One of my favourite debates in cricket centres on this age old discussion of value, does being attractive make a good player or numbers make a good player?
Strictly speaking this divides the stats gurus and the romantics who love a graceful innings and also splits players in terms of opinion.
Is Steve Waugh better than his brother simply because his average was higher? Does Viv stand head and shoulders above Lara because of his reputation? Was Gower the pinnacle of batsmanship over Geoff Boycott?
We’ll compare the first two as an example. Steve and Mark were mainstays of the Australian batting order through the 90’s, generally batting at 5 and 4 respectively. Steve finished his test career with 10,927 runs at 51.06, truly great numbers.
Mark, however, finished with 8,029 runs at 41.81. Most observers would agree that these numbers do not reflect greatness. However, those who ever saw the pair bat would not hesitate to call Mark the superior batsman; such was his style and technique.
This gave rise to the popular theory that you’d get Mark to bat for your enjoyment but Steve to bat for your life. And it is a much repeated case even today. Michael Clarke is one of the most stylish stroke makers in the current Australian side, but most people would pick Michael Hussey in their test side, for his immense numbers.
There is no substitute for substance. Bradman by all accounts was one of the most mechanical and uninteresting batsmen to ever play test cricket. Didn’t stop him from averaging 99.94 with 29 centuries in 80 innings.
By comparison again, Alan Kippax was immensely stylish and polished as a batsman. Despite his terrific first class record, his test average was a mere 36.12, with only two centuries for his country.
The argument can remain that people would rather watch a Mark than a Steve, but in the end, if you want to win a match, it’s the numbers that count.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Rush hour
What a rush. IPL is off and running and after a weekend of games we’ve had our fair share of controversy and exhilarating cricket already.
The opening game set a cracking pace with a blistering 158 not out from Kiwi Brendon McCullum, smashing the 20/20 world record score. Unfortunately Bangalore could only manage 82 as the submitted to a powerful Kolkata side.
Mike Hussey became the first Australian to sit up and demand attention with 116 not out for Chennai, and James Hopes contributed 71 valuable runs in the same game.
But the Hyderabad v Kolkata game was the most contentious. Although the game went down to the wire, the match was played out on an absolute minefield of a pitch, with plumes of dust shooting up whenever the ball hit the deck.
Andrew Symonds and David Hussey, who led Kolkata to victory with an unbeaten 38, came closest to fighting the devils in the pitch, one usually seen more often on day five in test matches.
Poor V.V.S Laxman copped a snorter from Ishant Sharma on the glove, and Murali Kartik and Mohammad Hafeez then proceeded to turn the ball square. Even my innocuous off spin would have been a threat on this pitch (Does that mean I can get a contract IPL?????)
We’ve got plenty of matches to go, but the Aussies will only have another week or so to earn their money, with the tour of the West Indies looming. Let’s hope they enjoy I while it lasts.
The opening game set a cracking pace with a blistering 158 not out from Kiwi Brendon McCullum, smashing the 20/20 world record score. Unfortunately Bangalore could only manage 82 as the submitted to a powerful Kolkata side.
Mike Hussey became the first Australian to sit up and demand attention with 116 not out for Chennai, and James Hopes contributed 71 valuable runs in the same game.
But the Hyderabad v Kolkata game was the most contentious. Although the game went down to the wire, the match was played out on an absolute minefield of a pitch, with plumes of dust shooting up whenever the ball hit the deck.
Andrew Symonds and David Hussey, who led Kolkata to victory with an unbeaten 38, came closest to fighting the devils in the pitch, one usually seen more often on day five in test matches.
Poor V.V.S Laxman copped a snorter from Ishant Sharma on the glove, and Murali Kartik and Mohammad Hafeez then proceeded to turn the ball square. Even my innocuous off spin would have been a threat on this pitch (Does that mean I can get a contract IPL?????)
We’ve got plenty of matches to go, but the Aussies will only have another week or so to earn their money, with the tour of the West Indies looming. Let’s hope they enjoy I while it lasts.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
