Who will retire with a batting average of >60?

[aussie tragic]

It's been a long time since an Australian captain was overturned and continued on in the side, before I was born infact, and if Ponting lost the captaincy at 33/34 you wouldn't think that he would play on and break the sequence.

The last one was Kim Hughes in December 1984. He played the next two tests as just a player where he scored 0, 2, 0 & 0 before being dropped for good.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Ponting's form slump would have to be pretty severe for him to be dropped if they want to take the captaincy off him. It's been a while since Australia appointed a guy in the middle of his career to be captain, after all. Waugh had been playing for Australia on and off for 14 years by the time he was made captain, and while Taylor wasn't so experienced he didn't start his career as early as the other two.

I think if Ponting is dropped when he loses the captaincy it'll be because he's been an extremely ordinary batsman for an extended period of time. If he's still averaging in the 40+ range consistently and is only 33 or 34 there's no way they'll drop him just because he's not performing as a captain.

 

[andmark]

I votted for Izzy because Ponting will get better.

 

[adharcric]

wtf? ^

 

[Great Birtannia]

I was more implying that Ponting himself would pull the pin rather than being dropped. If he wins the ashes back, retains the WC and chalks up 10,000 test runs in the next year or two, he's achieved almost all he possibly could unless he has a Steve Waugh like desire for milestones and wants to chase down Lara. Unlike the current mid 30s, Hayden, Martyn and Langer who are driven on from years spent in the wilderness, Ponting has pretty much been a permanent fixture in the test side since he was 20. I don't know if the motivation would be there if they wanted to strip him of the captaincy.

 

[bagapath]

Dravid can do it in one innings. 200* will get him to 60. Or two 100*.

Seriously speaking, I would just fake an injury and retire at that point.

Indian!

If I had a test batting average of 60, I'd be tempted to try my hardest and get it higher, up to around 65 or so. You should always be trying to better yourself.

Australian!

 

[bagapath]

Dravid or Ponting might touch 60 at some point in the next year or two. but they will most probably retire after a few more years with the average around where it is right now. Sachin will retire on par with chappell at 53. lara might up his average to 54. i am going to tick "no one"

 

[chaminda_00]

Perm is a Kiwi...

 

[Nishant]

If anyone was going to do it, it'd have to be Ponting (58.22) and Dravid (58.75). Can't see anyone else getting close.

u read my mind! (not literally of course!)

 

[bagapath]

Perm is a Kiwi...

I was naming their philosophies not nationalities.

 

[tooextracool]

I think it's a long shot, but if I had to bet on one, it would be Dravid. Besides the fact that he's a great batsman, he plays in the sub-continent. Theoratically, that should translate to higher scoring opportunities.

IMO playing cricket in Australia translates to the highest scoring opportunities. If you've seen any of the recent test series in India you would know this, the pitches offer far more for the bowlers than any of the wickets in Australia.

 

[tooextracool]

I think Mohammed Yousef is the youngest one, he can bat for days and has more time to do so.

i think kallis is the youngest out of all of them.

 

[tooextracool]

Ponting and Dravid are both captains of their teams. That means they aren't retiring soon, and more then likely father time will catch up but they'll be playing on past their peak like most players do. I wouldn't be too surprised if their average was above 60 at one point maybe, but I'm pretty sure it'll more then likely fall below it before they call it a day and retire.

I think thats a good point. Dravid atm is pretty much the only quality batsman in the Indian side at the moment, and one feels that if he doesnt have a good series, Indias hopes of winning them are pretty much useless. Id be extremely surprised if he didnt average over 60 at one point in his career, but unless India start producing some real match winning batsmen that can bat outside the subcontinent, Dravids going to have to hang around for quite a while in international cricket.
As far as Ponting is concerned, i expect his average to start going down pretty soon. Hes just had the best phase of his career, and its imminent for him to have a slump after that.

 

[tooextracool]

The problem with players such as Ponting and Dravid is that they've been playing so long that to even get their average over 60 requires a huge effort, before they even think about maintaining it at that level.

All it takes is a series against Bangladesh or zimbabwe tbh.

 

[silentstriker]

Indian!



Australian!

LOL, thats classic! And unfortunately, you are absolutely right.

 

[aussie]

Has everyone has said Punter & the Wall, but like Lara & Sachin before them they are likely to lose it at some time & might fall just below the 60 average mark, especially with the standard of International bowling improving.

 

[silentstriker]

Has everyone has said Punter & the Wall, but like Lara & Sachin before them they are likely to lose it at some time & might fall just below the 60 average mark, especially with the standard of International bowling improving.

Is it, really?

 

[tooextracool]

Has everyone has said Punter & the Wall, but like Lara & Sachin before them they are likely to lose it at some time & might fall just below the 60 average mark, especially with the standard of International bowling improving.

the standard of bowling is improving? the general consensus is that its more likely to decline than to improve especially with Mcgrath, Warne, Kumble all in the twilight of their careers and we might possibly have seen the last of Akhtar as well.

 

[aussie]

Well in some nations while others have some question marks, i.e the crop of fast bowlers that England have at the moment once thet stay fit can be top-class group in the future, Australia with Johnson, Tait, Lee running the line looks devastating, the Saffie with Ntini/Steyn, India (hopefully for Indian fans) Patel/Sreesanth/Khan along with Bhaji & Kumble & Pakistan with Asif/Kaneria.

The Kiwis, Windies, Sri Lanka have potential but will have question marks if those bowlers can be consistent. So its an improvement all-round in world bowling when for a long while after Donald, Wasim, Waqar, Ambi, Walsh retired that it was only Australia & to an extent South Africa left with top quality bowlers in their sides.

 

[silentstriker]

the standard of bowling is improving? the general consensus is that its more likely to decline than to improve especially with Mcgrath, Warne, Kumble all in the twilight of their careers and we might possibly have seen the last of Akhtar as well.

Yup. The english bowlers are hurt too often, and its not like any of them were going to challenge Marshall & Ambrose anyway. Aussies have some new promising youngsters, but it will be 2-4 years before we can get an accurate reading on them.

I mean, who are the best three bowlers in the world today? McGrath, Murali, Warne. Warne and McGrath are on the wrong side of 35, and Murali is 34. Pollock is up there too.

In the second tier of bowlers, like Kumble and company...many of them are old too. So who's left? A bunch of kids in their early twenties, who even if they have immense talent, will take at least a couple years to mature into something.

Until 2010, I don't see it.