5 batters who have the best average in 4th innings in Tests
To score runs in the last innings of a Test match is a real task for any batter. It requires a lot of skill and effort for any batter to score for his respective team in the run-chase. Often it becomes really difficult to pile up the runs because of the pressure of the target set by the opposition team. Still, many players have achieved a great average in the fourth innings of Test matches.
Let’s take a look at 5 batters who have the best average in 4th innings of Test matches (min 40 innings played)
5.Chris Gayle (42.12)
Surprisingly, the Universe Boss and the legend of T20 cricket make the cut in this list of Test cricket. The swashbuckling left-handed Jamaican opener averages 42.12 in the fourth innings of the longest format of the game. In 43 innings, West Indies batter Gayle has scored 1390 runs with 13 fifties and the highest score of 82. Ten times he has remained unbeaten in the last innings.
4.Desmond Haynes (43.68)
Another West Indian Desmond Haynes boasted an average of 43.68 in the fourth innings. In 45 innings, the right-handed batter had amassed 1092 runs with the highest score of unbeaten 112 runs. He had smashed two centuries and four half-centuries as 20 times he remained not out in the final innings of Test matches.
3.Ricky Ponting (50.41)
Australia’s legendary skipper and batter Ricky Ponting achieved a solid average of 50.41 in the final innings. In 43 innings, the former right-handed batter mustered 1462 runs with four centuries and six half-centuries and 14 not outs. His knock of 156 runs in Manchester in the Ashes 2005 series is still remembered by many as he helped his side in securing a draw.
2.Younis Khan (50.51)
Former Pakistani batter Younis Khan has the second-best average in the fourth innings. With an average of 50.51, Younis has scored 1465 runs in 40 innings. The right-handed batter remained unbeaten 11 times and had slammed five hundred and six fifties with the highest score of 171* which helped Pakistan in chasing 377 runs against Sri Lanka in Pallekele in 2015.
1.Greame Smith (51.96)
Former Proteas skipper Graeme Smith has the highest average in the last innings. The left-handed batter amassed 1611 runs in 41 innings with a classy average of 51.96. He slammed four tons and nine half-centuries with the highest score of 154*. Ten times Smith remained not out in the fourth innings of Test matches.
