The Reverse Sweep

Alastair Cook keeps proving them wrong

Let's go back in time to two summers ago. Pakistan were visiting English shores for what would prove to be an eventful and never to be forgotten tour - and not for the right reasons sadly.

Alastair Cook couldn't buy a run. His game looked completely awry and Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer toyed with their new victim like an excitable pair of kittens with a cornered mouse.

Drop him was a familiar cry from pundits and spectators alike. But then from the depths of despair, Cook came out firing at The Oval with a courageous 2nd innings hundred that silenced the doubters and confirmed his place in the Ashes squad that winter. Not that it was ever really in question thanks to England's wise trigger shy selectors.

We all know what happened next. Cook morphed into a left-handed Jack Hobbs and plundered three hundreds and 766 remorseless runs as Australia were ground into the dust. Cook hasn't looked back and since the start of that Ashes tour has amassed over 2,000 runs at 72.75 with his hundred against South Africa yesterday making it seven hundreds in 21 Tests. These are phenomenal figures.

But Cook has not been content in merely becoming the best opener in Test cricket today. When he was handed the one day captaincy after Andrew Strauss retired from the 50 over format after yet another disappointing World Cup, even supposedly informed observers like Michael Atherton likened Cook to a donkey that did not have the game for 50 over cricket. Others felt Cook was not captaincy material not least because his supposed limitations as a batsman meant he wasn't worth a place in the side.

The critics were wrong again on both counts. His batting in a format that many thought was alien to him has been nothing short of a revelation. In 25 matches since assuming the captaincy, Cook has plundered 1180 runs at 51.30 with four hundreds and seven fifties. More telling is that he has done that at a strike rate of 88.65. Not bad for a donkey.

And what about his captaincy? Whilst his skills as a leader are still clearly developing, he has won five out of his six series at the helm - the aberration of course being the 5-0 whitewash in India - as England have climbed to number three in the ODI rankings.

In two years, Cook has gone from chump to being spoken of as the only challenger to Sachin Tendulkar's haul of 100 international hundreds. That is ridiculous of course as Cook is some 75 hundreds off achieving that, but it does show how far this unassuming character has come. Long may it continue.

Where next?

England vs South Africa - too close to call again?

Sachin Tendulkar & Jack Hobbs: Masters with much in common

How England won the Ashes: Part 4 - Runs, runs, runs...

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Sachin Tendulkar & Jack Hobbs: Masters with much in common

We learnt something new this week having not known before that Sachin Tendulkar's birthday falls on the same day - April 24th - as the first-class debut of Jack Hobbs in 1905.

This piqued our interest especially as in parallel the realisation dawned, that this was just one of many spooky coincidences linking The Master and the Little Master - even if unlike the modern day custodian of the mantle of the game's greatest batsman, Hobbs never became an MP - although his near contemporary C B Fry was offered the role of King of Albania.

The lineage of these two doyens of batting mastery is the subject of our latest piece for All Out Cricket's damn fine website, and if you read Sachin Tendulkar and Jack Hobbs: The Masters, you'll find out that the spooky coincidences go even further with Hobbs' first-class debut and the identity of the opposition captain.

Where next?

The 30 Greatest Batsmen Ever: Part 1 (30-21), Part 2 (20-11), Part 3 (10-1)

Cricket heroes: Jack Hobbs

Fry and Ranjitsinhji - Brothers in Arms

A mention in Wisden? Surely not...

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

  

The English cricket captain who was born in...Peru

Several England cricket captains have been born abroad. That redoubtable giant of the MCC Lord Harris was born in Trinidad. The cunning architect of Bodyline Douglas Jardine was born to Scottish parents in Mumbai.

Perhaps his birthplace of Milan is the reason why Ted Dexter's batting seemed touched with la dolce vita. Finally, it is perhaps apt that Johannesburg born Andrew Strauss leads a team containing several members born in the country of his birth.

But none of the baker’s dozen of foreign born skippers can boast as exotic a birthplace as Freddie Brown, born on the 16th day of December in 1910... in Peru - where his father, no mean cricketer himself, ran a business in Lima.

Brown sounds like he was quite a character - a quintessentially eccentric Englishman described as being “a big-hearted, self-confident, red-headed all-rounder usually seen wearing a white silk handkerchief, with a big grin and avuncular pipe”.

He was a cavalier lower middle-order batsman who loved to attack the bowling as well as a canny leg-spinner who switched to medium-pace later in a career that reached its zenith when he captained England in Australia in 1950-51 at the age of 40.

It was the tour that nobody wanted to lead with England expected to be dispatched with ease by a fearsome Australian side. Norman Yardley and George Mann both turned the selectors down, so with the MCC restricting itself to gentlemen amateurs when choosing their skipper, as the old adage goes Brown proved to be in the right place at the right time.

He had caught the eye when taking over the captaincy of Northamptonshire in 1949. Hitherto the whipping boys of county cricket – they had finished last in 1947 and 1948 and hadn’t even won a single match between 1934 and 1939, Brown called his charges in for three weeks training before the season lasted and led them to an unprecedented sixth place in the Championship.

The season after Brown solved the selectors conundrum over the captaincy for Australia by playing a starring role when captaining the Gentlemen against the Players at Lord’s. He blitzed 122 out of 131 runs made whilst he was at the crease in just 110 minutes with sixteen fours and a six into the Lord’s Pavilion.

Having been a member the 1932-33 party, Brown had seen at first-hand the revulsion and opprobrium heaped on Jardine’s shoulders and perhaps this and his natural jovial bonhomie taught him that a different approach was required.

The contrast with Jardine couldn’t have been more different. Brown was received with acclaim by the Australian public not only for his courageous and determined leadership, but also for his lion-hearted performances with bat and ball, which saw him finish third in the batting and bowling averages for his side.

England lost 4-1 but by most accounts actually played much the better cricket with the weather condemning them to defeat in Brisbane in the 1st Test, before a narrow 28 run defeat in the next Test in Melbourne and then injuries to Bailey and Wright in Sydney putting them 3-0 in arrears.

The next Test in Adelaide was lost too but Brown prevented a series whitewash and inflicted Australia’s first defeat in 26 Tests at Melbourne in the final Test by seizing an initiative that his side would not relinquish with five wickets on the first morning.

After this Brown led England to victory in a single Test in Wellington before he oversaw a 3-1 home win over South Africa in the summer of 1951. He played his final Test at Lord’s in 1953 at the age of 42 and took four wickets and hit 50 runs to help England to a crucial draw in a series that finally saw the Ashes reclaimed for the first time since Jardine’s side over 20 years before.

