Elliott fizzles, Ponting sizzles

Test cricket is littered with players who faded after promising starts, and those who stuck it out to resurrect careers after disastrous beginnings. Vinod Kambli and Marvan Atapattu are examples of each that spring to mind. This week we look at players with the largest difference in averages between the first and second halves of their Test careers, divided on the basis of matches played.

Matthew Elliott, the former Australia opener, made his debut at Michael Slater's expense during the 1996-97 home series against West Indies. He began with a duck at the Gabba but scored 78 in the second Test in Adelaide before retiring hurt after a collision with Mark Waugh. He tore a knee cartilage and did not play again in the series. Elliott came back strongly on the tour of South Africa with 85 in Johannesburg and also contributed significantly to the 3-2 Ashes win in England in 1997. He scored two centuries, including 199 at Headingley, and two fifties on the tour, and his career average touched a high of 54.20, after 16 innings, during the fifth Test at Trent Bridge. However, that was as good as it got for Elliott, who was dropped after he failed at home against South Africa and New Zealand in 1997-98. He received two more opportunities, against West Indies in 1998-99 and Sri Lanka in 2004, but was dismissed for four ducks in his last eight innings. Elliott scored only 322 in his last 19 innings, which included a century in Hobart, at an average of less than 17.

Biggest difference in batting average between first and second halves of career - Tests
(qualification: 15 innings in each)

Player		1st half	Inns	Runs	HS	Ave	100		2nd half	Inns	Runs	HS	Ave	100		Diff
MTG Elliott (Aus)		1996-1997	17	850	199	53.12	2		1997-2004	19	322	114	16.94	1		36.17
JC Adams (WI)		1992-1996	43	1963	208*	61.34	5		1997-2001	47	1049	101*	25.58	1		35.75
Basit Ali (Pak)		1993-1994	15	652	103	46.57	1		1994-1995	18	206	53	11.44	0		35.12
LG Rowe (WI)		1972-1975	22	1293	302	61.57	6		1976-1980	27	754	100	29.00	1		32.57
MS Sinclair (NZ)		1999-2001	23	973	214	51.21	3		2001-2006	23	475	76	21.59	0		29.61
AR Morris (Aus)		1946-1951	37	2097	206	61.67	10		1951-1955	42	1436	153	34.19	2		27.48
RN Harvey (Aus)		1948-1955	67	3766	205	61.73	15		1956-1963	70	2383	167	36.10	6		25.63
BW Luckhurst (Eng)		1970-1971	19	765	131	51.00	3		1971-1974	22	533	101	25.38	1		25.61
RW Morgan (NZ)		1965-1965	18	606	97	33.66	0		1965-1972	16	128	35	8.53	0		25.13
G Ulyett (Eng)		1877-1884	21	754	149	35.90	1		1885-1890	18	195	74	10.83	0		25.07
DL Houghton (Zim)		1992-1995	16	852	266	56.80	3		1995-1997	20	612	104*	32.21	1		24.58
JM Gregory (Aus)		1920-1921	17	744	119	49.60	2		1921-1928	17	402	73	25.12	0		24.47
BC Booth (Aus)		1961-1964	26	1099	169	54.95	4		1964-1966	22	674	117	30.63	1		24.31
VS Hazare (India)		1946-1951	28	1420	164*	59.16	6		1951-1953	24	772	146*	35.09	1		24.07
Yasir Hameed (Pak)		2003-2004	19	784	170	49.00	2		2004-2007	22	573	76	26.04	0		22.95

Lawrence Rowe still remains the only batsman to score a double-hundred and a century on debut. He averaged 314 after his first Test, against New Zealand in Kingston in 1972, but that figure shrank to human proportions - 57.22 - before England toured the Caribbean in 1973-74. Rowe scored three hundreds against England, including a double, and pushed his average back up into the 70s. Thereafter it went into freefall as Rowe scored only 754 runs from his last 27 innings, compared to 1293 from his first 22, at an average of 29. His participation in the rebel tour to South Africa in 1983 ended his career for the West Indies.

Ricky Ponting's rise as the world's premier batsman over the last five years has been meteoric. If you spilt up his career into two halves, he scored 3505 runs with ten centuries and averaged 45.51 after 89 innings in the first half. However, since the neutral-venue series against Pakistan in 2002-03, Ponting has outstripped his contemporaries, scoring 6003 runs in 97 innings at an average of 72.32. He has scored 23 hundreds during this period, including back-to-back centuries on three occasions.

