Youngest or oldest for longest in ODIs

In last week's List, we dug up players who were the youngest or oldest in their team for the most Tests. This week we've done the same for one-day internationals. While Sachin Tendulkar, who played 48 Tests as the baby of the team, also played the most ODIs as the youngest, it isn't Alec Stewart, with 85 Test caps as England's oldest, who holds pride of place in one-dayers. Sanath Jayasuriya does, and he could still add to his 208 matches as the oldest player in the Sri Lankan team.

Tendulkar's run in Tests as India's youngest cricketer continued until 1999, nearly 10 years after his debut. In ODIs, though, it ended in 1997, when he was 24. During that time Tendulkar played 159 one-dayers and scored 5540 runs at an average of 39.29, which is among the 10 best averages for a team's youngest player.

It's hard to predict who might play more than Tendulkar's 159 games, and perhaps no one will, given that India played an absurdly high number of ODIs in the 1990s. None of the players in the table below are their team's youngest anymore, and among the emerging crop, the closest to Tendulkar is Ravindra Jadeja, who has played a mere 32 games. He's not a permanent fixture in India's one-day team, though, but there's no one younger pushing for selection at the moment. Virat Kohli is older than Jadeja by 31 days. Tim Southee, 21, has been New Zealand's youngest player for 31 matches but he won't be for much longer with the emergence of 20-year-old Kane Williamson, who didn't play against Bangladesh on Tuesday but is certainly part of New Zealand's future plans. The likelier candidates are Wayne Parnell, if he can play another 148 ODIs before South Africa select someone younger, and 18-year-old Mohammad Amir, whose future is uncertain after 15 matches. George Dockrell, an 18-year-old left-arm spinner, has an outside chance if England decide they want a second Irishman in their set-up.

Most ODIs as the youngest player in the team (excluding multi-nation XIs)

Player	Span	Mat	Runs	HS	Bat Av	100	Wkts	BBI	Bowl Av	5		Career	%
SR Tendulkar (India)	1989-1997	159	5540	137	39.29	12	49	4/34	57.87	0		442	36.0
SR Waugh (Aus)	1986-1991	98	2037	83*	33.95	0	90	4/33	31.61	0		325	30.2
Aaqib Javed (Pak)	1988-1996	93	78	17	8.66	0	101	3/21	31.87	0		163	57.1
Shahid Afridi (Pak)	1996-2003	91	1898	109	22.06	2	70	5/40	41.55	1		296	30.7
BB McCullum (NZ)	2002-2007	88	1170	52*	21.66	0	0	-	-	0		171	51.5
RT Ponting (Aus)	1995-2001	80	2719	145	37.24	4	1	1/41	62.00	0		350	22.9
Yuvraj Singh (India)	2000-2005	77	1494	98*	25.32	0	27	4/6	35.22	0		251	30.7
WJ Cronje (SA)	1992-1996	71	2063	112	36.83	2	43	5/32	37.41	1		188	37.8
DL Vettori (NZ)	1997-2002	63	304	25*	10.85	0	52	4/24	39.59	0		251	25.1
SP Fleming (NZ)	1994-1997	60	1712	106*	31.70	1	1	1/8	28.00	0		279	21.5
Tamim Iqbal (Ban)	2007-2009	58	1735	154	29.91	2	0	-	-	0		85	68.2
BC Lara (WI)	1990-1994	58	2244	153	42.33	4	2	2/5	2.50	0		295	19.7
MJ Clarke (Aus)	2003-2008	57	1477	97	39.91	0	20	5/35	37.90	1		178	32.0
WPUJC Vaas (SL)	1994-1999	57	273	33	13.00	0	60	4/22	27.96	0		321	17.8
C Sharma (India)	1983-1989	55	411	101*	27.40	1	62	3/22	32.90	0		65	84.6
CK Kapugedera (SL)	2006-2009	55	995	95	22.11	0	2	1/24	96.00	0		82	67.1
WU Tharanga (SL)	2005-2007	49	1427	110	29.72	4	0	-	-	0		105	46.7
MD Crowe (NZ)	1982-1988	48	1428	105*	34.00	1	20	2/9	29.90	0		143	33.6
B Lee (Aus)	2000-2003	48	198	51*	15.23	0	95	5/27	20.10	3		186	25.8
SCJ Broad (Eng)	2006-2009	47	295	45*	17.35	0	70	5/23	27.48	1		73	64.4

Ramnaresh Sarwan is the only one with an average of more than 50 while being the team's youngest player. He made his debut in 2000, at the age of 20, and was West Indies' youngest in 12 ODIs, scoring 362 runs at 51.71 and remaining unbeaten five times. Brian Lara had a high average as well in the 58 games in which he was the baby of the team, scoring 2244 runs at 42.33 between 1990 and 1994. He averaged only 34 in 61 games in which he was West Indies' oldest.

