Monday, May 11, 2020

History of the Most Capped Active Test Player 1900-2020 [OC]

I woke up this morning thinking of Sachin (who on this sub doesn't), and wondering who took over his mantle of most capped active Test player after he retired in 2013 (spoiler the answer is Kallis).

That thought led to hours of scraping Cricinfo data until I came up with this list, the History of the Most Capped Active Test Player 1900-2020.

A few points before I get into the data.

  • Test only.
  • Most capped means most matches played up until that point. A player's reign ends at the conclusion of their last match, and the next reign begins at the start of the next scheduled Test match, even if the next reigning champion isn't playing in that match.
  • Active player means anyone who will end up playing another match in the future, or who is currently playing in their final match. This distinction prevents any Dhoni-in-LOI style ambiguity over whether or not a player is still active/in contention for selection. A player is effectively retired at the conclusion of their last match if they never end up playing another game, even if they did not officially announce their retirement until years later.
  • And finally, play along and try and guess who you think ends up being on this list. A few surprises for sure.

​

Early Years (1900-1934)

Name (Country): # of Tests played as most capped active player (#Test number), Dates, retired status at end of reign.

  1. SE Gregory (Aus): 36 Tests (23->58, #63 -> #129), 17/7/1899 -> 19/8/1912 (13 years), retired
  2. W Rhodes (Eng): 12 Tests (43 -> 54, #130 -> #179), 13/12/1913 -> 1/2/1929 (15 years)
  3. JB Hobbs (Eng): 2 Tests (55 -> 56, #180 -> #187), 8/3/1929 -> 11/1/1930 (10 months)
  4. FE Woolley (Eng): 8 Tests (57 -> 64, #188 -> #237), 24/1/1930 -> 18/8/1934 (4 years), retired

The first 4 players to reach 50 career Tests (along with WW Armstrong), a significant achievement during a period when Tests were only being played at a rate of 4-5/year. And of course the legendary Jack Hobbs makes his appearance, but only for a brief 10 months in 1929.

Wonder Years (1935-1955)

  1. H Sutcliffe (Eng): 3 Tests (52 -> 54, #238 -> #243), 8/1/35 -> 29/6/35 (5 months), retired
  2. WR Hammond (Eng): 33 Tests (53 -> 85, #244 -> #284), 13/7/35 -> 21/3/47 (11 years), retired
  3. DG Bradman (Aus): 11 Tests (42 -> 52, #285 -> #303), 7/6/47 -> 14/8/48 (1 year), retired
  4. B Mitchell (SA): 6 Tests (37 -> 42, #304 -> # 313), 10/11/48 -> 5/3/49 (3 months), retired
  5. L Hutton (Eng): 42 Tests (38 -> 79, #314 -> #402), 11/6/49 -> 25/3/55 (5 years), retired

Here are the big names. Sutcliffe, Hammond, Hutton. Another list in which Bradman makes his way in.

Bruce Mitchell has the distinction of being the player with the lowest career Tests played (42) that still makes it onto this list. (The second lowest is also interestingly Bradman himself at only 52). He is also one of only 2 South Africans on the list.

1955-1975

  1. DCS Compton (Eng): 12 Tests (67 -> 78, #403 -> #438), 26/3/55 -> 1/3/57 (2 years), retired
  2. TG Evans (Eng): 15 Tests (77 -> 91, #439 -> #475), 30/5/57 -> 18/6/59 (2 years), retired
  3. PBH May (Eng): 1 Test (59, #476 -> #480), 2/7/59 -> 21/11/59 (4 months)
  4. RN Harvey (Aus): 20 Tests (60 -> 79, #481 -> #539), 4/12/59 -> 15/2/63 (3 years), retired
  5. JB Statham (Eng): 3 Tests (67 -> 69, #540 -> #556), 23/2/63 -> 8/2/64 (11 months)
  6. MC Cowdrey (Eng): 45 Tests (70 -> 114, #557 -> #755), 15/2/64 -> 8/2/75 (11 years), retired

Colin Cowdrey marks the beginning of the really big numbers we see today, the first player to play in 100 Tests. Also the originator of hitting a century in your 100th Test. Spent over a decade and almost a half his career as the reigning champion of this list.

