Reviews, Opinions, Analyses, Stats and Numbers

The Club-10K

Throughout the Cricketing history, 10,000 Test Runs mark has served as an informal certificate of greatness and legendary status for whoever crossed this mark. Still there are a few other acknowledged greats of the game who failed to reach the mark that further adds to the prestige of the accomplishment. From that eagerly anticipated moment of Sunil Gavaskar becoming the first man to break the 10,000 Test runs barrier, it has remained quite an elite club, limited only to a dozen of players out of 2812 players who have ever played a Test match.


10,000 Test Runs Scorers – in the order of appearance

Player
Debut
Match Date
Time Taken
Mat
Inns
1
SM Gavaskar (India)
6-Mar-71
4-Mar-87
15y 363d
124
212
2
AR Border (Aus)
29-Dec-78
2-Jan-93
14y 4d
136
235
3
SR Waugh (Aus)
26-Dec-85
2-Jan-03
17y 7d
156
244
4
BC Lara (ICC/WI)
6-Dec-90
12-Aug-04
13y 250d
111
195
5
SR Tendulkar (India)
15-Nov-89
16-Mar-05
15y 121d
122
195
6
R Dravid (ICC/India)
20-Jun-96
26-Mar-08
11y 280d
120
206
7
RT Ponting (Aus)
8-Dec-95
30-May-08
12y 174d
118
196
8
JH Kallis (ICC/SA)
14-Dec-95
26-Feb-09
13y 74d
129
217
9
DPMD Jayawardene (SL)
2-Aug-97
26-Dec-11
14y 146d
127
210
10
S Chanderpaul (WI)
17-Mar-94
23-Apr-12
18y 37d
140
239
11
KC Sangakkara (SL)
20-Jul-00
26-Dec-12
12y 159d
115
195
12
AN Cook (Eng)
1-Mar-06
27-May-16
10y 87d
128
229

The latest addition to the distinguished list is Alistair Cook of England who became the 12th Cricketer in the history to join the prestigious club on May 27, 2016.  Accomplishing it in a career span of 10 years and 87 days, Cook became the fastest player to accumulate 10,000 Test Runs beating the previous best of 11 years and 280 days set by Rahul Dravid. He also became the first English player in 139 years of English Cricketing history to do that. It is a record in itself for the longest wait for any country for any of its players to reach the mark.

Unlike registration of other entrants to the club, Cook’s achievement went less celebrated and was taken more sedately as compared to the others. In terms of silence, it was probably second to only Chandepraul’s instance where it was taken more to admire the resilience of the man and longevity of his career, instead of as an endorsement of his greatness. Unsurprisingly, these are also the only two names in the list whose case of being regarded as a great of the game needs a debate while all others are acknowledged as greats of the game, more or less unanimously.

This observation served as the trigger to look beneath the surface and dig deeper into the stats and facts to figure out why, even after passing the de-facto test of greatness, they still struggle to be placed in the bracket of the greats of the game.

Let’s start with a comparison of batting averages of all those batsmen when they touched the 10K mark.


Batting Averages at the point of crossing 10,000 Test Runs mark

#
Player
Avg @10K
Debut
Match Date
Time
Mat
Inns
1
RT Ponting (Aus)
58.72
8-Dec-95
30-May-08
12y 174d
118
196
2
SR Tendulkar (India)
57.58
15-Nov-89
16-Mar-05
15y 121d
122
195
3
KC Sangakkara (SL)
55.8
20-Jul-00
26-Dec-12
12y 159d
115
195
4
R Dravid (ICC/India)
55.41
20-Jun-96
26-Mar-08
11y 280d
120
206
5
JH Kallis (ICC/SA)
54.37
14-Dec-95
26-Feb-09
13y 74d
129
217
6
BC Lara (ICC/WI)
52.91
6-Dec-90
12-Aug-04
13y 250d
111
195
7
AR Border (Aus)
52.08
29-Dec-78
2-Jan-93
14y 4d
136
235
8
DPMD Jayawardene (SL)
51.96
2-Aug-97
26-Dec-11
14y 146d
127
210
9
SM Gavaskar (India)
51.04
6-Mar-71
4-Mar-87
15y 363d
124
212
10
SR Waugh (Aus)
49.45
26-Dec-85
2-Jan-03
17y 7d
156
244
11
S Chanderpaul (WI)
48.98
17-Mar-94
23-Apr-12
18y 37d
140
239
12
AN Cook (Eng)
46.49
1-Mar-06
27-May-16
10y 87d
128
229


