Allan Border missed only one Test during a period in which Australia played 157 © Getty Images

A chance remark by Shankar Narayanan of New Delhi provided the spark for this article. He wanted me to look at the fact that Dravid was rarely injured and almost never missed a Test. I started thinking about and it struck me that I could not even tell when Dravid missed a Test, if ever he did. I knew that Kapil Dev missed a single Test, courtesy Gavaskar, and I started work. Thanks to Shankar for providing the spark.

I decided that I would do this analysis for both Tests and ODIs. And as I started the work, the idea of doing a combined Test+ODIs analysis also seemed feasible especially as I have already done done a lot of work regarding the forthcoming combined batting/bowling analyses.

First let us see why players miss matches.

1. They are injured. This is the most common reason.

2. They opt out. Dhoni did that during the tour of Sri Lanka and a host of English and Australian players have done so for subcontinent tours during the early days. Not now, though, with so much money being available here.

3. In rare cases for top players, they are dropped.

An extended absence from cricket through an outside happening like war is not a reason since both the team(s) and player(s) miss matches.

The cut-off is simple. For Tests it is 50 matches, for ODIs, 100 matches and for the combined analysis, these two numbers form the minimum requirement. The question of determining the number of matches played by the team presented a nice tough challenge since the career span for each player is unique.

1. Test matches: Ordered by the number of matches played

SNo.Player               Cty  Career   <-Mats->    % Missed
                               Span    Own Team       Mats

  1.Waugh S.R            Aus 1985-2004 168  189  88.9%  21
  2.Tendulkar S.R        Ind 1989-2009 159  173  91.9%  14
  3.Border A.R           Aus 1979-1994 156  157  99.4%   1
  4.Warne S.K            Aus 1992-2007 145  177  81.9%  32
  5.Ponting R.T          Aus 1995-2009 136  159  85.5%  23
  6.Dravid R             Ind 1996-2009 134  135  99.3%   1
  7.Stewart A.J          Eng 1990-2003 133  154  86.4%  21
  8.Kumble A             Ind 1990-2008 132  159  83.0%  27
  9.Walsh C.A            Win 1984-2001 132  142  93.0%  10
 10.Lara B.C             Win 1990-2006 131  158  82.9%  27

The most amazing players in this group are Border and Dravid who missed a single Test each in careers lasting 15 years. Dravid missed the Motera Test during 2005. The others missed quite a few Tests, none more so than Warne. Surprisingly Kumble also missed 27 Tests, as did Lara. Tendulkar missed 14 Tests, no doubt due to his injuries.

To view the complete list, please click here.

2. Test matches: Ordered by the % of team matches played

SNo.Player               Cty  Career   <-Mats->    % Missed
                               Span    Own Team       Mats

  1.Gilchrist A.C        Aus 1999-2008  96   96 100.0%   0
  2.Reid J.R             Nzl 1949-1965  58   58 100.0%   0
  3.Greig A.W            Eng 1972-1977  58   58 100.0%   0
  4.de Villiers A.B      Saf 2004-2009  52   52 100.0%   0
  5.Border A.R           Aus 1979-1994 156  157  99.4%   1
  6.Dravid R             Ind 1996-2009 134  135  99.3%   1
  7.Kapil Dev N          Ind 1978-1994 131  132  99.2%   1
  8.Healy I.A            Aus 1988-1999 119  120  99.2%   1
  9.Dujon P.J.L          Win 1981-1991  81   82  98.8%   1
 10.Waugh M.E            Aus 1991-2002 128  130  98.5%   2
 11.Lawry W.M            Aus 1961-1971  67   68  98.5%   1
 12.Fredericks R.C       Win 1968-1977  59   60  98.3%   1
 ...
 221.Martyn D.R          Aus 1992-2006  67  167  40.1% 100
 ...
 224.Titmus F.J          Eng 1955-1975  53  185  28.6% 132

What does one say of Gilchrist. 96 straight Tests and if he had not missed that catch off Laxman would have gone on past 100. This is some level of fitness. Reid and Greig played 58 straight Tests each. Greig broke this sequence since he was involved with Packer. Let us see how long is de Villiers' run. Kapil Dev missed one Test, not because he was injured, but Gavaskar's making him the scapegoat for playing a poor shot. Quite a few others have missed only one Test.

Incidentally Pietersen had a run of 54 consecutive Tests which was broken by his recent injury. Note also the very low % of matches of Martyn indicating his in-out playing career. He also had a long break between 1994 and 2000. What he achieved despite this treatment is amazing. Titmus had a six-year hiatus between 1968 and 1974.

