Thursday, August 25, 2005

Trent bridge - Vital Stats

Bat first or second?

While most teams prefer to bat first after winning the toss, here are some interesting statistics worth considering; In the last ten Tests, the team batting first has Won 2, Lost 4 and Drawn 4. Looks like the pitch eases after the first day and is a beauty to bat on day 2 & 3.

This should throw up an intresting dilemma for the captains after winning the Toss. Will Ponting repeat what he did at Edgebaston? Or will Vaughan want to change a 'winning habit'? I recon not. I think it will be a 'we will bat first' decision...

What's a good First innings score?

Average first innings score on this ground is 326 but for the last 10 Tests it is 408. England's first innings average score is 325, (overall), 344 (last 1o0 and 271 (against Australia).

Interestingly, England have never lost to Australia after scoring more then 200 in first innings of a match. And the only time a team has lost after scoring 400 in the first innings was England against South Africa in 1951 when they made 419/5dec.

I recon anywhere between 400 and 450 is a winning score. Ok, 420 so the Aussies know they have history against then if they want to beat England :-)

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Twenty Wickets

You need 20 wickets to win a Test match, so I thought it will be interesting to see how Austrlia and England compare in that respect. This analysis is purely mathematical, but it does make interesting reading.

I have taken the Wickets per test as a basis for this analysis and looked at the records of the last 25 Test for the English bolwers and last 50 for the Aussies to reflect their domination periods. Also, since Lee and Kasprowicz have not played in all tests (and rarely together), I have combined their records (25 each).

Ignoring Giles for a moment, if we compare the Stats for Australia and England, we see an interesting scenario:


Austrlia (Wickets per Test)
McGrath-4.62, Warne-5.38, Gillespie-3.52, Lee+Kasprowicz-3.42 (3.56 and 3.28 respectively)

England (wickets per Test)
Harmison-4.32,Hoggard-3.92, Flintoff-3.76, Jones-3.18 (over 17 Tests)

This give the Aussies a 'potential' to take 16.94 or 17 wickets per Test whereas England have a 'potential' to take 15.18 or 15 wickers per Test.

Now add Giles (2.92 wickets per test), to the equation and England have a 'potential' to take 18.1 wickets per Test, thus giving them the edge over the Aussies. Add to the fact that Gillespie is not delivering and Clarke will not be able to bowl anytime soon, its clear that the Aussies have their job cut out to get England out twice. Depending on Warne & McGrath to run through the English batting line-up everytime is going to be a bit ask.

In my opinion, they need a genuine all-rounder to replace Katich and a replacement for Gillespie (only one wont do it). I think Symonds and Kaspa might be an option.

But what do the Aussies do about Hayden who, in Damien Fleming's
words yerterday was made to look like a 'monkey' by Flintoff. But that's a different topic of discussion...

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Closest Draws

This is not the first time that the Aussies have managed a draw after being 9 wickets down. In fact, they have done it three times in the past.

1. Vs the West Indies in 1961 at the Adelaide Oval. Needing 460 to win in 120 overs, the Aussies were reeling at 31/3 at End of day 4. They were then down to 207 for 9 with more than 25 overs left on the last day. KD Mackay (62 no) and last man LF Kline (15 no) hung on for 109 minutes to hold on to a draw. Ritche Benaud played in the game; he should remember (he took 5 wickets and scored 77 in the first innins, but did not do too well with Bat or Ball in the second).

2. Vs the West Indies in 1968/69 at the Adelaide Oval (again). Needing 360 to win on the last day, the Aussies were 333 for 9 with 10 minutes left. AP Sheahan (11 no) and AN Connolly (6 no) hung on for a draw.

3. Vs New Zealand in 1987/88 at Melbourne. Needing 247 to win on the last day, the aussies were sitting pretty at 209 for 5. Hadlee then took 3 wickets (and Brackewell 1) to reduce the Aussies to 227 for 9. CJ McDermott (10 runs in 49 balls) and MR Whitney (2 runs in 18 balls hung on for a draw).

Against England, their closed draw (prior to OldTrafford 2005) was in 1974/75 in Melbourne. Needing 246 to win, they were 238 for 8 when play ended.

And this is not the first time Old trafford has witnessed a close draw. Back in 1946, needing 278 to win, India hung on to a draw and finished on 152/9.

