Rich half, poor half

Michael Hussey's maiden Test hundred, against West Indies in Hobart, was memorable. It was in his second Test, back in November 2005, and his emotional celebration captured the delight of a man who'd toiled for years on the domestic circuit to experience this moment. That match was also my first ball-by-ball commentary stint and thereafter I began to follow Hussey's career closely, to see how long he could sustain his towering average. It reached the dizzy heights of 120 and stayed in the mid-80s for the best part of his first two years on the international circuit. His average at present, however, is only 51.03, the lowest it's ever been since that maiden hundred. The decline is due to Hussey's ordinary performance in the second half of his Test career, compared to his superhuman effort in the first.

Hussey has played 52 Tests to date, and after his 26th, he had 2502 runs, nine hundreds and an average of 69.50. It was in his 26th match - against India at the WACA in January 2008 - that Hussey's mean slipped out of the 70s for good. In the 26 Tests since then, he's scored only 1479 runs at 35.21. The difference of 34.29 between the averages in the first and second halves of Hussey's career is the second highest in our table below. The Australians are in India at the moment, and a poor Test series could push Hussey's average closer to the 50 benchmark.

Most of the players with large differences between averages in the first and second halves haven't had extremely long Test careers. In fact, two members of two marvellous Australian sides, Neil Harvey and Adam Gilchrist, are the only ones with more than 60 matches and a significantly greater average in the first half of their careers than in their second. Gilchrist averaged 59 in his first 48 Tests and only 38.41 in his next 48, which is odd considering he made nearly the same number of centuries in each half - nine in the first and eight in the second.

Biggest difference in Test average between the first half of a career and the second (20 innings in each half)

Player	Span	Mat	Ave		Mat	Inns	Runs	Ave	100		Mat	Inns	Runs	Ave	100		Diff
JC Adams (WI)	1992-2001	54	41.26		27	43	1963	61.34	5		27	47	1049	25.58	1		35.76
MEK Hussey (Aus)	2005-2010	52	51.03		26	44	2502	69.50	9		26	46	1479	35.21	2		34.29
LG Rowe (WI)	1972-1980	30	43.55		15	22	1293	61.57	6		15	27	754	29.00	1		32.57
BC Booth (Aus)	1961-1966	29	42.21		15	27	1197	57.00	4		14	21	576	27.42	1		29.57
AR Morris (Aus)	1946-1955	46	46.48		23	37	2097	61.67	10		23	42	1436	34.19	2		27.49
RN Harvey (Aus)	1948-1963	79	48.41		40	69	3833	60.84	15		39	68	2316	36.18	6		24.65
VS Hazare (India)	1946-1953	30	47.65		15	28	1420	59.16	6		15	24	772	35.09	1		24.08
MJ Greatbatch (NZ)	1988-1996	41	30.62		21	35	1291	43.03	2		20	36	730	20.27	1		22.76
Sadiq Mohammad (Pak)	1969-1981	41	35.81		21	37	1630	46.57	4		20	37	949	25.64	1		20.92
MJ Horne (NZ)	1997-2003	35	28.38		18	34	1262	38.24	3		17	31	526	17.53	1		20.71
AC Gilchrist (Aus)	1999-2008	96	47.60		48	65	3073	59.09	9		48	72	2497	38.41	8		20.68
BW Luckhurst (Eng)	1970-1974	21	36.05		11	21	796	46.82	3		10	20	502	26.42	1		20.40
RB McCosker (Aus)	1975-1980	25	39.56		13	24	1000	50.00	3		12	22	622	29.61	1		20.38
MS Sinclair (NZ)	1999-2010	33	32.05		17	29	1060	42.40	3		16	27	575	22.11	0		20.28
AH Jones (NZ)	1987-1995	39	44.27		20	36	1703	54.93	5		19	38	1219	34.82	2		20.11
Javed Burki (Pak)	1960-1969	25	30.47		13	25	917	39.86	3		12	23	424	20.19	0		19.68
WR Endean (SA)	1951-1958	28	33.95		14	25	979	44.50	2		14	27	651	25.03	1		19.46
ED Solkar (India)	1969-1977	27	25.42		14	23	678	35.68	0		13	25	390	16.95	1		18.73
PH Parfitt (Eng)	1961-1972	37	40.91		19	25	1113	50.59	6		18	27	769	32.04	1		18.55
S Wettimuny (SL)	1982-1987	23	29.07		12	23	832	37.81	2		11	20	389	19.45	0		18.37

