Unique Test Cricketers!

[zen]

In terms of performances and/or skills, in the order of debut: 

 

 

Sydney Barnes

• Played: 1901-1914
• Performance: 7 wkts/test 
• USP: Ability to bowl both spin and swing, along w/ accuracy .... Picture a Kumble or a Chandra not only bowling spin but also swing w/ some pace 

 

 

Don Bradman

• Played: 1928-1948
• Performance: 135 runs/test 
• USP: An attacking test batsman who avg close to 100 despite certain technical limitations. Has hit 300 in a day. Just 2.8 innings/100  .... Tactics such as "Bodyline" were designed to tackle him .... Picture a more calculating Sehwag smashing bowlers at his peak 

 

 

Garry Sobers 

• Played: 1954-1974
• Performance: a) 86 runs/test and b) 2.5 wkts/test 
• USP: A naturally gifted cricketer. Started off as a bowler. B/w 1958 & 1974, avg 63 w/ the bat. Hit 6 6s in an over and also held the record for the highest test score for a long time. Could bowl both pace and spin. Excellent fielder too. Fondly referred to as the Greatest Cricketer of All Time 

 

 

Richard Hadlee

• Played: 1973-1990
• Performance: 5 wkts/test
• USP: Accuracy and swing. Arguably the biggest match winner in tests since 1970s (avg 12-13 with the ball in wins. NZ did not win a test w/o him iirc). Useful batman too

 

 

Viv Richards

• Played: 1974-1991
• Performance: 71 runs/test
• USP: Scored runs at an avg of 50 at a high SR of 70. Avgs 60+ in the top order 

 

 

Malcolm Marshall 

• Played 1978-1991
• Performance: 4.6 wkts/test 
• USP: A bowler who could be successful in a variety of conditions due to the skills where he could bowl almost anything. Great bowling avg and SR combination. At one point, held the fastest bowler in the world title as well. Useful batsman too

 

 

Brian Lara

• Played: 1990-2006
• Performance: 91 runs/test
• USP: Avg of 53 w/ a SR of 61. Ability to score gigantic 100s - the world record of 400*, earlier broke Sobers' record w/ a 375, and has the highest FC score of 501*  

 

 

Shane Warne 

• Played: 1992-2007
• Performance:  4.9 wkts/test
• USP: Ability to conjure unplayable spinning deliveries. Tons of variations in the arsenal. Decent batsman too

 

 

Muttiah Muralitharan 

• Played: 1992-2010
• Performance: 6 wkts/test
• USP: Spin wizard. Most wkts in tests (first man to reach 800 wkts) 

 

 

Adam Gilchrist

• Played: 1999-2008
• Performance: 58 runs/test keeping wickets
• USP: SR of 82. Avg of 48 as WK batsman (who knows what he could have averaged if he played as specialist batsman) 

 

 

Virender Sehwag 

• Played: 2001-2013 
• Performance: 83 runs/test
• USP: SR of 82 in tests opening the batting (revolutionized opening batting in tests) 

 

 

Dale Steyn

• Played: 2004-2019
• Performance: 4.7 wkts/test
• USP: An astonishing SR of 42 in tests 

 

 

Edited December 14, 2020 by zen

[Gollum]

MAK Pataudi played test cricket with one eye.

 

Chandra is more or less an ATG despite polio, probably the GOAT handicapped cricketer.

 

Should count as unique. 

[zen]

14 minutes ago, Gollum said:

MAK Pataudi played test cricket with one eye.

 

Chandra is more or less an ATG despite polio, probably the GOAT handicapped cricketer.

 

Should count as unique. 

 

Yeah, those two can be considered unique too on the disability parameters, however here I have only considered performance and/or skills .... Chandra's performance is good too (4.2 wkts/test) but not exceptional like the other bowlers on the list 

[OpeningBatsman]

MSD - played test cricket in odis  what a legend. 

[Majestic]

AB de Villiers

 

USP:- ability to score 60 ball hundreds as well as grind out and score 44(298) type scores.

Edited December 14, 2020 by Majestic

[nevada]

Gundappa Vishwanath - excellent against pace and spin. India never lost a test match when he scored a century.(14 in total). 

[WC2011INDIA]

I can't believe Gilly played for less than a decade. If a player like him existed in India, he would have played close to 2 decades based just on reputation.

[nevada]

5 minutes ago, WC2011INDIA said:

I can't believe Gilly played for less than a decade. If a player like him existed in India, he would have played close to 2 decades based just on reputation.

He started very late because the man he replaced was a great keeper himself. He played a few ODIs as just a batsman before taking over as the ODI keeper and eventually the test keeping also. Healy wanted a farewell test series at home but the selectors said enough is enough and moved on. 