To view the complete list, please click here.

3. ODI matches: Ordered by the number of matches played

SNo.Player               Cty  Career   <-Mats->    % Missed
                               Span    Own Team       Mats

  1.Jayasuriya S.T       Slk 1989-2009 440  494  89.1%  54
  2.Tendulkar S.R        Ind 1989-2009 436  562  77.6% 126
  3.Inzamam-ul-Haq       Pak 1991-2007 378  450  84.0%  72
  4.Wasim Akram          Pak 1984-2003 356  478  74.5% 122
  5.Dravid R             Ind 1996-2009 339  447  75.8% 108
  6.Azharuddin M         Ind 1985-2000 334  379  88.1%  45
  7.Muralitharan M       Slk 1993-2009 333  445  74.8% 112
  8.Ponting R.T          Aus 1995-2009 330  404  81.7%  74
  9.Waugh S.R            Aus 1986-2002 325  357  91.0%  32
 10.Vaas WPUJC           Slk 1994-2008 324  399  81.2%  75

At the top it is not easy to even get to 90% which has been achieved only by Steve Waugh. Note the very high number of matches missed by Tendulkar which has pushed his playing % to below 80.

To view the complete list, please click here.

4. ODI matches: Ordered by the % of team matches played

SNo.Player               Cty  Career   <-Mats->    % Missed
                               Span    Own Team       Mats

  1.Cronje W.J           Saf 1992-2000 188  191  98.4%   3
  2.Tikolo S.O           Ken 1996-2009 126  128  98.4%   2
  3.Flower A             Zim 1992-2003 213  218  97.7%   5
  4.Dhoni M.S            Ind 2004-2009 151  155  97.4%   4
  5.Khaled Mashud        Bng 1995-2006 126  130  96.9%   4
  6.Dujon P.J.L          Win 1981-1991 169  177  95.5%   8
  7.Sangakkara K.C       Slk 2000-2009 256  270  94.8%  14
  8.Boucher M.V          Saf 1998-2009 285  303  94.1%  18
  9.Border A.R           Aus 1979-1994 273  290  94.1%  17
 10.Odoyo T.M            Ken 1996-2009 120  128  93.8%   8
 ...
174.Hayden M.L           Aus 1993-2008 161  392  41.1% 231
 ...
178.Kambli V.G           Ind 1991-2000 104  272  38.2% 168
179.Mushtaq Ahmed        Pak 1989-2003 144  402  35.8% 258

The African players rule the roost here, picking up the top 3 places. Tikolo and Andy Flower come from the lesser nations. Dhoni's run of 150+ matches, missing only four, that too a voluntary decision, is commendable.

Note Hayden's extraordinarily low % of matches. After making his ODI debut in 1993, he had a 6-year break until 2000, after which he was devastating. Kambli was in and out. Mushtaq played a single disastrous match three years after his retirement.

To view the complete list, please click here.

5. Test+ODI matches: Ordered by the number of matches played

SNo.Player               Cty  Career   <-Mats->    %
                               Span    Own Team

  1.Tendulkar S.R        Ind 1989-2009 595  735  81.0%
  2.Jayasuriya S.T       Slk 1989-2009 550  636  86.5%
  3.Inzamam-ul-Haq       Pak 1991-2007 498  586  85.0%
  4.Waugh S.R            Aus 1985-2004 493  546  90.3%
  5.Dravid R             Ind 1996-2009 473  582  81.3%
  6.Ponting R.T          Aus 1995-2009 466  563  82.8%
  7.Muralitharan M       Slk 1992-2009 462  597  77.4%
  8.Wasim Akram          Pak 1984-2003 460  609  75.5%
  9.Vaas WPUJC           Slk 1994-2009 435  532  81.8%
 10.Azharuddin M         Ind 1985-2000 433  489  88.5%
 11.Lara B.C             Win 1990-2007 429  532  80.6%
 12.Border A.R           Aus 1979-1994 429  447  96.0%

The only two players who have 90+% in this top-12 table are Steve Waugh and Border. It is a tribute to their fitness. Tendulkar just about gets past 80%. Note how high Azharuddin's playing %, a tribute to his fitness.

To view the complete list, please click here.

