There are three main problems :

I will answer each in turn.

 

1) There were 2 main rule changes that made a significant difference to how easy it was to bat.

 

i) No ball rules, bouncer rules, etc. These laws changed around about 1975 and they also made it significantly easier for a batsman. Thus any batsman batting before 1975 should add about 10% to their average.

 

ii) Uncovered pitches. Until roughly 1960, pitches were never covered, meaning that if it rained either just before a match or during a match, whoever batted straight after batted on a wet pitch, making it considerably harder to bat. As this happened fairly often, it can be suggested that any batsman batting before 1960 should add about 10% to their average (and any bowlers too).

 

2) For players with lengthy careers, this usually evened out, as the number of weak teams has been fairly constant and the proportion that strong players played against weak teams has been consistent. The only major exception is since Bangladesh entered test cricket in 1999 and the "future tours programme", which, at least until Bangladesh started to become competitive around 2007, means that any player playing 1999-2007 had a significantly better average than in any other period before or since. Thus any modern players with careers covering that period should have their performances against Bangladesh 1999-2007 and also Zimbabwe when they suddenly became terrible (2001-2004 or so) taken out of any records.

 

Otherwise, it is really only relevant for players who had really short careers. The only player whose career average was significantly bolstered in this way was the fast bowler George Lohmann, who took almost half of his wickets against South Africa, who at the time were very weak. Otherwise, the only reason to alter statistics for any other player are players who played from 1999-2007. At a rough guess, any batsman should have their average lowered by 5% and any bowler raised by 5%, if how often they played is not known.

 

3) In the case of players who played little test cricket, it is useful to look at their first class records. If, for example with Sydney Barnes, he had a magnificent first class record, then the test record is legitimate. However, if, for example with Frank Tyson, the first class record is less impressive, it is reasonable to suggest that they are mediocre.

 

Note: Current players in bold.

 

Top bowlers (adjusted averages) :

 

1. Sydney Barnes 19.72 (16.43) (+20%)

2. George Lohmann 20.64 (10.75) (+20% +60%)

3. Curtly Ambrose 21.51 (20.99) (+2.5%)

4. Malcolm Marshall 21.98 (20.94) (+5%)

5. Fred Spofforth 22.09 (18.41) (+20%)

6. Glenn McGrath 22.18 (21.64) (+2.5%)

7. Allan Donald 22.25

8. Richard Hadlee 22.29

9. Allan Davison 22.58 (20.53) (+10%)

10. Imran Khan 22.81

11. Muttiah Muralitharan 23.40 (22.72) (+3%)

12. Fred Trueman 23.73 (21.57) (+10%)

13. Dale Steyn 23.79 (23.21) (+2.5%)

14. Shaun Pollock 23.80 (23.11) (+3%)

15. Waqar Younis 24.15 (23.56) (+2.5%)

16. Wasim Akram 24.21 (23.62) (+2.5%)

17. Frank Tyson 24.50 (18.56) (+10% +20%)

18. Michael Holding 24.83 (23.68) (+5%)

19. Dennis Lillee 25.12 (23.92) (+5%)

20. Shane Warne 26.17 (25.41) (+3%)

 

Top batsmen (adjusted averages) :

 

1. Don Bradman 119.28 (99.94) (+20%)

2. George Headley 73.00 (60.83) (+20%)

3. Everton Weekes 70.33 (58.61) (+20%)

4. Walter Hammond 70.14 (58.45) (+20%)

5. Jack Hobbs 68.33 (56.94) (+20%)

6. Clyde Walcott 68.02 (56.68) (+20%)

7. Len Hutton 68.00 (56.67) (+20%)

8. Ken Barrington 67.47 (58.67) (+15%)

9. Dudley Nourse 64.57 (53.81) (+20%)

10. Garfield Sobers 63.56 (57.78) (+10%)

11. Herbert Sutcliffe 58.30 (60.73) (+20% -20%)

12. Jacques Kallis 55.71 (57.43) (-3%)

13. Sachin Tendulkar 55.53 (56.95) (-2.5%)

14. Vinod Kambli 54.20

15. Kumar Sangakkara 53.88 (56.12) (-4%)

16. Greg Chappell 53.86

17. Ernest Tyldesley 52.80 (55.00) (+20% -20%)

18. Javed Miandad 52.57

19. Ricky Ponting 52.17 (53.51) (-2.5%)

20. Thilan Samaraweera 52.08 (54.25) (-4%)

21. Brian Lara 51.56 (52.88) (-2.5%)

22. Virender Sehwag 51.29 (53.43) (-4%)

23. Rahul Dravid 51.14 (52.18) (-3%)

24. Mahela Jayawardene 51.04 (52.62) (-3%)

25. Eddie Paynter 49.75 (59.23) (+20% -30%)

26. Mohammad Yousuf 49.68 (52.29) (-5%)

27. Jack Ryder 49.56 (51.62) (+20% -20%)

28. Graeme Pollock 46.95 (60.97) (+10% -20%)

29. Jonathan Trott 46.23 (57.79) (-20%)

30. Charlie Davis 44.22 (54.20) (+5% -20%)

 

Of note, I did not adjust the average of Vinod Kambli as, even though he had a short test career, he had an equally impressive first class average.

 

In answering the question:

 

Is Dale Steyn the best bowler ever? No, he is ranked number 13.

 

Is Sachin Tendulkar the best batsman ever? No, he is ranked number 13.

 

Is Tendulkar better than Bradman? No, he is less than half as good.

 

This is a guide of course. Adjusting averages is not an exact science.

 

Written by : Adrian Meredith