Brown’s heroics didn’t just extend to cricket. He fought in World War II, but spent most of the war in captivity having been captured at Tobruk in 1942 along with fellow Bodyline tourist Bill Bowes. Despite life hardly being easy - Brown lost 30kg before he was liberated by the Americans – he helped keep spirits up in the camps through organising a series of games of cricket, football and baseball.

Brown continued to devote himself to cricket after his retirement having a stint as Chairman of the Selectors, managing two MCC tours and worked as a member of the revered Test Match Special team.

Whilst 16 December is perhaps better remembered by cricket aficionados as the birthdate of The Master Jack Hobbs in 1882, Freddie Brown also deserves a place in the hearts of Englishmen everywhere and not just because he was born in the same land as Paddington Bear.

Where next?

Cricket heroes: Douglas Jardine, Jack Hobbs, Arthur Carr

All-time England Ashes XI: The Openers, Number 3, 4 and 5, All-rounder, Wicketkeeper, Fast bowlers, Spin King

The 25 Greatest Ashes Tests of them all: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Sachin Tendulkar's Tedious Quest

We live in a world where sticking a group of has-beens and noneities into the Australian jungle is considered entertainment by ITV.

So it is perhaps no surprise that the expectation and coverage surrounding Sachin Tendulkar's quest for his hundredth international hundred has reached ridiculous and frankly tedious proportions.

Now before his legion of fans spew forth any vitriol and bile in our direction, none of this opprobium is directed at the Little Master himself, who is probably as fed up about it as we are.

Indeed, the admirably modest Tendulkar is probably more than a bit embarrassed that his 'failure' to reach this unprecedented landmark was deemed more important by some commentators and media outlets (including sadly the BBC) than Rahul Dravid's fabulous century against the West Indies in the 2nd Test in Kolkata.

If Tendulkar had been out in the nervous nineties, one could have understood the extent of the coverage, but he made 38, which isn't even halfway to the fabled three figures.

Interestingly, Jack Hobbs, whose sobriquet was of course The Master, was virtually the first victim of media pressure in cricket when his attempt to equal the then record for the highest number of first-class centuries stalled one short in the summer of 1925.

Hobbs was besieged by "a whole caravan of reporters, cameramen, photographers and feature writers" and WG Grace's record eluded him for 6 matches as the hype intensified. Even as implacable a man as Hobbs was affected, telling John Arlott that the scrutiny "frayed his nerves".

So the Indian fans and media willing Tendulkar to succeed would be wise to relieve the pressure and give him time to breathe. He obviously needs it given that the wait has now been extended to 15 international innings (11 Test and 4 one day) since he recorded his 99th hundred in March at Nagpur against South Africa in the World Cup.

Of course once Hobbs finally reached his landmark against Somerset, with the shackles removed he scored another hundred in the second innings. Tendulkar would probably do something similar - that would be the time for celebrating not endless discussion about it before.

Where next?

Sachin Tendulkar's Annus Mirabilis

Cricket heroes: Rahul Dravid - The impenetrable wall

Heroes: Jack Hobbs - The Master

Sachin Tendulkar or Donald Bradman - Who is the greatest?

The contrarian erudite genius of Peter Roebuck 

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

An XI of Cricket Heroes

 
This week saw the publication of our 1000th post since we started The Reverse Sweep in 2009, which we suppose is cause for some mild celebration.

Cricket Heroes & Zeroes is perhaps the most prominent feature of this blog, so here is a team of our cricket heroes to muse over whilst we sip our celebratory glass of Bollinger (and no Doug, we don't mean you).

_________________________________________________________________

Jack Hobbs

The Master. We were in awe of his staggering accomplishments as a youngster and we still are.

See Cricket heroes: Jack Hobbs

_________________________________________________________________________

Victor Trumper

The thinking man's Bradman. Stylish, effervescent and with all the strokes. The first batsman to hit a Test hundred before lunch.

See All-time Australian Ashes XI: The Openers

_________________________________________________________________________

Viv Richards

Sachin acolytes will doubtless disagree, but King Viv is the not only the most destructive but the best batsman we've seen in 30 plus years of watching cricket.  And what about that swagger?

See Cricket heroes: Viv Richards

_________________________________________________________________________

David Gower

Our first cricket memory that really resonates was our boyhood hero Gower nonchalantly dispatching his first ball in Test cricket to the boundary.

See cricket heroes: David Gower

_________________________________________________________________________

Douglas Jardine (Captain)

England's greatest captain and the foe of Bradman in the notorious (and ultimately successful) Ashes expedition of 1932/33.

See cricket heroes: Douglas Jardine

_________________________________________________________________________

Keith Miller

Flamboyant cricketer? Check. War hero? Check. Alleged dalliances with Princesses? Check. What's not to like?

See Keith Miller: Champion all-rounder, war hero & raconteur

_________________________________________________________________________

Ian Botham

He may divide opinion as a commentator, but for any English born, cricket loving child of the late seventies and early eighties, Beefy was the original comic book hero.

See All-time England Ashes XI - All-rounder, plus Botham's Ashes and 10 reasons why Ian Botham may have worn sunglasses at the premiere of 'From the Ashes'

_________________________________________________________________________

Henry Blofeld

Don't laugh. Until he lost an argument with a bus, Blofeld was a promising enough schoolboy wicketkeeper to be talked about as a future Test player. But it is Blofeld's eccentric, irreverent and unmissable commentary on Test Match Special that gets him in here.

See cricket heroes: Henry Blofeld

_________________________________________________________________________

Hedley Verity

England's greatest ever spinner died a hero leading his men into battle in the Allied invasion of Italy in 1943.  1956 first-class wickets at an incredible 14.90 is the ultimate evidence of Verity's genius.

See cricket heroes: Hedley Verity

_________________________________________________________________________

Malcolm Marshall

If Richards is the best batsman we've ever seen, then Marshall is the best bowler. Marshall had everything. Express pace, a nasty bouncer (just ask Mike Gatting and Andy Lloyd) and the ability to swing the ball both ways.

See cricket heroes: Malcolm Marshall

_________________________________________________________________________

Harold Larwood

Bodyline's scapegoat is reputed to have been the fastest bowler ever and he certainly executed Jardine's cunning plan to the letter. His dignified response to being ostracised by the establishment proved he was as brilliant a man as he had been the most fearsome of fast bowlers.

See All-time Ashes XI and also Bodyline and nine other Ashes controversies

_________________________________________________________________________

Where next?

