Excuse the somewhat hyperbolic headline. I’m sure that players like Ken Barrington and Dennis Compton were absolutely immense. I mean no disrespect. The problem for me is that these players were strutting their stuff in cream flannels long before my time. They’re relics from a past era.
Even Geoff Boycott’s career seems like an age ago to me. I’ll be celebrating my 40th birthday in a few months time and I never saw Sir Geoffrey play a shot in anger – or should that be a forward defensive with extreme caution? You know what I mean.
Due to my relative youth, ahem, I’m left to dwell on players from the modern era. I define ‘modern’ as the period from the 1980s onwards. I know this isn’t exactly a scientifically calculated watershed but it’ll do for now.
So who exactly is England’s best batsman of the modern era? We’ll all have different views but perhaps we can agree on the leading candidates: David Gower, Mike Atherton (pre-back injury), Graham Thorpe, Marcus Trescothick, Kevin Pietersen, Alastair Cook and, wait for it, Joe Root.
No doubt we’ve all got our favourite from the shortlist above. Judgements like this are always subjective. But what do the history books say? If we can’t make up our mind there’s always Peter Moores’ best friend, the computer data, to guide us in our hour of need.
Our first reference point might be a milestone achieved by Joe Root on the fifth morning of the second test against Pakistan. On the Monday morning he became the second youngest Englishman in history to reach 3,000 test runs. Not bad, eh. Sky were briefly all over this.
During the lunch break, Ian Ward pulled up a list of the youngest England players to reach this brilliant milestone. There were some really famous names on the list, including some I mentioned above. Top of the pile, of course, was our doughty captain Alastair Cook. The skipper reached 3000 test runs at a slightly younger age than Root (there’s a couple of months in it I recall).
Here’s what Ian Ward said about Root’s achievement (I’m paraphrasing to some extent):
Congratulations to Joe Root on becoming the second youngest Englishman to reach 3,000 test runs. Here’s a list of the youngest Englishmen to reach the milestone. It just goes to show how good he is. It also just goes to show how brilliant Alastair Cook is – the man at the top of the list.
I was a little confused by all this. Putting up a list of the ‘youngest’ players to reach 3,000 test runs seemed rather curious. Surely a far better measurement is how quickly a player reaches 3000 runs – in other words how much time (or how many innings) it took them to score all those runs. After all, cricketers have little control over how old they are when they make their debut. Opportunity often comes down to injuries or a country’s strength in depth at a particular position.
Cook was able to nail down a place at the top of England’s order so quickly because of poor Marcus Trescothick’s stress related retirement. Good old Banger and Strauss formed an excellent opening partnership for England. Cook might have been forced to wait two or three years for his opportunity in a parallel universe. But that’s another story. He took his chance when it came and good luck to him. He’s generally been brilliant for England over the years.
However, I couldn’t help feeling that Root’s achievements had been somewhat undersold. I like Joe Root. I’m a big fan; therefore I decided to do some statistical digging to back up my admiration. His test average of 57 is obviously far superior to all other modern English batsmen but I wanted to delve deeper. What other lists could Sky have pulled up to demonstrate young Joe’s prowess? What I discovered was jaw-dropping.
Here’s a link to a list of the fastest batsmen to reach 3000 runs in test history. It includes batsmen of all nationalities from every era. You’ll see that Joe Root is actually the second fastest batsmen – in terms of time elapsed since his debut – to score 3000 runs in the history of test cricket. He’s accomplished the feat in just 2 years and 313 days. It’s a remarkable achievement.
Why didn’t Sky put up this list instead? It’s a lot more interesting than a narrow table merely charting the age of players from a single country to reach 3,000 runs. Age is pretty much irrelevant. It’s speed – in other words how long it takes a batsman to reach a particular milestone – that matters more.
