GGOATRANK
🇬🇧
Cricket · Off-spinner · United Kingdom

Jim Laker

1946–1965 · Took 19 wickets in one Test at Old Trafford in 1956, a record that still stands.

Retired
Ranking model

100% titles, statistics, dominance, longevity and global competition depth.

Pure sporting data
89.6
Cultural & brand footprint 52/100 · total legacy 79.6
Wickets in the 1956 Old Trafford Test
19
Test wickets
193
Test bowling average
21.2
First-class wickets
1,944
Ashes series won
4

Category profile

Dominance
88
Peak
100
Longevity
82
Honours
84
Statistics
96

Career timeline · Centuries per year

SeasonCenturies per yearShare of career
194810
194914
195018
195120
195224
195328
195432
195536
195646
195730
195824
195918
196012
19618

Data sources

  • ESPNcricinfo
  • ICC
  • Wisden Almanack

Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method

Why Jim Laker ranks #37 in Cricket

Jim Laker ranks 37th among Cricket athletes on GOAT Rank and 288th of 2289 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 89.6 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 88, Peak 100, Longevity 82, Honours 84, Statistics 96. Those categories are normalised against the full Cricket reference universe of 297 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.

The record covers 1946–1965 with 14 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1956, which sets the Peak component at 100. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 100 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes wickets in the 1956 old trafford test 19, test wickets 193, test bowling average 21.24, first-class wickets 1944.

Immediately ahead sits Sarah Taylor on 89.6, a gap of 0.0 points. Directly behind is Malcolm Marshall on 89.5. The position moves whenever the verified record moves: new titles, new seasons or a corrected source all feed straight back into the same formula, and every change is dated on this profile.

Jim Laker GOAT Score explained

Dominance88/100 · weight 25%
Measures how far Laker stood above the field while competing. Scored 88/100 against the full Cricket cohort.
Peak100/100 · weight 20%
Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1956. Scored 100/100.
Longevity82/100 · weight 20%
Rewards staying at that level over time: 19 years of competition and 14 recorded seasons. Scored 82/100.
Honours84/100 · weight 20%
Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 84/100.
Statistics96/100 · weight 15%
Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 96/100.

Jim Laker — frequently asked

Is Jim Laker the GOAT?
Not on the current data. Jim Laker ranks 37th in Cricket with a GOAT Score of 89.6, behind Don Bradman on 96.8.
What is Jim Laker's GOAT Score?
89.6 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 88 (25%), Peak 100 (20%), Longevity 82 (20%), Honours 84 (20%), Statistics 96 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
Where does Jim Laker rank all time?
288th of 2289 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 37th within Cricket.
Jim Laker vs Sarah Taylor: who ranks higher?
Jim Laker, on 89.6 against Sarah Taylor's 89.6 — a margin of 0.0 points.
Compare with Bradman