Cricket Heroes: Graham Dilley R.I.P

Check out all our other Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Heroes: Jack Hobbs - The Master

 
As a small boy, cricket was (as it is now) our religion. Our Bible was Wisden and this is where we first came across the batting phenomenon that was Jack Hobbs.

Anyone who earns the sobriquet of “The Master” has to be pretty damn good. And Hobbs was better than good being the most prolific batsman of them all.

He set batting records that will never be beaten: most first-class runs (61,760), most hundreds (a staggering 197) and the oldest man at 46 to score a Test hundred. These figures would have been even more spectacular but for the small matter of World War I and the fact that he had to wait for a two year qualification period to pass before making his first-class debut.

His longevity was quite frankly amazing. He made his debut for Surrey in 1905, taking the mantle of the noble game’s greatest player from Grace and carrying it all the way through to his retirement at the age of 51 in 1934, by which time he had passed the baton to Bradman.

By all accounts Hobbs was a stylish, classical batsman who thrilled crowds with his verve and audacity prior to the Great War and then continued to enthrall them afterwards despite adopting a less carefree more restrained approach.

As a schoolboy opening batsman, we hoped that reading as much as possible about Hobbs would inspire us to repeat his feats on the cricket field. Of course it didn’t but that didn’t detract from the joy we gained from learning about his feats and his renowned opening partnerships with Hayward, Rhodes, Sandham and best of all Sutcliffe – the greatest opening pair in the history of the game.

If all that wasn’t enough, his record against Australia seals the hero status of Hobbs for us: 12 hundreds and 3,636 runs (still records for England in the Ashes and second only to Bradman) at an average of 54.26.

As we are being reminded again in the excellent biography of Hobbs by Leo McKinstry, there aren’t many cricket heroes quite like Jack Hobbs.

Where next?

Jack Hobbs week

The 30 Greatest Batsmen Ever: Part 1 (30-21), Part 2 (20-11), Part 3 (10-1)

All-time England Ashes XI: The Openers, Number 3, 4 and 5, All-rounder, Wicketkeeper, Fast bowlers, Spin King

Most Ashes hundreds

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

England v India: 1st Test, Lord's - Preview

With all due respect to South Africa, this series is the real clash of the titans to see who is the best current Test side. England have won five series on the bounce and India are yet to lose a Test rubber under the leadership of MS Dhoni – so something has to give.

England and India are notoriously slow starters, so staging the 1st Test of the series on a Lord’s featherbed may suit both teams as they begin to feel each other out. However, with India having had so little time to prepare on these shores, England may come to regret not staging this Test at Trent Bridge or Old Trafford.

Intriguing is the word that comes most to mind when assessing this match. Firstly, it is the 2000th Test match (prompting the ridiculous ICC XI picked by the public – Kapil Dev instead of Sobers? Sehwag or Gavaskar instead of Hobbs?). Then there is the small matter of Sachin Tendulkar aiming for his 100th international hundred. And if that wasn’t enough, there is the presence of Duncan Fletcher as Indian coach.

The time for all the talking is nearly over, let the extravaganza begin.

Likely line-ups

It’s Broad or Bresnan for England – we’d opt for the latter to reunite the four man attack who were so impressive during the innings victories at Melbourne and Sydney.

India’s final XI is less clear given Sehwag’s injury and the absence of Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan from the squad that recently beat the West Indies. With Suresh Raina excelling in the Caribbean and hitting a hundred in the warm-up match at Taunton, we expect him to bat at six, which means it is a straight choice between Yuvraj and Abhinav Mukund for the final batting spot.

Ishant Sharma was a revelation in the Caribbean and will open the bowling with Zaheer. Munaf Patel or Praveen Kumar will join the two spearheads and Harbhajan in India’s four man attack.

Look out for…

Kevin Pietersen likes the big occasion and it doesn’t get much bigger than this – the 2000th Test against the best side in the world at Lord’s. Don’t be surprised if KP marks the occasion with a sparkling hundred.

The battle between Zaheer and Andrew Strauss promises to be one to watch, but it’s difficult to look past Sachin Tendulkar’s quest to hit his 100th hundred and finally get on that Lord’s honours board.

Previously at Lord’s

2007 – Match drawn

A battling 76 not out from Dhoni and bad weather on the final day allowed India to escape by the skin of their teeth with just one wicket left for England to get in the first game of a series India went on to win 1-0.

2002 – England won by 170 runs

A captain’s knock of 155 by Nasser Hussain laid the platform before the bowlers earned England a big first innings lead. Centuries by Michael Vaughan and John Crawley helped set India an impossible target of 568, which they fell well short of, but not before the hitherto unsung Ajit Agarkar lit up Lord’s with this only Test hundred.

1990 – England won by 247 runs

Graham Gooch made history with 333 and 123 as India were trounced at Lord’s after England piled up 653 for four declared in their first innings. India didn’t go down without a fight though with Mohammad Azharuddin hitting a sparklingly beautiful hundred and Kapil Dev hitting four successive sixes to save the follow on.

Prediction

The weather and the pitch will probably lead to a stalemate in this Test, but we go for England to win what promises to be a classic and close series 2-1.

Where next?

Cricket Zeroes: Graham Gooch

Strauss’s Somerset stint is a sad indictment of county cricket

Duncan Fletcher's secret mission as India's coach

Mahendra Singh Dhoni - A born leader

Historic India-Pakistan summit flounders due to cricket diplomacy

Don't miss a thing - Subscribe to and read about all of the Top 20 Cricket Blogs here

Read all our County Cricket coverage

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

 

 

 

Are Cook, Trott and Bell more impressive than Pippa Middleton's derriere?

 
There may be lies, damn lies and statistics, but the recent exploits of Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell almost warrant the creation of a new religion.

Rewind back to the Ashes of 2009 and the smell of fear that emanated from England fans when Kevin Pietersen’s dodgy achilles finally gave up the ghost after England’s historic win at Lord’s in the 2nd Test.

From then on, captain Andrew Strauss was like Obi Wan Kenobi – England’s only hope – as they somehow defied a statistical thrashing to gloriously regain the Ashes in that momentous decider at the Oval.

Since the celebration corks were popped, the champagne has gone flat for England’s supposed two main batsmen. Pietersen’s troubles with left-arm spin have been documented ad nauseum and have contributed to a poor return of just one hundred in 19 Tests. He has averaged 40.59 during that time, which is decent enough but hardly the figures that one who so obviously craves greatness would expect from himself.