It makes the picture a bit clearer. Although, Alistair Cook has accumulated 10,000 Test Runs within minimum period of time, it has come as the worst batting average among all the players at the time of passing the mark. Not surprisingly, Chanderpaul is the next from the bottom in that list. If the Test batting average of 50 is taken as a benchmark for a batsman, Cook and Chanderpaul clearly fall short while Steve Waugh is found at the borderline.

Should these numbers be sufficient to conclude anything on Cook’s career? How difficult it is for any batsmen to end his career with a better batting average at the end then at 10K mark? Who has done that and to what extent? Stats can help us there as well.


Batsmen who improved their Career Batting Average after 10,000 Test Runs

#
Player
Avg @10K
Career Avg
Avg Diff
Career Runs
1
S Chanderpaul (WI)
48.98
51.37
2.39
11,867
2
SR Waugh (Aus)
49.45
51.06
1.61
10,927
3
KC Sangakkara (SL)
55.8
57.4
1.6
12,400
4
JH Kallis (ICC/SA)
54.37
55.37
1
13,289
5
SM Gavaskar (India)
51.04
51.12
0.08
10,122
6
AN Cook (Eng)
46.49
46.49
0
10,042
7
BC Lara (ICC/WI)
52.91
52.88
-0.03
11,953
8
AR Border (Aus)
52.08
50.56
-1.52
11,174
9
DPMD Jayawardene (SL)
51.96
49.84
-2.12
11,814
10
R Dravid (ICC/India)
55.41
52.31
-3.1
13,288
11
SR Tendulkar (India)
57.58
53.78
-3.8
15,921
12
RT Ponting (Aus)
58.72
51.85
-6.87
13,378

Clearly, Chanderpaul and Waugh lead the list. Probably, because it was easiest in their case. But the two batsmen who stand out in that list are Kumara Sangakkara and Jacques Kallis. Both were scoring at an average of around 55 but then they raised the bar even higher after crossing 10K Mark. No doubt, both of them left the game at a high note and at a point when everyone was convinced that there was more Cricket left in them.

So if we split the careers of all these batsmen in two parts – one before 10K mark and the other after 10K mark – how did they perform in the later part of their career?


Batting Averages after crossing 10,000 Test Runs Mark
#
Player
Avg @10K
Avg after 10K
Avg Diff
Runs after 10K
1
SR Waugh (Aus)
49.45
76.61
27.16
 927
2
S Chanderpaul (WI)
48.98
60.9
11.92
 1,867
3
KC Sangakkara (SL)
55.8
65.94
10.14
 2,400
4
SM Gavaskar (India)
51.04
60
8.96
 122
5
JH Kallis (SA)
54.37
57.91
3.54
 3,289
6
BC Lara (WI)
52.91
50.25
-2.66
 1,953
7
SR Tendulkar (India)
57.58
53.53
-4.05
 5,921
8
DPMD Jayawardene (SL)
51.96
44.26
-7.7
 1,814
9
R Dravid (ICC/India)
55.41
45.51
-9.9
 3,288
10
AR Border (Aus)
52.08
41.2
-10.88
 1,174
11
RT Ponting (Aus)
58.72
38.64
-20.08
 3,378
12
AN Cook (Eng)
46.49
0
-
 42

Steve Waugh’s performance in later part of his career stands out to be phenomenal but it lasted only for 927 more runs. However, Chanderpaul and Sangakkara’s numbers are just exceptional, considering they maintained that rate for quite a considerable period of time after crossing 10K mark.

The other case that stands out, from the bottom though, is of Ricky Ponting. The numbers reveal that he performed even below the average – of acceptable batting average of 40 – in later part of his career and therefore, Australian Cricket was probably justified in helping him expedite his retirement plans.  

