'Sir Adam' shows value of never giving up

His teammates may jokingly now refer to him as "Sir Adam Voges" for achieving a career average that is currently better than Bradman's final mark, but the Western Australian is deadly serious about making every innings in the Baggy Green count.

Voges' unbeaten 176 on the second day of the first Trans-Tasman Test in Wellington took him on a record-breaking spree that saw him reach stumps with a career average of 100.33 from 19 innings.

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Bradman famously finished his career with a mark of 99.94 from 52 Tests. Voges has played just 14 Tests and while his current career mark is certainly Bradman-esque, only the foolhardy would suggest the 36-year-old is on a par with Australian cricket’s ultimate icon.

Bradman v Voges: Test stats after 19 innings

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What Voges has done, however is grasp his opportunity in Baggy Green like few others.

Former Australia opener Chris Rogers, who made the most of his second chance at forging a Test career when recalled for the 2013 Ashes five years after making his debut, paid tribute to Voges' tenacity.

"I can remember not long ago having a conversation with him and him pretty much saying that he'd been told he wasn't going to play for Australia again and now look at him," Rogers told Optus Sport's Across the Ditch show.

That 'never play for Australia again' chat centred on Voges' one-day international aspirations. He had played 31 ODIs before the 2013-14 home summer, but found himself down the pecking order for a middle order berth behind Michael Clarke and George Bailey.

Indeed, Bailey's outstanding performances in Voges' last ODI series – in India in October 2013 – catapulted the Tasmanian into the Test team. Voges went back to the Sheffield Shield, scored 769 runs at 54.92 and kept trying.

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"It shows you should never give up, you just never know when that next opportunity's going to come up and then you've just got to make it count," Rogers added.

"I think if you're going to be one of the older players you have to be one of the better players and that's what he's doing. He's making the No.5 spot his. It's not up for grabs anymore, that's his role.

"He's been doing it now for a couple of years, he averaged over 100 in a Shield season which is no mean feat and now he's averaging 100 in Test cricket.

"Something's clicked for him. Whatever it is, bottle it, it is amazing.

"He's got a good defence and he can rely on that but he's an intelligent player, he makes good decisions and he gets the job done. He's not a flair player, he's not looking for the publicity, he's just getting the job done. "

Fellow centurion Usman Khawaja, enjoying a purple patch of his own that has extended throughout the Australian summer, joked that Voges might be on his way to a knighthood, joining Bradman who is the only Australian cricketer to be so honoured. 

"Sir Adam Voges I think we'll start calling him now... absolutely amazing," Khawaja told Optus Sport's Across the Ditch.

"He's defying all logic at the moment, batting beautifully, obviously got a little bit of luck yesterday but I mean today was absolutely flawless and that's what you expect and that's what you want from your batsmen, to capitalise on anything.

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"The way he's played over the last year or two years has been absolutely amazing."

Khawaja credited much of his own run of form with scoring a century on his return to the Test team, against New Zealand at the Gabba back in November. The Queensland Bulls batsman drew parallels with Voges introduction to Test cricket, with a century on debut in Dominica against the West Indies last winter.

"He came in and got a hundred straight off the bat and I'm sure ... whatever doubts he may have had ... he knew he was there for a period of time and he could just play cricket and he's just flowed on from there," Khawaja added.

"I'm a big believer in giving guys a go and letting them feel comfortable and letting them just play, pick your best team and sticking with it.

"It didn't really happen over the course of probably about the last five years but the philosophy's changed a little bit from that time so I think we're just reaping the rewards now."