That’s quite some statement and one that most cricket aficionados would vehemently (and quite understandably) disagree with.
However, if we take averages as our sole (and rather misleading) barometer and set the qualification criteria at a minimum of 20 Test innings, the 1st Test at Cardiff does feature statistically at least four of the best 22 batsmen in the history of the game (see full list here).
In 22ndplace is Mahela Jayawardene, who averages 53.82 from his 117 Tests.
Four places higher is Thilan Samaraweera, the current cricketer with the largest amount of shrapnel in their body. He averages 54.25 from 64 Tests.
Then moving past the likes of legends like Hutton, Hobbs and Tendulkar, we reach 12th place where Kumar Sangakkara averages 57.25 from 95 Tests.
But, top of the pile and behind only Bradman in the pantheon (as far as averages go at least) is Bob Willis’s favourite batsman Jonathan Trott, who will have to go some this summer to maintain or improve upon an average of 61.53 from his 19 Tests.
Only five batsmen in Test history who have more than 20 innings average over 60: Bradman, Graeme Pollock, George Headley, Herbert Sutcliffe and for the time being Trott.
As Mark Twain so rightly said “there are lies, damned lies and statistics”.
The comparison between that team and the current sorry outfit is frightening and hopes cannot be high for the team is it embarks today on a home Test series with Pakistan having not won any of its previous 18 Tests.
But as Fire in Babylon retells, the West Indies has a rich heritage of magnificent cricketers. To coincide with the release of the film, here is our all-time West Indies XI:
1. Gordon Greenidge (108 tests, 19 hundreds, average 44.72) - A vivid memory of our childhood was Greenidge's brutal unbeaten 214 at Lord's in 1984, which made mincemeat of a victory target of 344. Immensely powerful and destructive, Greenidge was the template for the modern breed of attacking openers like Sehwag and Dilshan. Formed two of the greatest opening partnerships of all time with Desmond Haynes for the Windies and Barry Richards for Hampshire.
2. George Headley (22 tests, 10 hundreds, average 60.83) - One of the greats of the game. In 22 tests, when he pretty much was the West Indies batting, Headley hit ten centuries including eight against England. His test match average is one of the best in history, and the tag of the 'Black Bradman was certainly justified. Indeed, Headley's admirers responded by calling Bradman the 'white Headley', and the fact that is a compliment to the Don shows just how good the pioneering Headley was.
3. Sir Viv Richards (Captain, 121 tests, 24 hundreds, average 50.23) - The most devastating batsman in the history of the game, Richards was absolutely unstoppable on his day. His style was a mixture of swagger and intimidation, and bowlers visibly cowered when faced with an on-song King Viv. It is fitting that he has the fastest-ever Test century, from just 56 balls against England in Antigua during the 1986 tour. With Worrell and Lloyd not making the cut, Richards is captain of our all-conquering Caribbean XI.
4. Brian Lara (131 tests, 34 hundreds, average 52.88) - Holds the record for the highest Test and First Class scores of 400 not out and 501 not out respectively. When he started his career, the West Indian era of dominance was on the wane. By the time he finished it, his side was in the doldrums. As a result Lara spent most of his time trying to keep his side afloat, which makes his record all the more remarkable. Perhaps his best achievement was in 1999 at home to Australia, when he single-handedly won the second and third tests with scores of 213 and 153 not out. He scored a century too in the fourth test, but couldn’t prevent Australia squaring the series.
5. Everton Weekes (48 tests, 15 hundreds, average 58.61) - One of the immortal 'three Ws', Walcott believed that Weekes was the best all-round batsman of the three. An attacking batsman with a vast array of strokes, Weekes made an electric start to his test career reaching 1,000 runs in only his 12th innings; one fewer than Bradman. During this run he also scored five centuries in consecutive innings against England and India - still a Test record.
6. Sir Gary Sobers (93 tests, 26 hundreds, average 57.78, 235 wickets at 34.03) - Cricket’s greatest all-rounder. With the bat, Sobers mixed elegance with power and for a long time held the record for the highest Test score until he was usurped by Lara. Perhaps his best innings though came for the Rest of the World against Australiain 1972 when Sobers played an innings of 254 described by Bradman as "probably the greatest exhibition of batting ever seen in Australia". Batting wasn't his only talent either. Indeed, he could bowl left arm fast medium as well as both orthodox and leg spin.