6. Test+ODI matches: Ordered by the % of team matches played

SNo.Player               Cty  Career   <-Mats->    %
                               Span    Own Team

  1.Cronje W.J           Saf 1992-2000 256  261  98.1%
  2.Flower A             Zim 1992-2003 276  283  97.5%
  3.Dujon P.J.L          Win 1981-1991 250  259  96.5%
  4.Border A.R           Aus 1979-1994 429  447  96.0%
  5.Sangakkara K.C       Slk 2000-2009 341  357  95.5%
  6.Healy I.A            Aus 1988-1999 287  301  95.3%
  7.Kapil Dev N          Ind 1978-1994 356  375  94.9%
  8.Boucher M.V          Saf 1997-2009 411  438  93.8%
  9.Jayawardene D.P.M.D  Slk 1997-2009 416  446  93.3%
 10.Marsh G.R            Aus 1985-1992 167  180  92.8%
 ...
106.Abdul Qadir          Pak 1977-1993 171  323  52.9%
107.Sidhu N.S            Ind 1983-1999 187  357  52.4%
108.Martyn D.R           Aus 1992-2006 275  530  51.9%
109.Hayden M.L           Aus 1993-2009 264  561  47.1%
110.Mushtaq Ahmed        Pak 1989-2003 196  513  38.2%

Again here Cronje is on top, followed by Andy Flower. Australia has three players in the top-10. At the end of the table we have players, barring Hayden, already discussed, who have had chequered careers. Qadir, in Tests, had a poor start, playing 10 matches in 5 years. In case of Mushtaq, his unsuccessful comeback efforts in 2003 have extended his overall career by three years. Sidhu had a 5-year gap after his debut in 1983.

Kepler Wessels has been deliberately excluded since his two-country career spanning 12 years does not lend itself to this type of analysis.

To view the complete list, please click here.

Finally one can see that the batsmen dominate the top portions of the lists. As Goel mentioned, bowlers find it difficult to maintain their playing status because of multitude of reasons.

As Sesha requested I have completed the work on longest treaks and given below is the top-10 streaks. This was one tough job.

Border after missing the fourth test had a long streak, unlikely ever to be broken. Similarly Mark Waugh finished with over 100 consecutive tests once he came back. Gavaskar had a 100+ test run just before the end of his career. Gilchrist's run covered his entire career. Dravid's streak was at the start of his career.

To view the complete list, please click here.

Test streaks: Minimum 50 consecutive tests

Player              Team Mats CareerSpan  <--Streak--> Tests

Border A.R           Aus  156   838-1256   849 to 1256  153
Waugh M.E            Aus  128  1161-1620  1223 to 1620  107
Gavaskar S.M         Ind  125   683-1073   753 to 1066  106
Gilchrist A.C        Aus   96  1467-1863  1467 to 1863   96
Dravid R             Ind  134  1328-1918  1328 to 1776   94
Viswanath G.R        Ind   91   666- 948   684 to  948   87
Hayden M.L           Aus  103  1252-1904  1493 to 1857   86
Sobers G.St.A        Win   93   386- 738   404 to  697   85
Tendulkar S.R        Ind  159  1127-1918  1127 to 1549   84
Boucher M.V          Saf  126  1381-1916  1400 to 1710   75

	According to this graph, experience outweighs youthful exuberance more times than it doesn’t (Click here for a bigger image) © Ric Finlay

Our CSW database has the capacity to analyse data by age, so I decided to use it to investigate what age(s), if any, provided significantly better performances.

My sample was Sheffield Shield data since 1977, when the newest state, Tasmania, entered the competition. This provided reasonably homogenous data, with little of the cultural variation that might be obtained using Test match data. The sample thus analysed over nearly 950 matches, involving 800 players.

The results are in the table below:

Age-wise averages with bat and ball in Sheffield Shield since 1977

Age	Batting average	Bowling
<20	28.34	34.01
20	26.66	35.78
21	29.08	36.45
22	30.55	36.92
23	30.31	36.10
24	31.23	34.93
25	30.77	33.22
26	31.67	33.56
27	30.99	32.75
28	31.53	32.86
29	32.41	31.45
30	33.96	30.58
31	32.35	32.19
32	34.63	30.42
33	31.64	29.93
34	30.71	31.19
35	32.72	33.32
>35	33.06	34.97

What, if anything, can be deduced from the results? Well, clearly, both batting and bowling averages improve as one gets older, but the extent to which this happens after the age of 30 surprises me. The picture of the young, virile cricketer in his early-20s emerging triumphant over the aging has-been is not sustained by this data, and it would seem that experience outweighs youthful exuberance more times than it doesn’t. For both batsmen and bowlers, the ages of 32 - 33 are the vintage years, and perhaps we are too keen to write players off as they move through their early-30s.

I would be most interested to read of the comments by others in relation to this data, and data from other spheres of cricket.