It Figures

Tests during 2011: an alternate look

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:04:28 +0000

This review of the year should have come out a few weeks earlier. However I was caught up in completing the series of articles on Bowling and Pitch quality and hence this slight delay. Anyhow the year is still fresh in our memory and here we go. I also do not want to hear the words Bowling/Pitch quality for a month or so.

Batsman analysis by bowler-pitch quality - part 2

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 06:07:25 +0000

Ian Botham scored majority of his runs against top-quality bowling attacks © Getty Images

This is the follow-up article to the one analysing the batsmen performance in conditions related to bowler quality and pitch types. There were a number of very useful suggestions and after a careful study some of these have been implemented. There have been very sound arguments also that there is an element of double-counting and this method, in general, favours batsmen with very good bowling attacks backing them. This point is accepted. However it would be impossible for me to implement these radical suggestions without a lot of work, including quite a bit of validation. Hence I have gone ahead with the current method, modified suitably. The elimination of the double-counting and the development of a single evaluation factor will be done later.

Batsman analysis by bowler-pitch quality - part one

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 07:06:09 +0000

Kim Hughes has scored 88% of his career runs in tough batting conditions © Getty Images

Finally the time has come for me to complete the analysis of batsmen by two important factors, Bowler quality and Pitch quality. This exercise was started about 7 months back and has moved on wonderfully well with meaningful insights from many readers. In my earlier two articles I had covered the BQI and RSI ("Runs scored index": revised name for Pitch quality) methodologies. As has happened quite frequently lately, the article, with over 10 tables and 4 graphs, has become very long and I necessarily have to split it into two articles.

Pitch quality analysis across all Tests

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 06:00:57 +0000

Shane Bond in the Hamilton Test match in 2002 when 36 wickets fell for just 507 runs © Photosport

This is the second of three very important and significant articles on batting performances against differing conditions and players. The first did a revised take on the Bowling Quality Index. This one covers the Pitch Quality and the third one would combine both and do an analysis of runs scored by batsmen.

Bowling Quality Index re-visited: incorporating home/away and recent form

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 06:15:24 +0000

Makhaya Ntini: superb at home but ordinary away © Getty Images

This is the first of three very important and significant articles on batting performances against differing conditions and players.

About six months back I had come out with an article on Batting performances against different Bowling groups based on BQI (Bowling Quality Index). Notwithstanding the fact that it was a rough unpolished stone, it was one of the best received of all my articles and I came out with a follow-up article after doing some amount of polishing. However there were so many valid suggestions and great ideas that there is a need for me to re-visit that theme, this time incorporating improvements and new ideas. These tweaks would define this very important theme once and for all.

Part two of five-wicket hauls in Test cricket: a look across and deep

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 06:57:38 +0000

Jim Laker: a record of 19 for 90 that is almost impossible to better © PA Photos

This is the follow-up to the previous articles. Another 13 tables have found their place. This is probably a more interesting set of tables since some of the analysis is by innings and relate to result. The comments are given at the end of each tables.

Five-wicket hauls in Tests: a look across and deep - part one

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 07:42:31 +0000

Michael Holding: 14 wickets on a flat track at The Oval in 1976 © Getty Images

There is a tendency to ignore the bowlers in Test cricket. I myself am guilty of this and do not allocate equal time and effort for these forgotten species. This time I have decided to make amends by doing the article on fifers in Test cricket immediately after I finished the one on Test hundreds.

Special Test hundreds: a look across and deep

Sat, 26 Nov 2011 08:25:03 +0000

Brian Lara: an outstanding 153 in a successful fourth-innings chase © Getty Images

I had mentioned in response to one of the comments on the macro-analysis article on Test hundreds that in my follow-up article I would look at special hundreds, selected based on specific selection criteria. I had also made it clear that this would not be my own personal selections, as I normally do but one based on selection criteria in my computer program, with external additions in very very special cases only. Anyone finding fault with the three special additions is probably not a true follower of the game.