The captain’s stats are even worse. During the same period, Strauss has also only scored one hundred – albeit an important one in the 2nd innings at Brisbane – but averages a paltry 32.38. If this poor run continues, Strauss is in danger of becoming a specialist captain a la Mike Brearley. Maybe he gave up the wrong form of the game?

During and at various times since that 2009 Ashes, Cook, Trott and Bell have each been derided by the media. After a poor run, many thought that Cook should be left out of the Ashes party until he saved his bacon with a brave hundred against Pakistan at the Oval last summer. Trott was widely regarded as a temporary solution only in the pivotal number three position and Bell was thought not to have the mental strength required to justify his obvious talent.

Thankfully the media hasn’t been so wrong since they joyously concurred with Neville Chamberlain and foolishly declared peace in our time following the Munich Conference of 1938.  

Indeed, Cook, Trott and Bell despite sounding like a firm of solicitors, are enjoying such a collective golden run that their figures are arguably even more impressive than her royal hotness Pippa Middleton’s quite stunning derriere.

Since saving his skin at the Oval last summer, Cook has hit six hundreds in 12 Test innings at a quite spectacular average of 111. Indeed the transformation has been so remarkable that one is left to wonder whether the real Cook hasn’t been kidnapped and replaced with a left-handed reincarnation of Sir Jack Hobbs.

Trott’s hot streak goes back even further to the start of last summer when he struck 226 against Bangladesh at Lord’s. Including this innings, Trott has hit 1377 runs in 13 Tests at a Bradmanesque 86 with five hundreds.

Like Cook, Bell saved his place with a courageous hundred – 140 at Durban in the Boxing Day Test of 2009. Since then his transformation to a fully fledged Jedi Knight has been completed and his light sabre has yielded 1253 runs in 14 Tests at 83.53 with five hundreds. Yoda may contemplate that Bell is a more impressive graduate than even Luke Skywalker such is the style with which the former sherminator has performed. 

So whilst Carol Vorderman’s figure is clearly not in the same league as the heavenly Pippa’s despite the former being awarded Rear of the Year, the figures of Cook, Trott and Bell can be mentioned in the same breath. Well, nearly.

Where next?

Matt Prior's Desert Island Discs

2nd Test, Lord's: England marks out of 10

Andrew Strauss is struck down by Kevin Pietersen's virulent malaise

Jack Hobbs by Leo McKinstry | Book review

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Jack Hobbs by Leo McKinstry | Book review

 
Having already produced one engrossing biography of one great England opener - in the form of the curmudgeonly Geoffrey Boycott, Leo McKinstry has repeated the trick and if anything surpassed himself with his take on the astonishing career of Sir Jack Hobbs.

Hobbs was known as The Master and during his lifetime was afforded almost saint-like status. His long career stretched from the age of Grace to the era of Bradman, he scored more first-class runs and centuries than any player before or since. Even today, he remains England’s greatest run-maker in Ashes Tests.

It is widely recognised that Hobbs evolved the art of batting with his elegant style, and transformed the status of professional cricketers through the strength of his quiet, dignified personality.

As someone who grew up in awe of his extraordinary run-making feats, we especially enjoyed the descriptions McKinstry provides on his most notable achievements such as the 1911/12 tour of Australia, his incredible opening stand with Sutcliffe on a sticky dog at The Oval in 1926 and perhaps most of all the day at Taunton where he equalled W G Grace’s record of 126 hundreds.

But crucially McKinstry provides a balanced view, no more so when he assesses the failure of Hobbs to volunteer for service in World War I until conscripted in 1916. There are also tales of how the Master was not averse to making commercial capital out of his feats, as well as certain instances on the field which suggest that Hobbs was not always the saintly figure he is often portrayed as.

We thoroughly enjoyed the book and rank it alongside the best cricket biographies we have read such as Duncan Hamilton’s wonderful biography of Harold Larwood and the portrayal of Douglas Jardine by Christopher Douglas. Hobbs may have given McKinstry plenty of material to work with, but he proves to be a master of his craft just as his subject undoubtedly was at the crease.

In short, we recommend it wholeheartedly – buy Jack Hobbs by Leo McKinstry on Amazon here. 

 

Where next?

Cricket Heroes: Jack Hobbs

The Oval, 1926: The greatest opening stand in Test history 

Jack Hobbs week

The 30 Greatest Batsmen Ever: Part 1 (30-21), Part 2 (20-11), Part 3 (10-1)

All-time England Ashes XI: The Openers, Number 3, 4 and 5, All-rounder, Wicketkeeper, Fast bowlers, Spin King

Most Ashes hundreds

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Some inspiration for Strauss and Cook - the greatest opening stand in Test history #PakvEng

 
This week is Jack Hobbs week on the Reverse Sweep to commemorate the release of a new biography on the Master by Leo McKinstry (buy it on Amazon here).

Yesterday, we explained why Hobbs has been one of our cricket heroes since childhood. Today, we focus on the best of his many great partnerships for England with Yorkshire's Herbert Sutcliffe - the pair we selected to open in our All-time England and composite Ashes XIs.

Quite simply the pair formed the best opening pair in the history of Test cricket. They amassed 3249 runs in only 38 innings with 15 century stands at a whopping average of 87.81. Individually they rank as two of the greatest batsmen in history, but together they were near impregnable - especially when the odds seemed stacked against them.

In the 1926 Ashes, with the series 0-0, the final test at The Master's home ground of The Oval would be timeless; meaning that whatever happened there would be a positive result. England had lost the last three Ashes series 5-0, 3-0 and 4-1 and hadn't won a rubber since before the Great War, so much was at stake.

England rung the changes, drafting in Percy Chapman (in place of the unfortunate Arthur Carr) as skipper, the 49 year old Wilfred Rhodes and the young tearaway Nottinghamshire fast bowler Harold Larwood. An expectant nation waited with bated breath.

Chapman did his first job by winning the toss on what looked like a prime batting wicket, but despite Hobbs (37) and Sutcliffe (76) providing a good start, England could only make  280 in their first innings. Australia then eked out a 22 run lead after recovering from 122 for six thanks to a quickfire 73 from Jack Gregory batting at eight.

The fate of the Ashes lay with Hobbs and Sutcliffe and all looked well as they made steady progress to close the day on 49 without loss. But then disaster as heavy rain overnight meant that the uncovered pitch turned into a treacherous sticky wicket. England were only 27 runs ahead and if they failed to prevent a collapse, then most of the demons would have probably left the pitch by the time Australia came to chase. And that would mean the Ashes would be lost again.

