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

[Silver Silva]

Matthew Hayden is a good one.

At 29 he had just 12 tests to his name with an average of 26 by the year 2000 , at a time when Australian cricket was ridiculously strong and a lot of great Aussie FC players didn't even get to play Test cricket..

Then everything just clicked and he became a monster from 01-07 in Tests and ODI's

 

[DrWolverine]

Matthew Hayden is a good one.

Great pick.

1994- 1 Test. 20 runs @ 10.
1996 - 1 Test. 5 runs @ 2.5.
1997 - 5 Tests. 236 runs @ 29.
2000 - 5 Tests. 267 runs @ 33.
First 7 years : 12 Tests. 528 runs @ 26.

Next 8 years
80 Tests
8027 runs
Avg of 53
29 centuries

 

[DrWolverine]

Mohinder Amarnath

He made his debut in 1969.

He played his next test in 1976.

He was the ultimate overachiever in cricket and what he lacked in talent, he more than made up for with sheer grit, courage, and determination.

He was dropped multiple times only to come back stronger, stood tall against the greatest of bowlers and was also the hero of our World Cup truimph.

 

[Silver Silva]

Ohh yes how can I forget Rangana Herath , one of the greatest late bloomers in history and a good inspiration for any young spinner struggling..

Made his debut in 1999 , by 2010 he was 32, had played 24 tests and taken 78 wickets

Ended up with 433 Test wickets !

 

[capt_Luffy]

Ohh yes how can I forget Rangana Herath , one of the greatest late bloomers in history and a good inspiration for any young spinner struggling..

Made his debut in 1999 , by 2010 he was 32, had played 24 tests and taken 78 wickets

Ended up with 433 Test wickets !

Herath really is the Gold standard here. Hope Kuldeep can do something similar

 

[Coronis]

Matthew Hayden is a good one.

At 29 he had just 12 tests to his name with an average of 26 by the year 2000 , at a time when Australian cricket was ridiculously strong and a lot of great Aussie FC players didn't even get to play Test cricket..

Then everything just clicked and he became a monster from 01-07 in Tests and ODI's

Guess there’s his partner in crime too.

Langer in the 90’s

29 tests 1702 @ 36.21

00’s

76 tests 5994 @ 48.73

 

[honestbharani]

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

Its interesting he actually slowed in the 00s in the flat pitch era.

 

[Coronis]

Its interesting he actually slowed in the 00s in the flat pitch era.

Too much tennis

 

[MasterBlaster24]

Imran Khan is another great example. After his first 20 Tests, he averaged:

Bowling: 31.84
Batting: 23.92

From that point until the end of his career, he averaged:

Bowling: 19.99
Batting: 42.97

A remarkable transformation that turned him into one of the finest all-rounders in Test history.

 

[Shady Slim]

ishant!

 

[govinda indian fan]

Guess there’s his partner in crime too.

Langer in the 90’s

29 tests 1702 @ 36.21

00’s

76 tests 5994 @ 48.73

2000s roads

 

[govinda indian fan]

ishant!

Ishant became good after 80 tests. He never rated highly

 

[Gob]

Prasidh Krishna

 

[Migara]

Sanath Jayasuriya in ODIs should be THE example.

 

[GIMH]

Andrew Flintoff. Wherever you place him in the end, he had a very poor start statistically and went onto be regarded if not the best then one of the very best in the world for a few years

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

New Zealand

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Chris Cairns and Kane Williamson (despite 100 on debut)

 

[sayon basak]

Herath really is the Gold standard here. Hope Kuldeep can do something similar

Amen.

 

[MartinB]

The following where all packed before they where ready for test Cricket
Bob Simpson - Started as a Bits and piece player in the middle order and, averaged ~30 1957-> nov 62. Then averaged 55 as an opener
Alan Davidson - Started poorly average 30 with the ball and 20 with bat for the first 3 years; but in the last 7 years took 5wmp @19 with ball and 27 with the bat

 

[DrWolverine]

Its interesting he actually slowed in the 00s in the flat pitch era.

True. While other batsmen became faster, Sachin surprisingly did not take advantage of the flat pitches and rules designed to make batting easier.

1990-2000


2001-2011