Cricket: Taylor way above average, but still not greatest

When Ross Taylor became holder of New Zealand's best test average - of those whose careers had some duration to them - it raised one of those talking points so beloved of cricket ruminators.

Who is New Zealand's greatest test batsman? To these eyes it's Martin Crowe. But let's track back a moment.

Taylor's performances in the last two tests make this topic timely.

Not only has he edged ahead of John F. Reid, at 46.52 - of those with a minimum of 30 innings - as of the end of New Zealand's first innings at the Basin Reserve yesterday. He has joined the 200 club - of whom there are now 13 - has 10 test hundreds, and only three men made more, a list topped by his mentor Crowe.

He has years to run and in time may overhaul Crowe, and Stephen Fleming's test run tally for that matter. When/if that happens, this subject will doubtless get another extensive airing.

But it is too simplistic to say the batsman with the best average is, ergo, the best batsman.

On that basis, Taylor is New Zealand's best test batsman of all. He may finish with that mantle, but not yet.

And until Taylor edged ahead of Reid during his 129 in the first innings at the Basin Reserve, the doughty Auckland lefthander of the 1980s had that honour.

Reid was a skilled, resourceful batsman who made the best of his talents but left the game relatively early. He didn't play against the formidable West Indies, then at the peak of their fast-bowling powers.

Consider Stewie Dempster, the pre- World War II opener. He played only 10 tests, 15 innings, yet averaged 65.72. Eight of those tests were against England. Against them he scored two centuries and four fifties in 11 innings.

Clearly he was a champion batsman, but doesn't make the qualifying criteria.

Neither does Martin Donnelly the pre- and post-war lefthander, who played rugby for England. He played just seven tests, 11 innings, and averaged 52.91, and hit New Zealand's first double ton, at Lord's, in 1949.

Bert Sutcliffe used to say Donnelly was better than him; Donnelly argued strongly for Sutcliffe in that good natured pas de deux.

Elements that need to be considered are averages, centuries, longevity and quality of the opposition.

New Zealand has had plenty of notable achievers and in recent times Andrew Jones, Stephen Fleming, Nathan Astle and Mark Richardson come to mind. But each falls short of the highest standard. Boil all the bits together and the choice for New Zealand's best batsman comes down to two - Martin Crowe and Glenn Turner.

As befitting an opener, Turner first.

He began his first-class career with few strokes and a reputation for slow scoring.

In time he became perhaps the best opener in the game. He is the only New Zealand batsman to have been rated the world's No1 batsman, in 1974, according to International Cricket Council retrospective rankings.

Crowe had a rough introduction to test cricket, as a 19-year-old, having his helmet rattled by Australian Jeff Thomson in 1982.

In time he became a member of the game's batting elite. He was possibly the best batsman on the planet around the time of the 1992 World Cup.

Crowe and Turner had one thing in common: dedication to their craft.

Not that it's strictly relevant, but Crowe was proud of never having been dismissed by the great Richard Hadlee in first-class cricket.

So it's Crowe at the head of this list. At least for now.