There is some considerable discussion as Usman Khawaja nears his 38th birthday as to whether turning 40 is just a number or if it really spells the end of a Test player’s career.
Of the nearly 3,000 players to have played Test cricket, only 103 of them have done so over the age of 40. Of that number only 17 have done so since 1980. In the decade prior to that, six players finished their careers after they had turned 40.
Memorably, Colin Cowdrey flew over from England following injuries to other players to battle the lethal combination of Lillee and Thomson who had inflicted the injuries in the 1974-75 Ashes series. He was joined in the battle by spinner Fred Titmus, also in his 40s. Lance Gibbs passed the 307 career wickets of Fred Trueman a year later and promptly called a day on his celebrated career. Brian Close, Bevan Congdon and the recalled Bobby Simpson also played their last Tests during this decade.
In the early days and up until WWII, this was more common than it is today, with England’s Wilfred Rhodes, WG Grace and George Gunn, as well as Australia’s ‘Dainty’ Ironmonger all playing into their 50s. In this period as well, six of the eight players who actually debuted in Test cricket in their 40s played.
Usman Khawaja. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
However, since 1980 it has been significantly less common. Misbah-ul-Haq of Pakistan is the first player since Jack Hobbs and Patsy Hendren in the 1930s to score 1000 Test runs after turning 40; although in fairness, Geoff Boycott scored 999! Alec Stewart and Bob Taylor were English wicketkeepers of the modern era who, despite calls to be replaced by younger players, kept wickets well into their 40s. English spinners Eddie Hemmings and John Emburey also both played into their 40s.
Modern giants of the game Clive Lloyd and Sachin Tendulkar both played till after the age of 40, with some claims that the latter continued playing to chalk up 200 Test matches – a record unlikely to be broken – at the expense of younger Indian players coming through.
Graham Gooch is the only relatively modern player to have scored a double century past his 40th birthday. Zimbabwe’s Dave Houghton also played into his 40s alongside off-spinner John Traicos, who played until 46 having debuted at 22 in South Africa’s last pre-apartheid ban series.
Had Traicos remained in South Africa, he would likely have played alongside Jimmy Cook who at 38 played for two more years following South Africa’s readmittance to Test cricket, as well as Omar Henry who like many earlier players debuted in his 40s.
Leg-spinner Somachandra de Silva of Sri Lanka, West Indian great Shivnarine Chanderpaul and England’s James Anderson round out the players who have played on to 40 since 1980.
James Anderson of England leaves the field after his final Test appearance. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
It seems that in some ways, contrary to logic, fewer players are now playing into their 40s. It seems players are more often extending their careers into the later thirties but relatively few of them are staying on past the age of 40.
So despite developments in diet, training methods, injury management, and other strategies to better manage player welfare, as well as the financial rewards now in the game to look after players post-retirement, it seems that empirical evidence suggests that 40 is not just a number.
Individual records for players vary greatly as they age, with some players who appear to be suffering from the effects of aging through their 30s having a golden summer at some stage, proving the “form is temporary, class is permanent” adage. Other players form, however, just continues to slide until they retire or are forced out.
There can never be an ironclad rule covering all players and all situations. It would seem that despite having every conceivable advantage and reason to prolong their careers, there are fewer players staying at the crease beyond 40.
So while these two indicators continue to move in different directions, it would seem that 40 is not just a number but an indication that if a player has not already retired, then the last rites are certainly being administered over their career.