Test cricket aggregates 2: Australia
Test cricket resumes at Lord's today after a two-month break for the ODI Champions Trophy. To mark this hiatus, I’ve taken some lists of test cricketers, ranked by aggregate career runs scored or wickets taken, and divided them into teams based mainly on the chronology of their career span, with adjustments to improve team balance where necessary. The reason for doing this is that I enjoy staring at these lists, and wanted to interpret them in some way. The result of doing it is, in my opinion, an interesting collection of names, numbers and notes, which helps to crystallise the progression of test cricket and its stars over the years.
Having done it with England, I thought I’d also do it with Australia, our rivals, but my home. They have played almost 20% fewer tests than England, although their general historical excellence mitigates this deficit in the aggregate lists. In order to demand similar entry criteria as for England’s list, I therefore took Australia’s top 41 test batsmen by career run aggregate, and the top 25 bowlers by wickets taken. Two players appear on both lists: one genuine all-rounder and one durable, competent tail-ender who occasionally harboured middle-order ambitions. This leaves 64 individual players, including four wicket keepers. Adding the next two unnamed keepers from the career dismissals list gives 66 men – six teams.
*= Player features on eight-team world aggregates list.
Team 1: ancient to modern
Having wondered at the Englishmen whose pre-war aggregates endure today, the presence here of three Australians who debuted in the 19th century is remarkable. Spinner Trumble retired in 1904! Hill was a fine left-handed batsman but Trumper is Australia’s first legend, surpassed only by Bradman. Hassett straddles World War Two alongside The Don, so this team has ample batting.
What it lacks is pace. Grimmett and O’Reilly complete an admirable spin trio, but this is overkill in any conditions. Furthermore, Armstrong, the only man here to resume after World War One, is an all-rounder of the spinning variety. Even Johnston, seconded from the ‘40s alongside opener and fellow left-hander Morris, alternated between medium-pace and spin! Oldfield, meanwhile, was described as the greatest wicket keeper of his generation.
Team 2: Invincibles and Benaud’s boys
Along with four from Team 1, Harvey, Miller and Lindwall toured England undefeated in 1948. Those first two are the shining lights of this team’s batting, although Lawry and Simpson (whose career span here omits a brief emergency return as captain 10 years later) remain Australia’s third most prolific opening partnership, which is why fellow openers McDonald and Stackpole form an ad hoc middle order here. The batting order has two left-handers, Lawry and Harvey, which pleasingly reminds me of a legendary comedy duo...
Davidson, a left-armer himself, and Benaud were valuable additions to the attack in the early ‘50s, whose competence with the bat compensates for Grout’s lack thereof, although he was a talismanic keeper, never losing a test series. Later, Lindwall’s successor McKenzie retired just two wickets short of Benaud atop the wickets list.
Team 3: Chappell brothers, ‘Lilian Thomson’…
The batting is led by the Chappell brothers, fine players both and remembered as a pair, although Greg stands apart as an all-time great. Walters is next best, Hughes next best known, chiefly for his struggles as captain in the early ‘80s. The openers, Redpath and Wood, hold the fort, post Lawry, pre Taylor, and provide a third consecutive right/left-handed partnership.
The bowling (all fast, no spin) is led by Lillee and Thomson, fine players both and remembered as a pair, although Lillee stands apart as an all-time great. Lawson is next best, Walker next best known, chiefly for his dual sport prowess. Marsh, an outstanding keeper and decent left-handed bat, heralds a dynasty of four Australian glovemen on the world list.
Team 4: towards greatness
Border stood alone in the darkness before the dawn. First Boon, then Taylor strengthened the top order, with Marsh (an opener by trade, redeployed here) and Jones assisting the transition; Healy restored solidity behind the stumps. Finally, Warne and Slater brought panache to what would become an all-conquering team, and Border, having dragged them from the depths, could hand the reigns to fellow left-hander Taylor - it's yet another right/left combination for Australia.
Meanwhile the seam attack remained effective if not world class. Alderman was the scourge of the English summer on more than one occasion. Then Hughes, at once jovial and snarling, and McDermott, prolific to within an inch of the world list, ushered in the legendary Warne, but awaited a true fast bowling great to complete the puzzle.
Team 5: a perfect storm
Steve Waugh served under Border, but as an all-rounder. Then he became a world class batsman and captain, as first his brother, then that ultimate top three slotted seamlessly above him: Langer and Hayden are Australia’s greatest opening pair, even if they do break the right/left hand cycle - both are left-handed; Ponting, who inherited the captaincy, is Australia's greatest ever run maker. Martyn, outstanding in any other field, is ludicrously the junior batsman in this team of legends.
Only a paradigm shifting left-handed keeper-batsman of Gilchrist’s calibre could dislodge Healy, and the bowlers took their place in the pantheon with equal serenity. First came McGrath, the world’s greatest ever wicket taking seamer, then Gillespie, then Lee with over 300 of his own. Warne remained pivotal at this time of course, but MacGill, the world’s greatest ever spinning reserve, makes a deserved appearance here.
Team 6: up to date
Three more asterisks bring Australia’s world-class total to 20. Clarke and Johnson are predictable additions to the list, whereas Haddin’s dismissal haul in just seven years rather indicates an Australian bowler’s penchant for the edge of the bat. Of those still active, Smith and Warner will surely join the world list; Starc and Lyon too, fitness permitting.
Having had no left-arm bowlers since Davidson, Johnson and Starc, like buses, share the new ball. The tireless Siddle is the team’s first change magician and cult hero – we love him, he’s a Victorian. In a nation only recently fixated by all-rounders, Watson is arguably the best since Miller, although his bowling was more parsimonious than penetrative. The left-handed Hussey holds all kinds of records for batsmen debuting in their 30s, while Katich ground out an impressive aggregate as Ponting’s team disintegrated around him.
Finally, confirmation of a growing trend: Warner and Katich are both left-handed openers, like their predecessors Langer and Hayden; before that we had four right/left combinations at the top of the order. This confirms that Australia has always valued the left-handed opener, but in recent times they have selected them almost exclusively: Phils Jacques and Hughes (RIP), Ed Cowan, Chris Rogers, Shaun Marsh and now Matt Renshaw; that's actually quite mind-boggling.
Next in line?
I’ll do this again in two years, during the 2019 world cup, by which time the batting and bowling lists will almost certainly have changed – or simply grown to encompass seven teams. Josh Hazlewood is 20 wickets from catching Max Walker at the foot of the bowling list, while James Pattinson has more ground to make up but time on his side.
The next two batsmen in line have been subject to selectorial indecision lately, often over the same position: left-hander (and occasional opener!) Usman Khawaja is a 1,000 runs or so behind Keith Stackpole, with Shaun Marsh a further 250 short. A lot can change in two years though, and – particularly if expansion to seven teams lowers the bar slightly – youngsters Matt Renshaw and Pat Cummins, from an almost standing start, could just about bridge the gap.