by Akseli Pitkanen My passion for Test cricket has gone much further than the Test history of 5-odd years I have seen since 2014 autumn. I must say this project is very much inspired by Rob Harvey's book "Captains File: From Nayudu To Kohli". During this fantastic book that I recommend to everyone, I started wondering if I, a non-cricket based supporter, could write one article with a smaller measure, digging in deep where not too many have digged before. I must thank 3 cricket groups for voting and discussing my choices, TCOU, CCS and ACL. The process of compiling this team wasn't easy, so let me explain it here. I chose players based on First Class stats, mostly Test stats compiling the greatest ever Test players to have emerged and retired for each decade, from 1870s to 2010s. I chose one and only one player per Test country per decade trying to avoid not choosing a great. There were many instances that I wasn’t sure which way to go, I thought I couldn’t leave out such players as Javed Miandad for Pakistan even as it meant he’d be my 1980s choice instead of the glorious Imran Khan who would make it for the 1970s. I chose in order of Test debut for all players and their nationalities. So a player such as Sachin Tendulkar was always going to be before Dravid, also Sachin was always going to be in 1990s cause he played Tests in that whole decade before the Indian batting giants to follow. So my criteria involves trying to suit a player to a decade where he’s played at least half of it, trying to let all the best players for that particular Test country for 3 cricket groups to decide if they make my team. 1870s - Charles Bannerman We start with a man called Charles. It is perhaps fitting that the earliest player that fits in my team made the 1st ever Test century by also facing the very 1st Test ball. Bannerman, mostly known for that crucial and breathtaking knock of 165 not out in the very 1st Test couldn't have set the tone for Test batting better. A record set at the time for the most runs per innings proportion is yet to be broken. Opening the innings he made a big century in 285 minutes with 18 boundaries only to be retired hurt scorecard reading 240/7. Altogether his Australian team made 5 further runs. 165/245~67.3%. That is a percentage record that has stood for a staggering 143 years. So many generations, so many aggressive batsmen yet the 1st Test ever has a record of its own! This knock was also Charles’ only century in FC cricket. 10 years later, in 1887, Charles stood as a Test umpire. In the 1st ever Test largely thanks to Bannerman, the Australians won by 45 runs in a low scoring encounter. Let the Ashes begin! 1880s - WG Grace William Gilbert Grace, preferred as W. G. Grace was one of my easiest choices. He led his team to sensational Test cricket. He is one of the best cricket pioneers ever. Proper all rounder. Averaging 32 in Tests and 40 in FC with the bat. His bowling average was 26 in Test cricket and 18 in first-class cricket. His stellar first-class stats are second to none. All in all, he played almost 900 matches. William played for a record-equalling 44 seasons, from 1865 to 1908 for several teams. As a right handed batsman and a right arm medium bowler, Grace dominated the sport during his career. His technical innovations and enormous influence left a lasting legacy. An outstanding all-rounder, he excelled at all the essential skills of batting, bowling and fielding, but it is for his batting that he is most renowned. (Wikipedia) As you can see, he was a handyman. A true captain, a true all rounder, and a brilliant opener. No wonder he’s in my team. He would be gutted to hear he’s my 12th man carrying the drinks cause he has so much to offer. But it’s how people think these days. A legend of the game doesn’t just ‘warm up the bench’. However, he was not the very best all rounder of all Test all rounders if you check his averages. Although I wouldn’t count on him counting them either! It’s easy to imagine Grace in gloomy conditions making a name of himself. He’s fielding and taking those catches (almost 900 of them in FC), he’s taking precious wickets (almost 3,000 of them) and after toiling in the field for some time, he steps up and belts another century of his own (120-odd of them) to win the match. He’s just my 12th man though. 1890s - Syd Gregory Sydney Edward Gregory was a cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. At the time of his retirement, he had played a world-record 58 Test matches during a career spanning 1890 to 1912. A right-handed batsman, he was also a renowned fielder, particularly at cover point. Gregory played his first Test in July 1890 and, with Test matches played much less frequently in those days, commenced his 50th Test, 20 years later, in July 1909. His 50th Test against England, his 56th in all, was played at Lords in June 1912 and to mark the occasion a presentation of a wallet containing £200 was made to him by Sir George Reid, a former Australian Prime Minister, then Australian high Commissioner in London. Syd played 58 Tests for Australia, the last in August 1912. It was not until December 1959 that Ray Lindwall would play in his 59th Test and surpass his record. He was only 19 years when he made his First-class debut for New South Wales against Victoria on 25th January 1890. Syd played 369 First-class matches and scored 15188 runs at 28.54, with 25 centuries and 65 half-centuries. In Test matches, Syd scored 2282 runs at 24.53 with four centuries and eight half-centuries. Syd died, aged 59, in 1929. (Cricket NSW) Here are a few career highlights: His highest score of 201 both in FC and Test cricket in 1894 was the first instance in which a double-century was scored in a Test on an Australian cricket ground. He captained the Australian Test team with a record of 2-3-1. (Wins-draws-losses). Syd Gregory has played the most Test matches by a non-Englishman at Lord's. 1900s - Wilfred Rhodes 1st man to make my XI in order of appearance. There are a few people with awesomely long Test careers. Sydney is quite a character (read above) at 9th, place, Jack Hobbs soon to follow at 7th, Sachin Tendulkar at 5th, followed by G Headley 4th, F Woolley 3rd, Brian Close 2nd but not close enough. Wilfred Rhodes wins the contest with 30 years, 315 days, nearly 4 years longer than Brian. Also that’s quite a list to beat and Wilfred does so in style. It’s not just that: In his final Test in 1930 was, at 52 years and 165 days, the oldest player who has appeared in a Test match. 