And then there are those who picked up speed in the second half of their careers, after a relatively slow first half. Gautam Gambhir had one century against Bangladesh, 904 runs and an average of 36 after his first 16 Tests. Australia were about to tour India in October 2008, and Gambhir's fallow run was about to end. He was the top run-scorer in that series despite being banned for one Test, making 463 with a double-century and a hundred. Gambhir scored eight centuries during a period of 10 Tests and has accumulated 1896 runs at 67.71 in his last 16 matches.

Since Don Bradman finished with an average of 99.94, you'd imagine that he was relatively consistent over his 52-Test career and therefore wouldn't appear in our tables. But no. Bradman upped his game in the second half of his career to get to where he did. In his first 26 Tests he averaged 89.55, scoring 3224 runs with 13 tons. In the second half of his career, however, he averaged 110.94, making 3772 runs with 16 hundreds.

Biggest difference in Test average between the second half of career and the first (20 innings in each half)

Player	Span	Mat	Ave		Mat	Inns	Runs	Ave	100		Mat	Inns	Runs	Ave	100		Diff
CG Macartney (Aus)	1907-1926	35	41.78		18	31	811	27.03	1		17	24	1320	62.85	6		35.82
G Gambhir (India)	2004-2010	32	52.83		16	27	904	36.16	1		16	30	1896	67.71	8		31.55
AB de Villiers (SA)	2004-2010	61	45.50		31	57	1921	35.57	3		30	48	2311	59.25	7		23.68
Imran Khan (Pak)	1971-1992	88	37.69		44	69	1651	27.98	1		44	57	2156	51.33	5		23.35
JW Burke (Aus)	1951-1959	24	34.59		12	23	519	24.71	1		12	21	761	47.56	2		22.85
CL Walcott (WI)	1948-1960	44	56.68		22	34	1434	44.81	5		22	40	2364	67.54	10		22.73
EAB Rowan (SA)	1935-1951	26	43.66		13	25	750	32.60	0		13	25	1215	55.22	3		22.62
Younis Khan (Pak)	2000-2009	63	50.09		32	55	2077	39.18	6		31	57	3183	61.21	10		22.02
SJ McCabe (Aus)	1930-1938	39	48.21		20	29	992	36.74	1		19	33	1756	58.53	5		21.79
DG Bradman (Aus)	1928-1948	52	99.94		26	39	3224	89.55	13		26	41	3772	110.94	16		21.39
RG Pollock (SA)	1963-1970	23	60.97		12	21	972	51.15	3		11	20	1284	71.33	4		20.18
DL Vettori (ICC/NZ)	1997-2010	100	30.71		50	73	1249	20.47	1		50	79	2713	39.89	4		19.42
A Flower (Zim)	1992-2002	63	51.54		32	57	2030	42.29	5		31	55	2764	61.42	7		19.13
MH Denness (Eng)	1969-1975	28	39.69		14	24	718	31.21	0		14	21	949	49.94	4		18.73
T Taibu (Zim)	2001-2005	24	29.60		12	24	482	20.95	0		12	22	791	39.55	1		18.59
Mushfiqur Rahim (Ban)	2005-2010	23	27.14		12	23	409	18.59	0		11	22	731	36.55	1		17.96
JE Cheetham (SA)	1949-1955	24	23.86		12	23	394	17.13	0		12	20	489	34.92	0		17.80
KC Sangakkara (SL)	2000-2010	91	56.85		46	76	3466	48.13	7		45	76	4550	65.94	16		17.80
KR Rutherford (NZ)	1985-1995	56	27.08		28	45	763	18.16	1		28	54	1702	34.73	2		16.57
JE Emburey (Eng)	1978-1995	64	22.53		32	47	520	14.05	0		32	49	1193	30.58	0		16.54

