5 players with the best 50 to 100 conversion rate of all time in Tests

One of the most important aspects of Test cricket is building on after getting a start. Once a batsman gets set, he needs to make a big score in order to help his team set up a good total.

That’s why we’ve heard many pundits say getting to 50 is just a small landmark, a three-figure score is a bigger landmark. Thus, we look at 5 players who have the best 50 to 100 conversion rate in Test match cricket.

Note – Criteria is minimum 2000 Test runs.

(All statistics as on 3rd December 2017)

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#5 William Ponsford – 53.85%

Not many people would’ve heard the name, William Ponsford. However, he was one of Australia’s greatest run-machines.

He made his debut in December 1924 against England and in his maiden innings scored a brilliant 110. One of the features of Ponsford was that he scored his hundreds in clusters throughout his career. He scored 2 hundreds in his first two games and then couldn’t score one for the next 10 Tests.

He then scored 3 centuries in 4 Tests before starting another streak of 12 Tests where he didn’t score one. Finally, he ended his career with 2 tons from his last two games.

He scored 2122 runs in 29 Tests at an average of 48.22. He also scored heavily in first-class cricket where he has scored almost 14000 runs at a superb average of 65.18.

One thing was certain that once the right-hander from Victoria was set, he would go on and make a big score. He has 13 50+ scores, out of which he converted 7 of them into 100s. Thus, with a conversion rate of 53.85%, Ponsford is #5 on this list.

#4 Dean Elgar – 55.56%

Dean Elgar

Dean Elgar first made a mark in the 2006 Under-19 World Cup where he finished as South Africa’s leading the tournament’s 4th highest run-scorer with 246 runs (at an average of 61.50). But it was six years later he made his Test debut at the WACA in Perth in 2012.

He got off to a disastrous start as he recorded a pair. However, soon he turned despair into joy as he scored a very good 103 in his 3rd Test. And he hasn’t looked back since. Following the retirement of Graeme, Elgar took the responsibility at the top of the order for the Proteas.

Elgar has 10 hundreds in 47 Tests where he has scored 2623 runs at an average of almost 47. He has 18 50+ scores out of which he has converted 10 of them into a three-figure score.

In fact, in his last 6 innings, he has scored 3 tons (one against England at The Oval, two against Bangladesh). One of those scores against Bangladesh was 199 which made him join an elite list of batsmen who’ve got out on 199.

Thus, with 10 hundreds out of 18 50+ scores, the gutsy left-handed opener is ranked #4 in the best conversion rate (55.56%).

#3 Virat Kohli – 58.82%

Virat Kohli

It seems a regular habit of the current Indian skipper to enter record books. Virat Kohli has been magnificent across all the three formats in the past few years. He established himself as one of the modern-day greats.

Like Elgar, Kohli also came into the limelight after a stellar Under-19 World Cup (in 2008). He made his ODI debut in the same year but he had to wait for 3 years to don the whites.

His career was at crossroads in Australia as he was off to a poor start in Test cricket even. He had scored just 234 runs at an average of 21.27. But with scores of 44, 75 (both at the WACA) and 116 (at Adelaide), he soon cemented his spot in the Test team.

He has been on a roll since then. Currently, he is the only player to average over 50 in all the three formats. In Test cricket, consistency was missing in his game, but he seems to have addressed that very well. Nowadays, once he’s set, a hundred seems inevitable.

His record is a testament to that fact. The last 11 times he’s crossed the 50-run mark, he’s reached 100 on nine occasions and out of those nin occasions, he has converted those hundreds into double tons six times.

In totality, Kohli has crossed the 50-run mark on 34 occasions and has converted 20 of those into hundreds. Hence, with a conversion rate of 58.82%, he is third on the list.

#2 George Headley – 66.67%

George Headley

George Headley was one of the rare batsmen who was known to be at par with Don Bradman. Thus, the nickname ‘The Black Bradman’.

Headley’s parents wanted him to become a dentist in the USA but it was his cricket career that blossomed. He made his debut in 1930 when England toured West Indies and played a second string side. West Indies tried as many as 28 players in that series with Headley playing all the games.

Headley grabbed that opportunity with both hands as he scored 703 runs in eight innings which included four centuries. He scored 176 in the first Test, 114 and 112 in the third and 223 in the fourth. His 223 came in the fourth innings of the fourth Test and it is still the highest score by any batsman in the fourth innings of a Test.

Except for his last couple of Test series’, a Headley scored a century in every series he played. He ended up getting 10 test hundreds out of the 15 times he went past 50. Thus, he is ranked second on the list of best conversion rates.

#1 Sir Don Bradman – 69.05%

Sir Don Bradman

There’s no surprise that Sir Don Bradman tops this chart. Arguably, the greatest batsman to have played the game, he set limits and records which may never be conquered.

The Australian legend made his debut against England in November 1928. He had a poor start as he made just 18 and 1. However, he turned it around in his next Test as he scored 79 and 112. And that set the tone for the rest of his career. Every time he got a start he converted it into a big score. In the 42 times, Bradman crossed the 50-run mark, he went on to score a century 29 times.

In those 29 hundreds, the Aussie great registered 200 on a staggering 12 occasions (most double tons by any batsmen in the history of the game). In his final Test he need four more runs to achieve a career average of 100, but he fell for a duck and ended up with a staggering average of 99.94.

However, with a 50 to 100 conversion rate of 69.05%, Bradman is arguably the best.