Batsmen With Highest Averages in Test Cricket: With a minimum of 20 innings qualifying, this study takes a look at the batsmen with the highest averages in Test cricket. Only 26 batsmen have managed to do this in 149 years of Test matches.
Those who dominated at home but struggled abroad drop down the list. George Lohmann is one such example.
1. Don Bradman
Throughout his career, Bradman bewildered and entranced opponents and spectators alike. He smashed over 5,000 first-class runs, scoring five double hundreds and one triple in his 115 Test matches.
Bradman was an astute State selector and captain as well as a successful stockbroker for Harry Hodgetts’ Adelaide firm. He encouraged his team-mates to play attractive cricket, a policy which was largely implemented in the final series against England in 1938.
He dominated England on a tour that defied critics who said he would not succeed in pitches with rudimentary character, frequently punctuated by holes and a scattering of pebbles. He made 77 at Leicester and 185 before rain intervened at Sheffield, then broke Warren Bardsley’s record for the highest score in a Test against Surrey. He also surpassed 100 in two innings at The Oval, his last Test before leaving for home.
2. Andy Ganteaume
Ganteaume was an extremely talented batsman who never played more than one Test match. He was a victim of racism and insularity within the West Indies cricket establishment.
He made his debut for Trinidad in a 1948 Test against England at Port of Spain, where he scored 101 and 71. He was left out of the next Test against England when George Carew was picked, and was not selected again until 1957.
He was left out after an innings of just 80 in the final Test against England at The Oval. That was in spite of the fact that he had shared an opening partnership with Carew and Frank Worrell that had racked up 173 runs. Wisden Editor Norman Preston described his batting as “slow and boring”. Jeff Stollmeyer was even more critical of him. He wrote that Ganteaume “cost the West Indies the match”. That was a slur.
3. Kurtis Patterson
Despite a lack of opportunities, lanky left-hander Patterson is plundering runs in front of national selectors. Patterson is the latest batsman to break the record of Andy Ganteaume for the highest average by a player never selected for Test cricket, which he set in 1948.
The St George club member earned a baggy green after scoring centuries in both innings for the Cricket Australia XI in the one-off tour match against Sri Lanka in January 2019 which came on the back of a fine Shield season.
He’s now teetering on the edge of selection for the upcoming Bangladesh Test series and is playing Big Bash league cricket for Sydney Sixers. Hamish Solomon caught up with him to talk about his meteoric rise and his hunger for more Test opportunities. He also reveals what he likes to do outside of cricket.
4. Shane Warne
The only specialist spin bowler to be named in the Wisden Cricketers of the Century, Warne had 37 Test fivers and 10 ODI five-wicket hauls. He is also the third-highest wicket-taker of all time.
During the 1999 Cricket World Cup, Warne helped Australia qualify for the final by taking 18 wickets over six summer Tests. He was a crucial member of the team in their subsequent 3-0 series tour of Sri Lanka, but his promotion to vice-captain after Mark Taylor’s retirement and Steve Waugh’s appointment as new captain ended any chance of him becoming Australia’s new test skipper.
When England toured for a five-Test series in 1994-95, Warne took 27 wickets in the first two Tests at Brisbane Cricket Ground (the Gabba). He then took his only Test hat-trick by trapping tail-enders Phil DeFreitas, Darren Gough and Devon Malcolm leg before wicket in the second test, at Melbourne Cricket Ground.
5. Graeme Smith
Graeme Smith was an attacking opening batsman and one of the best players of his generation. He racked up 15 Test hundreds during his 10-year career.
He is considered to be among the top four batsmen of all time and ranked alongside WG Grace, Jack Hobbs and Don Bradman. He is a fearsome hitter who stood up to the game’s most brutal bowling and made a huge impact on Test cricket in his short career.
He was a formidable captain too and led South Africa to their first ever series win in Australia. He also famously came out to bat with a broken hand during the third Test in Sydney in 2009 in an attempt to save the match and was applauded after his innings ended. He stepped down as ODI and T20I captain post the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup but continued to lead South Africa in Tests.
6. Stephen Fleming
Fleming has a plethora of fine batting innings to his name including 274 and 69 in the opening Test of the 2003 World Cup, as well as 192 in Hamilton. His move to Middlesex in 2001 helped him to re-evaluate his approach, and he became an elite run-scorer during the final two years of his career.
He also took over as New Zealand captain, taking them to the semi-finals of the 2007 World Cup. He was underrated as a player but he was an excellent leader. His batting stats don’t look great but 7000 runs at an average of 40 is nothing to be ashamed about. He also took 170 catches in tests which is the 3rd highest aggregate. A stylish batsman who was a solid servant to his country. RIP Stephen Fleming.
7. Clyde Walcott
A fearsome and intimidating batsman at his peak, Walcott was one of the iconic trio that formed the famous West Indies team in the 1950s. He had a memorable time in England in 1957/58 (though not so much with the ball) and he helped Garry Sobers on his way to greatness.
He made his first-class debut in 1946 but did not really shine until the winter of 1948/49 when he joined the team for their historic tour to England. That was a batsman’s series and Walcott, with his crouched stance, thumped them to all parts of the ground.
He scored 827 runs in 10 innings, only Viv Richards has ever beaten that total in a Test series. His last-innings century against Australia was a real beauty too. He also served as a wicketkeeper, with considerable success.
8. Ken Barrington
Few players inspire more admiration and affection than Barrington. The stoic batting bulwark of England’s 1960s side and their warm, paternal coaching counsellor in the 1970s he was the model of calm-browed, jut-jawed professional dedication.
A Surrey teammate of both Gary Sobers and Boycott he was a formidable player on his own. In a first Test against the West Indian fast bowlers at the Kensington Oval he made a patient 75, taking 340 minutes to reach his century. He then helped England to a draw on a poor pitch by adding 127 with Ted Dexter and 191 with Colin Cowdrey. It was a remarkable display of tenacity and concentration, and earned him the nickname ‘The Bear’. He would make 20 Test hundreds.
9. Daniel Vettori
The first New Zealander in this top 10 of the highest averages, Vettori looks more like a nerdy geek with his school-boyish spectacles but he is comfortably one of the Kiwis’ greatest ever players. He made his debut for Northern Districts at 18 in 1996/97, aged only the youngest New Zealand player to do so, and went on to make his ODI and Test debuts in the same year.
After Stephen Fleming’s departure, he took over the captaincy of the Black Caps in both Tests and ODIs, although he featured less and less as the years passed. Nevertheless, he was a solid skipper who led a fine team through some tough times. He now coaches the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League and is spin bowling coach of Bangladesh. He also has coaching stints with Middlesex and the Dublin Chiefs.
10. Navjot Sidhu
Sidhu was a volatile player with a tendency to make headlines. The former BJP politician has been in the news for all the wrong reasons since he joined Congress and became President of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC).
He was a dour batsman capable of dogged defence but also a marauding stroke player who loved tearing spinners apart. He scored 51 Tests and 136 One-Day Internationals for India.
He is the only Indian to appear on this list but his inclusion is justified by his excellent record in all conditions. The current crop of Indian batters has been impressive and they have been able to fill the holes left by Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane in Test matches. Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer have exhibited the ability to score big runs in all conditions.