7. Sir Clyde Walcott (44 tests, 15 hundreds, average 56.68, 53 catches, 11 stumpings) - Ok, Walcott wasn't as good a keeper as Dujon and even relinquished the gloves following back trouble (not that he would have to bend over too much keeping to this attack). But how can you leave out someone this good? Walcott played an instrumental role in the first West Indian victory on English soil at Lord’s in 1950 scoring 168 not out. Along with Weekes, he was arguably the best batsman in the World during the mid-1950s, reaching his peak with an incredible five hundreds and 827 runs during Australia’s first Test series in the Caribbean. This team bats deep!
8. Malcolm Marshall (81 tests, 376 wickets at 20.94) - If picking the batsmen was hard, whittling down a long line of brilliant West Indies fast bowlers is even harder. Including Marshall though wasn't difficult as he was arguably the best of the lot. Fearsomely fast and with the ability to swing the ball both ways, Marshall was often unplayable and England in particular were frequent victims. His strike rate of 46.22 was as phenomenal as his premature death at the age of 41 was tragic. No doubt, Marshall has reduced Bradman's average of 99.94 since he joined the heavenly all-time greats on the elysian cricket field.
9. Curtly Ambrose (98 tests, 405 wickets at 20.99) - The most menacing bowler of his generation and given his dislike for speaking to the media, was like a silent if giant assassin. Once took seven wickets for one run in the most devastating of spells against Australia, but as England fans we remember him blasting out Mike Atherton's side for just 46 in Port of Spain more.
10. Joel Garner (58 Tests, 259 wickets at 20.97) - Can anyone imagining having to face Ambrose and Garner on the same bouncy wicket? When we picked this side last time, we opted for a spinner (Sonny Ramadhin), but this time partly in honour of 'Fire in Babylon' we go for four quicks. 'Big Bird' was a legend and unleashed one of the most devastating yorkers the game has ever seen from his monstrous 6'8" frame.
11. Michael Holding (60 tests, 249 wickets at 23.68) - It could have been Roberts, Hall, Walsh or even the pioneer Constantine, but we settle for Whispering Death as our final quick. Could well be the fastest bowler in history and he certainly had the longest run-up. His run-up and delivery were poetry in motion for all who watched except for the terrified batsman at the other end. Now an erudite and forthright commentator, Holding is perhaps best remembered for his monumental 14 for 149 at The Oval in 1976.
12th man - Sonny Ramadhin (43 tests, 158 wickets at 28.98) - Wins a toss-up with Lance Gibbs, although we never saw either of them bowl live in the flesh. Ramadhin could spin the ball both ways and bowl off and leg breaks and it is this versatility that tipped the scales in his favour. Was the hero when West Indies won their first test at Lord's with 11 for 152 in 1950.
Last year we wrote a post for World Cricket Watch, where we named our top 20 batsmen of all time. As we explained a couple of days ago, now seems a good time to revisit this. Firstly, so we can extend the list this time to 30. But secondly, because we are prepared to admit that we erred somewhat last time in placing Sachin Tendulkar behind Ricky Ponting in the all-time batting pantheon. Given that the Ashes were on at the time, we must have done it out of fear that Ponting would inspire his side to retain the little urn.
Today, in the final part we count down from 10 to 1. At this point we should add, that this exercise was just as difficult as it was last year when we wrote a similar piece for World Cricket Watch. This time, despite extending the list to 30 names, there was still no place for the likes of Jacques Kallis, Zaheer Abbas, Steve Waugh, Adam Gilchrist, Frank Woolley, CB Fry, Neil Harvey, Kumar Sangakkara, Martin Crowe, Geoff Boycott, David Gower, Ted Dexter, Clive Lloyd, Gordon Greenidge, or Aravinda da Silva. Next time, we might have to go for a top 50!
If you missed our earlier posts on this subject, please check out the batsmen who filled numbers 30-21 and 20-11.
