Following up on the Test batsmen peer analysis

The readers wanted some fine tuning to be done to the Test batsmen peer analysis. I have done these and have come out with the following tables. These have been presented with very few comments leaving the readers to draw their own conclusions. These tables have been created based on suggestions by Deon, Arjun and Rohan.

1.Batsman Peer comparisons - Basic table - Only against own team batsmen

>= 2000 Test runs.  (Batpos no. 1 to 7)

SNo.Batsman Cty Runs Avge From- To <------Peer-----> Ratio Inns Runs Avge

1.Bradman D.G Aus 6996 99.94 1928-1948 392 16166 41.24 2.42 2.Headley G.A Win 2190 60.83 1930-1954 197 5324 27.03 2.25 3.Flower A Zim 4794 51.55 1992-2002 548 15584 28.44 1.81 4.Taylor H.W Saf 2936 40.78 1912-1932 372 9104 24.47 1.67 5.Sutcliffe B Nzl 2727 40.10 1947-1965 366 8903 24.33 1.65 6.Nourse A.D Saf 2960 53.82 1935-1951 295 9811 33.26 1.62 7.Lara B.C Win 11953 52.89 1990-2006 1081 35420 32.77 1.61 8.Hazare V.S Ind 2192 47.65 1946-1953 250 7381 29.52 1.61 9.Hobbs J.B Eng 5410 56.95 1908-1930 467 16940 36.27 1.57 10.Turner G.M Nzl 2991 44.64 1969-1983 343 9855 28.73 1.55 11.McGlew D.J Saf 2440 42.07 1951-1962 300 8257 27.52 1.53 12.Hanif Mohammad Pak 3915 43.99 1952-1969 469 13841 29.51 1.49 13.Hutton L Eng 6971 56.67 1937-1955 609 23306 38.27 1.48 14.Mitchell B Saf 3471 48.89 1929-1949 355 11813 33.28 1.47 15.Habibul Bashar Bng 3026 30.88 2000-2008 481 10136 21.07 1.47 16.Barrington K.F Eng 6806 58.67 1955-1968 625 25062 40.10 1.46 17.Hammond W.R Eng 7249 58.46 1927-1947 642 25747 40.10 1.46 18.Gavaskar S.M Ind 10122 51.12 1971-1987 964 33940 35.21 1.45 19.EdeC Weekes Win 4455 58.62 1948-1958 388 15668 40.38 1.45 20.Crowe M.D Nzl 5444 45.37 1982-1995 629 19821 31.51 1.44 Readers can note that the players in stronger teams lose out. Bradman's ratio comes down and is even comparable to Headley's. Flower, an outstanding batsman in a weaker team, moves all the way upto third place. Bert Sutcliffe of New Zealand leapfrogs over many other players to the fifth position. It is no surprise that Ponting and Tendulkar are even out of the top-20.

To view the complete list, please click here.

2.Batsman Peer comparisons - Basic table

>= 2000 Test runs.  (Batpos no. 1 to 6 & no. 7 avge gt 30.00)