Kevin Pietersen had a fabulous start to his ODI career and averaged more than 100 after his first 17 games. His mean began to decline steadily thereafter, understandably, given the limited opportunities of limited-overs cricket, and after 52 matches Pietersen's average was 55.64. His form has continued to worsen, though, and he has scored only 1273 runs and two centuries in the second half of his career at an average of 30.30. His overall career mean at the moment is 42.17 and he was axed for England's ongoing limited-overs series against Pakistan. The difference of 25.34 between Pietersen's average in the first and second halves of his career is the second highest in ODIs, after Glenn Turner.

Biggest difference in ODI average between the first half of a career and the second (20 innings in each half)

Player	Span	Mat	Ave		Mat	Inns	Runs	Ave	100		Mat	Inns	Runs	Ave	100		Diff
GM Turner (NZ)	1973-1983	41	47.00		21	20	886	63.28	2		20	20	712	35.60	1		27.69
KP Pietersen (Eng/ICC)	2004-2010	104	42.17		52	46	2059	55.64	5		52	48	1273	30.30	2		25.34
MA Atherton (Eng)	1990-1998	54	35.11		27	27	1188	47.52	1		27	27	603	23.19	1		24.33
RL Dias (SL)	1979-1987	58	31.46		29	27	1058	44.08	2		29	28	515	19.80	0		24.28
HJH Marshall (NZ)	2003-2007	66	27.43		33	31	980	39.20	1		33	31	474	16.92	0		22.27
GS Chappell (Aus)	1971-1983	74	40.18		37	36	1442	51.50	2		37	36	889	29.63	1		21.87
DI Gower (Eng)	1978-1991	114	30.77		57	54	1978	42.08	6		57	57	1192	21.28	1		20.80
Yasir Hameed (Pak)	2003-2007	56	36.87		28	28	1256	46.51	2		28	28	772	27.57	1		18.95
Basit Ali (Pak)	1993-1996	50	34.18		25	23	823	43.31	1		25	20	442	24.55	0		18.76
BA Edgar (NZ)	1978-1986	64	30.74		32	32	1092	40.44	1		32	32	722	22.56	0		17.88
VG Kambli (India)	1991-2000	104	32.59		52	48	1456	41.60	1		52	49	1021	24.90	1		16.70
MG Bevan (Aus)	1994-2004	232	53.58		116	102	3790	62.13	3		116	94	3122	45.91	3		16.22
IVA Richards (WI)	1975-1991	187	47.00		94	86	3960	55.00	8		93	81	2761	38.88	3		16.11
Shahriar Nafees (Ban)	2005-2008	60	33.76		30	30	1125	41.66	3		30	30	732	26.14	1		15.52
PN Kirsten (SA)	1991-1994	40	38.02		20	20	737	46.06	0		20	20	556	30.88	0		15.17
AH Jones (NZ)	1987-1995	87	35.69		44	44	1647	43.34	0		43	43	1137	28.42	0		14.92
AL Logie (WI)	1981-1993	158	28.95		79	66	1507	36.75	0		79	67	1302	23.25	1		13.51
LPC Silva (SL)	1999-2010	61	31.11		31	27	892	37.16	1		30	25	508	24.19	0		12.98
MEK Hussey (Aus)	2004-2010	146	51.65		73	54	1826	58.90	2		73	67	2461	47.32	0		11.58
GA Gooch (Eng)	1976-1995	125	36.98		63	62	2505	42.45	6		62	60	1785	31.31	2		11.14

South Africa's AB de Villiers and New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori are two players with significantly superior Test and ODI averages in the second halves of their careers compared to their first halves. De Villiers has already stacked up 61 Tests in six years on the international circuit and his last 30 have been extremely productive, yielding 2311 runs at an average of nearly 60, compared to 1921 at an average of 35 in his first 31 games. His one-day career has followed a similar pattern: he averaged 35 in his first 51 ODIs and 55 in his last 50 games.