Alan Border seemed to have played on probably to take the target for challengers even higher and probably to let the next captain to settle down in the team before he hands over the team to him. In Dravid and Jayawardene’s case, they seemed to have done the right thing in calling it a day when they eventually did. They were clearly struggling to match their own standards set in the earlier part of their careers.

Considering Cook is still in 32nd year of his life with no reason to retire any time in the near future, it has given birth to some interesting talking points; will Cook be the one to surpass Tendulkar’s record of most Test Runs in career (15,921)? How much time, Tests and innings will it take for Cook to do that? Numbers come to our aide in that case too. If Cook continues at the current pace, this is what is possible.


Alistair Cook – How many more to break Sachin’s Record of most Test Runs?

10,000
15,921
5,921
Innings
229
365
136
Tests
118
188
70
Years
10
16
6


The numbers trail highlights some other interesting aspects too and we will have a deeper look at them one by one. The first one is to have a look at the players in the vicinity of the mark. Here’s the list of players who are either inching closer or fell short of the mark in the recent years.





Younis Khan looks well on course to be the next player to join the club, provided, he doesn’t find yet another innovative way to disrupt his career.  Ian Bell seems to be struggling with the future of his career already and its still a long way to go for him, so he seems to be out of the race. Next in line are the two South Africans, AB DeViliers and Hashim Amla. They both look on track but probably AB DeViliers may not go the distance and call it a day before reaching there. In rough estimation, he needs to play three more years; possible but not sure if AB will play on for that long. However, Hashim Amla looks almost certain to go the distance.


Younis Khan does not only look on track to be the next Cricketer to hit the mark but he is well in contention to challenge the records of reaching their in minimum innings (195 innings of Lara, Tendulkar and Sanga) as well as in minimum number of Tests (111 Tests of Lara).  He has 9 innings and 7 more Tests to score the remaining 884 runs to equal the respective records.

Younis is already there in International Circuit for 15 years and still has a chance to have a shot at those records, that’s an interesting reflection. He has played 104 Tests in 15 years, that is, roughly 7 Tests a year. On the other hand, Kevin Pietersen managed to play same amount of Tests in only 9 years that is at a staggering rate of 11.5 Tests every year and if he had not retired from the game, he would have played 24 more Tests by now and would have definitely crossed the 10K mark. To put it into perspective, Kevin Pietersen averaged at 47.28 but still managed to accumulate 909 runs, on an average, every year. While Younis Khan with the best average of the lot (53.94) have been accumulating the least amount of runs – 608 runs per year.

That opens up another dimension of discussion. Add to it the fact that among all the Test Playing nations (except Bangladesh and Zimbabwe for obvious reasons), Pakistan is the only country that is still missing representation in the prestigious Club-10K. To have an idea about possible reasons, nothing can be better than to have a look at the top Pakistani batsmen with highest number of Test Runs


Pakistan Players with Highest Matches Per Year Ratio (Qualification: 6,000+ Test Runs)

Player
Span
Years
Mat
Mat/yr
Inns
Runs
Runs/yr
Ave
Inzamam-ul-Haq 
1992-2007
15
120
8.00
200
8830
589
49.6
Mohammad Yousuf 
1998-2010
12
90
7.50
156
7530
628
52.29
Javed Miandad 
1976-1993
17
124
7.29
189
8832
520
52.57
Younis Khan 
2000-2015
15
104
6.93
186
9116
608
53.94

The common theme looks to be the low number of Test per year. Only Inzamam managed to play 8 Tests a year, while, the rate for others remained lower with Younis Khan having the lowest Matches per year ratio. That also goes to show the struggle he had to go through to reach to this point.

