20 batsmen whose Test average never dipped below 40: Part 1

(14) Frank Worrell (West Indies): 1948-1963

Frank Worrell leads his team to the ground in his final test series.

Matches: 51, Runs: 3860, Average: 49.49, Highest: 261, 100/50: 9/22.

Lowest Career Average: 49.49 (51st Test)

A batsman maintaining an average in excess of 40 is an amazing feat regardless, but it is all the more extraordinary in the case of Frank Worrell. Worrell's career lasted 16 years, but he played a mere 51 tests.

To maintain such consistency despite playing so few matches is quite astonishing. Frank Worrell made his test debut against England in the 2nd test of the 1948 series. The first test saw Everton Weekes and Clyde Walcott made their test debut, and in the next test, the three W's played together for the first time.

Worrell had a much better start to his career than his contemporaries. He narrowly missed out on a hundred in his first innings as he was dismissed for 97. Worrell did not have to wait for long, he scored 131" in the next test.

Worrell finished the series with 294 runs as West Indies won the series 2-0. Worrell, alongside Weekes, Walcott, Sobers, and Hunte formed the backbone of the team in the 1950s and made them the leading team of the decade.

Worrell continued on his merry ways with the bat. He completed 1000 runs in his 10th test, 2000 in the 22nd and 3000 in his 36th test, all the while maintaining an average in excess of 50. Worrell was appointed the captain of the West Indies team ahead of the 1960 tour to Australia.

West Indies lost the series, but Worrell united the dysfunctional team and won thousands of fans in Australia. Ultimately, the series between the two powerhouses was named after him

Worrell's last act on the cricket field was the 1963 tour to England. He struggled to score any runs but led his team admirably to a 3-1 victory. He announced his retirement soon after but continued to serve West Indian cricket to his utmost ability.

Worrell played 51 tests in his career and scored 3860 runs. Worrell scored 9 hundreds in his career, including 2 double hundreds and 3 other scores of 150+. Worrell played 87 innings in his test career and only thrice was his average below 50. His lowest career average of 49.49, which came after his final test innings was one such.