At this point, I bet you’re dying to know who was top of this all time list. Might this explain why Sky preferred the irrelevant list that put Cook top? Was it Bradman? Nope. Was it Viv Richards? Nope. Lara? Afraid not. Tendulkar? Wrong again. The answer is …. *drumroll* … Kevin Pietersen. Ah. He who must not be named.
Regular readers of this blog will know I criticised Pietersen for the way he got out sometimes, but the facts speak for themselves: KP took just 2 years and 150 days to score 3,000 test runs – a sensational achievement. Bradman took over four years – although obviously they played fewer matches back in the 1920s and 30s so it’s not exactly a fair comparison.
However, before we start paying homage to Pietersen (again at Root’s expense) I should stress that the years / months / days it takes for a player to score 3,000 runs isn’t actually the most important measurement either. It’s the number of innings that really counts. This levels the playing field: everyone has the same chance to top the list.
Although Bradman comes out on top (worldwide) in the category that really matters, Root is the top Englishman of the last sixty years. Joe has reached the milestone of 3,000 test runs in just 62 innings – a staggering effort. No wonder his average is a brilliant 57. In accomplishing this feat, Root has surpassed all his English contemporaries. The only person who’s close to Root is Pietersen (who took one innings more).
Here’s a list of the fastest Englishmen to 3,000 test runs in the modern era. This is the table that Ian Ward should’ve been talking about at lunch …
Root 62 innings
Pietersen 63
Trott 67
Vaughan 69
Cook 73
Trescothick 74
Strauss 75.
What’s particularly interesting is that Root’s stats compare extremely favourably with any batsman in the world. For example, he’s beaten the record breaking Steve Smith, his rival at the top of the ICC rankings, by a single innings too.
In fact, Root is the fifth fastest batsman to reach 3,000 runs worldwide since the 1980s. Suddenly, the argument about whether Root is the best young player England have had in recent times becomes somewhat irrelevant. The stats place him in the top five in the whole world! The English context actually belittles his achievements.
Here’s a list of the fastest twenty players to reach 3,000 test runs in the last 40 years.
Lara 52 innings
Viv Richards 54
Sehwag 55
Hayden 61
Root 62
Gilchrist 63
G Smith 63
Pietersen 63
M Hussey 63
S Smith 63
Azharuddin 64
Jayawardene 65
Gavaskar 66
Miandad 66
Warner 66
Tendulkar 67
Dravid 67
Trott 67
Sangakarra 68
M Clarke 69
Look at the names below Root in this table: there’s Tendulkar, Sangakarra, Gavaskar and Gilchrist for a start. Ponting and Kallis didn’t even make the top twenty.
Root’s achievements are therefore absolutely mind-boggling. Statistically there’s no doubt whatsoever that Joe Root is England’s best young player of the modern era. If one goes back further in time, only Ken Barrington has reached 3,000 test runs in fewer innings since the war (and that was only one innings fewer). Indeed, Root has been one of the best young players in the world over the last 40 years full stop.
But did Sky discuss all this? No. They simply put up a table showing that Root is second best to Cook in an irrelevant category that means little in reality. The takeaway for casual viewers who haven’t done their homework is that Root is second best to Cook. This does Joe a huge disservice. Why should his achievements be eclipsed by the ubiquitous cult of Cook?
In every other meaningful category imaginable (batting average, innings taken etc) Root exceeds not only the England captain but every other English batsman of modern times. Pietersen is the only player that comes close. It’s time that someone banged the drum.
Basically Joe Root is an absolute gem. He could become England’s first truly great test match batsmen since the likes of Compton, Hobbs, Hammond, Hutton and Barrington. The only thing that can stop him is his worrying back injury.
Joe Root is the key man in English cricket’s future. The second most important is probably his physio. If the latter can keep the former on the field then history beckons.
James Morgan
Excellent article. The conspiracy theory continues. All it needs now is Pieterson to be shot in Dallas alongside the grassy knoll…
I’m sure KP will join the commentary team at some point. He must do surely, my guess is when Cook retires the England captaincy.