Monday, August 15, 2005

India-Centuries in 4th innings

S Mushtaq Ali 106 WI 1948/49 Kolkata DRAW
VS Hazare 122 WI 1948/49 Mumbai (BS) DRAW
AA Baig 112 Eng 1959 Manchester LOST
PR Umrigar 118 Eng 1959 Manchester LOST
ML Jaisimha 101 Aus 1967/68 Brisbane LOST
SM Gavaskar 117* WI 1970/71 Bridgetown DRAW
SM Gavaskar 102 WI 1975/76 Port of Spain WON
GR Viswanath 112 WI (Same game as above)
SM Gavaskar 113 Aus 1977/78 Brisbane LOST
SM Gavaskar 221 Eng 1979 The Oval DRAW
DB Vengsarkar 146* Pak 1979/80 Delhi DRAW
SV Manjrekar 113* Pak 1989/90 Karachi DRAW
SR Tendulkar 119* Eng 1990 Manchester DRAW
*M Azharuddin 106 Aus 1991/92 Adelaide LOST
M Azharuddin 108* SL 1997 Colombo (SSC) DRAW
R Dravid 103* NZ 1998/99 Hamilton DRAW
SC Ganguly 101* NZ (Same game as above)
SR Tendulkar 136 Pak 1998/99 Chennai LOST
AB Agarkar 109* Eng 2002 Lord's LOST

Sunday, August 14, 2005

Old Trafford - Day 1

McGrath Wicketless
This is the 11th time McGrath has gone wicketless in the 1st or 2nd Innings of a match. His figures of 86/0 in this match is his most expensive wicketless performance (previous being 83/0 against WI in Adeliade in 2001). On 4 previous occasions, he has gone wicketless in the whole match.

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Old Trafford - Day 1 Lunch

What's a good First innings score?
With England on 93/1 at Lunch, I guess the question on most minds will be "What should England aim for in the first innings". Some of these stats might help you judge for yourselves:

The Old trafford pitch has got better for batting over the years. The average 1st innings score on this ground is 326, but in the last 10 matches, it has gone up to 385!

Only 7 times has a team lost to the Aussies after scoring more then 400 in the first innings (and Won 28 times, 26 draws and 1 Tie).

And only twice after scoring more then 450 (england in 1928/29 & 1948).

Only two teams have lost the game at Old trafford after scoring 300 runs in the first innings:
South Africa in 1947 after scoring 339 & West Indies in 2004 after scoring 395 for 9d

I recon 450 is a great score, but England can settle for 400+. Remember, they have a good bowling attack

Personal Landmarks
I guess we are all aware of Warne approaching 600 wickets. Couple of other worth mentioning.

Lee has just taken his 150th test wicket in his 40th Test.

And Treskothick needs just 31 runs to complete 500o runs in his 64th Test (he will cross 5000 when he scores 66).

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Old Trafford - Vital Stats

Bat or Bowl?
England have drawn 19, won 13 and lost 3 when batting first compared to 14 draws, 8 wins and 11 loses when batting second.

Against the Aussies on this ground, their record is D6, W5, L1 when batting first and D7, W2, L6 when Batting second.

It's a no-brainer; win the toss and bat at Old Trafford.

Highest Team Totals
England
First innings of Match: 627/9d against Aus, 3rd Test 1934 (Draw)
Second innings of Match: 611 ao against Aus, 3rd Test 1964 (Draw)
Third innings of Match: 404 ao against Aus, 5th Test 1981 (Won)
Fourth innings of Match: 332 ao against Aus, 1st Test 1993 (Lost)

Australia
First innings of Match: 656/8d against Eng, 4th Test 1964 (Draw)
Second innings of Match: 491 ao against Eng, 3rd Test 1934 (Draw)
Third innings of Match: 432 ao against Eng, 4th Test 1961 (Won) &
432/5d against Eng, 1st Test 1993 (Won)
Fourth innings of Match: 402 ao against Aus, 5th Test 1981 (Lost)

Highest ever by any team: 656/8d by Aus against Eng 3rd Test 1964 (Draw)

Run chases:
Highest Successful run chases:
England 231/3 in 65.4 overs 3rd Test Vs WI-2004
RSA 145/7 in 30.3 overs 3rd Test Vs Eng-1955

Highest Successful run chases - England Vs Australia
England 107/6 in 77.2 overs 1st Test in 1886
Australia 125/7 in 84.3 overs 2nd Test in 1896
England 82/1 in 29.1 overs 2nd Test in 1977
Australia 81/1 in 32.5 overs 4th Test in 1989

Highest Ever Losing 4th innings totals
Aus 402 chasing 506 in 5th Test Vs Eng 1981
Ind 376 chasing 548 in 4th Test Vs Eng 1959
Eng 332 chasing 512 in 1st Test Vs Aus 1993

Highest to Draw
Ind 343/6 in 90 overs chasing 408 in 2nd Test Vs Eng in 1990

Warne Factor
Warne has taken 17 wickets in Two tests at 14.58 with 6/48 in the 3rd Test in 1997 being his best. He is also two wickets away from taking 150 English wickets.

Vital Statistics

Over the years, one of my biggest frustration use to be getting meaningful and up to date statistics while watching a game of cricket. I had to either wait for the commentator to dish out the statistics or spend time on the web looking for the information on websites and blogs.

In the last year or so, I have build my own database and refer to it on a regular basis while watching cricket. What is the average first innings score at Mumbai? Who has taken most number of wickets at Old Trafford, etc. etc.

Realizing that there are thousands of other cricket fans who would love to have access to this information, I decided to set-up this blog. The idea is to update this on a regular basis during the course of Test matches and One-Day games with vital and relavant statistics.

At the end of the day, statistics count for nothing, but perfect statistics can be a real pleasure!

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