But Hobbs and Sutcliffe had other ideas, despite fearing that England would be lucky to even add another 80 runs to their overnight score. They put these fears to one side and with great skill, resolve and sheer grit they tackled the sticky dog and the crafty bowling of Richardson, Mailey and Grimmett to preserve their wickets and punish any bad balls.

Slowly but surely they  grew their stand to 172 before Hobbs was out for exactly 100 just after reaching his milestone to rapturous applause from an excited crowd. Sutcliffe went on to make 161 and England 436.

By the time Australia finally started their second innings, further rain had fallen and they had no hope of getting the 415 they needed to retain the Ashes. Rhodes and Larwood took seven wickets between them, but it was Hobbs and Sutcliffe who were the heroes of the hour.

Hobbs and Sutcliffe shared 11 century partnerships in Tests against Australia, but this was undoubtedly the finest. Even more so then when they repeated the trick on another treacherous sticky wicket at Melbourne in 1928/29. That time they added 106 as England successfully chased down 332 to win. Sutcliffe again scored a brave matchwinning hundred. 

Where next?

Cricket Heroes: Jack Hobbs

All-time England Ashes XI: The Openers, Number 3, 4 and 5, All-rounder, Wicketkeeper, Fast bowlers, Spin King

Cricket Heroes: Arthur Carr

The 25 Greatest Ashes Tests of them all: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Jack Hobbs week

 
This week is Jack Hobbs week on the Reverse Sweep timed to mark the release today of a new biography on the Master by Leo McKinstry (buy it on Amazon here).

As such there will be a series of posts on Hobbs over the coming days culminating (hopefully, if we finish it in time) by our review of the book, which was kindly sent to us by those nice people at Yellow Jersey.

As a child we were fascinated by the remarkable feats of Hobbs. During his long career that stretched from the age of Grace to the era of Bradman, he scored more first-class runs and centuries than any player before or since. Even today, he remains England’s greatest run-maker in Ashes Tests.

Having thoroughly enjoyed McKinstry’s insightful biographies of Geoff Boycott and Alf Ramsey, we were looking forward to his take on Hobbs and the book certainly hasn’t disappointed so far.

Let the festivities commence.

Where next?

County Championship XI of the week #8

Marcus Trescothick so close to cricket's Holy Grail

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

The England-Sri Lanka series features four of the best 22 Test batsmen ever

 
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 22nd place 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”.

Where next?

1st Test: Cardiff - Preview: England reach for the feel good hit of summer

Seven reasons why England should not underestimate Sri Lanka

The 30 Greatest Batsmen Ever: Part 1 (30-21), Part 2 (20-11), Part 3 (10-1)

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Cricket XIs: World Cup Golden Oldie XI

 
After the first six days of the World Cup, we couldn’t help noticing at The Reverse Sweep that a number of players are – how should we put it – knocking on a bit.

The number of thirty-something’s on show certainly seems significant and even if no–one can quite match the feat of Jack Hobbs, by playing international cricket beyond their 50th birthday, there are a number who will be qualifying for their bus pass in the not so distant future.

The only team bucking the trend is Bangladesh, whose oldest player is spinner Abdur Razzak at 28. Anyway here is our XI of Golden Oldies, which with the oldest wicketkeeper in the tournament being Brad Haddin at a sprightly 33, sees Ricky Ponting wearing the gloves – yes, we were feeling sadistic when we picked this team:

 John Davison (age today 40 years, 292 days)

Where best to start then with the oldest man in the tournament and the only one the wrong side of 40? Davison scored a World Cup hundred off only 67 balls against West Indies in 2003, and would still probably be playing in the next tournament if it wasn’t for the dastardly ICC deciding to bar the minnows. The rotters.

Sachin Tendulkar (37 years, 307 days)

Like a particularly excellent vintage of Chateau Lafitte, the Little Master keeps getting better and better with age. He already has 445 ODI caps and 46 hundreds, but will this World Cup be his last foray in the ODI arena?

Ricky Ponting (36 years, 68 days)

Unlike Tendulkar, if Ponting was a wine he would be well and truly corked such have his powers diminished over the last two years. As the runs have dried up, the frequency of temper tantrums have increased. Television sets across India, beware of Mr Angry.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul (36 years, 193 days)

Chanderpaul is one of those players who seem to have been around for ever. Maybe it is because all of those tedious nudge and nurdle innings have blended into one long nightmare. Indeed, Chanderpaul has been around so long, he may even have had a cabin in Noah’s Ark.

Misbah-ul-Haq (36 years, 273 days)

It seems strange that a batsman of Misbah’s ability has only played 64 ODI, but he has been in and out of the Pakistan side more times than an overused jack from his box. The younger Pakistan batsmen could learn from Misbah’s resilience and calmness under pressure.

Steve Tikolo (39 years, 245 days)

The veteran of five World Cups is widely regarded as one of the best batsmen never to play Test cricket. Judging by his performances against New Zealand and Pakistan in this tournament however, it would seem that Tikolo’s powers have gone in the opposite direction to his girth. Makes Jesse Ryder look slim.

Trent Johnston (36 years, 302 days)

Ireland’s adopted Aussie challenges Scott Styris (another who is the wrong side of 35) as the ugliest man in the tournament. In fact there is something positively Transylvanian about the features of the dogged all-rounder. Given that vampires are immortal, perhaps Johnston is actually much older than his reported 36 years?

Andre Botha (35 years, 166 days)

Ireland’s other golden oldie and adopted South African (well England are doing it, so why not Ireland too?) will always be remembered for his magnificent two for five from eight overs in the shock victory over Pakistan in the 2007 World Cup.

Brett Lee (34 years, 109 days)

We were actually surprised when we saw that Lee was only 34 - making him the youngster in this side. However, given that he still manages to bowl consistently over 90mph, Lee’s body is closer to that of a creaking septuagenarian. Even so, Lee was still too good for England in the recent ODI series and gave Australia the attack leader it sorely lacked during the Ashes series. Just don’t let him sing.

Shoaib Akhtar (35 years, 196 days)

Has anyone ever sweated as much as Shoaib? Maybe it is a side-effect of genital warts or even the alleged liposuction operation he had (which surely he should claim a refund for?). No one can fault his effort though, even if it is restricted to two over spells at most these days.   

Muttiah Muralitharan (38 years, 314 days)

The World Cup will be Murali’s last hurrah as an international cricketer and no doubt he’ll smile his way through the whole tournament. Will he bow out with a second World Cup winner’s medal? A billion Indians hope not.

Where next?

