Net rankings of Cricketing nations

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The Significance of Number 1 Ranking for Pakistan

With rain preventing any significant play at Port of Spain, Pakistan has become the number 1 ranked Test side in the world. Although, the tag of “the best in the world” needs no additives to make it sweeter but in case of Pakistan, the rarity of this occurrence is what magnifies the significance of this feat for the Pakistan Cricket and its fans. 

It is the first time for Pakistan to stand as officially the best Test side in the world since the introduction of ICC official ranking in 2003. During this period of just over 13 years, only four teams have claimed the custody of that MACE and not surprisingly, Australians held it (83 months) longer than everyone else combined (76 months).

But Test Cricket has been around since much earlier than 2003, in fact, till mid 70s – before the start of ODI World Cups – Test Cricket was the only format of Cricket to gauge the brilliance of Cricketing nations. Naturally, other teams also feared better than the rest during that pre-2003 era and it may look harsh not to acknowledge the teams who performed the best in that era, especially the West Indies of late 70s and 80s. Additionally, it also helps in benchmarking the performance of leading sides of last two decades with that of teams of previous decades and century.

To address the same thought, ICC did apply its current rating system, some years ago, to results since 1952 providing ratings for the end of each month back to 1952. 1952 was chosen as the starting point as prior to this date, the number of competing Test teams was small and the frequency of matches was quite low as well. The information used to be available on ICC official website till few years ago but it is not available there any more. Fortunately, found that table in one of the archives that looks like this:

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICC_Test_Championship#Historical_rankings

This retrospective listing shows that although Pakistan has claimed the MACE for the first time in its history but, had the ICC Test Rankings were in place since Pakistan started playing Test Cricket, it would not have been the first time. Pakistan would have claimed it earlier as well, though only for a brief period of 2 months – from August 1988 to September 1988.

Both of these listings also provide a good opportunity to measure the share of dominance of different teams in the last 64 years (since 1952). In case all the months (in which a team remained number 1 in Tests) are added together, it gives a good measure of the period of dominance of specific teams.

This concluding picture highlights the significance of ‘Number 1 Test Team’ tag for Pakistan. For Australia, losing the MACE may not be as significant as it is for Pakistan to get hold of it. After remaining acknowledged as one of the most competitive sides in the Test Cricket Arena since admission to it, the title of ‘The Best Test team in the world’ has eluded Pakistan for a long time. Admiring and seeing the talent and excellence of their players getting admired by others as well, Pakistani fans have longed for it for too long. So long, that it has almost become a life long wish for quite a few fans.

Finally, the wait is over and Pakistan is crowned the new holder of the throne. That MACE is Pakistan’s to hold, at least for some time and celebrations have just begun. To make it all even more prestigious, who better to receive that MACE than Misbah ul Haq – the rightful custodian of the MACE – without whose custody of the Team Pakistan, it would have self-destructed itself yet another time before achieving this feat. Well done Misbah, Well done Team Pakistan. 

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Changes required in Pakistan squad before Edgbaston Test

Nobody needs to be changed, yet there are quite a few things that needs to be changed. Players are not performing, yes this is true. But, in the Lord's Test, England lost because English players didn't perform either. They didn't make the changes on the premise of getting rid of some players rather bringing the better players back in the side.

This is the best lot Pakistan has unless someone is called from Pakistan or inserted into the squad from A side that is also touring England. This squad should get a full run and play the other 2 Tests as well. They have done the harder part of struggling to adjust and now they are the most probable to adjust and perform; not the ones who have only served water and towels in the last month or so.

If they don't perform, they should be dropped for good and sent to NCA for correction of issues that resulted in their underperformance. But, for now, Pakistan should stick to a plan and play it out rather than changing things for the sake of it. There is no point making changes that reflect more of a hope for things to get better by itself or desperation to relieve the public pressure rather than being part of a well thought out and long term plan.

If the players we have on the bench are any way better than the ones playing than before doing anything else, someone should be held accountable for it so that such errors can be avoided in the future. Someone must answer why better and more competent players were made to warm the benches till now. If they are not better than the ones playing then let the better players try to produce better results.

Neither the next Test is going to be Final Test nor this series is going to be the last series of Pakistan's history. Results may come and may not. In a dependent and competitive environment, results are never in hands of anyone and nobody can guarantee the results. Therefore, its pointless to make changes based on results. What one can focus on instead, and even guarantee is the process and procedure that is going to be adopted for the results.

Its time Pakistan look to correct its processes and procedures rather than continuing to protect it by sacrificing one player after the another. 

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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 12^th 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 32^nd 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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