The first of many 1 hit wonders, Peter May with 1 Test as reigning champion before being bumped the next match. Also the first appearance of a Wicket-keeper (Evans) and a bowler (Statham), only took 57 years.

Summer of 10 Captains (1975-1988)

  1. LR Gibbs (WI): 2 Tests (72 -> 73, #756 -> #761), 15/2/75 -> 31/7/75 (5 months)
  2. JH Edrich (Eng): 2 Tests (74 -> 75, #762 -> #765), 14/8/75 -> 12/12/75) (3 months)
  3. LR Gibbs (WI) (2): 4 Tests (76 -> 79, #766 -> #770), 26/12/75 -> 31/1/76 (1 month), retired
  4. JH Edrich (Eng) (2): 3 Tests (75 -> 77, #771 -> #779), 5/2/76 -> 8/7/76 (5 months), retired
  5. APE Knott (Eng): 17 Tests (77 -> 93, #780 -> #884), 22/7/76 -> 7/8/80 (4 years)
  6. G Boycott (Eng): 15 Tests (94 -> 108, #885 -> #916), 28/8/80 -> 1/1/82 (1 year), retired
  7. CH Lloyd (WI): 2 Tests (84 -> 85, #917 -> #920), 2/1/82 -> 30/1/82 (28 days)
  8. DL Underwood (Eng): 1 Test (86, #921), 17/2/82, retired
  9. CH Lloyd (WI) (2): 1 Test (85, #922 -> #936), 26/2/82 -> 30/9/82 (7 months)
  10. RW Marsh (Aus): 6 Tests (86 -> 91, #937 -> #961), 14/10/82 -> 14/9/83 (11 months)
  11. SM Gavaskar (Ind): 8 Tests (92 -> 99, #962 -> #987), 24/9/83 -> 7/4/84 (6 months)
  12. CH Lloyd (WI) (3): 11 Tests (100 -> 110, #988 -> #1006), 28/4/84 -> 30/12/84, 8 months, retired
  13. SM Gavaskar (Ind) (2): 22 Tests (104 -> 125, #1007 -> #1073), 31/12/84 -> 13/3/87 (2 years), retired
  14. DB Vengsarkar (Ind): 1 Test (95, #1074 -> #1078), 16/4/87 -> 23/7/87 (3 months)
  15. DI Gower (Eng): 1 Test (96, #1079 -> #1084), 6/8/87 -> 11/12/87 (4 months)
  16. DB Vengsarkar (Ind) (2): 2 Tests (97 -> 98, #1085 -> #1099), 11/12/87 -> 16/6/88 (6 months)
  17. DI Gower (Eng) (2): 2 Tests (99 -> 100, #1100 -> #1109), 30/6/88 -> 24/11/88 (4 months)

With the retirement of Cowdrey, the floodgates have opened, with multiple claimants and no truly dominant king.

A lot of fighting and squabbling going on here. Gibbs vs Edrich, Lloyd vs. Marsh vs. Gavaskar, Vengsarkar vs. Gower.

Derek Underwood, one of the best English spin bowlers in history, makes an appearance with his final match just for one last f-u to Clive Lloyd, edging him out at 86 Tests, before retiring. Shortest reign on the list at 1 Test, 0 days.

Also the first appearances of West Indian and Indian players.

