Why Mendis is tremendous

Forty-eight wickets in 18 games. That's Ajantha Mendis' record in ODIs this year, which makes him the leading wicket-taker - fellow spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is next with 35 from 21. Mendis, who made his debut this year, is on the verge of becoming the fastest to 50 ODI wickets - Ajit Agakar got there in 23 - but more phenomenal still is his career average. Mendis went wicketless, for 23 runs, in his last ODI of the year, the fifth against Zimbabwe in Harare; the game before that he was averaging below ten: if his average stays close to that through his career, he will end up as the leading strike force in ODIs, way ahead of the rest. This week's List looks at the best averaging batsmen and bowlers at different stages of their careers.

It was against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2004 that one of Mendis' team-mates, Farveez Maharoof, made his ODI debut. He took 3 for 3 in three overs as Sri Lanka's seamers demolished Zimbabwe for 35, the lowest total in ODIs. Fidel Edwards also had a great start to his career (his 6 for 22 remains the best debut performance), and Gary Gilmour's consecutive five-fors in the 1975 World Cup - Australia won the semi-final (6 for 14) and lost the final (5 for 48) - helped him to an average of 8.35 after four games. Gilmour, though, played only one more ODI in his career, finishing with an average of 10.31.

Waqar Younis stormed to 50 wickets in 27 games, at an average of 14.96 - one that Mendis is likely to best. Waqar's average, though, crept up as he played more games. Saqlain Mushtaq, who took the least games to 100 and 200 wickets, dominates the list after that - he got to 200 at an average below 20.

Their consistency ensures the names of Glenn McGrath and Muttiah Muralitharan creep in at the bottom of the table. McGrath's 7 for 15 against Namibia in the 2003 World Cup gave him an average of exactly 22 after 249 games.

Sunil Gavaskar's 774 runs in four Tests during his debut series - India's victorious 1-0 win in a five-Test contest in the West Indies - helps him sneak on to the list for Test batsmen. The Don's dominates after that: Bradman averaged over 100 for the first time after his ninth Test, and it was only a duck in his final Test innings that prevented him from having a career average over 100.

Above Bradman's tally of 6996 Test runs, Wally Hammond and Garry Sobers are the only ones to average over 60, albeit momentarily, a feat Ricky Ponting came very close to after his 107th Test, with four innings of 196, 60 not out, 142 and and 49 against England in the first two Tests of the 2006-07 Ashes. George Headley and Herbert Sutcliffe had career averages of over 60, but their averages weren't as high as the Don's when they had the same aggregate of runs. Hammond, Sobers, Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar surpassed Bradman, and make it to the list as no other batsman averaged more after scoring that many runs.

Kevin Pietersen showed signs of future greatness with his early performances in Zimbabwe and his native South Africa, but it is Australia's Michael Hussey who has been able to sustain a higher ODI average. Hussey, averaging 57.13 after 93 games, will have to step up, though, to match Michael Bevan, from whom he took over the mantle of Australia's finisher. Bevan averaged over 60 even after his 124th match, and finished with a career average of 53.58.

A surprising entrant in the list for Test bowlers is Michael Clarke. In his fourth Test, on a treacherous track in Mumbai, Clarke, who had previously bowled only one over in his career, took 6 for 9, and he ended the match with an average of 2.16. The incredible statistics of two pre-World War I bowlers, Johnny Briggs and George Lohmann, are unlikely to be matched by their modern-day counterparts. Briggs had 82 wickets at 10.40 after 20 Tests, while Lohmann took 112 wickets in his 18-Test career, at 10.75 apiece.

Waqar, who has the best strike-rate among bowlers with over 200 wickets, reached the mark at an average below 20, while Shaun Pollock averaged 19.86 after his 50th Test for his 210 wickets - it was the only time his average dipped below 20.

Malcolm Marshall was one bowler who steadily improved as his career progressed; after 56 Tests he was averaging just a touch above 20, and he kept it below 21 after that: Marshall's 376 wickets came at 20.94 apiece. Curtly Ambrose's 402 came at an average of 20.99 - among bowlers with 200 wickets Joel Garner is the only one besides Marshall and Ambrose to average less than 21. As in the ODI table, the list is tailended by McGrath and Murali.