Played 42, won 0

Graham Dilley, the former England fast bowler who died on October 5, was part of remarkably few Test wins despite having a record most cricketers would gladly settle for. Dilley's victories - Headingley 1981 and Brisbane 1986-87 - were memorable and came in successful Ashes campaigns, but they were his only successes in a 41-Test career. His win/loss ratio is among the lowest for Test bowlers with averages of less than 30. This week's column is about cricketers who were part of few wins despite possessing impressive individual records.

Bert Sutcliffe, the former New Zealand batsman, played one more Test than Dilley did, but his team didn't win any of them. His 42-Test career is the record for the longest without a victory. Sutcliffe finished as New Zealand's second-highest run-scorer, with 2727 runs at an average of 40.10, having missed the three Tests his country won during his career (1947 to 1965) - at Eden Park in 1956, and at Newlands and in Port Elizabeth in 1962.

Charlie Davis played in 15 out of West Indies' 25 Tests between December 1968 and April 1973. He made 1301 runs at an average of 54.20, with four centuries and four fifties in 29 innings but was never part of a Test win. West Indies beat only New Zealand, in Auckland in 1969, during his period and Davis was not part of that team.

Lowest win/loss ratios for batsmen with Test averages over 40 (qualification - 20 innings)

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	100	50		Won	Draw	Lost	W/L
B Sutcliffe (NZ)	1947-1965	42	76	8	2727	230*	40.10	5	15		0	19	23	0.00
CA Davis (WI)	1968-1973	15	29	5	1301	183	54.20	4	4		0	10	5	0.00
AD Nourse (SA)	1935-1951	34	62	7	2960	231	53.81	9	14		2	15	17	0.11
DL Houghton (Zim)	1992-1997	22	36	2	1464	266	43.05	4	4		1	13	8	0.12
JD Ryder (NZ)	2008-2011	16	29	2	1211	201	44.85	3	6		1	8	7	0.14
EAB Rowan (SA)	1935-1951	26	50	5	1965	236	43.66	3	12		2	12	12	0.16
MW Goodwin (Zim)	1998-2000	19	37	4	1414	166*	42.84	3	8		2	5	12	0.16
HW Taylor (SA)	1912-1932	42	76	4	2936	176	40.77	7	17		4	15	23	0.17
A Flower (Zim)	1992-2002	63	112	19	4794	232*	51.54	12	27		7	22	34	0.20
B Mitchell (SA)	1929-1949	42	80	9	3471	189*	48.88	8	21		4	21	17	0.23
LRPL Taylor (NZ)	2007-2011	30	55	1	2221	154*	41.12	5	12		4	10	16	0.25
VS Hazare (India)	1946-1953	30	52	6	2192	164*	47.65	7	9		3	16	11	0.27
KS Ranjitsinhji (Eng)	1896-1902	15	26	4	989	175	44.95	2	6		2	6	7	0.28
RR Sarwan (WI)	2000-2011	87	154	8	5842	291	40.01	15	31		14	28	45	0.31
Saeed Ahmed (Pak)	1958-1973	41	78	4	2991	172	40.41	5	16		5	20	16	0.31
JDB Robertson (Eng)	1947-1952	11	21	2	881	133	46.36	2	6		1	7	3	0.33
GM Turner (NZ)	1969-1983	41	73	6	2991	259	44.64	7	14		6	17	18	0.33
PR Umrigar (India)	1948-1962	59	94	8	3631	223	42.22	12	14		8	30	21	0.38
CH Gayle (WI)	2000-2010	91	159	6	6373	333	41.65	13	33		17	31	43	0.39
AH Jones (NZ)	1987-1995	39	74	8	2922	186	44.27	7	11		6	19	14	0.42
S Chanderpaul (WI)	1994-2011	133	227	36	9367	203*	49.04	23	55		28	43	62	0.45
RA Smith (Eng)	1988-1996	62	112	15	4236	175	43.67	9	28		14	20	28	0.50
BC Lara (ICC/WI)	1990-2006	131	232	6	11953	400*	52.88	34	48		32	36	63	0.50
PA de Silva (SL)	1984-2002	93	159	11	6361	267	42.97	20	22		19	38	36	0.52
DB Vengsarkar (India)	1976-1992	116	185	22	6868	166	42.13	17	35		18	64	34	0.52
M Amarnath (India)	1969-1988	69	113	10	4378	138	42.50	11	24		12	33	23	0.53
GA Headley (WI)	1930-1954	22	40	4	2190	270*	60.83	10	5		5	8	9	0.55
GA Faulkner (SA)	1906-1924	25	47	4	1754	204	40.79	4	8		8	3	14	0.57
Hanif Mohammad (Pak)	1952-1969	55	97	8	3915	337	43.98	12	15		9	31	15	0.60
Misbah-ul-Haq (Pak)	2001-2011	26	46	8	1712	161*	45.05	3	12		6	10	10	0.60

Among present batsmen with Test averages of more than 40, the lowest win/loss ratios belong to Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor. Ryder averages nearly 45 but his only Test win in 16 matches was against Bangladesh in Chittagong in 2008. Taylor averages 41 after 30 Tests but has been part of only four victories.

