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DoG's Top 100 Test Batsmen - 75-51

Days of Grace

International Captain
Wouldn't have picked MWaugh as better than Crowe or Gower.
It's mainly for the sheer amount of innings he played which contributed to wins for Australia or led to Australia saving the match. 6th best of all time in terms of aggregate. It helped that he played in a very good team, I'll admit.

I also wouldn't say he's better than Crowe. There are only 3 points between them.
 
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fredfertang

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Fascinating stuff, although hugely disappointing to see Stan McCabe so low - I blame Bradman - if he'd played some sport other than cricket I reckon Stan would have got twice as many runs as he did
 

Days of Grace

International Captain
Fascinating stuff, although hugely disappointing to see Stan McCabe so low - I blame Bradman - if he'd played some sport other than cricket I reckon Stan would have got twice as many runs as he did
I would have liked to seen him higher as well, along with Trumper.

It's those great innings that they played which sticks in our minds the more we read about them, whereas a cold, heartless analysis would suggest that both men were somewhat hit and miss.:(
 

fredfertang

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
I would have liked to seen him higher as well, along with Trumper.

It's those great innings that they played which sticks in our minds the more we read about them, whereas a cold, heartless analysis would suggest that both men were somewhat hit and miss.:(
I prefer to think that, like Keith Miller, Stan needed a challenge, and that the cricketing equivalent of taking candy from a baby never appealed to him
 

The Sean

Cricketer Of The Year
Yeah, Trumper and McCabe are two shoo-ins for my all time personal favourites XI.

It was often said of McCabe that he didn’t really have the temperament of a great Test batsman - not that he was mentally weak, but that he didn’t have the single-minded determination to score as many runs as possible no matter the circumstances ( like at least one of his contemporaries did) and that he didn't especially care for the nervous strain of it all either. Still, whatever that cost him in average points was surely made up for by the occasions where he touched the kind of heights that maybe half a dozen batsmen in history have ever gone near. I'm assuming his two Great Innings were the 187* and the 232 - how close was his 189* to Great status?

It's no real surprise to see Trumper so low (relative to his reputation) either, given that this is a statistical exercise. The numbers show that while he was a successful Test batsman, he didn't statistically tower over his contemporaries - indeed, there were several series where he was a complete failure. Where he elevated himself, if we are to believe the near-universal opinion of those who saw him first hand, was in his breathtaking strokeplay - particularly in conditions where his teammates struggled to put bat on ball - and in the unquantifiable magic he brought to the crease.
 

Days of Grace

International Captain
Yeah, McCabe's great innings were the bodyline 187* (16.54) and the match saving 232 at Nottingham (20.11).

The 189* against South Africa just misses the cut (12.37), due to only 2 Australian wickets falling in the innings (274 for 2).
 

The Sean

Cricketer Of The Year
Yeah, McCabe's great innings were the bodyline 187* (16.54) and the match saving 232 at Nottingham (20.11).

The 189* against South Africa just misses the cut (12.37), due to only 2 Australian wickets falling in the innings (274 for 2).
Fair enough, thanks.

I haven't said it yet but this is fascinating stuff DoG, and I appreciate the (staggering) amount of time and effort you've put into this.
 

Days of Grace

International Captain
In the end it was all worth it, thanks.

I don't believe anyone else in the world has done something like this, so that makes me feel pretty good.
 

Burgey

Request Your Custom Title Now!
He was actually two years younger than The Don, but was plagued by ill-health and injury so there was never any realistic chance of him playing on after the war.

I’ve just read something I'd never seen before about the reaction to his tragically premature death:

“News of McCabe’s death was made public while Australia and England were playing in the Fifth Test at The Oval. After the death was announced over the public address system, the crowd spontaneously stood up and took off their hats, and did the players, and they observed a self-initiated moment of silence.”

WAG.
He took is own life didn't he?
 

Burgey

Request Your Custom Title Now!
This is a terrific effort, DOG. Congratulations on it. Very thought provoking.

Also happy to see Macartney in the list. His "Always try to hit the first ball back at the bowler's head - they don't like it, it rattles them" advice to Fingleton is a beauty, as was his scoring a ton in a session before lunch, then chnging bats, selecting the heaviest available and telling team mates "I'm going to have a hit now". WAFG he must have been.
 

watson

Banned
He took is own life didn't he?
A simple but tragic accident....

McCabe died of a skull fracture after falling from a cliff at his home in Mosman, New South Wales after attempting to dispose of a dead possum. He had earlier told Dwyer of his plan to clean out his backyard, and was told to rest, but did so anyway, falling down and rolling off the steep slope in his backyard and over the ledge of the cliff abutting the rear of his house. There was innuendo that McCabe had actually committed suicide, with O'Reilly musing "He had despatched the possum, but had gone overboard with it!". However, the coroner ruled that the death was accidental and his family strongly denied that he had chosen to end his life. The coroner’s investigation noted that McCabe’s hands had tufts of ripped grass in them, indicating that he had tried to grab onto vegetation in a vain attempt to stop his fall.