Three of the top four bowling averages for youngest players in a team belong to Australians; the other is Ian Bishop's 18.40 in 29 ODIs for West Indies between 1988 and 1991. Carl Rackemann was 23 when he made his debut, and in 11 matches as Australia's youngest player he took 25 wickets at 17.60 apiece. Since then, Brett Lee (2000-03) and Shaun Tait (2007) have also had sub-20 averages for matches in which they were the youngest in the XI.

Jayasuriya was only 29 when he played his first ODI as the oldest player in the Sri Lankan team in 1998. What a sprightly XI that must have been. Taking over from Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva, Jayasuriya played 207 more games as Sri Lanka's oldest over the next 11 years, scoring 6748 runs and taking 129 wickets. The only other presently active player in the table below is Paul Collingwood, who has been England's oldest for 72 out of his 189 matches.

The three highest averages by the oldest player in a team belong to current batsmen. Shivnarine Chanderpaul has played 45 matches as West Indies' oldest batsman and averaged 63.23 in them. Virender Sehwag is India's oldest when Sachin Tendulkar does not play and he averages 55.50 in 15 such games. Tendulkar himself has been in sparkling form as India's oldest player. He took on that mantle after Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly stopped playing one-dayers, and he has scored 1466 runs in 32 innings at an average of 52.35.

Among bowlers who were the oldest players in their teams, only Bob Willis has an average of less than 20. He was England's oldest in 12 ODIs, in which he took 19 wickets at 19.47. Glenn McGrath is next best, with an average of 22.07 in 57 matches as Australia's eldest.

The table below contains players who've played the most matches as either their team's youngest or oldest player.

Most ODIs as the oldest or youngest player in the team (excluding multi-nation XIs)

Player	Total		Young	Mat	Runs	Wkts		Old	Mat	Runs	Wkts
ST Jayasuriya (SL)	221		1989-1991	13	108	1		1998-2009	208	6748	129
SR Waugh (Aus)	203		1986-1991	98	2037	90		1997-2002	105	2568	23
SR Tendulkar (India)	191		1989-1997	159	5540	49		2005-2010	32	1466	0
A Ranatunga (SL)	168		1982-1984	6	84	2		1992-1999	162	4624	20
M Azharuddin (India)	162		1985-1985	1	47	0		1993-2000	161	4784	0
AR Border (Aus)	160		1979-1980	7	155	4		1986-1994	153	3551	53
Wasim Akram (Pak)	160		1984-1987	31	75	42		1995-2003	129	1603	180
A Flower (Zim)	133		1992-1992	4	147	0		1997-2003	129	4292	0
ME Waugh (Aus)	132		1988-1991	22	463	20		1997-2002	110	3961	14
RT Ponting (Aus)	132		1995-2001	80	2719	1		2008-2010	52	1993	0
Imran Khan (Pak)	121		1974-1975	3	9	4		1985-1992	118	2709	128
BC Lara (WI)	119		1990-1994	58	2244	2		2003-2007	61	1746	0
AJ Stewart (Eng)	112		-	0	0	0		1994-2003	112	3239	0
Mohammad Rafique (Ban)	93		-	0	0	0		2001-2007	93	805	93
Aaqib Javed (Pak)	93		1988-1996	93	78	101		-	0	0	0
S Chanderpaul (WI)	91		1994-1999	46	1244	9		2005-2010	45	1897	0
Shahid Afridi (Pak)	91		1996-2003	91	1898	70		-	0	0	0
Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pak)	90		-	0	0	0		1999-2007	90	2950	0
BB McCullum (NZ)	88		2002-2007	88	1170	0		-	0	0	0
N Kapil Dev (India)	87		1978-1981	18	279	20		1989-1994	69	737	69
CZ Harris (NZ)	87		1990-1993	16	167	17		1998-2004	71	1142	44