Who has had the most team-mates?

Who do you think has had the greatest number of team-mates in Tests and ODIs? Logic would dictate that the odds would be on someone who has played over 100 Tests and 300 ODIs. And who has had the least number of team-mates per match over the length of a career? Would you still back someone who has played 100 Tests and nearly 300 ODIs?

The table of players with the most team-mates is an English monopoly, filled with representatives from across the decades. England allrounder Frank Woolley played with 111 players during his 64-Test career, the second highest in our table. He played alongside quite a few of those during the 1921 Ashes, when England used a record 30 players in a five-Test series. Woolley and Johnny Douglas were the only two to play in all the games. Woolley has also played under 14 different captains, which is the most for a player in Tests.

Graham Gooch, whose tally of 118 Tests was well short of the record for most Tests, had 113 team-mates, the most for any player. Incidentally, Gooch played five of the six Tests in the 1989 Ashes, in which England used 29 players, the second highest for a Test series.

The first non-English player in the table above is Sachin Tendulkar, at No. 13, who has had 88 team-mates in his 140 Tests. The other two are Allan Border and Wasim Akram, who both had 85 team-mates in 156 and 104 Tests respectively.

Players from the Australian teams post-1995 dominate the table of cricketers who have had the fewest team-mates. Adam Gilchrist has played with only 35 team-mates in his 90 Tests. This is largely due to the stability in the Australian set-up, for Gilchrist has played four three-Test series and two two-Test series with the same XI; one five-Test series (2006-07 Ashes), four three-Test series and a two-Test series in which Australia used only 12 players. Jeff Dujon also had only 35 team-mates in 81 Tests, an indication that the West Indies team of the 1980s and the Australians from the mid-1990s are among the most settled sides in Tests.

Playing with the fewest team-mates per match - Tests

Player	Span	Matches	Team-mates	TM/Mat
AC Gilchrist (Aus)	1999-2007	90	35	0.388
ME Waugh (Aus)	1991-2002	128	51	0.398
SK Warne (Aus)	1992-2007	145	58	0.400
GD McGrath (Aus)	1993-2007	124	51	0.411
SR Waugh (Aus)	1985-2004	168	70	0.416
DL Haynes (WI)	1978-1994	116	50	0.431
PJL Dujon (WI)	1981-1991	81	35	0.432
RT Ponting (Aus)	1995-2007	110	49	0.445
JL Langer (Aus)	1993-2007	105	47	0.447
IA Healy (Aus)	1988-1999	119	55	0.462
JH Kallis (SA)	1995-2007	108	50	0.462
MV Boucher (SA)	1997-2007	103	48	0.466
IVA Richards (WI)	1974-1991	121	58	0.479
ML Hayden (Aus)	1994-2007	89	43	0.483
RB Richardson (WI)	1983-1995	86	42	0.488
G Kirsten (SA)	1993-2004	101	50	0.495
CG Greenidge (WI)	1974-1991	108	54	0.500
SM Pollock (SA)	1995-2007	107	54	0.504
JN Gillespie (Aus)	1996-2006	71	36	0.507
MA Taylor (Aus)	1989-1999	104	54	0.519

The one-day table for most team-mates is headed by the usual suspects, Tendulkar and Akram, who've played 403 and 356 ODI games respectively. Gooch, however, is a surprising entry at No 3. He played only 125 ODIs but has had 97 different team-mates in those.

Given Pakistan's turbulent selection history, several of their players from the 1990s and 2000s have played under the most number of captains. Akram, the only player to have 13 different captains in ODIs, heads the list and is followed by several of his contemporaries. Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq have played under 12 captains; Salim Malik, Ijaz Ahmed, Moin Khan and Mushtaq Ahmed under 11; and Saeed Anwar, Aamer Sohail, Waqar Younis and Mohammad Yousuf under 10.

Playing with the most team-mates - ODIs (Multi-nation teams excluded)

Player	Span	Matches	Team-mates	TM/Mat
SR Tendulkar (India)	1989-2007	403	110	0.272
Wasim Akram (Pak)	1984-2003	356	106	0.297
GA Gooch (Eng)	1976-1995	125	97	0.776
M Azharuddin (India)	1985-2000	334	97	0.290
A Kumble (India)	1990-2007	269	97	0.360
Saleem Malik (Pak)	1982-1999	283	94	0.332
BC Lara (WI)	1990-2007	295	90	0.305
Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pak)	1991-2007	375	90	0.240
SC Ganguly (India)	1992-2007	305	90	0.295
R Dravid (India)	1996-2007	329	89	0.270
AR Border (Aus)	1979-1994	273	88	0.322
PA de Silva (SL)	1984-2003	308	88	0.285
ST Jayasuriya (SL)	1989-2007	399	88	0.220
Javed Miandad (Pak)	1975-1996	233	85	0.364
Saeed Anwar (Pak)	1989-2003	247	85	0.344
Ijaz Ahmed (Pak)	1986-2000	250	83	0.332
D Gough (Eng)	1994-2006	158	83	0.525
A Ranatunga (SL)	1982-1999	269	82	0.304
Waqar Younis (Pak)	1989-2003	262	82	0.312
AJ Stewart (Eng)	1989-2003	170	82	0.482

Gilchrist, once again, has the fewest team-mates per match in ODIs. He has had only 55 in 274 games, but the Australian dominance isn't as strong as in the Test table. The West Indians - Richie Richardson, Jeff Dujon and Desmond Haynes - also rank high up, followed by the Sri Lankans Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas.

Playing with the fewest team-mates per match - ODIs

Player	Span	Matches	Team-mates	TM/Mat
AC Gilchrist (Aus)	1996-2007	274	55	0.200
RT Ponting (Aus)	1995-2007	284	59	0.207
RB Richardson (WI)	1983-1996	224	47	0.209
MG Bevan (Aus)	1994-2004	232	49	0.211
PJL Dujon (WI)	1981-1991	169	36	0.213
DL Haynes (WI)	1978-1994	238	51	0.214
ST Jayasuriya (SL)	1989-2007	399	88	0.220
WPUJC Vaas (SL)	1994-2007	304	70	0.230
SR Waugh (Aus)	1986-2002	325	75	0.230
MV Boucher (SA)	1998-2007	250	58	0.232
DPMD Jayawardene (SL)	1998-2007	256	60	0.234
M Muralitharan (SL)	1993-2007	290	69	0.237
Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pak)	1991-2007	375	90	0.240
AL Logie (WI)	1981-1993	158	38	0.240
ME Waugh (Aus)	1988-2002	244	59	0.241
SM Pollock (SA)	1996-2007	286	71	0.248
A Symonds (Aus)	1998-2007	177	44	0.248
Mohammad Yousuf (Pak)	1998-2007	241	60	0.248
GD McGrath (Aus)	1993-2007	249	62	0.248
MS Atapattu (SL)	1990-2007	268	68	0.253

Trivia: Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath have played with only three wicketkeepers during their Test careers: Ian Healy, Adam Gilchrist and who? Answer next week.