[motomaverick]

Healy was a terribly poor batsman though. Not sure how he lasted that long on his keeping skills alone.

[nevada]

2 hours ago, motomaverick said:

Healy was a terribly poor batsman though. Not sure how he lasted that long on his keeping skills alone.

Healy's batting was considered pretty good in the pre Gilchrist era. Gilchrist single handedly changed the role of wicket keeper with his batting contributions alone worthy of keeping him in the side. Now everyone looks for an excellent batsnan who can keep but in Healy's time, that was not the norm.   

[Gollum]

10 hours ago, zen said:

 

Yeah, those two can be considered unique too on the disability parameters, however here I have only considered performance and/or skills .... Chandra's performance is good too (4.2 wkts/test) but not exceptional like the other bowlers on the list 

Ok then, Kallis gets a vote. 13k+ runs at avg 55+ (higher than Lara, Sachin, Ponting), 45 100s, all conditions batsman and did well on relatively tougher RSA pitches especially against newish ball, 300 wickets at 32 a piece, one of the safest slip catchers of all time. The only guy comparable to Sir Sobers. Maybe even greater than Sobers cos of his heavy workload.  

 

Steyn, I think one of the best SRs in test history, wicket every 43 balls, almost 450 wickets and did well in all conditions which is special since conditions in Aus/NZ/Eng/SC were on the flatter side in his playing days. 

[jf1gp_1]

what about all the mentally challenged underaged players ?

[Sean Bradley]

I remember the few not so great but "Unique" as the Title suggests in terms of Skills alone.

Neil Johnson (Zim) : Someone Who opened the Innings and also took the New Ball, quite an unique skill to have?

 

Lance Klusener (SA) : Quite unique in terms of ability, good in both Tests and ODIs, had the patience game in Tests, good with old ball, effective reverse swing, Power game for ODI batting and also a great bowler, and truly the founder of power finisher at number 7. It's after his exploits in 99 WC at number 7, World of Cricket and coaches around the world started taking note of importance of power hitter down the order.

 

Jayasuriya-Kaluwithrana (SL) : Unique ODI openers, revolutionised the whole approach of the term "Openers" in ODI Cricket.

Edited December 14, 2020 by Sean Bradley

[Laaloo]

12 hours ago, OpeningBatsman said:

MSD - played test cricket in odis  what a legend. 

He also played t20 cricket in tests and tests in t20.

[OpeningBatsman]

5 minutes ago, Laaloo said:

He also played t20 cricket in tests and tests in t20.

All format player

[sandeep]

10 hours ago, nevada said:

He started very late because the man he replaced was a great keeper himself. He played a few ODIs as just a batsman before taking over as the ODI keeper and eventually the test keeping also. Healy wanted a farewell test series at home but the selectors said enough is enough and moved on. 

Yeah it was a controversial decision back then and lot of conservative Aus fans referred to Gilly as "Irongloves" because they considered him a poorer keeper than Healy, especially his hands weren't as "soft" in taking catches....

[maniac]

13 hours ago, OpeningBatsman said:

MSD - played test cricket in odis  what a legend. 

Played t20 like odis, tests like t20 and odis like tests

[zen]

7 hours ago, Gollum said:

Ok then, Kallis gets a vote. 13k+ runs at avg 55+ (higher than Lara, Sachin, Ponting), 45 100s, all conditions batsman and did well on relatively tougher RSA pitches especially against newish ball, 300 wickets at 32 a piece, one of the safest slip catchers of all time. The only guy comparable to Sir Sobers. Maybe even greater than Sobers cos of his heavy workload.  

 

Steyn, I think one of the best SRs in test history, wicket every 43 balls, almost 450 wickets and did well in all conditions which is special since conditions in Aus/NZ/Eng/SC were on the flatter side in his playing days. 

 

Both can be good choices. However, scoring runs, picking up wkts, keeping wkts or doing a combination is not unique. What is unique is performance level, rare achievements, skills, and so on. 

 

• Kallis: He may be relatively unique v batsmen you listed as he bowled too but when compared with key "ARs" his workload as a bowler was relatively low  (bowled 12.5 overs per inning v for e.g. 22-23 for Sobers, who could bowl both pace and spin). Also he has no eye catching performances such as high SR, pile of big scores (just 2 200s), etc. Therefore, I will put him in the "grey" area 

 

 

• Steyn: I had done the chart below (performance v major teams). Steyn shines in SR (maybe a Sehwag/Gilchrist of bowlers) and has 4.7 wkts/test (Marshall's level and just below Hadlee's):

 

 

PS will add Steyn to the OP 

Edited December 14, 2020 by zen

[maniac]

Rohit: scores daddy 100’s and 200’s for fun in ODis and t20’s but scores blazing cameos full of 6’s in tests :)

 

Scoring 200’s in tests too these days  though