In the game of cricket, the most reliable statistic for measuring the ability of a batsperson. Batting average is determined by the total runs scored divided by the number of times out. Anything over 40 is generally considered to be competent, and anything over 50 marks you as an elite player.

And if you average 99.94, that means you're Sir Donald Bradman, and you're roughly twice as good as anybody else who's ever played the game of cricket.

The top ten of all time, as at November 2001, are:

DG Bradman     99.94 
RG Pollock     60.97 
GA Headley     60.83 
H Sutcliffe    60.73 
E Paynter      59.23 
KF Barrington  58.67 
ED Weekes      58.61 
WR Hammond     58.45 
GS Sobers      57.78
SR Tendulkar   57.63