SNo.Batsman Cty Runs Avge From- To (Mat) <------Peer-----> Ratio Inns Runs Avge

1.Bradman D.G Aus 6996 99.94 1928-1948(128) 2439 93717 38.42 2.60 2.EdeC Weekes Win 4455 58.62 1948-1958(161) 3153 112350 35.63 1.65 3.Sutcliffe H Eng 4555 60.73 1924-1935( 91) 1682 62698 37.28 1.63 4.Pollock R.G Saf 2256 60.97 1963-1970(126) 2612 98346 37.65 1.62 5.Barrington K.F Eng 6806 58.67 1955-1968(234) 4685 170077 36.30 1.62 6.Walcott C.L Win 3798 56.69 1948-1960(199) 3911 137954 35.27 1.61 7.Hobbs J.B Eng 5410 56.95 1908-1930(102) 1965 70137 35.69 1.60 8.Sobers G.St.A Win 8032 57.78 1954-1974(353) 7100 258499 36.41 1.59 9.Headley G.A Win 2190 60.83 1930-1954(194) 3789 146760 38.73 1.57 10.Hammond W.R Eng 7249 58.46 1927-1947(117) 2169 82513 38.04 1.54 11.Hutton L Eng 6971 56.67 1937-1955(143) 2705 100796 37.26 1.52 12.Chappell G.S Aus 7110 53.86 1970-1984(300) 5949 219541 36.90 1.46 13.Ponting R.T Aus 11341 55.87 1995-2009(615) 12369 474630 38.37 1.46 14.Javed Miandad Pak 8832 52.57 1976-1993(460) 8975 327935 36.54 1.44 15.Tendulkar S.R Ind 12773 54.59 1989-2009(792) 15813 602604 38.11 1.43 16.Kallis J.H Saf 10277 54.66 1995-2009(599) 12027 461711 38.39 1.42 17.Mohammad Yousuf Pak 7023 54.87 1998-2009(522) 10590 411465 38.85 1.41 18.Lara B.C Win 11953 52.89 1990-2006(661) 13132 494758 37.68 1.40 19.Flower A Zim 4794 51.55 1992-2002(431) 8500 313208 36.85 1.40 20.Worrell F.M.M Win 3860 49.49 1948-1963(252) 5004 178259 35.62 1.39 This is a variant of the basic table. The comparisons are only against the top six batsmen and the seventh, if he has a Batting average greater than 30.

To view the complete list, please click here.

3.Batsman Peer comparisons - Middle order batsmen

Batsman Peer comparisons - Middle order batsmen

>= 4000 Middle order runs

No.Batsman Cty BPos Inns Runs Avge <------Peer------> Ratio Avge Out Inns Runs Avge

1.Bradman D.G Aus 3.65 70 6996 99.94 1584 60056 37.91 2.64 2.EdeC Weekes Win 4.16 75 4399 58.65 2050 72238 35.24 1.66 3.Sobers G.St.A Win 5.09 128 7658 59.83 4672 170899 36.58 1.64 4.Barrington K.F Eng 4.07 113 6604 58.44 3074 113584 36.95 1.58 5.Hammond W.R Eng 3.70 120 6934 57.78 1393 52840 37.93 1.52 6.Chappell G.S Aus 4.04 132 7110 53.86 3911 143805 36.77 1.46 7.Javed Miandad Pak 4.24 167 8789 52.63 5893 218066 37.00 1.42 8.Ponting R.T Aus 3.84 203 11341 55.87 8118 320424 39.47 1.42 9.Compton D.C.S Eng 4.34 114 5805 50.92 2195 79104 36.04 1.41 10.Tendulkar S.R Ind 4.28 233 12758 54.76 10370 404928 39.05 1.40 11.Kallis J.H Saf 3.80 188 10277 54.66 7889 311872 39.53 1.38 12.Lara B.C Win 3.78 223 11828 53.04 8593 331446 38.57 1.38 13.May P.B.H Eng 3.66 96 4525 47.14 2223 76254 34.30 1.37 14.Sangakkara K.C Slk 3.09 123 6899 56.09 5594 229171 40.97 1.37 15.Dravid R Ind 3.27 191 10334 54.10 7788 308540 39.62 1.37 16.Waugh S.R Aus 5.42 211 10910 51.71 8293 314060 37.87 1.37 17.Mohammad Yousuf Pak 4.71 128 7023 54.87 6963 279859 40.19 1.37 18.Border A.R Aus 4.70 220 11116 50.53 5257 195282 37.15 1.36 19.Flower A Zim 5.03 93 4786 51.46 5568 211502 37.99 1.35 20.Harvey R.N Aus 3.65 126 6147 48.79 3131 112807 36.03 1.35 This is again a variant of the basic table. The comparisons are only against the top six batsmen and the seventh, if he has a Batting average greater than 30. Note that these peer average figures are now slightly higher since the P.A.Patels and Ramdins have been left out.

To view the complete list, please click here.

4.Batsman Peer comparisons - Basic table

Between 1000 and 2000 Test runs.

