Fab Fours

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On 29th August 2014, Martin Crowe anointed a "Fab Four" Test batters:



Four players aged 25 or under, who he believed would be the future of Test batting. At that time, each had played at least 20 Test matches and only Joe Root boasted an average of 41 or over, but the reason this has become such a seminal article and term is because it aged so well over the following decade.

What I'm going to do is backtrack through Test history to retrospectively anoint my own "Fab Fours" for each decade. My rules will be as follows:

• A new "Fab Four" will be crowned every 10 years (2024, 2014, 2004, etc)
• Every player must have played Test cricket at that time
• Every player will be aged 25 or under at time of selection

This won't be a comprehensive list of the very best batters ever to have played - just a list of the best prospects at an arbitrary set of intervals.

Year		Batters					Bowlers
2024		Brook	Jaiswal	Kamindu	Ravindra		Shaheen	Jansen	O'Rourke	Seales
2014		Kohli	Root	Smith	Williamson		Boult	Jadeja	Pattinson	Southee

 

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2024 "Fab Four" Test Batters


Harry Brook (age 25)
1,536 runs @ 56.88 (SR: 88.17, 5 centuries, best 186) in 17 Test matches

As important as how many runs Harry Brook scores is how he scored them: zooming along at around a run a ball in most of his big innings, and proactive in how he hits bowlers off their lines and lengths, he has been the poster child for England's new "Bazball" style. He has made a dominant start to his Test career, and he has the potential to change how players approach Test batting entirely.

Yashasvi Jaiswal (age 22)
1,028 runs @ 68.53 (SR: 70.07, 3 centuries, best 214*) in 9 Test matches

The most promising young opening batter in a decade or more, Yashasvi Jaiswal is the ultimate rags to riches story after quite literally living in a tent for three years so that he could pursue his cricketing ambitions. Putting aside what that might say about a specific element of Indian society, it shines a light on the magnitude of Jaiswal's achievements, which recently included back-to-back Test double centuries against England in the Anthony de Mello Trophy. Teams have yet to find his weaknesses.

Kamindu Mendis (age 25)
631 runs @ 78.87 (SR: 61.98, 3 centuries, best 164) in 5 Test matches

Sri Lanka's newest batting prospect had initially made headlines for his ambidextrous bowling, but it is with the bat that he is world class. A first class batting average well over 60 has immediately translated into a stellar start on the Test stage. His biggest challenge will be maintaining this kind of output as he moves up the Sri Lankan batting order, and he is already earmarking himself as a captaincy prospect with his calm approach at the highest level.

Rachin Ravindra (age 24)
519 runs @ 39.92 (SR: 49.28, 1 century, best 240) in 7 Test matches

So far, a huge chunk of Ravindra's Test runs have come in one massive innings, but he earns a little extra credit for his outstanding performances in the 2023 Cricket World Cup. Clearly demonstrating his fondness for the big stage, Ravindra hit three centuries in the tournament while batting all around the top four positions. His ambition must surely be to make one of those positions his own across formats, and then to master a consistent role in the team.

Unlucky to miss out
Cameron Green (age 24)
1,377 runs @ 36.23 (SR: 48.57, 2 centuries, best 174*) in 28 Test matches

Cameron Green has been a domestic giant as well as a literal giant, but he's so far struggled to translate that onto the international stage where the chinks in his armour can be attacked by relentlessly skilled bowlers. Even as his match-defining 174* against New Zealand suggested he might be turning the corner, there are still clear things Green needs to figure out before he can make it into a list like this: what is his role; is he a number four batter or an all-rounder? And can he figure out a way to rotate the strike rather than progressing in dots and fours?

 

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2024 "Fab Four" Test Bowlers



Down with the batriarchy: we're doing bowlers' lists as well.

Shaheen Shah Afridi (age 24)
115 wickets @ 27.08 (SR: 52.2, 4 5WI, best 6/51) in 30 Test matches

Experienced and grizzled beyond his years, Shaheen Shah Afridi has led the Pakistani pace attack on some of the most turgid pitches seen in Test cricket this century. He has done an admirable job, but it is a worry that he has been asked to do so much - in all formats - at such a young age. Regardless, he was the first name on this list because even if he never played another Test match he would already have had an outstanding career.

Marco Jansen (age 24)
49 wickets @ 22.79 (SR: 40.4, 1 5WI, best 5/35) in 13 Test matches

If you had to draw the ideal fast bowler, they'd probably be about 6'8", left-handed, and although it's quite hard to show in a photo, able to swing it round corners. Well congratulations, you've just drawn Marco Jansen. South Africa's latest from their production line of world class fast bowlers, he has proven himself to be too good for the vast majority of his opponents, and he will only continue to improve. Even better, there are two of him so South Africa have a spare.

Will O'Rourke (age 23)
11 wickets @ 17.36 (SR: 36.5, 1 5WI, best 5/34) in 2 Test matches

This is a really early call as his Test career is only two matches old, but Will O'Rourke has arrived in Test cricket by hitting the seam hard at 150 kph. Any movement at that pace is scientifically unplayable, and it was certainly too good for the scratch South African team he faced up to on debut. New Zealand's challenge will be keeping him fit and confident as he starts to face more challenging Test opposition.

Jayden Seales (age 22)
62 wickets @ 23.67 (SR: 39.3, 2 5WI, best 6/61) in 15 Test matches

Jayden Seales arrived at Test level as a fully formed megatalent. His strengths and style align best with Kagiso Rabada - he's not necessarily the best in the world at any one aspect of fast bowling, but he's so excellent at every element of the craft (accuracy, pace, seam, swing, stamina) that he is undoubtedly amongst the best in the world. An absolutely relentless bowler who can and will trouble the best in the world.