An XI of players likely to bid a fond farewell to ODI after the World Cup

Our XI to shine at the World Cup

The real reason why Ricky Ponting smashed that television

Read all our World Cup posts here

Check out our other Reverse Sweep XIs

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

The Boundary View: The Empire Strikes Back - Brisbane, Day Four

 
Strauss goes from zero to hero

Andrew Strauss copped quite a bit of tap for his third ball dismissal in the first innings, so to bounce back today with a hundred - especially with his side behind the eight ball at the start of play - exemplified hisimmense mental strength and resilience. The luck was with him as evidenced by his narrow escape to the first ball of the innings and Mitchell Johnson's butter fingers, but like Michael Hussey yesterday, Strauss deserved his slices of good fortune. He became the seventh Englishman to follow a 1st innings duck with a 2nd innings Ashes hundred - following in the footsteps of Vaughan, Botham, Randall, Sheppard, Woolley and Tyldesley. The ultimate zero to hero story.

Cook's hard work pays dividends

For a man that was supposed to be the weak link in England's batting line-up, Alastair Cook has had a remarkable match. A watchful fifty in the 1st innings and now a workmanlike hundred in the second. Cook's technique looked all over the place in the English summer but time at the crease during the tour seems to have corrected most of these glitches and given Cook the requisite confidence. Perhaps the most notable beneficiary of England's approach to playing three warm-up matches prior to the series?

Better than Hobbs & Sutcliffe?

Strauss and Cook's ninth century opening stand in their 82nd test innings together took them past the Jack Hobbs-Herbert Sutcliffe union to become England's most prolific opening pair in Test cricket (see full list here). A fantastic achievement, yes. But, Hobbs and Sutcliffe - arguably the greatest opening partnership of them all - managed their 3249 runs in only 38 innings with 15 century stands and an average of 87.81 - over double that of Strauss and Cook. But given their highest opening partnership of the ill-fated 2006-07 series was 45, their 188 run stand today was quite brilliant.

Ponting's gun fires blanks

Even though the pitch suited the batters, Ricky Ponting must be worried about his misfiring attack. Johnson was hopeless and Ben Hilfenhaus has only really been dangerous in the first over of each innings. Xavier Doherty has bowled tidily but for the most part has been unthreatening and Shane Watson looked a part-time option at best. Even Peter Siddle has looked a shadow of the bowler he was in the 1st innings. With England toiling for 158 overs in Australia's 1st innings, it would seem that the attack that most quickly finds the ability to take 20 wickets in a match will win this series. 

Player of the Day

Alastair Cook - most of the attention will go to Strauss, but it was Cook that batted for the whole day and he now has just one run shy of 200 in both innings and has occupied the crease for over 10 hours in the match.

Zero of the day

Mitchell Johnson - for spraying the ball around like a sex-addicted rabbit on viagra and dropping an easy chance to reprieve Strauss. No wickets, a 19 ball duck, that drop and a comedy moustache - the joke is certainly on Johnson in this Test. Even Ponting seems to be losing the faith.

What happens next?

The draw seems the most likely result. But if England can push on, carve out a 300 run lead before tea and take a few wickets with the new ball, who knows? Just a note of caution for England fans though - in Adelaide in 2006 England were 97 runs ahead at the end of the fourth day and looked what happened then. 

Where next?

All-time Australian Ashes XI: The Openers, Number 3, 4 and 5, All-rounder, Wicketkeeper, Fast bowlers, Spin Kings

All-time England Ashes XI: The Openers, Number 3, 4 and 5, All-rounder, Wicketkeeper, Fast bowlers, Spin King

The Boundary View: The Hussey & Haddin Show - Brisbane, Day Three

The Boundary View: Mr Cricket Thwarts England - Brisbane, Day Two

The Boundary View: Siddle's Joy of Six - Brisbane, Day One

Ashes 100-1: 14 - The 25 Greatest Ashes Tests: Part 1 of 3

 
England and Australia have competed in 321 Test matches since the first acknowledged Test started on 15 March 1877. Australia have the edge in the oldest international sports contest with 132 wins to England's 99 and there have been 90 draws.

There have been many classic Tests in the battle for the little urn. In a three-part series, we have picked 25 of the best, which we will list chronologically.

The Oval, 28-29 August 1882 - Australia won by 7 runs: The birth of the Ashes with Australia winning a stunning victory after bowling out England for 69 having set them only 77 to win. Spofforth took 14 for 90 after declaring that "this thing can be done" and the dismissal of Grace saw England slide from 51 for two to a defeat considered so ignominious that Reginald Shirley Brook penned his mock obituary to English cricket in The Sporting Times.

1st Test,  Sydney, 14-20 December 1894 - England won by 10 runs: An amazing come-from-the-dead victory for England after following on 261 runs behind. Ward hit 117 as England recovered to set Australia 177 to win - a target they appeared to be coasting to when 130 for two. But Peel took six for 67 and Australia lost their last eight wickets for 53 as England completed an unlikely victory. England eventually won the series 3-2 by chasing down 297 in the decider at Melbourne.

3rd Test, The Oval, 10-12 August 1896 - England won by 66 runs: It was all square going into the final and deciding test of the 1896 series, but with the home side being skittled for 89 in their second innings it seemed that with Australia only needing 111 victory the tourists had regained the Ashes. But on a wet pitch, they slid to 25 for nine and ultimately 44 all out.

4th Test, Old Trafford, 24-26 July 1902 - Australia won by 3 runs: Australia retained the Ashes in a match that swung one way then another. Trumper became the first batsman to score a hundred before lunch on the first day of a Test as Australia hit 299. England recovered from 44 for five thanks to a hundred from F.S Jackson and then bowled Australia out for 86 in their second innings. But then the hapless Fred Tate took over. Having dropped a skier to reprieve Darling, Tate was last man out and the urn had gone. The test is still known as Tate's Match.

5th Test, The Oval, 11-13 August 1902 - England won by 1 wicket: The Ashes may have gone in the previous match, but that didn't stop this Test from being a classic. Set 263 to win, England slipped to 48 for five before Gilbert Jessop bludgeoned a hundred in 75 minutes. Then Hirst and Rhodes - England's last pair - came together with 15 required and 'got 'em in singles' to record a famous win.

5th Test, The Oval, 14-18 August 1926 - England won by 289 runs: After a period of utter Australian dominance following the end of World War I, the 1926 series in England was a much tighter affair. In the decider at The Oval, England were just ahead near the start of their second innings before a thunderstorm rendered the wicket as a treacherous 'sticky dog'. All seemed lost, but Hobbs and Sutcliffe thought otherwise and compiled an opening stand of 172 (Hobbs 100, Sutcliffe 161). England set Australia 415 and Rhodes and Larwood did the rest. Ashes regained.

