November 4, 1938 – Birthday of the leading run-getter in FC cricket who never played a Test

There is a whole list of players who were unlucky to never play for the national team but among them, the name that would appear on the top is that of England’s Alan Jones as the Glamorgan-born cricketer never got to play Test cricket even after featuring over 600 first-class matches and scoring 30,000 runs. Alan’s luck haunted him when he represented England against the Rest of World XI in a game at the Lord’s which was later announced as an unofficial game by the ICC and gained only an FC status.

With 36,049 runs in 645 matches which include 56 centuries, Jones holds the record for scoring the most runs without ever playing a Test match. He also featured in 288 List A matches in his career scoring 7157 runs but never get to play an ODI either. His brother, Eifion Jones, a wicketkeeper, featured in 405 FC games and 295 List A encounters but like the elder brother never played an International game.

Most runs in first-class cricket without playing a Test match:

1947 – Rodney Marsh:

The Australian wicketkeeper Rodney Marsh is well known for raising the standards of keeping as he took 343 catches and effected 12 stumpings in this 96-match Test career. His dismissals stood as a record for over a decade before Ian Healy, Adam Gilchrist and Mark Boucher surpassed the great man. Often regarded as Iron Gloves, the keeper from Western Australia took 95 catches off Dennis Lillee’s bowling, which is still a record.

1967 – Asif Mujtaba:

Asif Mujtaba amassed 17932 runs at an average of 49.39 in his first-class career but all he got to play was 25 Test matches in 11 years between 1986 and 1997. The left-handed batsman was more than a handy bowler as he bagged 367 wickets in his 291-match FC career with left-arm spin. He featured in 66 ODIs in with his career highlight being the 1992 ODI against Australia where he hit 16 runs in the final over in Hobart including a last-ball six to tie the game.

1985 – John Hastings:

John Hastings could have been one of the most diverse players to play for his country but a career marred by injuries cut it down to mere 39 games across the three formats. He recently announced his retirement from Test and ODI cricket after suffering a back injury ahead of the new season. With an average under 30 in all formats with the ball and around 20s with the bat, Hastings comes across as one of the biggest hitters and has been playing that role for his T20 teams in the various leagues.