Following Surya Yadav’s saga of 3 ducks in 3 balls in an ODI series, we can look at another famous feat of duck-making, set by Ajit Agarkar in the 1999-2000 Test series against Australia.
In the first test, he made 19 and 0 (1 ball) thus including a golden duck.
In the second, he made 0(1) and 0(1)-a golden pair.
In the third, he went on to 0(1) and 0(2)-a golden duck followed by a silver duck.
This means he was dismissed 5 times in 6 balls, and recorded 5 successive 0s.
However, he was not that incompetent as a batsman. He had a first-class average of 28.75 with 4 centuries and a top score of 145. His Test average was 16.79.
He crossed 50 only once in Tests. That was when he made 109* at Lord’s in 2002.
This gives a nice quiz question-What batting feat was achieved by Agarkar but not by Gavaskar and Tendulkar ?
Headed by Muralidaran, while current player Southee has the most for NZ.
Best innings bowling (6wi or better):
Headed by Vettori, but no good performances since 2018.
Best match bowling (includes all 9wm or more):
Herath has the best figures here, though there are no good performances since 2018.
Bowling averages (Minimum 2000 balls, all instances):
Southee has the best bowling average and strike rate. Muralidaran has the best economy rate.
Now for Fielding:
Most dismissals (15 and above):
Headed by Watling. Williamson has the most dismissals among current players. P Jayawardene has the most stumpings, and SP Fleming the most catches as a fielder.
Best innings figures (5 dismissals or more):
Headed by IDS Smith and Watling.
Best match figures (6 dismissals or more):
Headed by Watling, followed by Lees and IDS Smith.
Best dismissal rate (Minimum 20 innings and 0.600):
Headed by Tillakratne and the Bazball Man.
All-round performances:
No one has a good overall record.
Match performances:
Vettori has the best performance, followed by Vaas.
The last of the league matches in the 2021-23 WTC got over on 20th March. Here is the points table:
Note that Australia has a good lead over India, and that South Africa came close to displacing India from second place.
We also see the ICC points table for the same date:
Note that the first 3 positions are the same as in the WTC points table.
So the result of the Australia vs India final may seem to be a foregone conclusion. However, as the Oval is generally considered to be a good batting track, both sides have a chance of winning.
India won the series 2-1. This was their 4th consecutive series win against Australia.
A total of 106 Tests have been played between these teams.
Australia leads 44-32 with 1 tie and 29 draws.
Both sides do much better at home:
In Australia, Aus lead 30-9 with 13 draws.
In India, Aus trail 14-23 with 1 tie and 16 draws.
We now look at individual records, staring with Batting:
Most runs (1000 and more):
Tendulkar leads by a lrge margin, followed by Ponting. