Top 100 Test Batsmen countdown (revised and updated)

[Coronis]

Awesome as always. I’m curious since you mentioned Hutton’s rating increase if he hadn’t played after Windies in 54… What about if Hobbs didn’t play the 1930 Ashes?

No.1

Don Bradman (Australia) 1296

View attachment 53282

2019 edition: rank 1

Career: 1928-1948, 6996 runs (rank 22)

Overall average/Runs per innings/Strike-rate (80 inns): 90.77 (99.94) 79.42 (87.45) 63.82 (61.05) (rank 1)
Peak Average/Runs per innings/Strike-rate (1930-1946; 50 inns): 102.76 94.54 68.41 (rank 1)
Non-Home Average/Runs per innings/Strike-rate (30 inns): 92.12 79.84 62.40 (rank 1)
Top Opposition Average/Runs per innings/Strike-rate (63 inns): 84.02 74.69 62.63 (rank 1)

I’m curious about his peak SR compared to his career. Was he really that much slower at the beginning and end of his career?

 

[sayon basak]

Please vote on the following for the next 24 hours:

A: Keep the same weighting (Average x4, Runs per innings x 2, Strike-rate x1)
B: Less emphasis on strike-rate (Average x6, Runs per innings x 3, Strike-rate x1)
C: No strike-rate (Average x2, Runs per innings x1)

B.

 

[Days of Grace]

Thanks very much for doing this DoG. Fantastic stuff.

Just wondering if you would consider taking a few requests of other players who don't make the top 100 please. I have a handful of wicket-keeper batsmen whose batting it would be interesting to see compared by your metrics.

Absolutely mate, fire away.

I can requests from now on for this thread.

 

[Johan]

Very well done, DoG

 

[capt_Luffy]

Absolutely mate, fire away.

I can requests from now on for this thread.

Can you give for some 19th century players please.

Tom Hayward, Archie Maclaren, Bobby Abel, Bill Murdoch, Stanley Jackson, Arthur Shrewsbury, CB Fry, KS Ranjitsinhji, WG Grace.

And 4 ARs in Monty Noble, AG Steel, Warwick Armstrong and Frank Woolley. Thanks

 

[howitzer]

Absolutely mate, fire away.

I can requests from now on for this thread.

Thanks. Can you do Les Ames, John Waite, Alan Knott, BJ Watling and Quinton de Kock please?

 

[The Sean]

I said it earlier in the thread, but worth repeating - absolutely superb stuff @Days of Grace, I think the whole forum really enjoyed and engaged with it. Thank you!

 

[honestbharani]

I knew you would be happy with Brian Lara being the best batsman post-1970(which you consider).

I mean, I can see why people may think Sachin is better. But the part I am happy about is how close that entire tier is. Way too many junk arguments here who think Sachin is some levels above these guys or Smith is some levels above these guys which was always poppycock. To me, Sachin and Lara are almost equal and I honestly dont see how any batsman can be ranked between them. That has always been my pet peeve. Otherwise, anyone who thinks Sachin > Lara is totally fine with me.

 

[honestbharani]

I guess I should vote B based on my earlier comments @Days of Grace - but I really do like the top 8 or 10 you have arrived at, Joe Root being the exception IMO. So it would be a bit of a travesty if we redid all this hardwork.


That said, I do think making SR less important will help the rather modern bias the ratings currently have. So its your decision mate. I would love to see how your ratings change with option B, but I am also fine with this being the definitive rating as such. Its wonderful work and I think we should have this published on the main page. Maybe @James can help.

 

[The Sean]

The gap between no.2 and no.100 is 234 points. And yet Bradman has a 401-point margin over Hobbs, which says it all.

This kind of stat regarding Bradman shouldn't be surprising any more as it's basically par for the course, but it never fails to instill a sense of awe. The bloke may have been bloody hard work on a personal level, but statistically he basically shouldn't exist.

Out of interest @Days of Grace, how far down the list do you need to go to get to the batsman on 494 points - ie, the gap from Bradman to number 2 is as big as the gap from number 2 to number x?

 

[sayon basak]

@Days of Grace appreciate the insane amount of work went behind this list. Blessed be your name.

 

[AbhishekB]

I wonder what was the maximum number of batsmen in the list who came together and played for a team.
In Aus tour of South Africa in 2001-02, all top-7 Aus batsmen are in this list (Langer, Hayden, Ponting, Waugh brothers, Damien Martyn and Gilchrist), I am guessing this is the max number of batsmen in the above list batting together in a Test match.
I know Sachin, Dravid, Sehwag and Laxman played together in quite a few Test matches.
Viv, Richie Richardson & Greenidge played together a lot, and three of them along with Clive Lloyd played together for an year or so - late 1983 and 1984.