You simply can’t compare Root and Cook, different animals altogether. Every side needs a Cook a Root and a Pietersen.
When looking at these stats I would say, whatever the match situation, openers have to see off the new ball and fresh bowling attack before compiling a score. 4,5,6 often benefit from the graft of the top 3 and have the opportunity of filling their boots with runs on the board.
Saying that, Root has already played some great counter-attacking knocks after our top order has failed, in the Ashes no less.
Root’s next challenge is to score centuries outside England, something he’s only done once so far…
Hi POP. I’m comparing Root to everyone. It’s Sky that made the Cook comparison. I take your point but should highlight the fact that 3 of the top 7 on the all time fastest batsmen to 3000 test runs are openers like Cook (Hayden, Sehwag & Graeme Smith).
Always felt Graeme Smith never got the credit he deserved as he scored ‘ugly runs’ – runs of any kind at the top are vital espcially in teeing up a big score.
Cricket statistics are so multi-dimensional and based on countless variables they can be read whatever way you want I guess, but your conclusion rings very true: Root is the key man for England’s future.
Its not surprising there are a number of openers there. Yes Openers have it tough sometimes, but also they always get out there and are generally able to bat for two innings each match at their own pace unlike middle order batsmen who are often called to score quick runs for declarations etc in easy batting conditions.
Trotty 67 innings. Wasn’t his 1st tour a particularly poor one in South Africa (against a crackerjack attack) ?
Trott 190 in 7 innings on that tour. He might have come a bit closer to the record if not for that.
Hi Neil. I think a lot of our batsmen had poor tours near the beginning of their career. Trott in SA. Cook in the 2006/7 Ashes. Root in the 2013/14 Ashes. I think Pietersen was probably the only one who didn’t struggle for a while.
I’m glad you highlight Trott’s record. He was incredibly productive while it lasted. I was surprised how far up the list he was. And let’s not forget that he has the highest ODI average for England.
KP’s first tour was to Pakistan in 2005/6
201 runs at 33 although that did include a 100. A decent return but nothing spectacular.
James, while I wholeheartedly agree with the central thrust of your piece – that Joe Root is, if anything, underrated – I don’t agree that “age is pretty much irrelevant.”
Although you’re quite right that the timing of a young player’s debut is often out of their control and dependent on injuries, retirements, etc, very few players have shown the ability to score big runs consistently in their early twenties. In terms of pure physical ability, Root is probably at his peak: an athlete’s reaction times are at their sharpest from their late teens to their early twenties, and go into slow decline from that point on. And his physical fitness will probably never be better. But all the stats show that most batsmen enjoy their most productive years in their late twenties, after that physical decline has already begun; and the reason, I’d argue, is that this is because natural talent has to be tempered by mental attributes – concentration, decision-making – which are considerably enhanced by a few years of experience. What is so exceptional about Root, and what makes the age stat one worth taking seriously, is that he has an old head on young shoulders: the ability to judge a situation, to adjust his game accordingly and to pace and build an innings. These are instincts that don’t come easily, that cannot straightforwardly be transferred from first-class cricket to Tests, and which take many players years to learn.
There are of course many great cricketers who were never given the chance to feature on this list, who through no fault of their own did not come into consideration for selection young enough to be in contention. But Root has beaten most of those who did get the opportunity, and I think that fact is far from irrelevant.
“All the stats show that most batsmen enjoy their most productive years in their late twenties”.
Do they? It’s a commonly held view that batsmen peak in their late 20s but I’ve never seen any real attempt to prove it statistically.
