\n| DB Vengsarkar<\/td>\n | 837<\/td>\n | 42.03<\/td>\n | 13\/29<\/td>\n | 43.82<\/td>\n | 4\/6<\/td>\n | -1.79<\/td>\n | +0.1%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Graham Gooch<\/strong> knocked up 54 important fifties in his Test career, fourth all-time at that stage – at one point Gooch had to endure 31 consecutive important innings, also fourth all-time longest streak. On the face of it, it would appear that he had a very stable career in terms of important innings, with a very small average differential – as David Gower noted, “He has the ability to produce something close to his best every time he plays”. However, like Richards, Gooch’s Test career had two very distinct phases, but in terms of performance in regular\u00a0innings – or should I say, in innings when he was presented with a lead to build on. I’ll discuss this later when we review Gower’s performance. It’s surprising to\u00a0think that Gooch debuted before\u00a0David Steele<\/strong>, who\u00a0had both averages sitting\u00a0above 66 after his 106 against West Indies in 1976 – considering that at that point he had played seven Test innings against attacks featuring Lillee, Thomson and Walker and Roberts, Holder and Daniel and fashioned four fifties and a hundred, it was an incredible start. Despite the fact that he had also demonstrated dominance over spinners earlier that year with an innings of 84\u00a0from a total\u00a0of 138 all out, it was downhill after that with his next nine Test innings bringing him an average of just 22. Dilip Vengsarkar<\/strong> enjoyed an 18-month purple patch\u00a0where he averaged over 100 in important innings.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPlayer<\/strong><\/td>\nICCrate<\/strong><\/td>\niAvg<\/strong><\/td>\ni100\/i50<\/strong><\/td>\nrAvg<\/strong><\/td>\n100\/50<\/strong><\/td>\nAvDiff<\/strong><\/td>\n%iDiff<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n| JM Brearley<\/td>\n | 496<\/td>\n | 24.12<\/td>\n | 0\/7<\/td>\n | 20.43<\/td>\n | 0\/2<\/td>\n | +3.69<\/td>\n | +3.5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| HA Gomes<\/td>\n | 773<\/td>\n | 41.59<\/td>\n | 7\/8<\/td>\n | 32.39<\/td>\n | 2\/5<\/td>\n | +9.20<\/td>\n | +4.4%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| P Willey<\/td>\n | 512<\/td>\n | 26.45<\/td>\n | 2\/4<\/td>\n | 35.80<\/td>\n | 0\/1<\/td>\n | -9.35<\/td>\n | -2.9%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Javed Miandad<\/td>\n | 885<\/td>\n | 55.94<\/td>\n | 21\/32<\/td>\n | 43.79<\/td>\n | 2\/11<\/td>\n | +12.16<\/td>\n | +5.8%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Mudassar Nazar<\/td>\n | 668<\/td>\n | 37.96<\/td>\n | 7\/13<\/td>\n | 38.52<\/td>\n | 3\/4<\/td>\n | -0.56<\/td>\n | +1.6%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Larry Gomes<\/strong>‘ conversion rate in important innings reflects John Thicknesse’s opinion of him as ‘an efficient batsman in times of strife’.\u00a0‘The greatest batsman Pakistan has ever produced’, Javed Miandad<\/strong> is in rarefied company with his important average of over 55, and\u00a0when he retired was third all-time in important hundreds behind only Bradman and Gavaskar. Mudassar Nazar<\/strong>‘s first Test century took him nine minutes short of ten hours to accumulate, so clearly he was the unflappable sort – his very low average differential confirms that.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPlayer<\/strong><\/td>\nICCrate<\/strong><\/td>\niAvg<\/strong><\/td>\ni100\/i50<\/strong><\/td>\nrAvg<\/strong><\/td>\n100\/50<\/strong><\/td>\nAvDiff<\/strong><\/td>\n%iDiff<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n| DW Randall<\/td>\n | 629<\/td>\n | 34.09<\/td>\n | 6\/7<\/td>\n | 32.80<\/td>\n | 1\/5<\/td>\n | +1.29<\/td>\n | +1.6%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Haroon Rashid<\/td>\n | 606<\/td>\n | 39.33<\/td>\n | 3\/4<\/td>\n | 24.82<\/td>\n | 0\/1<\/td>\n | +14.52<\/td>\n | +10.9%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| DW Hookes<\/td>\n | 499<\/td>\n | 29.33<\/td>\n | 0\/7<\/td>\n | 67.60<\/td>\n | 1\/1<\/td>\n | -38.27<\/td>\n | -8.8%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| IT Botham<\/td>\n | 811<\/td>\n | 34.12<\/td>\n | 12\/17<\/td>\n | 31.79<\/td>\n | 2\/5<\/td>\n | +2.33<\/td>\n | +2.1%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| KJ Hughes<\/td>\n | 828<\/td>\n | 37.30<\/td>\n | 5\/16<\/td>\n | 38.46<\/td>\n | 4\/6<\/td>\n | -1.16<\/td>\n | -1.3%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n I vividly recall Derek Randall<\/strong>‘s fielding exploits from the late ’70s and early ’80s, one in particular being the diving catch at the SCG in 1979 to dismiss Andy Roberts, but with the bat he wasn’t too shabby either, with a healthy conversion rate in important innings.