 

[howitzer]

I wonder what was the maximum number of batsmen in the list who came together and played for a team.
In Aus tour of South Africa in 2001-02, all top-7 Aus batsmen are in this list (Langer, Hayden, Ponting, Waugh brothers, Damien Martyn and Gilchrist), I am guessing this is the max number of batsmen in the above list batting together in a Test match.
I know Sachin, Dravid, Sehwag and Laxman played together in quite a few Test matches.
Viv, Richie Richardson & Greenidge played together a lot, and three of them along with Clive Lloyd played together for an year or so - late 1983 and 1984.

That Aus side must have the most comfortably. I'm struggling to even find a six apart from other Aus sides around that time. The W's, Sobers and Kanhai all played together in the 50's (not all peaking of course) so that's a five. Hunte, who just missed out played a few Tests with four of them, but never with all five so they aren't particularly close to a six either. Hobbs, Sutcliffe, Hammond, Leyland, and Hendren played one Test together in 1928 so that's another five.

 

[Two short legs]

Just wanted to compliment the author again on a great exercise.

Interesting that the outcomes were so close, that if any individual batsman's score was 2% higher he'd generally have climbed 10 places (eg Trumper from 62nd to 51st, by scoring 714 points rather than 700). 100th and 60th were separated by just 40 points, or 6%.

 

[Two short legs]

Can you give for some 19th century players please.

Tom Hayward, Archie Maclaren, Bobby Abel, Bill Murdoch, Stanley Jackson, Arthur Shrewsbury, CB Fry, KS Ranjitsinhji, WG Grace.

And 4 ARs in Monty Noble, AG Steel, Warwick Armstrong and Frank Woolley. Thanks

And Percy McDonnell ?

 

[howitzer]

I wonder what was the maximum number of batsmen in the list who came together and played for a team.
In Aus tour of South Africa in 2001-02, all top-7 Aus batsmen are in this list (Langer, Hayden, Ponting, Waugh brothers, Damien Martyn and Gilchrist), I am guessing this is the max number of batsmen in the above list batting together in a Test match.
I know Sachin, Dravid, Sehwag and Laxman played together in quite a few Test matches.
Viv, Richie Richardson & Greenidge played together a lot, and three of them along with Clive Lloyd played together for an year or so - late 1983 and 1984.

Those four all played with Kohli in five Tests in the 2011-12 season so that's another five.

 

[Days of Grace]

I guess I should vote B based on my earlier comments @Days of Grace - but I really do like the top 8 or 10 you have arrived at, Joe Root being the exception IMO. So it would be a bit of a travesty if we redid all this hardwork.


That said, I do think making SR less important will help the rather modern bias the ratings currently have. So its your decision mate. I would love to see how your ratings change with option B, but I am also fine with this being the definitive rating as such. Its wonderful work and I think we should have this published on the main page. Maybe @James can help.

Thank you very much for the warm thoughts and support everyone. It makes all the hard work worth it.

Would any publisher be interested in this list (along with the test bowlers) in book form? I know that another of our esteemed members published their top 100 test batting and bowling performances. I imagine I could do a chapter explaining the methodology followed by stats and pen portraits of each of the top 100.

 

[Days of Grace]

And Percy McDonnell ?

I will work on requests. Keep in mind that each player takes about 30-60 minutes so thanks in advance for your patience

 

[DrWolverine]

To me, Sachin and Lara are almost equal and I honestly dont see how any batsman can be ranked between them.

Since 1990, the 3 best are Sachin, Lara & Smith.

 

[The Sean]

As for the imminent bowlers' list, I think there are a few important considerations that I'm sure @Days of Grace has already accounted for but are still worth noting.

For starters, it is imperative that bonus points are given to anyone who lost years to the war. Further bonus points should be given to anyone who heroically sustained injuries during said war which impacted or restricted their ability to bowl at any time.

It goes without saying that additional points should be granted as well for bowlers who also batted in the top 5 for more than 91% (a completely arbitrary but entirely fair number, I'm sure you'd all agree) of their Test innings.

Finally, any bowler for whom top 7 batsmen account for more than 77.5% of their wicket tally should be given a considerable bonus.

All of these factors are - obviously - cumulative so any freakishly awesome unicorn bowler who somehow fulfils all of them should see their points tally increase exponentially, as is only fair.

Like I said, pretty basic stuff that I'm sure has already been factored in to the rankings if we're to take them at all seriously.