I have seen you mention both Frank Tarrant and Franklyn Stephenson - but if you had to pick an all-time XI of players who never played international cricket, who would be in it?
This should be interesting..
1.
Sunny Jim Mackay - A batsman who just in third first-class season in 1905/06 scored 902 runs at 112.75 with 5 centuries from only 6 matches, outperforming the likes of Victor Trumper, Monty Noble, Clem Hill among others in the Sheffield Shield. But Australia did not play another Test match until late 1907, by which time he had already moved to South Africa. He was unlucky to miss out for the South African Test team too on the grounds that he had not spent enough time there. Later that year his career was cut short at the age of 27 due to an accident that damaged his eyesight.
2.
John Langridge - An overall career batting average of 37.44 does not look like much, but at his best he was one of the most prolific batsmen of his day at county level. His 76 centuries are the most ever recorded by a player to have never played Test cricket. The only time he ever got a call-up to the English team was in 1939, when war was subsequently declared and all international matches cancelled. Scored more than 2000 runs in a season on no less than eleven occasions, three of them being after he had reached 40.
3.
Bert Kortlang - A player who played cricket in three different countries - Australia, the United States of America and New Zealand, but never got to represent either of them at international level! Like Mackay, he too started off his first-class career with a bang scoring 656 runs at 131.20 for Victoria in 1909/10. But the Australian team at the time was in no immediate need with the likes of Trumper, Hill, Armstrong, Macartney, Bardsley in the lineup. He was 40 when cricket resumed in 1920 following the First World War and had to settle on playing in New Zealand and the US, where he dominated bowling attacks for fun even recording an unbeaten double century at the age of 46 in 1926. Had New Zealand gained Test status six years sooner, he most certainly would have been among the first names on the sheet.
4.
Mahadevan Sathasivam - He played all of his cricket in the 1940s when Sri Lanka, then called Ceylon, were still four decades away from gaining that elusive Test status. In 11 first-class matches, he put up a fairly respectable 753 runs at 41.83 with a century against a near full-strength India in a drawn match and a double century. Sir Garry Sobers called him "the greatest batsman on earth". Having played in the same team as Everton Weekes (avg 58.61), Clyde Walcott (avg 56.68), Frank Worrell (avg 49.48) and himself possessing a Test average of close to 58, I think he would have a fair idea on the subject.
5.
David Hussey - When thinking of his limited overs and T20 exploits from around the world, people generally tend to forget what a great player he was at first-class level. Averaged 52.50 during his career, including a mind-boggling 61.28 for Nottinghamshire, and scored his runs at a rate close to 70 per 100 balls. Any Test team except perhaps Australia, India and South Africa would have killed for a player like that during the 2000s.
6.
Bhausaheb Nimbalkar - The perfect sort of utility player who could fulfil any given role in a side - be it scoring hundreds, opening the bowling with his medium pace or keeping wickets for his team, which is exactly what he would be doing in this lineup. For 24 long years he piled on runs in the Ranji Trophy, averaged on and around 50, even came within touching distance of beating Don Bradman's then world record score of 452* in first-class cricket. But the call-up to the Indian Test team never came. Meanwhile, someone like
CS Nayudu would go on to enjoy a 18-year Test career.
7.
Clive Rice - Arguably the greatest player to never play Test cricket for South Africa. An average of 40 with the bat and 22 with the ball in a very competitive level of first-class cricket in South Africa and England in the 1970s and 1980s would have put him on par with some of the greatest all-rounders of those times such as Imran Khan, Ian Botham, Kapil Dev and Richard Hadlee with whom he formed a deadly partnership at the Notts. But South Africa returned to the international fold only in 1991, when he was 42 and too old for the Test team. Still, I reckon they should have given him at least one farewell Test given all his contributions in the isolation years. RIP.
8.
Frank Tarrant - An all-rounder whose strongest suit was his spin bowling, but who was also a more than handy batsman as shown by a first-class batting average of 36.41 from 329 matches. His peak years as a player between 1908 and 1914 saw him average 39.95 with the bat and 17.62 with the ball. Despite that he never got to play a Test for either England or Australia, though he was eligible for both.
9.
Bart King - Simply the greatest player to never play Test cricket, and one of the greatest bowlers of all time. Nobody even comes close to him in my opinion. Routinely humiliated many of the best batsmen of his day and was the driving force behind Philadelphia possessing a near Test-class side from the 1890s till just before the First World War.
10.
Garth le Roux - Another South African along with McEwan and Rice, who missed out on higher honors solely because of their isolation. Was perhaps the deadliest pace threat the rebel teams would have to face up to as shown by 59 wickets in 23.06 from 15 unofficial Tests. A pretty decent lower-order bat too.
11.
Float Woods - People are generally of the opinion that Franklyn Stephenson is the greatest cricketer from the West Indies to never play a Test match. But I beg to differ. This tearaway fast bowler from Barbados was said to be as quick as the legendary Tom Richardson if old articles are to be believed. His first-class figures of 107 wickets at an average of 11.57 from 17 matches and a strike-rate of a wicket every 31 balls are simply mind-boggling, regardless of the pitches at the time.
Other notable mentions:
Ken McEwan - His entire first-class career between 1972/73 to 1991/92 coincided with South Africa's isolation from international cricket. In that time he racked up 26668 first-class runs at 41.73 with 74 hundreds, the second most by a non-Test player. Could also serve as a decent backup keeper when called upon.
George Patterson - The second greatest American cricketer of all time behind Bart King, but easily their best batsman ever. Played all of his first-class cricket in the 1800s and yet emerged with a batting average of above 40. Was also one of the most miserly accurate seam bowlers of his time, rarely ever conceding at above 2 runs per over. His record score of 271, the highest by any player from a non-Test playing nation stands to this day.
Padmakar Shivalkar - A spinner who toiled away in the Ranji Trophy picking up bags of wickets while having his pathway to the national side blocked by India's famed spin quartet of Bishan Bedi, Bhagwath Chandrasekhar, Erapalli Prasanna and Srinivas Venkataraghavan. If only he had been born in a different era..
Lucius Gwynn - A player who at the age of 22 in 1895 usurped WG Grace on the first-class averages for the season. He reportedly declined an invitation to play for the English Test side against the touring Australians sometime in 1896. Ireland were still 115 years away from gaining Test status when he had both his career and life tragically cut short at the age of 29 after succumbing to tuberculosis.
Clem Gibson - The only bowler to seriously trouble Warwick Armstrong's all-conquering Australian outfit in 1921. He took a five-fer in the second innings of the match to consign them to their only defeat on the tour. He could have played Tests for England in 1924/25 had he accepted the MCC's invitation to tour Australia and New Zealand, but refused. Undoubtedly the greatest cricketer produced by Latin America.
Clarence Parfitt - A naggingly accurate medium pacer who played cricket for both Bermuda and Scotland. Took them within touching distance of upsetting the New Zealand Test side in a 2-day unofficial match in 1965.
Jack Laing - Said to be the greatest cricketer ever produced by Canada and for a time the only serious rival for Bart King in the whole of North America. Stood at over 6 feet and was said to be almost as quick as Australian tearaway Ernie Jones at the peak of his career in 1896, when he destroyed an American lineup containing some of their greatest players in Patterson, King, Wood, Clark among others with figures of 6 for 17 and 8 for 37. He could bat a bit too, though he rarely put up scores of note while playing for Canada. Despite his obvious talents, he never got to appear in so much as a first-class match.
Amol Muzumdar - Being next in to bat, he could only watch from the sidelines in the school match where Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli shattered records by putting on an unbeaten 664-run partnership. His career went pretty much the same way with him averaging 48.13 and yet never coming close to an India call-up due to the presence of India's greatest ever batting lineup in Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman and Ganguly.
Franklyn Stephenson - A brilliant all-round cricketer who is largely forgotten today due to his decision to tour South Africa with the West Indian rebel team. A stalwart at first-class and List-A level, particularly the latter because of his clever variations.
Steve Tikolo - Kenya's greatest batsman, who for much of his career was considered to be the best player outside the Test world. Averaged close to 50 in first-class matches and above 60 in the Intercontinental Cup. Bowled some pretty decent off-breaks too.
Ryan ten Doeschate - Consider this: in 8 Intercontinental Cup matches for the Netherlands he scored
1285 runs at an average of 142.77 with 7 hundreds. If that isn't enough, he also took 24 wickets at an average of 23. It's beyond ridiculous.
Jamie Siddons - Despite being the highest run-scorer in Sheffield Shield cricket at one time, all he had to show for his efforts at international level was a solitary ODI cap against Pakistan in 1988. Life just isn't fair sometimes.
Charles Kortright - Perhaps the greatest fast bowler to never get a game for England. According to legend, fast enough that one of his deliveries traveled all the way to the boundary for six byes on one occasion.
Jimmy Boucher - An Irish leg spinner with an average of 14.04 from 28 first-class matches. To be fair a good many of his matches came against Scotland, but those are splendid figures nonetheless.
Ole Mortensen - A fast bowler hailing from the unlikeliest of places - Denmark, who forged a very successful 11-year country career for himself playing for Derbyshire and claiming over 400 wickets in first-class matches. The greatest Scandinavian cricketer of them all.
I may have missed a few..
I think there's a spectrum between those who would like to see a national team made up entirely of players who were born, raised and taught their cricket in the nation they are representing. You know which side I'm on in that, but where abouts on that spectrum do you fall?
I'm all for letting in expats. Most associates need them to impart their skills onto the home grown talent and help get them results on the field, but there should be a proper balance to it. They shouldn't just fill up their squads with first-class rejects in their mid-late thirties or early forties from other countries the way UAE & USA have been doing for years now, while dropping talented home grown players. It's extremely discouraging for the next generation of talent coming into the side in my opinion.
Did you make any New Years Resolutions this year? If so, did you keep them?
Nope. I just like doing things at my own comfort.
What is your favourite meal?
Pizza.
What do you think of
Morf's debut album?
Can't say I've listened to it..
Have you any update on the Puerto Rico player list I sent you?
Yeah, I was meaning to do that yesterday but forgot. Will give it a try sometime later tonight.
Have you ever considered writing about cricket more regularly?
Not really. To date I've only ever written the
one article, and that was only after
@Fenil kept urging me to do it. Was meaning to do a few more for his blog but eventually got caught up elsewhere and lost track. It's something I'd like to give a try again sometime when I feel inspired enough to do so. Currently, I'm just meh..
