Maintaining high standards

It's common knowledge that the lowest bowling average in Test cricket, 10.75, belongs to George Lohmann, and even more commonly known that the highest batting average is Don Bradman's 99.94. But which players have maintained a consistently excellent batting average, or a miserly bowling mean, throughout their careers or for the best part of it? The List investigates.

Five batsmen - Herbert Sutcliffe , Desmond Lewis , Rodney Redmond , Vic Stollmeyer and Andy Ganteaume - averaged above 60 throughout their careers. However, Lewis played only three Tests and Redmond, Stollmeyer and Ganteaume just one each. Sutcliffe, though, began his career with 64 against South Africa and never let his average drop below 60 during his 54-Test career over a span of 11 years. His average peaked at 99.33 after his third Test and dipped to its lowest point - 60.73 - in his final match.

If we look at batsmen who averaged above 60 for the largest percentage of their careers (with a qualification of at least 50 innings), Bradman slots in at second place after Sutcliffe. It took Bradman seven innings at the start of his career to get his average over 60 and only after his 10th did he permanently keep it above that mark. His highest average was 112.29, after he scored an unbeaten 299 against South Africa in his 18th Test.

As many as 14 batsmen had averages of more than 50 for their entire career, but Sutcliffe apart, only one of them played more than seven Tests. Javed Miandad began his career with 163 and finished his debut Test, against New Zealand, with an average of 188. That was as high as it got but Miandad sustained an average of above 50 during his 124-Test career that spanned 17 years.

Frank Worrell maintained an average of more than 50 for 96.55% of his career - 84 innings out of 87. He scored 97 on debut against England, and by the end of his second Test his average had soared to 256. However, it began to dip from those dizzy heights, and in his 42nd Test, Worrell's average fell below 50 for the first time. The dip lasted only two innings, though, before he pushed it above 50 once again. Before the start of his 51st - and final - Test, Worrell averaged 50.01 and a dismissal for 9 in the first innings pushed it to 49.48. An eight-wicket victory ensured that Worrell did not bat in the second innings.

Sunil Gavaskar had an average of above 40 for his entire career - 125 Tests - but his achievement could be eclipsed by Sourav Ganguly, who began his career with a century at Lord's and has kept his average above 40 for all of his 106 Tests . Ganguly currently averages 42.71 and needs to play another 19 Tests to go past Gavaskar. David Gower also maintained a 40-plus average over 204 innings : his average never went above 66 and didn't fall below 40.52.

Among bowlers, Charlie Turner's 17-Test career is the longest for a bowler who averaged below 20 through his career. Turner took 6 for 15 in the first innings of his debut , against England , giving him an average of 2.50, and it wasn't until his sixth Test - in which he took his 50th wicket - that his average inched over 10.

Johnny Briggs could have had an average of below 20 during his 33-Test career but he bowled only once - in his second Test - over his first six matches and took 0 for 13. He began to bowl regularly from his seventh game and took 11 for 74, giving him an average of 7.90. Briggs became the first bowler to take 100 Test wickets - Turner became the second, in the same Test - and finished his career with an average of 17.75.

Among the 20 bowlers who averaged below 25 throughout their careers, there's only one from the 21st century. Stuart Clark has played only 15 Tests to date but his Test average has not gone above his current average of 21.88 at any stage of his career. He'll need to perform exceptionally, though, to beat Bill Johnston's record of 40 Tests with an average of below 25.

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