3rd Test, Melbourne, 29 December 1928 - 5 January 1929 - England won by 3 wickets: Hobbs and Sutcliffe reprised their heroics in the next series, where with England set 332 to win on another wet wicket they compiled another century opening stand. Jardine, Hammond and then Hendren also provided sterling support to Sutcliffe who anchored the chase with 135. Despite some late wickets, England made it home by just three wickets to achieve an unassailable 3-0 series lead.

5th Test, The Oval, 16-22 August 1930 - Australia won by an innings and 39 runs: Despite the utter brilliance of Bradman, who scored 974 runs at 139.14, the series was locked at 1-1 going into the timeless decider at The Oval. England won the toss and 161 from Sutcliffe helped England compile 405 in their first innings. But with Bradman around that was never going to be enough. The Don scored 232 with Ponsford hitting 110 and Jackson 73 in a crucial 243 run partnership with Bradman as Australia made 695. It was too much for England and they folded for 251 to hand the Ashes back to Australia. 

Where next?

Heroes: Douglas Jardine

Hobbs and Sutcliffe star in the greatest test opening stand of them all

Ashes hundreds before lunch 

Ashes 100-1: 18 - All-time Ashes XI

 
We see that Cricinfo has invited its readers to pick their All-time Ashes XI. Given we have recently selected our own all-time Australia and England Ashes XIs, it seems apt to pick a composite Ashes XI from these 22 names:

All-time Australian Ashes XI: The Openers, Number 3, 4 and 5, All-rounder, Wicketkeeper, Fast bowlers, Spin Kings

All-time England Ashes XI: The Openers, Number 3, 4 and 5, All-rounder, Wicketkeeper, Fast bowlers, Spin King

Openers

Having selected five openers in our two sides – Len Hutton was picked at first drop in our England Ashes XI – we have a plethora of options here. But for the same reason that Hutton was pushed down to three, we see no reason to split up the immortal opening partnership of Hobbs and Sutcliffe. The dynamic duo had 11 opening partnerships of over 100 against Australia including two of the greatest in the history of the game at The Oval in 1926 and Melbourne in 1928/29.

Middle order

Bradman picks himself at three and is also our captain. Joining him in the middle order are Hammond – who other than in the 1928/29 series when he hit 905 runs was mostly overshadowed by the brilliance of Bradman. This leaves us with three tough, doughty fellows in Barrington, Border and Waugh. We opt for the middle of these, partly because as a left-hander he provides balance to the side, but also because he was equally as effective in a losing or winning side.

All-rounder

Choosing between two larger-than-life characters like Miller and Botham is no easy task - especially as we looked on as an awed child at the exploits of the latter in the unforgettable 1981 Ashes. But despite this, Miller seems to have the better of Botham with both bat and ball and also had his opponent’s ability to change a match single-handedly.

Wicketkeeper

Gilchrist’s superior batting versus Knott’s better ability with the gloves? In the end this was quite an easy choice because quite simply Gilchrist had an unbeatable talent for counterpunching when his side were in trouble or turning a positive position into one of utter dominance all in the blink of an eye.

Seamers

Barnes is arguably the greatest bowler ever and offers a potent variety of seam, swing and spin – the latter meaning that we need only select one specialist spinner in our XI. Due to our unashamed love of extreme pace, we opt for Lillee and Larwood over Bedser and Lindwall to join Barnes in our composite XI.

Spin

Having seen the exploits of Warne at first-hand, it is impossible to prefer O’Reilly or Verity above him. For balance, the left-arm spin of Verity is preferred to the leggie Tiger as our 12^th man.

So, our all-time Ashes XI is: Hobbs, Sutcliffe, Bradman (C), Hammond, Border, Miller, Gilchrist, Larwood, Warne, Lillee and Barnes with Verity as 12th man.

Where next?

Hammond and Bradman: Two batting phenomenons

Hobbs and Sutcliffe: Their greatest opening stand

Heroes: Hedley Verity

Ashes 100-1: 26 - Hobbs & Sutcliffe star in the best Ashes opening partnership of them all

 
We've already showed our hand by selecting Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe as the openers in our All-time England Ashes XI. Quite simply the pair formed the best opening partnership in the history of test cricket.

In 1926, with the series 0-0, the final test at The Oval would be timeless, which meant that whatever happened there would be a positive result. England had lost the last three Ashes 5-0, 3-0 and 4-1 and hadn't won a series since before the Great War, so much was at stake.

England drafted in Percy Chapman as skipper and having won the toss made 280 in their first innings (Sutcliffe 76, Hobbs 37 and Chapman 49) with Arthur Mailey taking six for 138. Australia then eked out a 22 run lead after recovering from 122 for six.

Hobbs and Sutcliffe made steady progress to close the day on 49 without loss, but heavy rain overnight and the following day meant that the uncovered pitch turned into a treacherous sticky wicket. England were only 27 runs ahead and if they failed to prevent a collapse, then most of the demons would have probably left the pitch by the time Australia came to chase. And that would mean the Ashes would be lost again.

But Hobbs and Sutcliffe had other ideas. With great skill and immense valour they grew their opening partnership to 172 before Hobbs was out for exactly 100. Sutcliffe went on to make 161 and England 436.

By the time that Australia finally started their second innings, further rain had fallen and they had no hope of getting the 415 they needed to retain the Ashes. Wilfred Rhodes and Harold Larwood took seven wickets between them, but it was Hobbs and Sutcliffe who were the heroes of the hour.

Hobbs and Sutcliffe shared 11 century partnerships for the first wicket in Tests against Australia, but this was undoubtedly the finest. Even more so when they repeated the trick on another stickywicket at Melbourne in 1928/29 in adding 106 as England chased down 332 to win. Sutcliffe again scored a brave and matchwinning hundred. 

Where next?

All-time England Ashes XI: The Openers, Number 3, 4 and 5, All-rounder, Wicketkeeper, Fast bowlers

All-time Australian Ashes XI: The Openers, Number 3, 4 and 5, All-rounder, Wicketkeeper, Fast bowlers, Spin Kings

Heroes: Hedley Verity

 

Ashes 100-1: 60 - All-time England Ashes XI: The Openers

 
Yesterday, we commenced our all-time Ashes XIs by naming our Australian opening pair (see here). Today, it is the turn of their English counterparts.