Modern Years (1989 -> 2020)

  1. IVA Richards (WI): 8 Tests (101 -> 108, #1110 -> #1128), 2/12/88 -> 23/11/89 (11 months)
  2. AR Border (Aus): 48 Tests (109 -> 156, #1129 -> #1256), 24/11/89 -> 25/3/94 (4 years), retired
  3. DL Haynes (WI): 2 Tests (115 -> 116, #1257 -> #1258), 25/3/94 -> 8/4/94, (14 days), retired
  4. GA Gooch (Eng): 12 Tests (107 -> 118, #1259 -> #1287), 16/4/94 -> 3/2/95, (9 months), retired
  5. DC Boon (Aus): 11 Tests (97 -> 107, #1288 -> #1324), 7/2/95 -> 25/1/96 (11 months), retired
  6. Saleem Malik (Pak): 10 Tests (87 -> 96, #1325 -> #1385), 19/4/96 -> 19/11/97 (1 year)
  7. SW Waugh (Aus): 72 Tests (97 -> 168, #1386 -> #1680), 20/11/97 -> 2/1/04 (6 years), retired
  8. SR Tendulkar (Ind): 13 Tests (111 -> 123, #1681 -> #1755), 2/1/04 -> 13/7/05 (1 year)
  9. SK Warne (Aus): 22 Tests (124 -> 145, #1756 -> #1826), 21/7/05 -> 2/1/07 (1 year), retired
  10. SR Tendulkar (Ind) (2): 66 Tests (135 -> 200, #1827 -> #2102), 2/1/07 ->14/11/13 (6 years), retired
  11. JH Kallis (SA): 3 Tests (164 -> 166, #2103 -> #2111), 21/11/13 -> 26/12/13 (1 month), retired
  12. S Chanderpaul (WI): 12 Tests (153 -> 164, #2112 -> #2160), 31/12/13 -> 1/5/15 (1 year), retired
  13. KC Sangakkara (SL): 5 Tests (130 -> 134, #2161 -> #2177), 6/5/15 -> 20/8/15 (3 months), retired
  14. AN Cook (Eng): 43 Tests (119 -> 161, #2178 -> #2318), 20/8/15 -> 7/9/18 (3 years), retired
  15. JM Anderson (Eng): 9 Tests (143 -> 151, #2319 -> #2387), 4/10/18 -> Current, ?retired

Here is where the bulk of the current modern records lie. Unsurprisingly, Steve Waugh is the king of this list, spending 72 of his 168 Tests as the reigning champion of old people playing cricket, followed by Tendulkar and Border (although note that combining his two reigns, Tendulkar is at 79).

Interesting that Warne caught up and overtook Sachin during his tennis elbow injury phase, but regains it once Warne retires.

Answering my original question, Kallis took over from Tendulkar for a brief period before retiring, making way for Chanderpaul, then Sanga (the only Sri Lankan on the list), until finally we have Cook and Anderson.

If Anderson doesn't come back post Covid, then Broad is the current reigning champion at 138 matches since the 16th of January 2020.

And I'm sure Pakistanis are proud of Saleem Malik as the sole Pakistani on the list *doesn't bother to read his Wikipedia article*.

A few additional notes.

  • The list is unsurprisingly dominated by England and Australia, and to a lesser extent India and West Indies. English players account for 944 of the 2387 Tests that have ever been played (39.5%), with Australians at 701 (29.3%).
  • The biggest missing names from the list, in terms of matches played, are Ponting (168 matches, 2nd all time) and Dravid (164 matches, 6th all time), for obvious reasons, having spent their entire careers in the shadow of Tendulkar.
  • Honourable mentions go to 2 players who missed out on being on the list despite being tied at the top, but never surpassing the reigning champion. The first is Gundappa Viswanath who played 91 Tests for India in the 70s, and with his dying breath drew level with Rod Marsh on the 30th of January 1983 at 91 Tests, before retiring. The other is none other than Ian Healy, who for 51 Tests (17 personal Tests) was tied with Steve Waugh from the 25th of March 1998 to the 14th of October 1999 before he "retired".

Hopefully someone else finds this as interesting as I did. Let me know if you spot any mistakes. I'm also interested in doing this for highest runs and wickets amongst active players.

submitted by /u/Irregularoreo
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