Biggest difference in batting average between first and second halves of career - Tests
(qualification: 15 innings in each)

Player		1st half	Inns	Runs	HS	Ave	100		2nd half	Inns	Runs	HS	Ave	100		Diff
CG Macartney (Aus)		1907-1912	30	802	137	27.65	1		1912-1926	25	1329	170	60.40	6		-32.75
RT Ponting (Aus)		1995-2002	89	3505	197	45.51	10		2002-2007	97	6003	257	72.32	23		-26.80
Imran Khan (Pak)		1971-1982	69	1651	123	27.98	1		1982-1992	57	2156	136	51.33	5		-23.35
JW Burke (Aus)		1951-1956	23	519	101*	24.71	1		1956-1959	21	761	189	47.56	2		-22.84
CL Walcott (WI)		1948-1953	34	1434	168*	44.81	5		1953-1960	40	2364	220	67.54	10		-22.73
EAB Rowan (SA)		1935-1948	25	750	89*	32.60	0		1948-1951	25	1215	236	55.22	3		-22.61
DG Bradman (Aus)		1928-1934	39	3224	334	89.55	13		1934-1948	41	3772	304	110.94	16		-21.38
Younis Khan (Pak)		2000-2003	47	1680	153	37.33	5		2004-2007	54	2906	267	58.12	9		-20.78
SJ McCabe (Aus)		1930-1933	27	915	187*	36.60	1		1933-1938	35	1833	232	57.28	5		-20.68
KC Sangakkara (SL)		2000-2004	55	2315	230	45.39	4		2004-2007	57	3426	287	65.88	11		-20.49
JR Ratnayeke (SL)		1982-1985	21	240	36	15.00	0		1986-1989	17	567	93	35.43	0		-20.43
JH Kallis (ICC/SA)		1995-2001	90	3612	189*	48.16	9		2001-2007	99	5585	186	67.28	20		-19.12
MH Denness (Eng)		1969-1974	24	718	76	31.21	0		1974-1975	21	949	188	49.94	4		-18.72
T Taibu (Zim)		2001-2003	24	482	83	20.95	0		2004-2005	22	791	153	39.55	1		-18.59
JE Cheetham (SA)		1949-1953	23	394	54	17.13	0		1953-1955	20	489	89	34.92	0		-17.79

Narendra Hirwani spun circles around the West Indians on a dust bowl in Chennai and picked up 16 for 136 on Test debut in 1987-88. He continued his excellent start, taking 20 wickets at 19.50 apiece in the three Tests that followed at home against New Zealand. However, Hirwani's form dipped once he left the spin-friendly surfaces at home and travelled overseas. His 21 wickets in nine Tests in West Indies, New Zealand and England cost 59 apiece. His final ten matches, the last against South Africa in 1996-97, yielded only 22 wickets at an average of 48.

Biggest difference in bowling average between first and second halves of career - Tests
(qualification: 1500 balls in each)

Player		1st half	Balls	Wkts	BBI	Ave	5		2nd half	Balls	Wkts	BBI	Ave	5		Diff
Saleem Altaf (Pak)		1967-1973	2011	31	4/11	25.09	0		1973-1978	1990	15	3/33	62.13	0		-37.03
RJ Bright (Aus)		1977-1981	2562	33	7/87	28.39	3		1981-1986	2979	20	5/94	62.15	1		-33.75
SJ McCabe (Aus)		1930-1933	1868	23	4/13	31.73	0		1933-1938	1878	13	2/5	62.53	0		-30.79
S Madan Lal (India)		1974-1981	2979	41	5/23	28.60	4		1982-1986	3018	30	3/18	55.76	0		-27.15
ND Hirwani (India)		1988-1990	1994	44	8/61	21.13	3		1990-1996	2304	22	6/59	48.04	1		-26.90
BD Julien (WI)		1973-1975	2298	32	5/57	27.93	1		1975-1977	2244	18	3/32	54.11	0		-26.17
DJ Bravo (WI)		2004-2006	1738	28	6/55	33.53	2		2006-2007	1820	17	4/40	59.58	0		-26.05
Mohammad Nazir (Pak)		1969-1980	1552	22	7/99	24.18	2		1980-1983	1710	12	5/72	49.33	1		-25.15
N Boje (SA)		2000-2003	3777	53	5/62	30.94	2		2004-2006	4843	47	5/88	55.85	1		-24.90
CN McCarthy (SA)		1948-1950	1709	23	6/43	33.34	2		1950-1951	1790	13	4/76	57.15	0		-23.80
Mohammad Rafique (Ban)		2000-2004	4326	57	6/77	31.91	4		2004-2007	3836	37	5/62	54.48	3		-22.57
JM Gregory (Aus)		1920-1921	2894	57	7/69	23.71	3		1921-1928	2688	28	5/111	46.28	1		-22.56
GRJ Matthews (Aus)		1983-1986	2690	33	5/103	38.00	2		1986-1993	3581	28	4/76	60.28	0		-22.28
JM Blanckenberg (SA)		1913-1922	1951	40	6/76	23.20	3		1923-1924	1937	20	5/61	44.45	1		-21.25
PJ Wiseman (NZ)		1998-2000	2440	32	5/82	37.56	2		2000-2005	3220	29	4/64	58.65	0		-21.09

Intikhab Alam finished his 47-Test career with 125 wickets at an average of 35.95. However, his record after 25 Tests was nowhere near as good: he had taken only 39 wickets at 51.87 apiece with a best of 4 for 39. However, in his last 22 Tests he picked up 86 wickets at 28.73 with five five-fors and a couple of ten-fors to rapidly improve his bowling stats.