of those over 35.

England
Jack Russell 33
Jack Hobbs 38
“Young Jack” Hearne 29
Patsy Hendren 31
Frank Woolley 33
Johnny Douglas* 38
Wilfred Rhodes 43
Bill Hitch 34
Abe Waddington 27
Ciss Parkin 34
Bert Strudwick+ 40

Average age: 34 and a half

Australia
Charles Macartney 34
Herbie Collins 32
Warren Bardsley 38
Charles Kelleway 34
Warwick Armstrong* 41
Jack Gregory 25
Johnny Taylor 25
Nip Pellew 27
Jack Ryder 31
Bert Oldfield+ 26
Arthur Mailey 34

Average age: 31 and a half

Players who were debuting: Russell, Hendren, Waddington, Parkin, Collins, Taylor, Pellew, Ryder, Gregory, Oldfield and Mailey.

Players whose test careers were done by the following summer: Hitch, Waddington, Armstrong and Pellew. Pretty impressive for such old teams that 9 players were still in test cricket 3 years later. (i’m sure some weren’t regular selections but still)

Rhodes’ debut was in 1899 and Oldfield’s swansong was in 1937.

Oh and for reference, SA’s first test Post WW1 the following summer.

Herbie Taylor* 32
Billy Zulch 35
Charlie Frank 30
Dave Nourse 42
William Ling 30
Eric Marx 26
Horace Chapman 31
Buster Nupen 19
Tommy Ward+ 34
Jimmy Blanckenberg 27
Claude Carter 30

Average age: 30 and a half

 

[reyrey]

Sports science, nutrition and conditioning and all that other good stuff is way more advanced now than it was even ten years ago, let alone in the 90s/early 00s. I suspect this in no small part provides some explanation for players' increased longevity.

This. There are also all kinds of "research" peptides that guys could be taking to help with recovery, regeneration and longevity.

Look at mens Tennis. Top guys in the past were usually done by around 30. Now they make it into their mid 30s

 

[Prince EWS]

I too would make a thread like this if I thought Ashwin was 57 years old.

 

[ataraxia]

Australia
Charles Macartney 34
Herbie Collins 32
Warren Bardsley 38
Charles Kelleway 34
Warwick Armstrong* 41
Jack Gregory 25
Johnny Taylor 25
Nip Pellew 27
Jack Ryder 31
Bert Oldfield+ 26
Arthur Mailey 34

Are specialist bowlers a myth?

 

[Kirkut]

Anderson will play forever and become the master Yoda of cricket.