52 and a half! This is not the only record he owns for sure… Born October 29, 1877, Wilfred Rhodes was an England and Yorkshire stalwart, who played Test cricket for more than three decades. A right-handed batsman and a slow left-arm orthodox bowler, Rhodes owns most of the First-Class records under the sun. He has over 30,000 runs at an average of 30 an innings for Yorkshire and has taken 3,597 wickets at 16 runs apiece. For England, he has scored 2,000 runs at the same average of 30 and 127 wickets at 26.96 apiece. He holds unique partnership records while opening the batting as well as playing at number XI. Here’s 7 startling statistics about the legend: 1. Rhodes has played 1,110 First-Class matches in his career and owns the record by quite a margin as the second placed Frank Woolley has 978 matches. 2. Rhodes has a record 4,204 First-Class wickets to his name, yet another record he owns by quite a margin. He has taken over 400 wickets more than the second placed Tich Freeman. 3. Rhodes has bowled most number of balls--185,742--in his First-Class career. 4. Rhodes has conceded the most number of runs — 70,322 — in his First-Class career. 5. Rhodes is the only person to do the 1,000 run-100 wicket double in a County Championship season 16 times during his career. 6. Rhodes is the first person to do a 1,000 run-100 wicket double in Test cricket for England. 7. Rhodes is one of only three players in the history of the game to bat at all 11 positions. The other two players who hold this unique distinction are Syd Gregory and Vinoo Mankad. (All of the 3 are in this top 15) (Cricket Country) In my XI I will use Wilfred to bowl consistently. I know he will target the stumps, there’s no doubt about it. He will never bowl short so the odd pie from Shane Warne will not tear the team apart on a spinner’s pitch. Indeed if there’s spin on the pitch he will keep bowling at the other end, not necessarily for 40 overs though. With the bat in hand at #8, I can rely on him to bat big occasionally, he’s done it in the past anyways. 1910s - Jack Hobbs In my team Sir John Berry Hobbs will open up the innings with Sutcliffe. Jack is a fantastic guy. If there’s one person I can rely on getting the team in front on day one, it certainly is Jack. He played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. Known as "The Master", he is regarded by critics as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century-maker in first-class cricket, with 61,760 runs and 199 centuries. A right-handed batsman and an occasional right-arm medium pace bowler, Hobbs also excelled as a fielder, particularly in the position of cover point. (Wikipedia) Hobbs' success was based on fast footwork, an ability to play many different shots, and excellent placement of the ball. Among the first batsmen to succeed against previously devastating googly bowlers, he adapted his technique to meet the new styles of bowling that arose early in his career; he mixed classical shots with an effective defence. He was particularly successful on relatively more difficult pitches for batting. (Wikipedia) Jack Hobbs was cricket's most prolific batsman. He finished with 61,237 first-class runs and 197 centuries, most of them stylishly made from the top of the Surrey or England batting orders.(Wisden/Steven Lynch) Hobbs was born in 1882 and Sutcliffe in 1894. The former’s career was shortened by WW1 (1914-1918) at his prime and the latter’s FC career delayed by a few years. Hobbs was the dominant partner of the two. However, Herbert’s averages top Hobbs. Herbert’s averages are 61 in Tests and 52 in FC whereas Jack’s are 57 and 51. If Jack didn’t make it big for some odd reason, it was always gonna be very tough dismissing Herbert either way. And in the worst/best case scenario, these two batted the whole day. 1920s - Herbert Sutcliffe A right-handed batsman, Sutcliffe was noted for his concentration and determination, qualities which made him invaluable to his teams in adverse batting conditions; and he is remembered as one of the game's finest "bad wicket batsmen". His fame rests mainly in the great opening partnership he formed with Jack Hobbs for England between 1924 and 1930. (Wiki) In a career extending from 1919 to 1939 Herbert Sutcliffe scored more than 50,000 runs and averaged 52. He never knew a season of failure, except by the standard of his own astonishing peaks, and at the zenith of his career he scored 16,255 runs in five years as a measure of mastery in all conditions and over the world's best bowling of the time. The First World War I delayed his entry into county cricket until he was 24 years old when, after demobilisation from a commission in the Green Howards, he was given a place in the Yorkshire side. His quality was never in doubt and by the end of the 1919 season he had scored five centuries and churned out an aggregate of 1,839 runs. He had also established a first-wicket partnership with Percy Holmes. For fourteen years these two batsmen opened the innings for Yorkshire, representing a partnership of unparalleled success in which they put up the hundred on 74 occasions. Equally happy was Sutcliffe's Test match association with J. B. Hobbs, for this became the most accomplished