Here’s one measure (very simplistic, no doubt open to all sorts of objections) that shows the opposite. The batting averages in the last decade of Nos.1-6 divided into five year segments are:
20-25 year olds 35.46
25-30 39.75
30-35 42.81
35-40 45.19
It appears, therefore, that batsmen continue to improve into their thirties – and it’s easy to think of examples where this was true like Kallis, Misbah, Chanderpaul and Sangakkara. England don’t have a good recent record of batsmen pushing successful careers well into their thirties and it’s difficult not to conclude that there is something specific about England (like player burn-out) that is causing this rather than a universal cause related to age (like eyes going or slower reflexes).
I’ve always thought that the early 30s was a batsman’s peak – and I would suspect that the over-35’s figures are somewhat skewed, as many players are retired by that age, and only those who’re really good have hung around (if you’re 36 and averaging under 40 most selection committees will start to look around for a younger option)
A very good post that shows that the over-lauding of Cook continues, and must surely be counter-productive. Show Cook to be a very successful batsman, and he could be taken to our hearts as a typically British sort of quiet accumulator. Make him out to be something he isn’t – a globe-straddling colossus and all-time genius with the leadership skills of Rommel – and you’ll only annoy people. It rebounds on Cook himself, too.
Yes I think that’s largely true. Cook has had more hype than any player I can recall in all my time watching cricket. It started when he was in the U19 and it does get on my tits a bit. I often think the disparity in common portrayals of Cook and Bell are miles apart – the latter is often seen as weak and flakey – even though their test averages were pretty much the same a year ago.
However, it must be stressed that absolutely none of this is Cook’s fault. I think he comes across as quite modest considering all the adulation. He doesn’t write his own press. We should still respect him enormously for what he’s done in his career. He’s right up there in terms of the best openers we’ve produced in recent times.
Yes. Completely fair. I forgot to underline that it’s sections of the press and Sky who are responsible.
Also forgot to congratulate my near-namesake on his superb form, which is now heading firmly towards superb class.
Sometimes I feel like I must have missed something, somewhere. I haven’t seen that much “overlauding” of Cook’s batting at all. He is what he is, a very good accumulator of runs at the top of the innings and without him we would have been in trouble on quite a few occasions. He is of course no Joe Root.
Now his captaincy is a different matter altogether. He is no captain fantastic despite what some might say. You only have to look at his demeanour in the field when things aren’t going right to see that he is no leader. Trouble is there is no real alternative apart from Root, and I want him just to be concentrating on scoring bucket loads of runs for us
Sometimes I feel like I must have missed something, somewhere. I haven’t seen that much “overlauding” of Cook’s batting at all.
You are clearly a smart man who avoids reading this sort of column, then…
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/oct/16/alastair-cook-double-century-longest-england-innings-pakistan
“Cook’s genius … is enshrined in a capacity for unwavering concentration, for hour after hour; in the stamina to maintain this in alien conditions where the sun beats down relentlessly; and for the ability to have a gameplan and stick to it with a puritan rigidity.”
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/oct/15/alastair-cook-england-century-pakistan
“Cook has made hundreds for England around the globe, in all circumstances … But in the Zayed Stadium, there was something almost feudal about it: a lord of his 22-yard bleached and parched manor ruthlessly and methodically extracting his dues from the poor, downtrodden serfs whose lot in life is to fling a leather rag of a ball for his personal delectation.”
http://www.espncricinfo.com/england-v-pakistan-2016/content/story/929747.html
“Back in the dressing-room, Alastair Cook sat behind the lines like a decorated military commander – with his Victoria Cross already secured for his above-and-beyond endeavours in the first innings, there was no further need for the captain to lead from the front.”
(With thanks to Tregaskis, who waded through bilge for which I don’t have the stomach, for coming up with these ‘gems’)
I love this post. When you see the comments made by the journalists in isolation you wonder what planet they are on! The last one banging on about a Victoria Cross. Unbelievable.
Well of course some writers like to fill their articles or blogs (not this one!) with romantic drivel or pseudo-intellectual waffle in an attempt to make their work stand-out from the others. An honest appraisal of Cook’s efforts would have been that he batted very well for a bloody long time in horrible conditions.
