Guide · Test batting
What is a good Test batting average?
A Test batting average is runs scored divided by the number of times a batter was dismissed. Anything over 40 sounds good and 50 sounds great, but how good is it really? Below are real benchmarks from 330 Test batters in the Beat My 11 data who played at least 20 Tests.
The short version: the median is 37.6, the top quarter starts at 43.3 and the top tenth at 48.3. The rest of the page shows how that changes with position and era.
Career figures as held in the Beat My 11 Test database (batters with 20 or more Tests).
Short answer. A Test batting average of about 37.6 is average, 43.3 is good (top quarter) and 48.3 or more is elite (top tenth). 8% of qualifying batters average 50 or more.
The benchmarks
“Median” is the middle batter: half average more, half less. The top quarter and the top tenth start at the figures shown. All 330 batters played at least 20 Tests, so a short purple patch cannot skew the picture.
| Batters | Lowest tenth below | Bottom quarter below | Median | Top quarter from | Top tenth from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 330 | 26.9 | 31.2 | 37.6 | 43.3 | 48.3 |
Is my average good?
Here is how many of the 330 batters reach each mark:
| Average of at least | Share of batters | Batters |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | 81% | 266 |
| 35 | 62% | 203 |
| 40 | 38% | 126 |
| 45 | 17% | 55 |
| 50 | 8% | 27 |
So 30 is the floor for a regular Test batter (only 19% fall below it), 40 puts you above the middle, and 50 puts you among 27 batters in our data. In the Beat My 11 draft game these same career numbers are what you see on every batter’s card, so you can judge a pick the way this page does.
By position
“Good” depends on the job. Middle-order batters, who bat when the ball is older and the pitch has settled, have the highest median (42.1); openers, who face the new ball, sit at 37.9. Wicketkeepers (median 30.1) are in the side for the whole package, not for batting alone.
| Position | Batters | Lowest tenth below | Median | Top quarter from | Top tenth from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Openers | 105 | 27.6 | 37.9 | 42.5 | 45.3 |
| Middle-order batters | 127 | 32.6 | 42.1 | 46.5 | 51.7 |
| Wicketkeepers | 55 | 23.5 | 30.1 | 35.5 | 39.3 |
| All-rounders | 43 | 23.3 | 33.5 | 37.8 | 41.0 |
The position is the one the game uses for each player. Players are grouped by their main job, so an opener who later moved down is still counted as an opener.
By era
Eras differ too. Batters in the Legends group have the highest median average (48.9) and those in the 2020s the lowest (35.1). The Legends group is a hand-picked set of the game’s greatest names, so its high median says more about who is in that group than about the pitches of the time. Treat the table as a description of the players we hold, not as a ranking of eras.
| Main era | Batters | Median | Top quarter from | Top tenth from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legends group | 30 | 48.9 | 53.6 | 57.0 |
| 1970s | 42 | 39.0 | 42.5 | 44.8 |
| 1980s | 36 | 37.3 | 43.7 | 44.7 |
| 1990s | 62 | 36.0 | 42.6 | 45.5 |
| 2000s | 61 | 38.0 | 43.8 | 49.1 |
| 2010s | 70 | 37.4 | 39.9 | 44.1 |
| 2020s | 29 | 35.1 | 43.0 | 44.5 |
The highest averages
The twelve highest career averages among the 330 batters, then the same list for the 214 who played at least 50 Tests (a longer career is harder to keep high).
