Players who overcame prolonged poor starts to be rated really highly during their playing careers.

[Bolo.]

Inspired by the discussion of Hadlee not being rated that highly in relation to peers.

Has anyone fully overcome a slow start in terms of perception?

Waugh probably?

 

[Cricket Bliss]

Kallis.
Took 36 Test innings to reach 1,000 runs, averaging in 30s

 

[Silver Silva]

Steve Waugh

 

[MasterBlaster24]

Rohit Sharma

 

[Thala_0710]

Gooch

 

[Johan]

James Anderson and Alec Bedser

 

[Bolo.]

Kallis.
Took 36 Test innings to reach 1,000 runs, averaging in 30s

I don't think he overcame that start in terms of perception as a pure bat. He spent about 15 years averaging 60ish after that, with the toughest home grounds in the world. He was almost universally rated behind Ponting for example (on career) at the time they were playing, cos Kallis started slower. And you will still find people arguing that Ponting is better cos he was rated higher for much of his career on account of Kallis starting slowly.

 

[Bolo.]

James Anderson and Alec Bedser

Bad example. Anderson is rated lower than he should be due to starting slowly.

 

[Johan]

Bad example. Anderson is rated lower than he should be due to starting slowly.

maybe

 

[Bolo.]

maybe

No maybes from you. I'm praising an English player. You should be emphatically agreeing

If you reversed Anderson's performances across his career, he would clearly be rated higher.

 

[Swamp Witch Hattie]

Garry Sobers after 16 Tests had scored 856 runs at an average of 34.24 with a top score of 80. In his first innings of his next Test (a month shy of four years after debut), he got his maiden Test century: a world record highest Test score of 365* and cracked 1000 Test runs in the process while increasing his Test batting average to 48.84. It was clear though by looking at how his Test scores kept going up that a storm had been brewing:

 

[Johan]

Macko maybe? was a bad bowler in 1978-1980, took 31 wickets in first 11 games, average of 32.

 

[DrWolverine]

Sachin Tendulkar in ODI cricket.
He took 79 innings to score his first ODI century.

From that day to end of the decade(Dec 31st 1999)



From that day to end of 2011 World Cup

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Gooch

Marvan Atapattu

First six innings:

0 (1990)
0
0 (first baller) (1992)
1
0 (1994)
0

And then finally made a career of it from 1997 onwards.

Was he rated really highly? Maybe not, but certainly a career-crippling start he had to overcome and yet ended up playing 90 Tests.

 

[Johan]

Sachin Tendulkar in ODI cricket.
He took 79 innings to score his first ODI century.

From that day to end of the decade(Dec 31st 1999)
View attachment 48429


From that day to end of 2011 World Cup
View attachment 48428

arguably without the teen wonder years he loses a lot of his charm

 

[DrWolverine]

Sachin Tendulkar

First 20 Tests :
1085 runs.
Avg of 37.

1993-2011 World Cup :
157 Tests
13607 runs.
Avg of 59.41

Post 2011 World Cup
23 Tests.
1229 runs.
Avg of 32.

 

[MasterBlaster24]

Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma averaged only 30.43 after 86 ODIs by the end of 2012. In 2013, Dhoni gave him the opportunity to open the innings—and the rest is history. He went on to become one of the all-time greats in ODIs.

 

[DrWolverine]

Ken Barrington
Played 2 Tests in 1955.
Dropped.
Did not play a single test for another four years.
Ended with 2nd highest average after Don(min 5k runs).

 

[Coronis]

Garry Sobers after 16 Tests had scored 856 runs at an average of 34.24 with a top score of 80. In his first innings of his next Test (a month shy of four years after debut), he got his maiden Test century: a world record highest Test score of 365* and cracked 1000 Test runs in the process while increasing his Test batting average to 48.84. It was clear though by looking at how his Test scores kept going up that a storm had been brewing:

View attachment 48427

Pre 365*

16 matches
856 @ 34.24
21 @ 40.33
7 catches

Post 365*

77 matches
7176 @ 62.94
214 @ 33.42
102 catches

Similar to Tendulkar, its just a case of a player starting very young tbh, I’m not sure if it would’ve necessarily been considered a mediocre start. (First test played at 17, 365* at 21)

 

[Silver Silva]

Garry Sobers after 16 Tests had scored 856 runs at an average of 34.24 with a top score of 80. In his first innings of his next Test (a month shy of four years after debut), he got his maiden Test century: a world record highest Test score of 365* and cracked 1000 Test runs in the process while increasing his Test batting average to 48.84. It was clear though by looking at how his Test scores kept going up that a storm had been brewing:

View attachment 48427

It isn't so bad because you also have to consider that Sobers was only 22 years old after his 16 tests and he could bowl so WI were always going to back him with his skill set.