It’s a sales / click thing – don’t worry about it. In fact ignore it and they might stop. I tend to just read the actual match-reports, not the “opinions” bits
“Sometimes I feel like I must have missed something, somewhere. I haven’t seen that much “overlauding” of Cook’s batting at all. He is what he is, a very good accumulator of runs at the top of the innings and without him we would have been in trouble on quite a few occasions”
You haven’t missed anything Paul, it doesn’t exist. Of course a few of the broad sheets took his side in the KP row but when it comes to batting they tell it as it is. We have to remember that some of the journos and especially those on Sky (Nasser, Athers etc) are probably a bit in awe because they’d have like the record he has.
His captaincy has received plenty of criticism, not that much in the last 12 months but that’s because its improved.
Cook, cracking batsmen, decent captain, good bloke. Simple
Missed that post above then?
That’s just someone using some fancy words.
I take it its Selvey. I may be wrong but he seems to be taking the piss more and more, ever seen his replies BTL?
Its time the excellent Ali Martin took his job.
I’m inclined to agree with you Neil. He must be taking the piss. Who could post that kind of copy with a straight face! I think he he’s enjoying winding up the mob! I can’t think of any other explanation. He really can’t be serious. :)
If he is taking the piss then just shows what a cock he really is.
Clever!
If he is using his articles to take the piss then he isn’t doing his job properly then is he? Shouldn’t be letting this get in the way and lets down his other readers?
Cook had just scored 260. Context is everything.
When considering KP / Bell / Root’s most significant innings whether do you not think there would also have been hyperbole?
Just shows how good KP is. Again, look at our terrible batting line up and then imagine what it would be like with KP at 4/5 with root at 4/5
Hello everyone – sorry I’ve not popped my head above the parapet here for quite a while.
One of the most telling yardsticks for comparing batsmen is the criterion Mike Atherton used when quantifying his own career: which innings contributed, and to what degree, in winning test matches – or more importantly, test series.
Atherton himself, when asked to cite the test innings of which he’s proudest, never cites a century, but instead his 98* at Trent Bridge against SA in 1998, because it effectively won the match and levelled a series England went on to win.
The abiding logic is that the purpose of scoring runs is to win matches, not accumulate stats for their own sake.
I wish I could now tell you that I’ve conducted an analysis of Root and Cook’s careers to see how they rank in terms of making *match-winning* runs (an admittedly imprecise measure) as opposed to runs made in defeats, stalemates, or when the match is already won. I haven’t, but it would make for interesting reading.
Cook’s runs were hugely significant factors in winning the 2012 India series and the 2010/11 Ashes – major achievements, both – but for a batsman with 9,000 runs you might find surprisingly few other examples (although I’m sure you’ll able to prove me wrong).
In recent memory, Cook’s runs helped win the Lord’s NZ test this year, and the India test at Southampton last year. 2010/11 aside, Cook’s runs have won no other Ashes tests (in 30 tests).
Its all very subjective this stuff. I remember (cheekily) putting out on twitter that I couldn’t remember many games that KP had saved, of course I got inundated, particularly with the Oval 05. Pedantically I suggested he didn’t save that game because 3rd innings don’t count. Of course he did more than anyone to save it.
An example of Cook springs to mind. Lords 09, 3 days on from Cardiff, he (along with strauss) plunders and demoralises Johnson & co. Did that knock not help win the match?
I think Cook has made some very important runs that earned draws. And draws are extremely important too as they often contribute to series wins. I would say Atherton’s best innings was his game saver in Johannesburg. Then again, England did lose that series.
Indeed, and a 100 in his very 1st match helped draw a game.
There was a 100 in the 2nd innings at Galle in 07, a quick look at the stats there was a hundred ( in a great partnership with Compton) that secured a draw after conceding a big 1st innings deficit in Dunedin in 2013.