Jack Cowie, the fast bowler, played for New Zealand between 1937 and 1949, when they were good at drawing Tests, not winning them. Cowie took 41 wickets at an average of 21, but New Zealand drew seven and lost two of those nine Tests. He is the first on the list of bowlers with averages below 30 and the lowest win-loss ratios.

Kemar Roach has the lowest win-loss ratio among present bowlers who average below 30 in Tests. Roach has 40 wickets at 29.90 each but West Indies have won only one of his 12 Tests, against Pakistan in Providence in 2011. That match and the victory at St George's Park against South Africa in 2007 are the only two wins Roach's captain, Darren Sammy, has been part of after 16 Tests.

Lowest win/loss ratios for bowlers with Test averages less than 30 (qualification - 2000 balls)

Player	Span	Mat	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	Ave	5		Won	Draw	Lost	W/L
J Cowie (NZ)	1937-1949	9	2028	969	45	6/40	21.53	4		0	7	2	0.00
CB Llewellyn (SA)	1896-1912	15	2292	1421	48	6/92	29.60	4		1	2	12	0.08
HC Griffith (WI)	1928-1933	13	2663	1243	44	6/103	28.25	2		1	2	10	0.10
BR Taylor (NZ)	1965-1973	30	6334	2953	111	7/74	26.60	4		2	13	15	0.13
GR Dilley (Eng)	1979-1989	41	8192	4107	138	6/38	29.76	6		2	24	15	0.13
KAJ Roach (WI)	2009-2011	12	2294	1196	40	6/48	29.90	2		1	5	6	0.16
DW Headley (Eng)	1997-1999	15	3026	1671	60	6/60	27.85	1		2	3	10	0.20
HH Streak (Zim)	1993-2005	65	13559	6079	216	6/73	28.14	7		8	20	37	0.21
FJ Cameron (NZ)	1961-1965	19	4570	1849	62	5/34	29.82	3		2	8	9	0.22
JN Crawford (Eng)	1906-1908	12	2203	1150	39	5/48	29.48	3		2	2	8	0.25
RO Collinge (NZ)	1965-1978	35	7689	3393	116	6/63	29.25	3		4	15	16	0.25
SP Gupte (India)	1951-1961	36	11284	4403	149	9/102	29.55	12		3	22	11	0.27
JJ Ferris (Aus/Eng)	1887-1892	9	2302	775	61	7/37	12.70	6		2	0	7	0.28
DJG Sammy (WI)	2007-2011	16	2992	1347	46	7/66	29.28	4		2	7	7	0.28
AIC Dodemaide (Aus)	1987-1992	10	2184	953	34	6/58	28.02	1		1	6	3	0.33
Mohammad Amir (Pak)	2009-2010	14	2867	1484	51	6/84	29.09	3		3	2	9	0.33
CTB Turner (Aus)	1887-1895	17	5179	1670	101	7/43	16.53	11		4	2	11	0.36
JJC Lawson (WI)	2002-2005	13	2364	1512	51	7/78	29.64	2		3	2	8	0.37
RG Nadkarni (India)	1955-1968	41	9165	2559	88	6/43	29.07	4		7	17	17	0.41
Mohammad Asif (Pak)	2005-2010	23	5171	2583	106	6/41	24.36	7		6	4	13	0.46
C Blythe (Eng)	1901-1910	19	4546	1863	100	8/59	18.63	9		5	4	10	0.50
ST Clarke (WI)	1978-1982	11	2477	1170	42	5/126	27.85	1		1	8	2	0.50
RM Ellison (Eng)	1984-1986	11	2264	1048	35	6/77	29.94	3		3	2	6	0.50
Mushtaq Mohammad (Pak)	1959-1979	57	5260	2309	79	5/28	29.22	3		9	31	17	0.52
RM Hogg (Aus)	1978-1984	38	7633	3503	123	6/74	28.47	6		9	13	16	0.56
SB Doull (NZ)	1992-2000	32	6053	2872	98	7/65	29.30	6		9	7	16	0.56
GA Faulkner (SA)	1906-1924	25	4227	2180	82	7/84	26.58	4		8	3	14	0.57
BS Chandrasekhar (India)	1964-1979	58	15963	7199	242	8/79	29.74	16		14	20	24	0.58
BS Bedi (India)	1966-1979	67	21364	7637	266	7/98	28.71	14		17	22	28	0.60
GE Palmer (Aus)	1880-1886	17	4517	1678	78	7/65	21.51	6		5	4	8	0.62