\u00a0As noted by\u00a0Gideon Haigh in Cricket War<\/em>, while appearing in the WSC Tests\u00a0Haroon Rashid<\/strong> ‘proved a revelation with his virile, fearless stroke play. One of Pakistan\u2019s most underrated batsmen, he lost nothing by comparison with Viv Richards when the pair made centuries at Rockhampton, in firepower or physique.’ High praise indeed. As he himself admitted, the late David Hookes<\/strong> did not have an exemplary batting record in Tests, his one century coming against a fledgling Sri Lankan side already under the cosh. However his numbers are somewhat skewed by only having batted in seven innings with a lead, which includes that not out century.\u00a0Though Ian Botham<\/strong>‘s most famous innings came with his side very much in the hole, Beefy’s performances aren’t especially impacted by the situation, which is probably the point. However, as many cricket fans of a certain age are aware, Botham’s career tailed off somewhat from his legendary beginning to being merely good. Botham’s Average differential was +12.58 after his 114 against India in Mumbai, his 35th Test innings, and was still as high as +6.61 following the Edgbaston match-winning 118 in 1981.\u00a0Kim Hughes<\/strong>\u00a0shows up as having a slightly negative differential over his whole career, but he had enjoyed a highly positive rating (+7.06) after his famous 100 out of 198 to open the 1981 Boxing Day Test against West Indies. He was to score just two more centuries in 45 Test innings after that.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPlayer<\/strong><\/td>\nICCrate<\/strong><\/td>\niAvg<\/strong><\/td>\ni100\/i50<\/strong><\/td>\nrAvg<\/strong><\/td>\n100\/50<\/strong><\/td>\nAvDiff<\/strong><\/td>\n%iDiff<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n| MW Gatting<\/td>\n | 730<\/td>\n | 35.88<\/td>\n | 7\/18<\/td>\n | 35.74<\/td>\n | 3\/3<\/td>\n | +0.14<\/td>\n | -1.0%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Mohsin Khan<\/td>\n | 770<\/td>\n | 40.87<\/td>\n | 6\/6<\/td>\n | 28.58<\/td>\n | 1\/3<\/td>\n | +12.29<\/td>\n | +6.9%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| GM Wood<\/td>\n | 677<\/td>\n | 36.79<\/td>\n | 9\/12<\/td>\n | 19.55<\/td>\n | 0\/1<\/td>\n | +19.55<\/td>\n | +11.5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| JG Wright<\/td>\n | 702<\/td>\n | 40.44<\/td>\n | 10\/21<\/td>\n | 28.94<\/td>\n | 2\/2<\/td>\n | +11.50<\/td>\n | +6.2%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| DL Haynes<\/td>\n | 785<\/td>\n | 44.91<\/td>\n | 15\/25<\/td>\n | 36.95<\/td>\n | 3\/14<\/td>\n | +7.96<\/td>\n | +5.1%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Mike Gatting<\/strong>‘s differential was as high as +5.27 (41.02\/35.75) after 111 Test innings, though on the whole his performance is very consistent.\u00a0Cricinfo’s profile makes a big deal about how handsome Mohsin Khan<\/strong> is, then hilariously doesn’t include a photo of him – I guess we just have to take their word for it. In any case, his conversion rate in important innings was fairly handsome, too.\u00a0Initially a fill-in for Packer defections, Graeme Wood<\/strong> played well in his important innings with all nine centuries and all but one fifty being so categorised. When John Wright<\/strong>\u00a0lost the toss as New Zealand captain he would sprint off the pitch and straight to the bathroom, but he appears to have shown few nerves when his batting was required. Desmond Haynes<\/strong> was of course Greenidge’s partner in dominance, as discussed earlier – despite being somewhat overshadowed by his illustrious compatriot his important numbers stand comparison, both having scored exactly the same number of important centuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPlayer<\/strong><\/td>\nICCrate<\/strong><\/td>\niAvg<\/strong><\/td>\ni100\/i50<\/strong><\/td>\nrAvg<\/strong><\/td>\n100\/50<\/strong><\/td>\nAvDiff<\/strong><\/td>\n%iDiff<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n| DI Gower<\/td>\n | 822<\/td>\n | 47.34<\/td>\n | 17\/34<\/td>\n | 33.34<\/td>\n | 1\/5<\/td>\n | +14.00<\/td>\n | +6.4%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| BA