Great oaks from little acorns grow

If you're the kind that looks at a glass and says it's quarter full, you'd have told Marvan Atapattu not to worry after his first three Tests because he could not help but improve on his average of 0.16. More than ten years have elapsed since he made five ducks in his first six innings and Atapattu, as captain of Sri Lanka, gives hope to all those who fail miserably at their first, second, or if they're lucky enough, third chance.

Even the men who make up Test cricket's second-most prolific opening pair had modest starts to eventually successful careers. Matthew Hayden was relegated to the sidelines for several years after a making a forgettable debut against South Africa in 1994. Since his comeback, cemented after striking gold in India in 2000-01, Hayden has become one of two batsmen, Brian Lara being the other, to score 1000 runs in five calendar years but he is the first to perform this feat in consecutive years. Justin Langer took five years to play his first eight Tests but thereafter his tale has only got better. The Hayden-Langer combination at the top of the Australian order has yielded 5084 runs and they're far from done. Garry Sobers had an average of 29.92 after ten Tests and that figure hovered around 30 until three consecutive hundreds - the first of which was the famous 365 not out - pole-vaulted him to greatness.

Poor Starts - Comparing Career Batting Average with Average After 10 Tests (qualification: 10 innings in first 10 Tests, 2000 runs in career)

Player	Span		Inns	Runs	HS	Ave	100		Runs	Career	Diff
JH Kallis (ICC/SAf)	1995-2005		15	340	101	22.66	1		7420	57.07	34.41
SR Waugh (Aust)	1985-2004		16	271	74	20.84	0		10927	51.06	30.21
ML Hayden (Aust)	1994-2005		16	413	125	25.81	1		6672	54.24	28.43
GS Sobers (WI)	1954-1974		17	419	64	29.92	0		8032	57.78	27.85
HH Gibbs (SAf)	1996-2005		19	380	54	20.00	0		5227	47.09	27.09
DL Amiss (Eng)	1966-1977		17	313	56	20.86	0		3612	46.30	25.44
MD Crowe (NZ)	1982-1995		16	331	100	20.68	1		5444	45.36	24.67
MS Atapattu (SL)	1990-2005		19	321	108	16.89	1		5119	38.48	21.59
DB Vengsarkar (India)	1976-1992		18	350	49	20.58	0		6868	42.13	21.54
Inzamam-ul-Haq (ICC/Pak)	1992-2005		17	466	123	31.06	1		8052	51.61	20.54

The flip side to having a sensational sequence in your first few international games is that, inevitably, normalcy and sometimes even mediocrity will ensue. Unless you are Don Bradman.

In the twilight of Bradman's career, there emerged one Neil Harvey, and after ten Tests his average was indeed Bradman-esque. But no country could be so fortunate to be blessed with two anomalies in such quick succession and sure enough Harvey's average of 95 went into freefall and he ended with a very good but mortal 48.41.

When Imran Khan, one of cricket's most athletic allrounders, had played ten tests, the stats didn't indicate any signs of greatness. In fact, they showed Imran to be, if anything, an average cricketer. He had just one half-century and a batting average of 20.57 while his bowling had begun to show more promise with a hat-trick of five-fors against Australia. Only in the latter half of his career did he blossom as a batsman and became one of five players to have more than 3000 runs and 300 wickets in Test cricket.

After Imran, the allrounder's mantle in Pakistan fell on Wasim Akram, who was extravagantly equipped in the bowling department but didn't quite fit the bill as a batsman. In 1997, Azhar Mahmood exploded into Test cricket with a heroic century against South Africa. Mahmood made 128 and put on 225 with the last two batsmen, claimed two wickets with the new ball and followed up with 50 not out in the second innings. It was as rosy as a debut could get. He averaged 90 with three centuries, all against South Africa, in his first eight Tests. Unfortunately, he played just 13 more Tests and his decline was as spectacular as his entrance. After the tour of South Africa in 1997-98 his form deserted him and in his last 12 Tests he averaged a lowly 14.33.