Numbers don’t mean much until put into perspective. To understand the right weight to this observation is naturally to compare it with the stats of other players and here is how that comparison looks like

Test Players who played Highest Number of Matches Per Year (Qualification: 6,000+ Test Runs)

Player
Country
Span
Years
Mat
Mat/yr
Inns
Runs
Runs/yr
Ave
AN Cook 
Eng
2006-2016
10
128
12.80
229
10042
1004
46.49
AJ Strauss 
Eng
2004-2012
8
100
12.50
178
7037
880
40.91
ME Waugh 
Aus
1991-2002
11
128
11.64
209
8029
730
41.81
KP Pietersen 
Eng
2005-2014
9
104
11.56
181
8181
909
47.28
IR Bell 
Eng
2004-2015
11
118
10.73
205
7727
702
42.69
MJ Clarke 
Aus
2004-2015
11
115
10.45
198
8643
786
49.1
MA Taylor 
Aus
1989-1999
10
104
10.40
186
7525
753
43.49
R Dravid 
India
1996-2012
16
164
10.25
286
13288
831
52.31
AJ Stewart 
Eng
1990-2003
13
133
10.23
235
8463
651
39.54
RT Ponting 
Aus
1995-2012
17
168
9.88
287
13378
787
51.85
MEK Hussey 
Aus
2005-2013
8
79
9.88
137
6235
779
51.52
AR Border 
Aus
1978-1994
16
156
9.75
265
11174
698
50.56
GC Smith 
SA
2002-2014
12
117
9.75
205
9265
772
48.25
MA Atherton 
Eng
1989-2001
12
115
9.58
212
7728
644
37.69
SC Ganguly 
India
1996-2008
12
113
9.42
188
7212
601
42.17
JH Kallis 
SA
1995-2013
18
166
9.22
280
13289
738
55.37
G Kirsten 
SA
1993-2004
11
101
9.18
176
7289
663
45.27
KC Sangakkara 
SL
2000-2015
15
134
8.93
233
12400
827
57.4
DC Boon 
Aus
1984-1996
12
107
8.92
190
7422
619
43.65
SR Waugh 
Aus
1985-2004
19
168
8.84
260
10927
575
51.06
AB de Villiers 
SA
2004-2016
12
106
8.83
176
8074
673
50.46
DPMD Jayawardene 
SL
1997-2014
17
149
8.76
252
11814
695
49.84
V Sehwag 
India
2001-2013
12
104
8.67
180
8586
716
49.34
BB McCullum 
NZ
2004-2016
12
101
8.42
176
6453
538
38.64
VVS Laxman 
India
1996-2012
16
134
8.38
225
8781
549
45.97
DI Gower 
Eng
1978-1992
14
117
8.36
204
8231
588
44.25
SR Tendulkar 
India
1989-2013
24
200
8.33
329
15921
663
53.78
GP Thorpe 
Eng
1993-2005
12
100
8.33
179
6744
562
44.66
BC Lara 
WI
1990-2006
16
131
8.19
232
11953
747
52.88
Inzamam-ul-Haq 
Pak
1992-2007
15
120
8.00
200
8830
589
49.6
SP Fleming 
NZ
1994-2008
14
111
7.93
189
7172
512
40.06
SM Gavaskar 
India
1971-1987
16
125
7.81
214
10122
633
51.12
S Chanderpaul 
WI
1994-2015
21
164
7.81
280
11867
565
51.37
HM Amla 
SA
2004-2016
12
92
7.67
156
7358
613
51.45
JL Langer 
Aus
1993-2007
14
105
7.50
182
7696
550
45.27
Mohammad Yousuf 
Pak
1998-2010
12
90
7.50
156
7530
628
52.29

The list reveals some more interesting facts. Except for Dravid (10.25) and Smith (9.75), there is no other nationality except English and Australian who has played at higher than 9.5 Tests per year rate. That goes to show the advantage players from these countries enjoy in playing most Tests during minimum time. Coincidentally, Alistair Cook tops the list with almost 13 Tests per year – the most ever by any player. That also partially explains how Cook managed to score 10,000 runs in minimum time with worst of batting average. Its pretty simple; his board arranged a better schedule for him.