Edgar<\/td>\n | 721<\/td>\n | 35.82<\/td>\n | 3\/10<\/td>\n | 18.21<\/td>\n | 0\/2<\/td>\n | +17.21<\/td>\n | +14.7%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Kapil Dev<\/td>\n | 598<\/td>\n | 30.86<\/td>\n | 5\/22<\/td>\n | 31.63<\/td>\n | 3\/5<\/td>\n | -0.77<\/td>\n | +0.2%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| AR Border<\/td>\n | 877<\/td>\n | 48.23<\/td>\n | 21\/36<\/td>\n | 56.38<\/td>\n | 6\/27<\/td>\n | -8.15<\/td>\n | -2.4%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| AMJ Hilditch<\/td>\n | 471<\/td>\n | 38.73<\/td>\n | 2\/6<\/td>\n | 15.25<\/td>\n | 0\/0<\/td>\n | +18.46<\/td>\n | +6.1%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Bruce Edgar<\/strong>‘s %iDiff, i.e. the difference in percentage of important runs as compared to percentage of important innings, is the most positive since Stan McCabe. Jeff Thomson once informed Edgar that ‘he’d never die of a stroke’, just prior to the opener compiling 161 in 500 minutes with nine rain breaks at Auckland. Such focus enabled him to compile a very large average differential. For his first 80 Test innings Kapil Dev<\/strong>‘s important average trailed his regular average by more than ten runs, so clearly the next 100 or so innings were significantly different.<\/p>\nWhy isn’t Border rated higher?<\/i><\/p>\n Allan Border<\/strong> equaled Javed Miandad as third all-time in important tons, and had a significantly better conversion rate in important innings. Averaging at least 48 in any situation is obviously an achievement, but I expected Border to fare better using this measure, which ignores the match result – why doesn’t he? It’s basically because we’re looking at his whole career. If we restrict to the decade of the ’80s, which would constitute a complete career for most, Border’s numbers were as follows:-<\/p>\nImportant: 5152 runs, 112 inns, 20 n\/o, Avg 57.24, 17 100s, 21 50s
\nRegular: 1632 runs, 38 inns, 7 n\/o, Avg 52.65, 3 100s, 11 50s
\nAvDiff: +4.59<\/p>\n Those numbers in important innings compare favourably with the complete careers of, for example, Matthew Hayden, Gordon Greenidge, Hashim Amla, Colin Cowdrey and Clive Lloyd. And all that while carrying the hopes of a nation for much of his career as player and captain. When I was researching for Masterly Batting<\/em>, one thing I looked at was the talent percentage which batsmen represented in their line-up, based on the ICC player ratings. There were times when Border represented 30% of the rated batting talent of his team – this has only been exceeded since then by Brian Lara.<\/p>\nGooch vs. Gower<\/em><\/p>\nIt’s always interesting to compare David Gower<\/strong> with his ‘nemesis’ Graham Gooch,\u00a0each of them engendering either adoration or\u00a0aversion depending on what kind of batting beauty the beholder prefers. Splitting each player’s Test career into two halves is revealing – Gower’s performance throughout is more consistent (he is one of only 20 players whose Test average never dropped below 40), whereas a glance at Gooch’s splits shows that in the second half of his Test career he clearly cultivated the ability to pile on when England already had a lead, something he had more trouble with in the early part of his career.<\/p>\nGooch<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nPeriod<\/strong><\/td>\niAvg<\/strong><\/td>\ni100\/i50<\/strong><\/td>\nrAvg<\/strong><\/td>\nr100\/r50<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n| 1st half<\/td>\n | 41.05<\/td>\n | 7\/19<\/td>\n | 22.89<\/td>\n | 0\/2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| 2nd half<\/td>\n | 43.93<\/td>\n | 9\/19<\/td>\n | 58.91<\/td>\n | 4\/6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Gower<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nPeriod<\/strong><\/td>\niAvg<\/strong><\/td>\ni100\/i50<\/strong><\/td>\nrAvg<\/strong><\/td>\nr100\/r50<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n| 1st half<\/td>\n | 50.29<\/td>\n | 9\/17<\/td>\n | 32.17<\/td>\n | 0\/4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| 2nd half<\/td>\n | 44.58<\/td>\n | 8\/17<\/td>\n | 34.83<\/td>\n | 1\/1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Gooch’s average in regular innings increased from 22.89 in the first half of his career to a whopping 58.91.<\/p>\n \n\n\nPlayer<\/strong><\/td>\nICCrate<\/strong><\/td>\niAvg<\/strong><\/td>\n | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |