Days of Grace
International Captain
Hello everyone,
After several years of research and refinement, I’m pleased to present my updated ranking of the top 100 test batsmen of all-time.
A brief explanation of the methodology:
The goal of the system is to measure multi-dimensional career greatness, not just raw averages.
All players receive a rating from 0 to 1000, where:
1000 represents the gold standard of Test batting excellence.
Scores below 1000 reflect proportional distance from that benchmark.
All the records for each batsmen are adjusted by:
Strength of opposition using the bowling averages of test teams from different eras
Match conditions
Rating Structure:
Each batsman’s career rating is composed of five criteria:
1. Career Volume – 12.5%
Total runs 50%
Years active 50%
2. Overall Career Record – 50%
3. Peak Performance – 12.5% (A batsmen’s best performance over a period of at least 5 years and at least 40 innings)
4. Non-Home Record – 12.5%
5. Record vs Top Opposition – 12.5% (Top opposition is represented by the top ranked teams in each era based on my own test team ratings from 1877)
Within each of the criteria 2-5:
Batting Average – 60%
Runs per Innings – 30%
Strike Rate – 10%
All averages, runs per innings and strike-rates are adjusted by strength of opposition and match conditions.
Qualification: 500 career runs.
Batsmen with less than 80 innings across their overall career and less than 40 innings in either peak performance, non-home record or record vs top opposition lose points.
Benchmarks:
Benchmarks are based on the historical average of top-10 performers in each category, refined using my own “eye test” and intuition.
Key benchmarks:
Career runs: 13,000
Career length: 25 years
Overall Career, Non-home, and Top opposition
Average: 60
Runs per innings: 55
Strike rate: 70
Peak (Minimum 5 years, 40 innings)
Average: 75
Runs per innings: 65
Strike rate: 75
These benchmarks represent the gold standard of sustained Test batting excellence.
About the Cap:
Each major criterion (Career, Overall, Peak, Non-Home, Top Opposition) is capped at 1.00.
Important clarification:
Individual metrics (average, strike rate, etc.) are not capped. Only the combined criterion score is capped.
This ensures that no single dimension overwhelms the rating and the final score remains on a 0–1000 scale.
I welcome thoughtful discussion and critique. The aim of this project is not to declare absolute truth (no statistical analysis can hope to do that), but to offer a framework for comparing the greatest Test batsmen in history.
I hope you enjoy the rankings. I have timed this so the big hitters will drop in March when there is no international cricket.
There will be surprises. Batsmen 96-100 will be posted tonight. Post your predictions!
After several years of research and refinement, I’m pleased to present my updated ranking of the top 100 test batsmen of all-time.
A brief explanation of the methodology:
The goal of the system is to measure multi-dimensional career greatness, not just raw averages.
All players receive a rating from 0 to 1000, where:
1000 represents the gold standard of Test batting excellence.
Scores below 1000 reflect proportional distance from that benchmark.
All the records for each batsmen are adjusted by:
Strength of opposition using the bowling averages of test teams from different eras
Match conditions
Rating Structure:
Each batsman’s career rating is composed of five criteria:
1. Career Volume – 12.5%
Total runs 50%
Years active 50%
2. Overall Career Record – 50%
3. Peak Performance – 12.5% (A batsmen’s best performance over a period of at least 5 years and at least 40 innings)
4. Non-Home Record – 12.5%
5. Record vs Top Opposition – 12.5% (Top opposition is represented by the top ranked teams in each era based on my own test team ratings from 1877)
Within each of the criteria 2-5:
Batting Average – 60%
Runs per Innings – 30%
Strike Rate – 10%
All averages, runs per innings and strike-rates are adjusted by strength of opposition and match conditions.
Qualification: 500 career runs.
Batsmen with less than 80 innings across their overall career and less than 40 innings in either peak performance, non-home record or record vs top opposition lose points.
Benchmarks:
Benchmarks are based on the historical average of top-10 performers in each category, refined using my own “eye test” and intuition.
Key benchmarks:
Career runs: 13,000
Career length: 25 years
Overall Career, Non-home, and Top opposition
Average: 60
Runs per innings: 55
Strike rate: 70
Peak (Minimum 5 years, 40 innings)
Average: 75
Runs per innings: 65
Strike rate: 75
These benchmarks represent the gold standard of sustained Test batting excellence.
About the Cap:
Each major criterion (Career, Overall, Peak, Non-Home, Top Opposition) is capped at 1.00.
Important clarification:
Individual metrics (average, strike rate, etc.) are not capped. Only the combined criterion score is capped.
This ensures that no single dimension overwhelms the rating and the final score remains on a 0–1000 scale.
I welcome thoughtful discussion and critique. The aim of this project is not to declare absolute truth (no statistical analysis can hope to do that), but to offer a framework for comparing the greatest Test batsmen in history.
I hope you enjoy the rankings. I have timed this so the big hitters will drop in March when there is no international cricket.
There will be surprises. Batsmen 96-100 will be posted tonight. Post your predictions!
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