Rahul's recall, and other elderly comebacks

If Rahul Dravid is selected for the first one-day international against England on September 3, he will be the second-oldest Indian - after Mohinder Amarnath - to play an ODI. That he be given an opportunity to add to his 339 matches and 10,765 runs after nearly two years out of the ODI team was a surprise, to him and to most other people. In this week's column we've dug up lists of players on the wrong side of 35 who made comebacks after long absences from their teams.

Amarnath, like Dravid, had also spent nearly two years out of the Indian ODI side and missed a World Cup at home. He was 35 when he played Australia at the MCG in February 1986, in the second of the best-of-three World Series Cup finals. During Australia's seven-wicket victory, Amarnath became the first batsman to be given out handled ball in an ODI. He was a regular in the Test side after that but his next one-dayer was in December 1987, against West Indies in Guwahati, when he was 37. He continued playing one-day cricket until he was 39.

The longest gap between ODIs for a player over 35 belongs to Clayton Lambert, the former West Indies batsman. He was 28 when he made his debut in 1990, but played only five matches before he was dropped in October 1991. He made a comeback in 1998, and played six games, the last of which was the Wills International Cup final against South Africa in Dhaka. Lambert was nearly 37 at the time. He never played for West Indies again but almost six years later, when he was 42, he represented USA in the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy. He scored 39 off 84 balls in a 210-run defeat against New Zealand and that was the end of his international career.

Longest gap between ODIs when aged 35 and over

Player	Mat		End	Age	Scorecard		Next	Age	Scorecard		Diff
CB Lambert (WI)	11		1 Nov 1998	36y 264d	ODI 1364		10 Sep 2004	42y 213d	ODI 2169		5y 314d
AJ Traicos (Zim)	12		30 Oct 1987	40y 166d	ODI 471		23 Feb 1992	44y 282d	ODI 716		4y 116d
AJ Traicos (Zim)	6		20 Jun 1983	36y 34d	ODI 220		10 Oct 1987	40y 146d	ODI 454		4y 112d
B Wood (Eng)	11		26 May 1978	35y 151d	ODI 51		2 Jun 1982	39y 158d	ODI 152		4y 7d
AY Karim (Kenya)	30		30 May 1999	35y 166d	ODI 1469		12 Feb 2003	39y 59d	ODI 1947		3y 258d
JE Emburey (Eng)	58		29 May 1989	36y 282d	ODI 568		18 Jan 1993	40y 151d	ODI 794		3y 234d
TBM de Leede (Neth)	13		3 Mar 2003	35y 37d	ODI 1978		4 Jul 2006	38y 160d	ODI 2390		3y 123d
DR Chumney (Can)	5		27 Feb 2003	35y 50d	ODI 1971		16 May 2006	38y 128d	ODI 2374		3y 78d
Abdul Qadir (Pak)	102		13 Nov 1990	35y 59d	ODI 641		1 Nov 1993	38y 47d	ODI 842		2y 353d
MP Jarvis (Zim)	10		18 Mar 1992	36y 103d	ODI 748		22 Feb 1995	39y 78d	ODI 980		2y 341d
DS de Silva (SL)	5		18 Jun 1979	37y 7d	ODI 68		13 Feb 1982	39y 247d	ODI 145		2y 240d
RW Taylor (Eng)	16		23 Jun 1979	37y 341d	ODI 74		27 Jan 1982	40y 194d	ODI 143		2y 218d
R Illingworth (Eng)	1		5 Jan 1971	38y 211d	ODI 1		18 Jul 1973	41y 40d	ODI 6		2y 194d
BE Congdon (NZ)	9		22 Feb 1976	38y 11d	ODI 36		15 Jul 1978	40y 154d	ODI 52		2y 143d
Javed Miandad (Pak)	228		27 Dec 1993	36y 198d	ODI 869		24 Feb 1996	38y 257d	ODI 1059		2y 59d
JM Davison (Can)	25		22 Mar 2007	36y 317d	ODI 2548		6 Apr 2009	38y 332d	ODI 2836		2y 15d

The longest gap between Tests for a player over 35 belongs to England's Teddy Wynyard, whose three matches were spread over nearly 10 years. Wynyard made his debut against Australia at The Oval in 1896, when he was 35. His next Test was in Johannesburg in 1906, when he was almost 45. He played only one more match on that tour of South Africa, which was his last appearance for England. He toured South Africa with the MCC once again, in 1909, but didn't play a Test.

England's Wilfred Rhodes owns a record that will never be broken. He's the oldest cricketer to have played a Test: he was 52 years old when he played West Indies at Sabina Park in 1930. Rhodes' 58-Test career spanned 31 years and there were three large gaps between matches after he turned 35. He had played 47 Tests by the age of 36 when World War One interrupted his career in 1914. And when Test cricket resumed in 1920, Rhodes played the first match, against Australia at the SCG, at the age of 43. There was another long gap - five years and 76 days - between Rhodes' 53rd and 54th Tests, in 1921 and 1926, following which, after another gap of three years, Rhodes, now almost 50, was recalled to tour the Caribbean in 1930. It was his final series for England.