Stan McCabe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
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Days of Grace

International Captain
60. Graham Thorpe (England) (1993-2005)

Graham-Thorpe-008.jpg

Career Average: 44.66
Adjusted career average: 45.76
Adjusted away average: 46.55
Adjusted top-opposition average: 44.36
Top Tier centuries: 3
Second tier centuries: 7
Third tier centuries: 4
Significant innings: 33
Significant innings per match: 0.33
Great innings: 3
Innings worth average: 3.20

25 Test peak adjusted average: 57.36
50 Test peak adjusted average: 47.09


Quality Points: 526
Career Points: 92
Peak Points: 115
TOTAL POINTS: 733



59. VVS Laxman (India) (1996-2012)

vvs-laxman-afp-670.jpg

Career Average: 45.97
Adjusted career average: 43.18
Adjusted away average: 40.05
Adjusted top-opposition average: 42.36
Top Tier centuries: 7 (rank 9=)
Second tier centuries: 1
Third tier centuries: 4
Significant innings: 44
Significant innings per match: 0.33
Great innings: 8 (rank 4)
Innings worth average: 3.17

25 Test peak adjusted average: 56.06
50 Test peak adjusted average: 49.48


Quality Points: 494
Career Points: 128
Peak Points: 111
TOTAL POINTS: 734




58. Justin Langer (Australia) (1993-2007)

justin-langer_1386965c.jpg

Career Average: 45.27
Adjusted career average: 42.93
Adjusted away average: 40.13
Adjusted top-opposition average: 42.28
Top Tier centuries: 2
Second tier centuries: 7
Third tier centuries: 12
Significant innings: 43
Significant innings per match: 0.41
Great innings: 5
Innings worth average: 2.84

25 Test peak adjusted average: 55.09
50 Test peak adjusted average: 49.20


Quality Points: 506
Career Points: 107
Peak Points: 122
TOTAL POINTS: 735




57. Kevin Pietersen (England) (2005-present day)

_63781435_kevin_pietersen_getty.jpg

Career Average: 49.01
Adjusted career average: 45.55
Adjusted away average: 40.24
Adjusted top-opposition average: 44.94
Top Tier centuries: 5
Second tier centuries: 7
Third tier centuries: 7
Significant innings: 30
Significant innings per match: 0.32
Great innings: 5
Innings worth average: 3.39

25 Test peak adjusted average: 53.31
50 Test peak adjusted average: 48.65


Quality Points: 539
Career Points: 86
Peak Points: 111
TOTAL POINTS: 736


* Before the start of the Ashes.




56. Bruce Mitchell (South Africa) (1929-1949)

91322.jpg

Career Average: 48.88
Adjusted career average: 48.24
Adjusted away average: 48.50
Adjusted top-opposition average: 45.97
Top Tier centuries: 0
Second tier centuries: 4
Third tier centuries: 3
Significant innings: 13
Significant innings per match: 0.31
Great innings: 2
Innings worth average: 3.20

25 Test peak adjusted average: 53.63


Quality Points: 540
Career Points: 72
Peak Points: 124
TOTAL POINTS: 736
 
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Days of Grace

International Captain
VVS Laxman great innings:

167 vs. Australia at Sydney 2000 (19.76)
59 vs. Australia at Kolkata 2001 (15.25)
281 vs. Australia at Kolkata 2001 (23.09)
66 vs. Australia at Chennai 2001 (14.05)
89 vs. South Africa at Port Elizabeth 2001 (14.10)
103* vs. Sri Lanka at Colombo 2010 (13.59)
73* vs. Australia at Mohali 2010 (17.04)
96 vs. South Africa at Durban 2010 (15.70)


Kevin Pietersen great innings:

158 vs. Australia at The Oval 2005 (16.14)
142 vs. Sri Lanka at Birmingham 2006 (15.82)
129 vs. New Zealand at Napier 2008 (16.63)
202* vs. India at Lord's 2011 (13.48)
186 vs. India at Mumbai 2012 (13.71)
 

NUFAN

Y no Afghanistan flag
Awesome stuff DoG. When did you stop calculating KP's record? Also just with Bruce Mitchell you've got him as an Aussie.

It sort of feels as though the more recent players are being rated slightly higher than I expected mainly due to longevity and a higher number in the career points category. This bodes well for the likes of Border, SWaugh, Tendulkar etc.
 

fredfertang

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Delighted to see Graham Thorpe there - how much we could do with his like these days - I always wonder how good he might have been if he hadn't spent half his career being a walking wicket after an interval had broken his concentration, especially when he was not out overnight -the young Thorpe was bloody hopeless in that scenario!
 

kyear2

Cricketer Of The Year
Nice to see Langer this high. K.P and Mitchell a bit lower than I expected. K.P still has time to rise up the rankings though.

Great job DOG, keep them coming.
 
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