Top 5 batsmen and their highest batting average in Test cricket

1. Ricky Ponting – 59.99

Ricky Ponting was the only batsman who threatened to break Sachin Tendulkar’s Test records for a long time. The reason is his impeccable run between 2002 and 2006 in the longer format. Across these five years, the Australian skipper amassed 6141 runs in 57 Tests at an average of 72.24. In the 2006 Adelaide Test against England, Ponting scored 142 and 49 in respective innings. Post this game, Ricky’s Test average lifted to 59.99.

Had he completed his fifty in the 2nd innings of that Test, Ponting could have had a batting average of 60 that too at the end of 107th Test. This is the highest any player achieved after playing 100 Test matches. However, Ponting’s best average in the Test format remains 96 as he scored the same in his maiden innings on Test debut. He scored 71 in the following Test as his average read 83.5 but was never close until he touched 59.99.

Unfortunately, Ponting couldn’t script great things in Test cricket as his career took a slide from 2007. He played as many as 59 Tests from 2007 but only scored 4055 runs at an average of 40.14. This poor run dented Ponting’s Test batting average as it came down to 51.85 by his farewell Test match in 2012. Though Ricky’s average of 59.99 in 2006 was a standout number, his end average of 51.85 is the lowest among the five great players we considered.

(Averages at the end of a Test match are considered)