| Batter | Nation | Tests | Runs | Average | 100s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don Bradman | Australia | 52 | 6,996 | 99.9 | 29 |
| Garfield Sobers | West Indies | 93 | 8,032 | 57.8 | 26 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 134 | 12,400 | 57.4 | 38 |
| Jack Hobbs | England | 61 | 5,410 | 56.9 | 15 |
| Len Hutton | England | 79 | 6,971 | 56.7 | 19 |
| Steve Smith | Australia | 125 | 10,920 | 56.0 | 37 |
| Jacques Kallis | South Africa | 166 | 13,289 | 55.4 | 45 |
| Kane Williamson | New Zealand | 110 | 9,515 | 54.1 | 33 |
| Greg Chappell | Australia | 87 | 7,110 | 53.9 | 24 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | India | 200 | 15,921 | 53.8 | 51 |
| Harry Brook | England | 41 | 3,610 | 53.1 | 10 |
| Brian Lara | West Indies | 131 | 11,953 | 52.9 | 34 |
| Batter | Nation | Tests | Runs | Average | 100s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don Bradman | Australia | 52 | 6,996 | 99.9 | 29 |
| Garfield Sobers | West Indies | 93 | 8,032 | 57.8 | 26 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 134 | 12,400 | 57.4 | 38 |
| Jack Hobbs | England | 61 | 5,410 | 56.9 | 15 |
| Len Hutton | England | 79 | 6,971 | 56.7 | 19 |
| Steve Smith | Australia | 125 | 10,920 | 56.0 | 37 |
| Jacques Kallis | South Africa | 166 | 13,289 | 55.4 | 45 |
| Kane Williamson | New Zealand | 110 | 9,515 | 54.1 | 33 |
| Greg Chappell | Australia | 87 | 7,110 | 53.9 | 24 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | India | 200 | 15,921 | 53.8 | 51 |
| Brian Lara | West Indies | 131 | 11,953 | 52.9 | 34 |
| Javed Miandad | Pakistan | 124 | 8,832 | 52.6 | 23 |
An average is not a rating. It does not know who a batter faced, how the pitch played or how fast he scored. That is why the game looks at runs per match, how often a batter reaches a hundred and the length of his career as well. You can see the full method on how it works, and read what each position does in positions in a Test XI.
How we counted
- Who is counted: openers, middle-order batters, wicketkeepers and all-rounders with at least 20 Tests and a recorded batting average. Specialist bowlers are left out.
- Who is in the data: 582 Test players, the “Legends” group and players from the 1970s onwards. It is not every Test cricketer, and the figures are career totals, not season by season.
- Which average: the career figure as held in our database, runs divided by dismissals.
- Percentiles use linear interpolation, as a spreadsheet’s PERCENTILE function does. The minimum of 20 Tests is a display filter chosen to keep short careers from skewing the table, not a rule of the game.
Questions people ask
What is a good batting average in Test cricket?
Among the 330 batters in our data with 20+ Tests, the median average is 37.6. A batter averaging 43.3 or more is in the top quarter and 48.3 or more is in the top tenth. Only 8% average 50 or better.
Is a batting average of 40 good in Test cricket?
Yes. 38% of the batters in our data average 40 or more, so 40 is a little above the middle. It is not elite: the top quarter starts at 43.3.
Is an average of 50 in Tests excellent?
It is rare. 8% of the batters in our data (27 of 330) average 50 or better with 20+ Tests. Among those with 50+ Tests the share is smaller still.
Why are wicketkeepers’ averages lower?
Keepers in our data have a median average of 30.1, against 42.1 for middle-order batters. A keeper’s job is partly done behind the stumps, and a keeper-batter is usually chosen for the whole package. Batting averages are only half of that job.
Who has the highest Test batting average?
Don Bradman, at 99.9 from 52 Tests. He is so far ahead of the field that this page also shows the list without him: the next-highest 20+ Test average in our data is 57.8 (Garfield Sobers).
Know what a good average looks like? Draft an all-time Test XI from real careers and see if it beats the World XI.
Draft a Test XISources and data
Test career totals are held in the Beat My 11 database, edited by hand and extended from tables exported by the site owner from HowSTAT. They cover 582 Test players: the “Legends” group and players from the 1970s onwards, not every Test cricketer.
Averages are career figures. Percentiles are worked out by linear interpolation, the same way a spreadsheet’s PERCENTILE function does it.