SNo.Batsman Cty Runs Avge From- To (Mat) <------Peer----->Ratio Inns Runs Avge

1.Shrewsbury A Eng 1277 35.47 1882-1893( 37) 819 17249 21.06 1.68 2.Paynter E Eng 1540 59.23 1931-1939( 63) 1338 48476 36.23 1.63 3.Barnes S.G Aus 1072 63.06 1938-1948( 38) 782 31858 40.74 1.55 4.Kambli V.G Ind 1084 54.20 1993-1995(100) 2153 76700 35.62 1.52 5.Davis C.A Win 1301 54.21 1968-1973( 79) 1775 64075 36.10 1.50 6.Mead C.P Eng 1185 49.38 1911-1928( 61) 1276 42819 33.56 1.47 7.Ryder J Aus 1394 51.63 1920-1929( 46) 965 35621 36.91 1.40 8.Grace W.G Eng 1098 32.29 1880-1899( 57) 1314 31139 23.70 1.36 9.Faulkner G.A Saf 1754 40.79 1906-1924( 67) 1506 46487 30.87 1.32 10.Bland K.C Saf 1669 49.09 1961-1966( 97) 2132 79264 37.18 1.32 11.Jardine D.R Eng 1296 48.00 1928-1934( 60) 1260 46007 36.51 1.31 12.Reid J.F Nzl 1296 46.29 1979-1986(193) 4080 145746 35.72 1.30 13.Rae A.F Win 1016 46.18 1948-1953( 64) 1387 50295 36.26 1.27 14.Goodwin M.W Zim 1414 42.85 1998-2000(105) 2313 77858 33.66 1.27 15.Hayward T.W Eng 1999 34.47 1896-1909( 56) 1279 34904 27.29 1.26 16.Duff R.A Aus 1317 35.59 1902-1905( 22) 486 13753 28.30 1.26 17.Pullar G Eng 1974 43.87 1959-1963( 63) 1378 49027 35.58 1.23 18.MacLaren A.C Eng 1931 33.88 1894-1909( 64) 1478 40936 27.70 1.22 19.Brown W.A Aus 1592 46.82 1934-1948( 68) 1446 55587 38.44 1.22 20.Houghton D.L Zim 1465 43.09 1992-1997(183) 3981 141210 35.47 1.21 This table shows the batsmen who have scored between 1000 and 2000 runs. Thus many late order batsmen are included.

To view the complete list, please click here.

5.Maximum Peer ratio reached by a batsman

Only batsmen who have played in over 50 Tests considered
Only after 50 Tests are crossed

Figures shown are at the beginning of concerned Test

SNo.Cty Batsman Test Test BatAvg Peer Ratio No Avge

1.Aus Bradman D.G 303 52 101.39 30.65 3.31 2.Eng Hobbs J.B 176 51 61.27 27.17 2.25 3.Win Sobers G.St.A 642 66 63.77 29.12 2.19 4.Eng Hammond W.R 257 60 61.61 29.23 2.11 5.Eng Sutcliffe H 234 50 62.27 30.12 2.07 6.Eng Barrington K.F 629 76 60.66 29.39 2.06 7.Pak Javed Miandad 966 56 58.56 28.88 2.03 8.Eng Hutton L 387 71 61.71 30.70 2.01 9.Win Richards I.V.A 956 52 58.78 29.20 2.01 10.Ind Tendulkar S.R 1591 91 58.87 29.42 2.00 11.Aus Hayden M.L 1688 52 58.98 29.99 1.97 12.Aus Ponting R.T 1821 108 59.96 30.54 1.96 13.Ind Dravid R 1743 89 58.45 30.25 1.93 14.Zim Flower A 1581 57 56.60 29.26 1.93 15.Aus Gilchrist A.C 1678 50 58.24 30.52 1.91 16.Ind Gavaskar S.M 871 62 57.27 30.15 1.90 17.Saf Kallis J.H 1856 112 58.20 30.62 1.90 18.Aus Harvey R.N 447 50 54.32 28.57 1.90 19.Aus Chappell G.S 913 70 55.58 29.65 1.87 20.Eng May P.B.H 476 59 49.76 27.09 1.84 Bradman reached his maximum ratio at the beginning of his last Test. Only the top-10 have crossed 2.00. Note the quality of the top-10.