Great Starts - Comparing Career Batting Average with Average After 10 Tests (qualification: 10 innings in first 10 Tests, 2000 runs in career)

Player	Span		Inns	Runs	HS	Ave	100		Runs	Career	Diff
RN Harvey (Aust)	1948-1963		15	1045	178	95.00	6		6149	48.41	-46.58
MJ Greatbatch (NZ)	1988-1996		16	786	146*	65.50	2		2021	30.62	-34.87
LG Rowe (WI)	1972-1980		14	955	302	73.46	4		2047	43.55	-29.90
SL Campbell (WI)	1995-2002		16	836	208	55.73	1		2882	32.38	-23.35
FMM Worrell (WI)	1948-1963		16	1008	261	72.00	3		3860	49.48	-22.51
KR Miller (Aust)	1946-1956		12	585	141*	58.50	1		2958	36.97	-21.52
KD Walters (Aust)	1965-1981		16	903	155	69.46	2		5357	48.26	-21.20
MA Taylor (Aust)	1989-1999		18	1088	219	64.00	3		7525	43.49	-20.50
ML Jaisimha (India)	1959-1971		16	706	127	50.42	1		2056	30.68	-19.74
JC Adams (WI)	1992-2001		15	732	137	61.00	1		3012	41.26	-19.73

Much has been written about Andrew Flintoff's coming of age during England's tour of India in 2001-02 and the figures merely drive home that point. Flintoff's tenth Test was the first of that series and until then he had taken his wickets at 66.42 apiece, hardly the stuff that made Australia totter this summer. Against India, even though he took just six wickets in three Tests, he did so at 31.50 and a miserly economy rate of 2.05 and since that series, Flintoff averages 30.42.

If it surprises you to see Malcom Marshall among the relatively poor starters, it's only because his first series was a poor one in India, where he averaged 88.33 for 3 wickets in as many matches. Thereafter he was right on the button, and he went for more than 30 per wicket in just two of his 20 series.

Poor Starts - Comparing Career Bowling Average with Average After 10 Tests (qualification: 1000 balls in first 10 Tests, 100 wickets in career)

Player	Span		Balls	Wkts	BBI	Ave	5		Wkts	Career	Diff
A Flintoff (Eng/ICC)	1998-2005		1031	7	2/31	66.42	0		163	31.51	-34.91
Intikhab Alam (Pak)	1959-1977		1884	16	2/33	54.12	0		125	35.95	-18.17
AK Davidson (Aust)	1953-1963		1436	13	2/22	37.53	0		186	20.53	-17.00
JC Laker (Eng)	1948-1959		2706	36	7/103	35.66	1		193	21.24	-14.41
MH Mankad (India)	1946-1959		3035	28	5/101	46.42	1		162	32.32	-14.10
CL Cairns (NZ)	1989-2004		1995	28	6/52	43.10	2		218	29.40	-13.70
BA Reid (Aust)	1985-1992		2355	30	4/90	37.33	0		113	24.63	-12.69
MD Marshall (WI)	1978-1991		2022	30	4/25	32.50	0		376	20.94	-11.55
GD McGrath (Aust)	1993-2005		2361	33	5/68	32.48	1		534	21.27	-11.21
GAR Lock (Eng)	1952-1968		2666	29	5/45	36.68	1		174	25.58	-11.10

The Australia and Pakistan teams that toured England in 1977 and 1978 had lost several of their stars to World Series Cricket and Ian Botham exploited this advantage to the hilt. He took 53 wickets in his first ten tests that also included five against New Zealand, who by then had just nine Test wins to their credit. Brett Lee, too, took advantage of a pace-suspect India and a weak West Indies to burst on to the Test circuit. Which is why, Heath Streak's impressive showing in his early matches against much stronger teams such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand is more commendable. His haul of 22 wickets in three Tests against Pakistan in 1994-95 was his best in a series.

Great Starts - Comparing Career Bowling Average with Average After 10 Tests (qualification: 1000 balls in first 10 Tests, 100 wickets in career)

Player	Span		Balls	Wkts	BBI	Ave	5		Wkts	Career	Diff
JE Emburey (Eng)	1978-1995		1850	25	4/46	22.71	0		147	38.40	15.68
B Lee (Aust)	1999-2005		1726	48	5/47	19.37	3		179	31.82	12.45
PH Edmonds (Eng)	1975-1987		2341	33	7/66	22.90	2		125	34.18	11.27
IT Botham (Eng)	1977-1992		2217	53	8/34	17.33	6		383	28.40	11.06
S Venkataraghavan (India)	1965-1983		2902	37	8/72	25.18	2		156	36.11	10.92
RJ Shastri (India)	1981-1992		2496	27	5/125	30.40	1		151	40.96	10.55
W Rhodes (Eng)	1899-1930		2105	57	8/68	16.42	5		127	26.96	10.54
RM Hogg (Aust)	1978-1984		2664	53	6/74	18.62	5		123	28.47	9.85
PCR Tufnell (Eng)	1990-2001		2773	38	7/47	28.71	4		121	37.68	8.97
GG Arnold (Eng)	1967-1975		2006	38	6/45	19.89	2		115	28.29	8.40