Vettori has been among New Zealand's most reliable batsmen in recent years. After 50 Tests he had an average of 20 with only one Test century. He has added four more since then and scored 2713 runs at a mean of nearly 40 in his last 50 matches. As a result of this surge, Vettori's Test average is now 30.71. In ODIs, Vettori had an average of 10 in his first 128 games, which he has improved to 17 by scoring at 23.49 in the second half of his 255-ODI career.

Biggest difference in ODI average between the second half of a career and the first (20 innings in each half)

Player	Span	Mat	Ave		Mat	Inns	Runs	Ave	100		Mat	Inns	Runs	Ave	100		Diff
SM Gavaskar (India)	1974-1987	108	35.13		54	51	1230	26.17	0		54	51	1862	45.41	1		19.24
AB de Villiers (Afr/SA)	2005-2010	101	43.56		51	50	1626	35.34	2		50	47	1990	53.78	5		18.44
JEC Franklin (NZ)	2001-2010	75	18.70		38	22	182	10.11	0		37	31	454	28.37	0		18.26
JDP Oram (NZ)	2001-2010	141	24.75		71	54	827	17.22	0		70	48	1376	33.56	1		16.33
DS Lehmann (Aus)	1996-2005	117	38.96		59	55	1527	32.48	2		58	46	1551	48.46	2		15.98
SR Watson (Aus)	2002-2010	114	40.29		57	41	856	30.57	0		57	55	2126	46.21	4		15.65
HH Streak (Afr/Zim)	1993-2005	189	28.29		95	80	1020	20.40	0		94	79	1923	35.61	0		15.21
DO Obuya (Kenya)	2001-2010	64	19.71		32	32	391	13.03	0		32	31	792	26.40	0		13.37
TM Dilshan (SL)	1999-2010	188	35.73		94	81	1803	28.61	1		94	84	3057	41.87	7		13.26
H Masakadza (Zim)	2001-2010	95	28.58		48	48	1020	22.17	0		47	47	1581	35.13	3		12.96
BB McCullum (NZ)	2002-2010	171	29.01		86	67	1150	21.69	0		85	78	2419	34.55	2		12.86
DL Vettori (ICC/NZ)	1997-2010	255	17.07		128	80	603	10.76	0		127	80	1292	23.49	0		12.72
MS Dhoni (Asia/India)	2004-2010	171	50.73		86	76	2535	44.47	3		85	76	3198	57.10	4		12.63
A Bagai (Can)	2003-2010	54	37.73		27	27	729	31.69	2		27	26	1007	43.78	0		12.09
M Amarnath (India)	1975-1989	85	30.53		43	34	698	24.06	0		42	41	1226	36.05	2		11.99
CL Hooper (WI)	1987-2003	227	35.34		114	99	2173	28.97	1		113	107	3588	40.77	6		11.80
B Zuiderent (Neth)	1996-2010	53	25.71		27	27	496	20.66	0		26	25	584	32.44	0		11.78
Yuvraj Singh (Asia/India)	2000-2010	254	36.73		127	114	3118	30.87	4		127	120	4302	42.59	8		11.72
OA Shah (Eng)	2001-2009	71	30.56		36	35	774	24.96	1		35	31	1060	36.55	0		11.58
Saleem Elahi (Pak)	1995-2004	48	36.72		24	24	687	31.22	1		24	23	892	42.47	3		11.25