of all opening partnerships. Sutcliffe's good fortune, however, was only in the presentation of opportunity. Seizure of it was his own merit and with one partner or another he constructed 145 first-wicket century stands. His artistry and efficiency in difficult conditions became legendary in his lifetime, with his centuries against Australia at The Oval in 1926 and at Melbourne in 1929 as historic examples. Matches against Lancashire stirred him to nine centuries. His defensive patience and skill became a byword, yet at need his hitting was brilliant in the extreme. Against Northamptonshire at Kettering he met spin on the sticky wicket with an innings of 113 which included ten 6s. (Wisden Cricketers' Almanack) 1930s - Don Bradman Sir Donald George Bradman is the captain of my Test team. He is the perfect number 3 batsman. He is a legend. Don’s batting averages are second to none. They are of a superman. In 52 Tests he made 6,996 runs in 80 innings being 10 times not out. In his last Test after 79 innings he needed 4 runs to make a Test average of a century but he was out 2nd ball for a duck. It is the most famous duck you will ever see in one’s lifetime. Regardless of that, his Test and FC averages are out of the ordinary. 99.94 and 95.14 will ever only fit one name and that is The Don. If I told you everything I can about the man himself, you as a reader would get very frustrated and bored. I have watched a video made by Paul Kelly called Bradman many times, and it tells the story quite well from Bradman’s youth to the man he became. I’ll write the various parts below (Written by Paul Maurice Kelly) and expect you to check out the video: Sydney, 1926, this is the story of a man Just a kid in from the sticks, just a kid with a plan St George took a gamble, played him in first grade Pretty soon that young man showed them how to flash the blade And at the age of nineteen he was playing for the State From Adelaide to Brisbane the runs did not abate He hit 'em hard, he hit 'em straight He was more than just a batsman He was something like a tide He was more than just one man He could take on any side They always came for Bradman 'cause fortune used to hide in the palm of his hand A team came out from England Wally Hammond wore his felt hat like a chief All through the summer of '28, '29 they gave the greencaps no relief Some reputations came to grief They say the darkest hour is right before the dawn And in the hour of greatest slaughter the great avenger is being born But who then could have seen the shape of things to come In Bradman's first test he went for eighteen and for one They dropped him like a gun Now big Maurice Tate was the trickiest of them all And a man with a wisecracking habit But there's one crack that won't stop ringing in his ears "Hey Whitey, that's my rabbit" Bradman never forgot it England 1930 and the seed burst into flower All of Jackson's grace failed him, it was Bradman was the power He murdered them in Yorkshire, he danced for them in Kent He laughed at them in Leicestershire, Leeds was an event Three hundred runs he took and rewrote all the books That really knocked those gents The critics could not comprehend this nonchalant phenomenon "Why this man is a machine, " they said. "Even his friends say he isn't human" Even friends have to cut something Summer 1932 and Captain Douglas had a plan When Larwood bowled to Bradman it was more than man to man And staid Adelaide nearly boiled over as rage ruled over sense When Oldfield hit the ground they nearly jumped the fence Now Bill Woodill was as fine a man as ever went to wicket And the bruises on his body that day showed that he could stick it But to this day he's still quoted and only he could wear it "There's two teams out there today and only one of them's playing cricket." He was longer than a memory, bigger than a town He feet they used to sparkle and he always kept them on the ground Fathers took their sons who never lost the sound of the roar of the grandstand Now shadows they grow longer and there's so much more yet to be told But we're not getting any younger, so let the part tell the whole Now the players all wear colours, the circus is in town I can no longer go down there, down to that sacred ground So yes, he definitely is my number 3 batsman and a captain too!! 1940s - Vinoo Mankad Vinoo could bowl on turf and on matting. It was this adaptability that made him such a dangerous player for opposition teams. His slow left arm medium wrought more destruction of batting line-ups than any other bowler of his kind in his era. On good wickets he’d pick up a few. On pitches that suited his bowling he was unplayable. He could bend, he could curve, he could twist, he could carve up teams. Then, as a batsman he could be exhilarating. Such was Mankad’s influence on Test cricket that India were quite the poorer for his absence. He was the glue. If Mankad was present, anything could happen. The impossible became the possible, such was his talent. When he wasn’t in the team, he was sorely missed...His 231 against NZ in 1956 was a record score for an Indian at that time and he also set a record with Pankaj Roy for the world record opening partnership of 413 runs, a record that would not be beaten for 52 years. (Rob Harvey, From Nayudu to Kohli) Vinoo’s most famous feat was against England at Lord's in 1952 when going in first he scored 72 and 184. In the second innings he went straight to the wicket after bowling 31 overs that day. In the whole match he bowled 97 overs and took five for 231. England won by eight wickets, but Mankad's performance must surely rank as the greatest ever done in a Test by a member of the losing side. Indeed in assessing his record one must remember that of the 44 Tests between 1946 and 1959 in which he played India won five only. (Wisden)
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