5 Test batsmen with most runs scored in losing causes

Cricket is indeed a rather strange game. It is a sport in which a team is of the utmost value, but its very essence lies in the individual player’s ability to churn out runs or scalp the wickets. However, on the flip-side, if the cricketer is unable to receive some support from the other side, his heroic feats often lead to a situation where he is better than the team he plays for.

Often, he might be the lone man standing amidst the ruins and though some performances might translate to match-winning spells, on most occasions he might find himself being the sole warrior for his squad - notching up runs, whilst the team around him falters.

The top five batsmen with the most number of runs scored in a losing cause all have one thing in common. Though they were legends in their own rights, at some point or the other, the teams in which they featured were defined by inconsistent streaks and below-par results.

As the youngsters were settling their nerves after the departure of stalwarts, most of the cricket-playing countries were being bogged down by the rebuilding phase. Hence, the victories reduced but the icons present still carried on with their magnificent work; often to be undone by the lack of help from the other members of the squad.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul; West Indies

Out of the 164 Test matches that West Indian batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul played, 77 ended in defeat for the team. However, he, along with Brian Lara were the sole stars for the line-up that often looked a pale shadow of the champion side that West Indies had once been.

In 153 innings that ended in losses for the team, Chanderpaul scored 5370 runs at an average of 40.07, with nine centuries and 32 half centuries. Even though his team-mates were unable to withstand the onslaught in England and in the sub-continent, the maverick remained notorious in his run-making, averaging an impressive 67.58 in losses in England, along with three hundreds in the country.

He, in fact, averaged 42.33 in defeats overseas as compared to his average of 37 at home, once again displaying his technique in moments of crisis; only to be undone by the lack of it from the other members in his team.

Brian Lara; West Indies

It is not surprising to note that more than half of Brian Lara’s innings ended in defeat. The 232 matches played by the left-hander yielded 11953 runs at an average of 52.8, of which 126 innings ended in losses- for the side. However, just like his team-mate Chanderpaul, Lara too tried his utmost to pitch in with performances that could deny the inevitable for West Indies.

An average of 42.19 with 5316 runs in defeats shows the abysmal state of affairs in the island nation. Despite possessing two outright match-winners in Lara and Chanderpaul, who continued giving their best to guide the Windies to safety, the standard of the other players, who could not support these icons adequately, throws light upon the melancholic situation in the nation that was once replete with match-winners.

Lara scored 14 of his 34 tons in a losing cause, with five of them against the mighty Australians. Though the results against them were hardly in his favour, his average of 40.97 in losses against them did give glimpses of his ability to convincingly tackle the menacing pace attack that the champion side possessed.

Sachin Tendulkar; India

It is natural for the most successful player in the history of Test cricket to be embroiled in controversies and arguments; wherein his stature and his aura will be dissected by every fanatic that has grown up watching the sport.

If Sachin Tendulkar indeed was the best batsman of his generation, why was his average of 37.16 in losses not higher? If the team around him was inconsistent, why did he not put up his hand and perform better than the 4088 runs in 112 innings, which would have given indications of his brilliance even in defeats? When the team around him was crumbling, why did he not emerge a saviour and at least try to help the side sail through?

The above questions are directed in haste without even noticing the fact that the Indian player's average in wins crossed 60. It is but natural for a player to fail when he has played for 24 years, but his inability to remain a warrior in defeats has not gone unnoticed by many.

However, it is not that Tendulkar failed miserably when India lost a game. He averaged 39.7 in Australia and 50.84 in South Africa in losses. Though only 11 of his centuries were scored in matches that ended in defeat, it also gives a hint of the importance of the maestro in the Indian Test arena. Whenever he failed, the team succumbed and when he flourished, the team benefited as well.

However, Tendulkar, being a player that set such high standards, became a victim of his own greatness, wherein fans and experts all over questioned his inability to rise in somber situations, failing to realize that he too was human, prone to downfalls like the rest of mankind.

Alastair Cook; England

With 3048 runs in 51 Test matches, former England skipper Alastair Cook finds a place in the list of the highest run-scorers in losses. His average of 29.88 with five hundreds when his side failed to cross the line is in sharp contrast to his overall average of 46.52 with 32 centuries.

Against Australia, he has averaged just 27.17 in defeats and in Australia, it further dips to 23.21, which only highlights the role that the mainstay is expected to play in the side.

One need not look further than the current Ashes series to ponder Cook’s importance to the English line-up. When he failed to get going in the first three matches of the series, the English team was convincingly thrashed by the hosts only to manage a face-saving draw in the Boxing Day Test match, in which the left-hander remained unbeaten on 244.

Alec Stewart; England

The English batsman, who featured in 133 Test matches for his nation, averaging 39.54, notched 2993 runs in 54 matches that his side lost. With an average of 29.93 and sans any ton in a defeat, Stewart barely managed to hold fort when his side was on the verge of a collapse.

He featured in 33 Ashes matches in his 12-year long career, of which 22 ended in losses. He failed to emerge a hero for his side, falling for an average of just 26.43 with eight fifties in the games.

He tasted considerable success in West Indies and the sub-continent when England were unable to script wins, but even that was unable to prevent him from being lost in the horde of cricketers who had the potential to guide the team home to safety but were consistently unable to do so.