To view the complete list, please click here.

6.Minimum Peer ratio reached by a batsman

Only batsmen who have played in over 50 Tests considered
Only after 50 Tests are crossed

Figures shown are at the beginning of concerned Test

SNo.Cty Batsman Test Test BatAvg Peer Ratio No Avge

1.Saf Pollock S.M 1528 50 27.15 28.84 0.94 2.Bng Habibul Bashar 1864 50 31.38 32.21 0.97 3.Ind Kapil Dev N 1032 72 29.75 30.33 0.98 4.Pak Imran Khan 973 50 29.88 30.20 0.99 5.Eng Knott A.P.E 734 53 30.84 30.91 1.00 6.Eng Flintoff A 1922 76 31.69 31.55 1.00 7.Win Hooper C.L 1303 52 30.64 30.20 1.01 8.Pak Rameez Raja 1313 53 30.93 30.30 1.02 9.Nzl Burgess M.G 891 50 30.88 30.07 1.03 10.Eng Lamb A.J 1099 53 32.31 31.15 1.04 11.Aus Wood G.M 1110 58 31.39 29.80 1.05 12.Win Dujon P.J.L 1175 81 32.51 31.01 1.05 13.Saf Waite J.H.B 578 50 30.75 28.99 1.06 14.Eng Smith M.J.K 700 50 32.08 30.33 1.06 15.Nzl Cairns C.L 1689 58 32.13 30.17 1.06 16.Nzl Wright J.G 1068 50 32.13 29.96 1.07 17.Nzl Congdon B.E 769 51 33.07 31.00 1.07 18.Eng Rhodes W 193 58 29.94 27.72 1.08 19.Eng Butcher M.A 1636 50 31.94 29.56 1.08 20.Ind Shastri R.J 1150 72 33.88 30.95 1.09 Only four batsmen have ever been at a peer ratio value of below 1.00. The only top flight batsmen in the top-10 minimum peer ratio list are Hooper, Rameez, Burgess and Lamb.

To view the complete list, please click here.

7.Comparison between maximum and minimum peer ratios reached

Only batsmen who have played in over 50 Tests considered
Only after 50 Tests are crossed
Max-Min is the ratio of Maximum to Minmum
Spread is the spread on either side of the mean
Figures shown are at the beginning of concerned Test

SNo Cty Batsman BatAvg Peer Ratio BatAvg Peer Ratio Max Spread Avge Max Avge Min -Min

1.Aus Waugh S.R 51.87 29.37 1.77 35.76 30.16 1.19 1.49 19.6% 2.Saf Kallis J.H 58.20 30.62 1.90 41.00 28.84 1.42 1.34 14.5% 3.Aus Ponting R.T 59.96 30.54 1.96 43.71 29.33 1.49 1.32 13.6% 4.Slk de Silva P.A 43.89 29.65 1.48 34.06 30.16 1.13 1.31 13.4% 5.Pak Imran Khan 38.23 30.41 1.26 29.88 30.20 0.99 1.27 12.0% 6.Win Hooper C.L 37.67 29.73 1.27 30.64 30.20 1.01 1.26 11.4% 7.Aus Gilchrist A.C 58.24 30.52 1.91 47.89 31.39 1.52 1.26 11.4% 8.Saf Pollock S.M 34.90 29.91 1.17 27.15 28.84 0.94 1.24 10.9% 9.Pak Inzamam-ul-Haq 51.79 30.36 1.71 40.71 29.41 1.38 1.24 10.7% 10.Ind Vengsarkar D.B 46.21 29.61 1.56 37.41 29.61 1.26 1.24 10.6% 11.Slk Sangakkara K.C 57.00 31.80 1.79 46.31 31.84 1.45 1.23 10.5% 12.Pak Saleem Malik 46.97 30.64 1.53 37.86 30.65 1.24 1.23 10.5% 13.Eng Gooch G.A 44.75 30.00 1.49 36.53 30.14 1.21 1.23 10.4% 14.Aus Boon D.C 46.83 30.33 1.54 39.07 30.71 1.27 1.21 9.6% 15.Pak Mohammad Yousuf 56.65 30.77 1.84 46.66 30.64 1.52 1.21 9.5% 16.Win Dujon P.J.L 38.91 30.70 1.27 32.51 31.01 1.05 1.21 9.5% 17.Win Chanderpaul S 49.71 30.66 1.62 39.17 29.31 1.34 1.21 9.5% 18.Saf Gibbs H.H 49.46 30.14 1.64 42.05 30.81 1.36 1.21 9.3% 19.Ind Tendulkar S.R 58.87 29.42 2.00 49.26 29.69 1.66 1.20 9.3% 20.Win Richards I.V.A 58.78 29.20 2.01 49.93 29.96 1.67 1.20 9.2% This is a very revealing maximum / minimum comparison list. A high value in the last two columns indicates extreme average values. A value of over 10% indicates clearly that there is a wide gap between segments of career. The last column is a spread on either side of the mean between maximum and minimum. Steve Waugh has a spread of nearly 20%. Kallis and Ponting are also very high in the list. Lara is somewhere in the middle with a spread of 5% and is amongst the lowest amongst batsmen who have played a high number of Tests. Too much should not be read at the low values of Sutcliffe and Bradman since both of them have played just over 50 Tests.