Test hundreds: everything anyone wanted to know ... and more

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 04:53:15 +0000

Don Bradman: astounding frequency of double-centuries © Wisden Cricket Monthly

I write three types of articles. The first, and the most often done, are the hard-core analysis, often sailing on uncharted seas. Examples are the Bowling quality and Series analysis. Then there are anecdotal articles which are normally my selections, with facility for readers to come out with their own. Examples are the the Test opening day performances and the innings bowling efforts. The third type of articles are rare. I take a single facet of the game and analyze it in depth but in a narrow manner, bringing out almost every aspect of that. Examples are the articles on Bradman and Muralitharan. The current article is one such analysis. The subject is Test hundreds. I would be very surprised if, after reading this article, the reader reverts with a possible analysis on Test hundreds I have missed.

ODI batsmen against bowler groups: across ages

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 06:11:11 +0000

Viv Richards: the best average against the top bowling group © AllSport UK Ltd

A few months back I had come out with an article on Test batsmen by bowling quality, in groups. This was one of the best received of all my articles since the analysis took Test batting into hitherto unchartered seas. Many new insights were drawn from the analysis. I think it is time I do a similar analysis for ODI batsmen also since the bowling quality varies considerably across teams and years. The average runs scored by batsmen in their careers is also quite high and an analysis like this will let us look at the batsmen with a new perspective.

A macro look at ODIs over four decades

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 09:47:02 +0000

Adam Gilchrist and several others like him have ensured that quick-scoring has become the norm in ODIs over the last decade © Getty Images

The last 12 articles have all been on Test cricket and I think it is time I moved over to the ODI space. The first is a re-visit of an earlier article. I will follow this with a look at the ODI batsmen's performance against bowlers, strength of whom is ordered by groups, a la Test cricket. That work will borrow freely from the findings in this article.

I had looked at a summary analysis of ODI matches about three years back. Since then over 400 matches have been played, ODI rules have been changed, more T20 matches have been played introducing new techniques, 5 types of slower deliveries have been invented, slow bowlers are opening and finishing the innings et al. Hence I have re-constructed the periods to be able to look at the current millennium more closely. Out of the 7 periods, 3 are allocated to these 12 years. The last period is 2008-2011 and is really the post-T20 era and the previous one, 2004-2007 is the transition period. It is possible that a minor adjustment here and there will bring major rule changes in sync with the periods. However that would leave the number of matches unbalanced.

I have retained, but brought up-to-date, most of the previous analyses since many current readers might not have viewed the previous article. I have kept my comments to a minimum since I want some lively discussions among the readers.

Test teams' stay at the top: a complete re-look

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 06:26:18 +0000

A great fall-out of my Test Series analysis has been that it has provided me an alternate and very effective way of looking at the various teams' stay at the top. This has been triggered by a suggestion provided by Raghav Bihani.

Test-series performances: the top allrounders

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 06:53:54 +0000

Last month I had embarked on a major project. This had been triggered by a few comments on performance of allrounders in series. Finally after covering the batsmen, bowlers and teams, I have covered the allrounders in Test series, the idea I started with. This concludes the current series of articles but there are some very good follow-up ideas, especially relating to the teams analysis which will be done later.

An incisive look at series "colour"-washes in Test cricket

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 06:14:04 +0000

I had intended to complete my series of Test series analyses with the third part, the one on all-round performances. However the England-India Test series ended last week and the analysis on Team performances gained more relevancy. Hence I have switched the two. The All-round performance analysis will appear a few days later.

Test bowlers and their mean streaks

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 06:05:39 +0000

This post is an extremely belated follow-up to my earlier analysis of streakiness among batsmen. This time, the focus is on bowlers. I've used exactly the same methods as before – analysing and graphing moving averages (calculated over a 20-innings window, in my base case); for details, please see the batting form column.