Unlucky to miss out
Hasan Mahmud (age 24)
9 wickets @ 27.44 (SR: 48.0, best 4/65) in 2 Test matches

When you watch him bowl, you can tell that Hasan Mahmud grew up watching Dale Steyn bowl: his action is a carbon copy of the all-time great. If he can continue to develop his skills, which currently include good accuracy and a great out-swinger, he can go on to become his country's first great Test fast bowler.

 

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2014's Test batters have, quite famously already been done. So we will move straight onto...

2014 "Fab Four" Test Bowlers



Trent Boult (age 25)
91 wickets @ 27.45 (SR: 55.7, 3 5WI, best 6/40) in 25 Test matches

Trent Boult's skill with the new ball has made him one of the best in the world, and one half of a new-ball pair that both appear on this list. His angle and late movement mean that even the best right-handers find their heads falling over to the off side, and their front pads being struck squarely by cricket balls that would otherwise knock the stumps over. Boult's fitness and resilience are also exemplary: his repeatable action allows him to bowl long spells without dropping his pace.

Ravindra Jadeja (age 25)
45 wickets @ 30.37 (SR: 76.0, 2 5WI, best 6/138) in 12 Test matches

A more defensive bowler than most, and the only spinner on this list, Jadeja's two superpowers are his accuracy, which allow him to bowl 30 overs in a day with scarcely a bad ball, and his ability to also contribute with the bat and in the field, which have allowed him to make a place in the Indian team his own at a younger age than most spinners. Jadeja can look forward to a long career of not conceding runs for India.

James Pattinson (age 24)
51 wickets @ 27.07 (SR: 50.0, 3 5WI, best 5/27) in 13 Test matches

Big, imposing and hostile, James Pattinson's main competition is not with other fast bowlers but with his own body. When fully fit, he is a wicket-taking machine, but the worry is how easily he will be able to remain fit. His pace and skills have allowed him to thrive in conditions where no other fast bowlers manage to: most famously during his five-wicket haul at Chepauk, or his astonishing haul at the SCG when he took out Gambhir, Sehwag, Laxman, Tendulkar and Kohli in a single stunning performance.

Tim Southee (age 25)
123 wickets @ 29.83 (SR: 60.0, 4 5WI, best 7/64) in 34 Test matches

It's scarcely believable that Southee is still only 25 given that he got his start so young, but he is already the senior bowler - the attack leader - for New Zealand. He is perhaps more a bowler of great spells than an outright great bowler, but he is still so dependable the rest of the time that he remains a reliable leader of the New Zealand attack, and a perfect swing bowling partner for Trent Boult.

Unlucky to miss out
Junaid Khan (age 24)
65 wickets @ 28.83 (SR: 60.7, 5 5WI, best 5/38) in 18 Test matches

Junaid very nearly made this list, especially given his knack for taking wickets in clumps. He narrowly misses out because he hasn't really been tested against the world's best players of fast bowling, and thus his record slightly flatters him.

 

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2004 "Fab Four" Test Batters



Jacques Rudolph (Age 23)
1,117 runs @ 48.56 (SR: 44.15, 4 centuries, best 222*) in 16 Test matches

Rudolph made a historically good start to his Test career and has so far gone from strength to strength by maintaining an average of just under 50. Blessed with a balanced stance, limitless patience and enough strokes to take advantage of a long stay at the crease, Rudolph could fit anywhere in the batting order - which is a useful trait considering the competition for places in the South African XI. He's never going to take the game by the scruff of the neck, but he can absolutely grind an opponent out of the game.

Ramnaresh Sarwan (Age 24)
3,401 runs @ 40.97 (SR: 43.83, 6 centuries, best 261*) in 50 Test matches

Sarwan made his start in Test cricket at a very young age, and has pushed on to reach 50 Test caps before the age of 25. He has been successful enough at number three that the great Brian Lara has moved himself to number four, and already there have been big highlights. First came the fourth-innings 105 that helped West Indies reach a record-breaking target against Australia, then he went on to absolutely fill his boots against Bangladesh with an unbeaten 261. Easy runs perhaps, but he still had to get them.

Virender Sehwag (Age 25)
1,951 runs @ 52.72 (SR: 73.12, 6 centuries, best 309) in 23 Test matches

Nobody saw Virender Sehwag coming as an opener, but he has been a revelation in the role: headline performances have included the Boxing Day 195 against Australia in 2003, and the tireless 309 against Pakistan at Multan. His average sits comfortably above 50, and Sehwag plays with the confidence to match. All he really needs to complete him is a reliable opening partner who isn't Aakash Chopra.

Graeme Smith (Age 23)
2,350 runs @ 57.31 (SR: 62.13, 7 centuries, best 277) in 26 Test matches

At only 23 years of age, Graeme Smith has already cemented his place as South African Test captain, star player, and one of the very best batters in the world. Not only that but when he goes big, he goes big: the 2003 Lord's Test in which he made 259 marked his third Test double-century in only his 12th Test match and 17th innings. Smith's method is not pretty, but it is highly effective - as Darren Gough can no doubt attest.

Unlucky to miss out
Taufeeq Umar (Age 23)
1,610 runs @ 42.36 (SR: 45.53, 4 centuries, best 135) in 22 Test matches

He made a great start to his Test career, but there were two things counting against him: firstly that his runs came significantly against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, and secondly that the Pakistan selectors don't believe in him enough to back him through a run of lower scores. Besides, who from that "Fab Four" could he have replaced?