Test squad by the numbers: Where every player’s position in the batting order equals the number of Tests that they played

For some reason I recently posted an odd article with a team of Australian Test players whose position in the Test batting order, on at least one occasion, matched the total number of tests that they played for Australia.

So here’s their opposition for you to ponder, a team drawn from the rest of the world selected on the same basis.

1. Rodney Redmond (New Zealand)

Redmond is one of the most famous one-Test wonders of all time, and played his solitary test in February 1973, scoring a century in the first innings and a fifty in the second. Picked for the subsequent NZ tour of England, he encountered difficulties adapting to new contact lenses, fell out of form, and never played another Test. Remarkable!

2. Ramnath Parkar (India)

Parkar opened the batting with Sunil Gavaskar for Bombay for some years but got the opportunity to join his captain in just two Test matches, when he was selected for the first and second home tests against England in 1972/73.

He failed to make an impression, scoring just 80 runs in four innings, and never got another opportunity at Test level.

3. Jason Gallian (England)

Born in Australia and a former captain of the Australian Under 19 Team, Gallian pursued a very successful first class career in England, scoring over 15,000 runs in his 20-year career.

He played three Tests for England without any real luck or success, usually opening the innings or coming in at 3. His Test batting average of just 12.33 is hardly a true reflection of his batting ability.

4. Karl Nunes (West Indies) 

Nunes was one of the greats of West Indian cricket, and will be remembered as much for the work he did for the sport off the field as for the fact that he was their very first Test captain when they played England at Lords in 1928.

5. Jason Roy (England) 

Better known for his power hitting in limited over cricket, Jason Roy did manage to get on the field for five Test matches, and batted at number five in the fourth Test against Australia in 2019, a game easily won by Australia thanks to a dominant batting display by Steve Smith.

6. Dane Vilas (South Africa)

Keeper Vilas had a long first class career however his six Test career was compressed into a period of just six months between July 2015 and January 2016. He averaged a healthy 41.46 at first class level with 22 hundreds and 44 fifties, but managed just 94 runs in his nine Test innings at an average of 10.44.

He usually batted at 7 or 8 in tests and his one innings at number 6 came in the first test against India in 2015 when he scored just 1 run.

7. Mike Procter (South Africa)

It’s almost shameful that South Africa’s isolation meant that a player like Mike Procter only played seven T

ests in his career, but his first class figures stand in testament to his enormous ability as a fast-bowling allrounder – 1,417 wickets at just 19.53 and 21,936 runs at 36.01. In the few tests he did manage to squeeze in before South Africa were banned he gave us a taste of what we were going to miss out on, scoring 226 runs at 25.01 and taking 41 wickets at an incredible average of just 15.02.

8. Malinga Bandara (Sri Lanka) 

Bandara was a talented leg-spinner and a handy lower order batsman who failed to grab his opportunities at test level, finishing with just 16 wickets in his eight appearances for Sri Lanka. He played his first test in 1998 and his last some eight years later in 2006.

9. Sohail Khan (Pakistan)

The tall right-arm fast bowler was impressive in his debut first class season in 2008 and was somewhat a surprise selection in the national side just a year later. He went wicketless in his test debut and also failed to impress when given another opportunity in 2011.

He performed much better when given his final chance in 2016 at the age of 32, and his final test was the Boxing Day run-fest in Melbourne in 2016 when Australia won by an innings and 18 runs after Pakistan batted first and declared at a comfortable 9 for 443.

10. Jayananda Warnaweera (Sri Lanka) 

Warnaweera was a right arm off-spinner who played ten tests for Sri Lanka between 1986 and 1994 without ever threatening to set the cricket world alight. Like many players, he was unable to convert his excellent domestic form on to the test arena, and finished with 32 wickets at 31.90. His only test batting highlight, in a career that resulted in a total of 39 runs at just 4.33, was when he scored a brisk 20 against India at Colombo in 1993.

11. Sylvester Clarke (West Indies)

Who better to terrorise the opposition batsmen than the frightening Sylvester Clarke, whose pace and lift made life very uncomfortable for anyone holding a bat at the other end of the pitch. His test appearances were limited due to the depth of the West Indian bowling ranks, and when he did get an chance, he never seemed to be able to reproduce his stunning first class form.

So an interesting side, with some very capable batsmen and a very handy bowling attack led by both Procter and Clarke. Still, my money’s on the Aussie team.