A number of great English openers have graced Ashes encounters stretching all the way back to the good Doctor himself in the Victorian era. This left us with a lengthy initial long-list comprising the aforementioned WG Grace, as well as Jack Hobbs, Herbert Sutcliffe, Len Hutton, Geoff Boycott, Graham Gooch, Michael Atherton, John Edrich and Michael Vaughan.

Gooch and Atherton were quickly discounted as despite both being very good batsmen, they met their respective nemeses' when facing the Australians. Atherton probably still wakes up with the sweats when Glenn McGrath features in his nightmares and the same is probably true for Gooch when the grinning face of Terry Alderman appears. As such, Gooch only averaged 33 in Ashes encounters and Atherton a touch under 30.

Grace was also discounted as by the time test cricket came around, the good Doctor was arguably a bit past his peak and in any case he saved his best for the Gentlemen versus Players matches, which probably were considered more important in his era.

Vaughan was ruled out too as he only had one series as an opener against the Australians. That said it was a phenomenal one with three hundreds and 633 runs at 63.33, which is why he deserves mention. But the others remaining have far more lengthy legacies. Finally, we considered that Edrich fell into the 'very good' rather than 'great' category, so he is missing from our final short-list too.

That leaves us with four English openers that certainly fall into the 'great' category - Hobbs, Sutcliffe, Hutton and Boycott. Along with Walter Hammond, Hobbs is arguably the greatest English batsman ever, so he has to be one of the two names. Certainly, The Master's record against Australia was superlative with more runs (3,636) and more tons (12) than anyone else and with an average in the mid-fifties. So, who should join him?

One of our earliest memories was of Boycott scoring his 100th hundred in the Headingley test of 1977 and he certainly has a decent enough record against the Australians. But the fact that more often than not self came before country as evidenced by his decision to opt out of the 1974/75 Ashes, rules out the opinionated one on this occasion.

That leaves a choice between Hutton and Sutcliffe. This is a very difficult decision. On the one hand there is Hutton, who captained England twice to Ashes glory, hit the highest score ever in Ashes battles at the Oval in 1938 and who averaged over 56 against England's greatest foe. Then there is Sutcliffe, who averaged a phenomenal 66.85 against Australia, hit eight centuries in 27 Ashes tests and who formed perhaps the greatest opening partnership of them all with Hobbs.

And it is this last point that tips the scales in  Sutcliffe's favour and sees him reunited with The Master in our all-time England Ashes XI. One only has to look at their opening stand of 105 on a treacherous wet wicket at Melbourne on the 1928/29 tour to see the benefit of pairing these two together. It may have not been their biggest stand in terms of runs, but it was probably the best century partnership in Ashes history given the state of the pitch. On this occasion, Hobbs was out first for 49 and Sutcliffe steered England to within touching distance of their victory target of 332 before falling for a stupendous 135.

Where next?

All-time Australian Ashes XI

Andrew Strauss' difficult assignment

Botham's Ashes

England win the Ashes 5-0

 

 

Ashes 100-1: 100 Most hundreds

Believe it or not but today marks the 100 day countdown to the start of the first Ashes test at Brisbane on 25th November. We're quite excited by that at the Reverse Sweep, so today also sees the launch of our new Ashes 100-1 feature.

Every day between now and the eve of the Gabba test, there will be an Ashes related post that provides a statistic, observation, memory or maybe even a witticism on the greatest contest in cricket.

As today is day number 100, it seems appropriate that this post is dedicated to the list of batsmen who have scored the most hundreds in Ashes contests. 31 batsmen have scored at least five centuries in tests between Australia and England and not surprisingly, several illustrious cricketers are included within their number. The list is headed of course, by one D.G.Bradman:

Player	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	100	50
DG Bradman (Aus)	37	63	7	5028	334	89.78	19	12
JB Hobbs (Eng)	41	71	4	3636	187	54.26	12	15
SR Waugh (Aus)	45	72	18	3173	177*	58.75	10	14
DI Gower (Eng)	38	69	3	3037	215	46.01	9	11
WR Hammond (Eng)	33	58	3	2852	251	51.85	9	7
GS Chappell (Aus)	30	55	6	2154	144	43.95	8	10
AR Morris (Aus)	24	43	2	2080	206	50.73	8	8
RT Ponting (Aus)	31	50	1	2363	196	48.22	8	8
H Sutcliffe (Eng)	27	46	5	2741	194	66.85	8	16
AR Border (Aus)	42	73	15	3222	200*	55.55	7	19
JH Edrich (Eng)	32	57	3	2644	175	48.96	7	13
WM Lawry (Aus)	29	51	5	2233	166	48.54	7	13
M Leyland (Eng)	20	34	4	1705	187	56.83	7	3
MJ Slater (Aus)	20	37	0	1669	176	45.10	7	4
DC Boon (Aus)	30	55	7	2041	164*	42.52	6	8
G Boycott (Eng)	34	63	7	2579	191	46.05	6	12
RN Harvey (Aus)	37	68	5	2416	167	38.34	6	12
MA Taylor (Aus)	33	61	2	2496	219	42.30	6	15
VT Trumper (Aus)	40	74	5	2263	185*	32.79	6	9
ME Waugh (Aus)	29	51	7	2204	140	50.09	6	11
WM Woodfull (Aus)	25	41	3	1675	155	44.07	6	8
KF Barrington (Eng)	23	39	6	2111	256	63.96	5	13
DCS Compton (Eng)	28	51	8	1842	184	42.83	5	9
MC Cowdrey (Eng)	43	75	4	2433	113	34.26	5	11
ML Hayden (Aus)	20	35	3	1461	197	45.65	5	2
L Hutton (Eng)	27	49	6	2428	364	56.46	5	14
Hon.FS Jackson (Eng)	20	33	4	1415	144*	48.79	5	6
JL Langer (Aus)	21	38	5	1658	250	50.24	5	5
CG Macartney (Aus)	26	42	4	1640	170	43.15	5	7
AC MacLaren (Eng)	35	61	4	1931	140	33.87	5	8
WH Ponsford (Aus)	20	35	2	1558	266	47.21	5	5

If Ricky Ponting scores at least one hundred in the series, he will join a truly historic group of six players who have scored nine or more Ashes centuries: the greatest batsmen ever, England's two best batsmen of all-time and arguably their most stylish plus one of the most competitive cricketers there has ever been. That's quite a group - a bit like Lennon, Strummer, Hendrix, Moon and Morrison taking to the main stage at Heaven's equivalent of Glastonbury. 

The best 30 batsmen ever - Part 3/3 (10-1)

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.