Test Players who played Lowest Number of Matches Per Year (Qualification: 6,000+ Test Runs)
Player
Country
Span
Years
Mat
Mat/yr
Inns
Runs
Runs/yr
Ave
DG Bradman 
Aus
1928-1948
20
52
2.60
80
6996
350
99.94
WR Hammond 
Eng
1927-1947
20
85
4.25
140
7249
362
58.45
L Hutton 
Eng
1937-1955
18
79
4.39
138
6971
387
56.67
RB Kanhai 
WI
1957-1974
17
79
4.65
137
6227
366
47.53
GS Sobers 
WI
1954-1974
20
93
4.65
160
8032
402
57.78
PA de Silva 
SL
1984-2002
18
93
5.17
159
6361
353
42.97
RN Harvey 
Aus
1948-1963
15
79
5.27
137
6149
410
48.41
MC Cowdrey 
Eng
1954-1975
21
114
5.43
188
7624
363
44.06
CH Lloyd 
WI
1966-1985
19
110
5.79
175
7515
396
46.67
GA Gooch 
Eng
1975-1995
20
118
5.90
215
8900
445
42.58
G Boycott 
Eng
1964-1982
18
108
6.00
193
8114
451
47.72
M Azharuddin 
India
1984-2000
16
99
6.19
147
6215
388
45.03
GS Chappell 
Aus
1970-1984
14
87
6.21
151
7110
508
53.86
KF Barrington 
Eng
1955-1968
13
82
6.31
131
6806
524
58.67
CG Greenidge 
WI
1974-1991
17
108
6.35
185
7558
445
44.72
GR Viswanath 
India
1969-1983
14
91
6.50
155
6080
434
41.93
ML Hayden 
Aus
1994-2009
15
103
6.87
184
8625
575
50.73
ST Jayasuriya 
SL
1991-2007
16
110
6.88
188
6973
436
40.07
Younis Khan 
Pak
2000-2015
15
104
6.93
186
9116
608
53.94
IVA Richards 
WI
1974-1991
17
121
7.12
182
8540
502
50.23
DL Haynes 
WI
1978-1994
16
116
7.25
202
7487
468
42.29
DB Vengsarkar 
India
1976-1992
16
116
7.25
185
6868
429
42.13
Javed Miandad 
Pak
1976-1993
17
124
7.29
189
8832
520
52.57
CH Gayle 
WI
2000-2014
14
103
7.36
182
7214
515
42.18
Mohammad Yousuf 
Pak
1998-2010
12
90
7.50
156
7530
628
52.29
JL Langer 
Aus
1993-2007
14
105
7.50
182
7696
550
45.27
HH Gibbs 
SA
1996-2008
12
90
7.50
154
6167
514
41.95
HM Amla 
SA
2004-2016
12
92
7.67
156
7358
613
51.45
S Chanderpaul 
WI
1994-2015
21
164
7.81
280
11867
565
51.37
SM Gavaskar 
India
1971-1987
16
125
7.81
214
10122
633
51.12
SP Fleming 
NZ
1994-2008
14
111
7.93
189
7172
512
40.06
Inzamam-ul-Haq 
Pak
1992-2007
15
120
8.00
200
8830
589
49.6
BC Lara 
WI
1990-2006
16
131
8.19
232
11953
747
52.88
SR Tendulkar 
India
1989-2013
24
200
8.33
329
15921
663
53.78
GP Thorpe 
Eng
1993-2005
12
100
8.33
179
6744
562
44.66
DI Gower 
Eng
1978-1992
14
117
8.36
204
8231
588
44.25


Here’s the reverse view of the same list that points at some interesting suppositions. If Bradman would have enjoyed a rate of 10 Tests per year, he might have retired with around 24,000 Test Runs by 1950. Simply fascinating. If Sobers had played 9 Tests per year as compared to 4.65 that he played, he would have already scored 16,000 Test runs by 1970s. Even Geoffery Boycott, who once held the record of highest number of Test runs till Sunil Gavaskar surpassed him, played at 6 Tests per year. If he had enjoyed the same rate that is enjoyed by the English players of today, he might have broken the 10,000 Test Runs barrier back in early 1980s. Miandad and Viv Richard’s numbers – not just matches per year but number of Tests, years of career and runs – look intriguingly similar. Hayden and Jayasuria’s matches per year numbers look deflated due to the fact that they initially, remained outside their respective teams after the debut.


Putting these lists of highest and lowest number of Tests per year into consideration, it clearly explains why some of the players, even after falling short of 10,000 Test runs mark, are still regarded as greats of the game while Club-10K now has couple of players, at least, who would always struggle to find their names in the list of greats of the game. In the end, greatness is an endorsement by the viewers not a number from the stats.

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