10. Victor Trumper(Australia) – 48 Tests, 8 100s, 13 50s, Average 39.04, HS 214* - Widely acknowledged as the best Australian batsman before Bradman, Trumper was both stylish and versatile with a penchant for playing match-winning innings on treacherous wet wickets. After scoring 135 not out against England at Lord’s in 1899, Grace gifted Trumper his own bat with the inscription "From the present champion to the future champion."
9.Brian Lara(West Indies) – 131 Tests, 34 100s, 48 50s, Average 52.88, HS 400* - The man with the highest Test and First Class scores of 400 not out and 501 not out respectively, Lara is the fourth of six West Indians on the list. When he started his career, West Indian dominance was on the wane.By the time he finished it, his side was in the doldrums and as a result he spent most of his time trying to keep the West Indies afloat making his record even more impressive. Perhaps his best achievement was in 1999 in the home series against Australia, when he single-handedly won the second and third tests with scores of 213 and 153 not out after his side had been obliterated in the first test.He scored a century too in the fourth and final test, but couldn’t prevent Australia squaring the series.
8.Sachin Tendulkar(India) – 166* Tests, 47 100s, 54 50s, Average 55.56, HS 248* - The Little Master’ holds a number of prestigious Test batting records including most runs and most centuries; and he hasn’t finished yet with four hundreds in his last four tests. Other than Hobbs, Tendulkar is the only player to score ten centuries or more against Australia. Many (certainly a billion Indians) would have him higher on this list – certainly Wisden ranked him behind only Bradman as the second greatest batsman of all time in 2002.
7.George Headley(West Indies) – 22 Tests, 10 100s, 5 50s, Average 60.83, HS 270* - Like Brian Lara over 60 years later, Headley had to keep a struggling side afloat. He managed this scoring a staggering ten centuries in his 22 Tests with his scoring feats leading to him being dubbed the ‘Black Bradman’. Headley was noted for his phenomenal back foot play and the time he seemed to have to play the ball, with such a shrewd judge as Len Hutton declaring that he had never seen a batsman play the ball later.
6. William ‘W.G’ Grace(England) – 22 Tests, 2 100s, 5 50s, Average 32.29, HS 170 - Until Bradman, Grace was regarded as the greatest cricket player ever and was certainly one of the most competitive. Over the course of a 44 year career, he transcended the sport and in the words of John Arlott “created modern cricket”. Amongst other nicknames, Grace was known as “the Champion” and one of his contemporaries and fellow all-time great batsmen Ranjitsinhji said of him in the Jubilee Book of Cricket “I hold him to be not only the finest player born or unborn, but the maker of modern batting”.
5.Vivian Richards(West Indies) – 121 Tests, 24 100s, 45 50s, Average 50.23, HS 291- Regarded by cricket aficionados as probably the most devastating batsman in the history of the game, King Viv was absolutely unstoppable on his day. His style was a mixture of swagger and intimidation and most bowlers seemed to visibly cower when faced with an on-song Richards. It is befitting that he is the scorer of the fastest-ever Test century, from just 56 balls against England in his home island of Antigua during the 1986 tour.
4.Jack Hobbs(England) – 61 Tests, 15 100s, 28 50s, Average 56.94, HS 211 - Popularly referred to as ‘The Master’, Hobbs scored more runs (61,760) and more centuries (199) than anyone else in the history of the sport – and but for the Great War these figures could have been more spectacular still. His opening partnership with Herbert Sutcliffe is considered to be the best England and maybe the game has seen. Hobbs made his first class debut against a side captained by W.G.Grace who presciently observed that "He's goin' to be a good'un". Even the learned Doctor could not have realised how ‘good’ Hobbs would become.
3.Walter Hammond(England)– 85 Tests, 22 100s, 24 50s, Average 58.45, HS 336* - Throughout his career, Hammond was often compared to Bradman, which is testament to what a great player he was, and he was included in the Don’s all-time XI. His seven Test double centuries has only been surpassed by Bradman and Brian Lara, and Hammond certainly had an ability to get big scores. His most notable series came on the tour of Australia in 1928-29 when he scored an incredible 905 runs at 113.12 in the five Tests. This has only been surpassed once – by Bradman, of course.
