Adam Voges retires: End of a Bradmanesque fairytale

Of all cricketers who have had strangest of careers in cricket, Adam Voges’ stints in two separate parts will feature somewhere at the top.

Of all cricketers who have had strangest of careers in cricket, Adam Voges’ stints in two separate parts will feature somewhere at the top. He made his Test debut at 35, at least one-and-a-half years after he had played his last limited-overs match for Australia. Voges struck a century at Dominica against West Indies, becoming the oldest to a triple-figure score on debut. This is not all; his Test batting average remained in 90s for a while, which saw Voges slamming two double centuries in just 20 Tests. Now, with his announcement that ‘this will be it’ in international cricket, Voges will remain right behind no less than Sir Donald Bradman with best batting averages in Test cricket for a 20-match cut-off, maybe for a very long time to come.

Voges’ journey was no less than a fairytale; after all, how many cricketers get their Test caps at the age of 35, and they make it even more memorable with a century on debut? He remained a jewel in Australia’s ‘Dad’s Army’ in England for the Ashes 2015, keeping the world bemused over his selection in the first three Tests despite repeated failures. Voges ended that horrendous tour with two characteristic fifties, and thus began a journey that kept the cricket world glued as he went on to smash records set by likes of Bradman and Sachin Tendulkar. ALSO READ – Adam Voges displays batting prowess and how!

The mention of Bradman came when Voges surpassed his iconic batting average of 99.94. By then, he had already amassed 1,200 Test runs out of his total tally of 1,485. But, the best phase that he enjoyed as a Test batsman was in the series against New Zealand and West Indies; each of the teams saw Voges hammering double centuries.

Voges will enjoy being in this elite company for a while now (for a cut-off of at least 20 Tests):

Tendulkar was left behind when Voges completed 500 Test runs without being dismissed in consecutive Test innings, in February 2016. He achieved the monumental feat during his 239 against New Zealand at Wellington, having already scored 106* and 269* in his previous two Test innings. The Little Master held the record of scoring 497 runs without being dismissed since April 2004, but Voges went past him and broke the 500-run barrier. ALSO READ – Adam Voges: Bradmanesque or insanely lucky?

Voges always had a liking for West Indies. His only ODI century — 112 at Melbourne in February 2013 came against the team from the Caribbean and so did his maiden T20I fifty. Voges’ 33-ball 51 not out was his final act for Australia in T20Is; the venue and the opposition remained the same.

It is tough to decide who bore the brunt off Voges’ bat: New Zealand or West Indies. Against New Zealand, he played 5 Tests, smacked 594 runs, brought up two centuries and as many fifties, and averaged 99. Voges was severe on the West Indies too; in 5 Tests he garnered 542 runs with 3 centuries in 4 innings; averaging a mind-boggling 542.

In the list of batsmen with highest batting averages against New Zealand, Voges is at the fifth position:

But, against West Indies, he is likely to remain at the top for a very long time.

If there were exhilarating highs, then there were abasing lows and Voges and Australia would still be wishing if they came at some other time. Australia had two poor series in mid 2016, and Voges was gone by the end of them.

Voges went to Sri Lanka and featured in all three Tests. In a series wherein Australia were thoroughly beaten 0-3, Voges made a mere 118 runs in 6 innings at 19.66. His career, however, came to an unpredicted end when South Africa went on to register their third consecutive series win in Australia.

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