Longest gap between Tests when aged 35 and over

Player	Mat		End	Age	Scorecard		Next	Age	Scorecard		Diff
EG Wynyard (Eng)	1		12 Aug 1896	35y 133d	Test 52		2 Jan 1906	44y 276d	Test 88		9y 143d
DB Close (Eng)	19		28 Aug 1967	36y 185d	Test 623		3 Jun 1976	45y 100d	Test 777		8y 280d
AW Nourse (SA)	32		3 Mar 1914	35y 37d	Test 134		5 Nov 1921	42y 284d	Test 145		7y 247d
WR Hammond (Eng)	77		22 Aug 1939	36y 64d	Test 274		22 Jun 1946	43y 3d	Test 276		6y 304d
FJ Titmus (Eng)	49		14 Feb 1968	35y 82d	Test 629		13 Dec 1974	42y 19d	Test 748		6y 302d
W Rhodes (Eng)	47		3 Mar 1914	36y 125d	Test 134		17 Dec 1920	43y 49d	Test 135		6y 289d
B Sutcliffe (NZ)	34		18 Mar 1959	35y 121d	Test 472		27 Feb 1965	41y 102d	Test 579		5y 346d
R Abel (Eng)	11		12 Aug 1896	38y 256d	Test 52		3 Jul 1902	44y 215d	Test 72		5y 325d
CP Mead (Eng)	16		22 Feb 1923	35y 350d	Test 152		30 Nov 1928	41y 266d	Test 176		5y 282d
WW Whysall (Eng)	3		4 Mar 1925	37y 124d	Test 162		16 Aug 1930	42y 289d	Test 198		5y 165d
H Elliott (Eng)	2		24 Jul 1928	36y 265d	Test 174		15 Dec 1933	42y 43d	Test 230		5y 144d
C Washbrook (Eng)	34		21 Mar 1951	36y 105d	Test 332		12 Jul 1956	41y 219d	Test 427		5y 113d
W Rhodes (Eng)	53		30 May 1921	43y 213d	Test 140		14 Aug 1926	48y 289d	Test 167		5y 76d
GA Headley (WI)	21		14 Nov 1948	39y 168d	Test 304		15 Jan 1954	44y 230d	Test 380		5y 62d
Amir Elahi (India)	1		18 Dec 1947	39y 108d	Test 291		16 Oct 1952	44y 45d	Test 355		4y 303d
CG Macartney (Aus)	30		29 Nov 1921	35y 155d	Test 147		12 Jun 1926	39y 350d	Test 163		4y 195d
P Holmes (Eng)	6		8 Feb 1928	41y 75d	Test 172		25 Jun 1932	45y 213d	Test 219		4y 138d
JC Alabaster (NZ)	19		12 Mar 1968	37y 245d	Test 634		16 Feb 1972	41y 220d	Test 693		3y 341d
G Geary (Eng)	12		15 Jul 1930	37y 6d	Test 196		8 Jun 1934	40y 334d	Test 233		3y 328d
FJ Laver (Aus)	11		16 Aug 1905	35y 252d	Test 87		14 Jun 1909	39y 189d	Test 102		3y 302d
C Kelleway (Aus)	25		4 Mar 1925	38y 313d	Test 162		30 Nov 1928	42y 219d	Test 176		3y 271d
JE Emburey (Eng)	60		1 Aug 1989	36y 346d	Test 1124		19 Feb 1993	40y 183d	Test 1214		3y 202d
MC Cowdrey (Eng)	109		8 Jun 1971	38y 166d	Test 687		13 Dec 1974	41y 354d	Test 748		3y 188d
W Rhodes (Eng)	54		18 Aug 1926	48y 293d	Test 167		11 Jan 1930	52y 74d	Test 187		3y 146d
JMM Commaille (SA)	10		19 Aug 1924	41y 180d	Test 157		24 Dec 1927	44y 306d	Test 168		3y 127d
HW Taylor (SA)	24		19 Aug 1924	35y 106d	Test 157		24 Dec 1927	38y 233d	Test 168		3y 127d
TW Graveney (Eng)	55		20 Feb 1963	35y 249d	Test 539		16 Jun 1966	39y 0d	Test 606		3y 116d
EH Hendren (Eng)	43		25 Feb 1931	42y 20d	Test 207		8 Jun 1934	45y 123d	Test 233		3y 103d
S Haigh (Eng)	9		2 Apr 1906	35y 14d	Test 92		14 Jun 1909	38y 87d	Test 102		3y 73d
H Strudwick (Eng)	17		14 Jun 1921	41y 137d	Test 141		16 Aug 1924	44y 201d	Test 157		3y 63d