2. Garfield Sobers(West Indies) – 93 Tests, 26 100s, 30 50s, Average 57.78, HS 365* - Widely regarded as Cricket’s greatest all-rounder, Sobers was so good with the bat that he also ranks behind only the immortal Bradman on this list. Sobers mixed elegance with power and for a long time held the record for the highest Test score until he was usurped by his fellow West Indian Brian Lara. Perhaps his best innings though came for the Rest of the World against Australia in 1972 when Sobers played an innings of 254 which was described by Bradman as "probably the greatest exhibition of batting ever seen in Australia".
1.Donald Bradman(Australia) – 52 Tests, 29 100s, 13 50s, Average 99.94, HS 334 - Who else? No self-respecting list of the greatest batsmen ever could have anyone else at its head. Has anyone dominated their sport as much as Bradman? It almost defies belief that his average of 99.94 is almost 40 runs higher than the second best for 20 completed innings (Graeme Pollock at 60.97). Of his many staggering batting feats, here are three examples. First, his consecutive triple centuries at Headingley in the Ashes tests of 1930 and 1934. Second, his 974 runs in five tests during the 1930 Ashes series in England including three double centuries – both records. Finally, his second innings knock of 270 during the Third Test at Melbourne during the Ashes series of 1936/37, which was rated by Wisden as the best test match innings of all time in 2001. It enabled Australia, who were two down in the series, to win the match and they duly completed a remarkable turnaround by winning the fourth (Bradman making 212) and fifth (Bradman, 169) tests – still the only time a team has come back from two down to win a test match rubber, and Bradman was the captain of course.
West Indies' home test series with South Africa kicks off today at Port of Spain with the hosts in utter disarray after a dismal World T20 and then seven straight defeats to today's opponents in the recent Twenty 20 and one day internationals.
Rarely can the once great West Indies side have been in such a negative mind set with captain Chris Gayle admitting that "Losing has become a habit, but we have to put that behind us and look forward to the Test series." It will be a major surprise should they even draw the series with Graeme Smith's side and for people like us who grew up with the dominant West Indian team of the 1980s, that is still quite hard to get used to.
We believe that a strong West Indies side is important for the world game and the brand of cricket they play is always one that is good on the eye, so in the vain hope that it may inspire Chris Gayle and his troops here is our all-time West Indies test XI. Unsurprisingly, none of the current team were even close to making it, and when you consider that the likes of Sir Frank Worrell, Desmond Haynes, Clive Lloyd, Richie Richardson and Rohan Kanhai also didn't make the final cut, then the rich heritage of Caribbean cricket is abundantly clear. And that was just the batsmen. Jeff Dujon, Joel Garner, Courtney Walsh, Andy Roberts, Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith, Learie Constantine, Lance Gibbs and Alf Valentine were also regretfully ruled out.
1. Gordon Greenidge (108 tests, 19 hundreds, average 44.72)- A vivid memory from our childhood was Greenidge's brutal unbeaten 214 at Lord's in 1984 against England to make mincemeat of a victory target of 344. Immensely powerful and destructive, Greenidge was the template for the modern breed of attacking openers like Sehwag and Dilshan, but this West Indian was better than them all. Formed two of the greatest opening partnerships of all time with Desmond Haynes for the Windies and Barry Richards for Hampshire.
2. George Headley (22 tests, 10 hundreds, average 60.83) -The 'Black Bradman' (or was Bradman the 'White Headley'?) has a claim to be the Windies best batsman ever. Despite single-handedly being the West Indian batting line-up on his own, Headley still scored an astonishing ten centuries in his 22 tests. Normally batted at three, but is picked as an opener here as no doubt his supreme brilliance could have easily be transferred to this role.
3. Sir Viv Richards (Captain, 121 tests, 24 hundreds, average 50.23) - Regarded by cricket aficionados as probably the most devastating batsman in the history of the game, King Viv was absolutely unstoppable on his day. His style was a mixture of swagger and intimidation and most bowlers seemed to visibly cower when faced with an on-song Richards. It is befitting that he is the scorer of the fastest-ever Test century, from just 56 balls against England on his home island of Antiguaduring the 1986 tour. With Worrell and Lloyd not making the cut, Richards also captain's our all-conquering Caribbean XI.