To view the complete list, please click here.

Jeff's follow-up analysis (with Jeff's commentary)

Following on from my comment about weighting the peer averages by the innings played against each team by each player, I've done this now for the top 20 players in the original list (using Statsguru which took me quite a long time !)

I thought the readers would be interested in the results. There were no great differences doing this, but a couple of players ratios moved a fair bit.

Headley was the main beneficiary, moving up from number 7 to number 2 - he played a fair bigger proportion of his innings against strong England teams than his peers did and so his average is more impressive than it first appears. Lara also moves up, as do a couple of others. Tendulkar moves up a place.

Ponting suffers through this because (as said earlier) he didn't have to face his own team and Hammond also falls a bit because he played a lot of times against a weak South Africa.

Flower is perhaps the most surprising casualty - you might expect him to rise as he didn't have the chance to score against Zimbabwe like his peers did. However, it seems that he only played only one match against Australia in his entire career, and this has cost him.

Jeff's analysis summary

New Prev Diff Ananth Jeff

1. 1. <> Bradman D.G Aus 3.27 3.32 2. 7. +5 Headley G.A Win 1.97 2.10 3. 2. -1 EdeC Weekes Win 2.04 2.07 4. 5. +1 Walcott C.L Win 2.00 2.05 5. 4. -1 Pollock R.G Saf 2.00 1.99 6. 3. -3 Sutcliffe H Eng 2.02 1.98 7. 9. -2 Sobers G.St.A Win 1.95 1.97 8. 6. -2 Barrington K.F Eng 2.00 1.97 9. 8. -1 Hobbs J.B Eng 1.96 1.95 10. 11. +1 Hutton L Eng 1.90 1.92 11. 10. -1 Hammond W.R Eng 1.94 1.88 12. 13. +1 Chappell G.S Aus 1.79 1.81 13. 14. +1 Tendulkar S.R Ind 1.78 1.80 14. 19. +5 Lara B.C Win 1.75 1.80 15. 12. -3 Ponting R.T Aus 1.81 1.79 16. 15. -1 Kallis J.H Saf 1.77 1.76 17. 17. <> MohammadYousuf Pak 1.76 1.74 18. 16. -2 Javed Miandad Pak 1.76 1.71 19. 18. -1 Flower A Zim 1.75 1.69 20. 20. <> Sangakkara K.C Slk 1.73 1.63 Many thanks to Jeff. I am very happy to see someone who does not have access to database and supporting programs like me doing this, so to say, by long hand. May his tribe flourish.

Arjun Hemnani has asked for a Maximum/Minimum table based on the top-6/7 batsmen only. I have completed that work and have uploaded the tables to my site. It can be downloaded by clicking on the following links.

https://www.thirdslip.com/misc/peermax1.txt

https://www.thirdslip.com/misc/peermin1.txt