This is probably his most famous century to set up a victoryhttp://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/426415.html
Hello Maxie. Welcome back. You make a good point on the value of runs scored rather than the totals but as James says, drawing, and ‘saving’ games also counts for a lot, particularly as far as a series is concerned. Don’t stay away so long. Missed you.
Really enjoyed your piece James. I’m not usually a stats person but these were really interesting.
What astonished me more than anything was seeing Joanthan Trott so high is so many of the rankings. He seems to have been more undervalued than anyone in that way. He wasn’t with us for all that long and who knows what he might have gone on to achieve had things worked out better for him.
There were some excellent contribtions all round making it a very interesting and entertains blog. More please. :)
Exceptional figures for Root but you must bear in mind that he has played most of his innings in the UK. He did not do so well in Australia nor in West Indies. Let’s wait till the South Africa series.
I think it’s just a matter of time for Root. He did quite well in India and is scoring runs in the UAE too. There’s nothing in his game to suggest he won’t be successful everywhere. Strangely enough Cook has an extraordinary test record in Asia but a relatively modest average in England.
Just by the way James, speaking as a relic from a past era, I did once see Ken Barrington bat in a test match in Durban. It has stood out in my memory as the the most interminably boring day of cricket I have ever watched. Can’t remember what was going on at the other end. Not a lot. Around 4pm, probably to relieve the monotony, we had a streaker. As he was being escorted off the field a wag in the crowd called out, “you’ve got the wrong man! Take Barrington!” My feeling exactly.
He must have been a great player, so many people say so, but in those days I had not yet come to appreciate the finer points of batting technique :)
I find the idea of a streaker in the relatively straight late laced conservative 50s hilarious!
The fifties! Mind yourself James. It must have been 1964. I have just looked it up. You young ones know nothing!
Jenny, is this the match?
http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/62957.html
Love Parfitt’s three ball duck..
What were you saying about runs scored in the context of the game Jamie? Lol
Yes! That’s the one. Thanks for this. All those names are coming back to me now. I think, but I can’t be sure, that every other match in the series was a drawn game.
Apologies. Barrington achieved the milestone of 3000 test runs in the 50s (I think) but he must have played on long after that.
My mistake. He made his debut in 1955 but achieved the milestone in 1963. Almost 8 years later!
James
Barrington was dropped in 1955 and not selected again until 1959. He was originally an attacking batsman but eliminated risky shots with a view to regaining and this time keeping, his test place. After 4 years and an ashes meltdown he was back
As his average shows,his new method was very successful if sometimes dull to watch. Rather strangely he had a taste for reaching a century with a six which he did a few times. A hint of his previous incarnation!
One thing though we never had another ashes meltdown while he was playing
Hi there
When KP tried that same trick to get a Century as KB sometimes did, he was sometimes out and the Anti-KP crowd were condemning him for not being a Team Player LOL!!
Joe Root is really a great player.
Somewhat reassuring to hear that Warne rates Rashid’s bowling:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/england/11965797/Pakistan-vs-England-Shane-Warne-buries-hatchet-with-Alastair-Cook.html
His point about the importance of captaincy when fielding a leg spinner is also welcome.
Just as the Guardian’s resident cricketing genius demands again that he be dropped:
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/oct/27/england-sharjah-third-test-liam-plunkett
Really interesting interview with Root by Vaughan in the Telegraph, with checking out.
Joe Root is one of the fastest player to build 3000 runs among with big legendary player. congrats Joe Root.
It is not difficult to make 3000 runs in cricket.
Look at what he did in the Soutgoing African tour February 2016 test matched made hindereds ODI back to back hundreds root is a special player betterm than Cook as root is the talisman for England
I think Root is the best English batsman I have seen,, since the early 1960’s. Barrington was a great talent who restricted his play in test cricket and had fantastic concentration. The 256 at Old Trafford for instance, which I saw. Actually the best batsman I saw in an England sweater before Root was Tom Graveney. Absolutely unbelievable.