4. Brian Lara (131 tests, 34 hundreds, average 52.88) - The man with the highest Test and First Class scores of 400 not out and 501 not out respectively. When he started his career, West Indies' era of dominance was on the wane. By the time he finished it, his side was in the doldrums and as a result he spent most of his time trying to keep the side afloat making his record even more impressive. Perhaps his best achievement was in 1999 in the home series against Australia, when he single-handedly won the second and third tests with scores of 213 and 153 not out after his side had been obliterated in the first test. He scored a century too in the fourth and final test, but couldn’t prevent Australia squaring the series.
5. Everton Weekes (48 tests, 15 hundreds, average 58.61) - One of the immortal 'three Ws', Walcott believed that Weekes was the best all-round batsman of the three. An attacking cricketer with a vast array of strokes, Weekes made an electric start to his test career reaching 1,000 runs in only his 12th innings; one fewer than Bradman. During this run he also scored five centuries in consecutive innings against England and India - still a test record.
6. Sir Gary Sobers (93 tests, 26 hundreds, average 57.78, 235 wickets at 34.03) - Widely regarded as Cricket’s greatest all-rounder. With the bat, Sobers mixed elegance with power and for a long time held the record for the highest Test score until he was usurped by his fellow West Indian Brian Lara. Perhaps his best innings though came for the Rest of the World against Australiain 1972 when Sobers played an innings of 254 which was described by Bradman as "probably the greatest exhibition of batting ever seen in Australia". But batting wasn't his only talent. Indeed, he could bowl left arm fast medium as well as both orthodox and leg spin.
7. Sir Clyde Walcott (44 tests, 15 hundreds, average 56.68, 53 catches, 11 stumpings) - Ok, Walcott wasn't as good a keeper as Dujon and even had to relinquish the gloves following back trouble, but how can you leave out someone this good? Walcott played an instrumental role in the first West Indian victory on English soil at Lord’s in 1950 scoring 168 not out. Along with Weekes, he was arguably the best batsman in the World during the mid-1950s reaching his peak with an incredible five hundreds and 827 runs during Australia’s first Test series in the Caribbean. This team bats deep!
8. Malcolm Marshall (81 tests, 376 wickets at 20.94) - If picking the batsmen was hard, whittling down a long line of brilliant West Indies fast bowlers is even harder. The decision to include Marshall though wasn't difficult as he is arguably the best of the lot. Fearsomely fast and with the ability to swing the ball both ways, Marshall was often unplayable and England in particular were frequent victims. His strike rate of 46.22 was as phenomenal as his premature death at the age of 41 was tragic. No doubt, Marshall has reduced Bradman's average of 99.94 since he joined the heavenly all-time greats.
9. Curtly Ambrose (98 tests, 405 wickets at 20.99) - It was a split decision with big bird Joel Garner, but it's the equally large Ambrose who just sneaks our vote. Once took seven wickets for one run in the most devastating of spells against Australia, but as England fans we remember him hustling out Mike Atherton's side for 46 in Port of Spain more.
10. Michael Holding (60 tests, 249 wickets at 23.68) - It could have been Roberts, Hall, Walsh or even the pioneer Constantine, but we settle for Whispering Death as our third quick. Could well be the fastest bowler in history and he certainly had the longest run-up. His run-up and delivery were poetry in motion for all who watched except for the terrified batsman at the other end. Now an erudite and forthright commentator, Holding is perhaps best remembered for his 14 for 149 at The Oval in 1976.
11. Sonny Ramadhin (43 tests, 158 wickets at 28.98) - Wins a toss-up with Lance Gibbs, although we never saw either of them bowl live in the flesh. Ramadhin could spin the ball both ways and bowl off and leg breaks and it is this versatility that tipped the scales in his favour. Was the hero when West Indies won their first test at Lord's with 11 for 152 in 1950.
As a demoralised West Indies embark on the fourth of a five match one day international series with South Africa in Dominica today, they will hopefully be inspired by the fact that today is the birth date of perhaps the greatest ever West Indian batsman - George Headley a.k.a the 'black' Bradman.
South Africa have now won 14 of the last 15 ODIs between the countries and this particular series has shown that they are clearly a class apart especially in the batting department where West Indies have looked distinctly average.
Coming immediately after a disappointing performance as hosts of the World T20, this series has prompted another run of doom and gloom stories about the state of West Indies cricket. Some of these pieces have some merit. But Chris Gayle and his fellow batsmen need look no further than Headley for some much need inspiration.
Headley was truly one of the greats of the game. In 22 tests, when he pretty much was the West Indies batting on his own, he scored ten centuries including eight against England. His test match average of 60.83 is one of the best in history, and the tag of the 'black' Bradman was certainly justified. Indeed, Headley's admirers responded by calling Bradman the white Headley, and the fact that is a compliment to the Don shows just how good the pioneering Headley was.
Eras are different of course, but just imagine what Headley could have done in the West Indian side of the 70s and 80s along with Richards, Lloyd and Greenidge et al?
So on the cricket field of heaven today, the members will doff their caps to a very special player on what would have been his 101st birthday. It is to be hoped that today's West Indies players take inspiration from this most wonderful of cricketers.
Continuing from Part 1 yesterday, which counted down the best batsmen from 20-11, here are numbers 10-1 in reverse order, with an additional comment at the end for those Test countries not represented in my list:
10. Victor Trumper (Australia) – 48 Tests, 8 100s, 13 50s, Average 39.04, HS 214*
Widely acknowledged as the best Australian batsman before Bradman, Trumper was both stylish and versatile with a penchant for playing match-winning innings on treacherous wet wickets. After scoring 135 not out against England at Lord’s in 1899, Grace gifted Trumper his own bat with the inscription "From the present champion to the future champion."
9. Herbert Sutcliffe (England) – 54 Tests, 16 100s, 23 50s, Average 60.73, HS 194
Sutcliffe’s name always seems to be inexplicably left on the margins when discussions as to who is the best ever English batsman. Perhaps this is because he opened the batting with Hobbs and played in the same era as Hammond. Whatever the reasons, Sutcliffe deserves recognition in his own right - the fourth highest Test match batting average of all-time for players with at least 20 innings, a fantastic record against Australia and prodigious run scoring for country and Yorkshire alike.
8. Brian Lara (West Indies) – 131 Tests, 34 100s, 48 50s, Average 52.88, HS 400*
The man with the highest Test and First Class scores of 400 not out and 501 not out respectively, Lara is the fourth of six West Indians on the list. When he started his career, West Indian dominance was on the wane. By the time he finished it, his side was in the doldrums and as a result he spent most of his time trying to keep the West Indies afloat making his record even more impressive. Perhaps his best achievement was in 1999 in the home series against Australia, when he single-handedly won the second and third tests with scores of 213 and 153 not out after his side had been obliterated in the first test. He scored a century too in the fourth and final test, but couldn’t prevent Australia squaring the series.
7. George Headley (West Indies) – 22 Tests, 10 100s, 5 50s, Average 60.83, HS 270*
Like Brian Lara over 60 years later, Headley had to keep a struggling side afloat. He managed this scoring a staggering ten centuries in his 22 Tests with his scoring feats leading to him being dubbed the ‘Black Bradman’. Headley was noted for his phenomenal back foot play and the time he seemed to have to play the ball, with such a shrewd judge as Len Hutton declaring that he had never seen a batsman play the ball later.
The outstanding batsman playing the game today, Ponting is widely acknowledged as the best Australian batsman since Bradman – high praise indeed. One of Ponting’s main strengths is his versatility in that he can score quickly, counter-attack or tough it out when the situation demands. Other strengths include his consistency and his habit of playing match winning innings.
5. Vivian Richards (West Indies) – 121 Tests, 24 100s, 45 50s, Average 50.23, HS 291
Regarded by cricket aficionados as probably the most devastating batsman in the history of the game, King Viv was absolutely unstoppable on his day. His style was a mixture of swagger and intimidation and most bowlers seemed to visibly cower when faced with an on-song Richards. It is befitting that he is the scorer of the fastest-ever Test century, from just 56 balls against England in his home island of Antigua during the 1986 tour.
4. Jack Hobbs (England) – 61 Tests, 15 100s, 28 50s, Average 56.94, HS 211
Popularly referred to as ‘The Master’, Hobbs scored more runs (61,760) and more centuries (199) than anyone else in the history of the sport – and but for the Great War these figures could have been more spectacular still. His opening partnership with Herbert Sutcliffe is considered to be the best England and maybe the game has seen. Hobbs made his first class debut against a side captained by W.G.Grace who presciently observed that "He's goin' to be a good'un". Even the learned Doctor could not have realised how ‘good’ Hobbs would become.
3. Walter Hammond (England) – 85 Tests, 22 100s, 24 50s, Average 58.45, HS 336*
Throughout his career, Hammond was often compared to Bradman, which is testament to what a great player he was, and he was included in the Don’s all-time XI. His seven Test double centuries has only been surpassed by Bradman and Brian Lara, and Hammond certainly had an ability to get big scores. His most notable series came on the tour of Australia in 1928-29 when he scored an incredible 905 runs at 113.12 in the five Tests. This has only been surpassed once – by Bradman, of course.
2. Garfield Sobers (West Indies) – 93 Tests, 26 100s, 30 50s, Average 57.78, HS 365*
Widely regarded as Cricket’s greatest all-rounder, Sobers was so good with the bat that he also ranks behind only the immortal Bradman on this list. Sobers mixed elegance with power and for a long time held the record for the highest Test score until he was usurped by his fellow West Indian Brian Lara. Perhaps his best innings though came for the Rest of the World against Australia in 1972 when Sobers played an innings of 254 which was described by Bradman as "probably the greatest exhibition of batting ever seen in Australia".
1. Donald Bradman (Australia) – 52 Tests, 29 100s, 13 50s, Average 99.94, HS 334
Who else? No self-respecting list of the greatest batsmen ever could have anyone else at its head. Has anyone dominated their sport as much as Bradman? It almost defies belief that his average of 99.94 is almost 40 runs higher than the second best for 20 completed innings (Graeme Pollock at 60.97). Of his many staggering batting feats, here are three examples. First, his consecutive triple centuries at Headingley in the Ashes tests of 1930 and 1934. Second, his 974 runs in five tests during the 1930 Ashes series in England including three double centuries – both records. Finally, his second innings knock of 270 during the Third Test at Melbourne during the Ashes series of 1936/37, which was rated by Wisden as the best test match innings of all time in 2001. It enabled Australia, who were two down in the series, to win the match and they duly completed a remarkable turnaround by winning the fourth (Bradman making 212) and fifth (Bradman, 169) tests – still the only time a team has come back from two down to win a test match rubber, and Bradman was the captain of course.
So, there we have it. Six West Indians, six who represented England, four Australians, two Indians and one each from South Africa and Pakistan. Obviously, a number of great players failed to make the cut and as I said yesterday it was an agonising process to get down to the final 20. Indians, South Africans and Pakistanis may feel aggrieved that their nations do not have a higher representation. Rest assured that Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, Dudley Nourse, Barry Richards (ruled out by the virtue of having only played four tests), Zaheer Abbas and Inzamam-ul-Haq were all there or thereabouts.
From England, no place could be found for Denis Compton, Ken Barrington, Peter May, Ted Dexter or David Gower. On the other side of the World in Australia, Allan Border, Steve Waugh, Neil Harvey, Stan McCabe and Adam Gilchrist all failed to make the cut. And those swashbuckling West Indians Frank Worrell, Gordon Greenidge and Clive Lloyd also deserve a mention.
For those countries not represented, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Aravinda da Silva were all considered from Sri Lanka, as was Andy Flower from Zimbabwe and Martin Crowe, Martin Donnelly, Glenn Turner and Bert Sutcliffe from New Zealand. Bangladesh have yet to produce a great batsman, but undoubtedly they will as they continue to improve in the Test match arena.
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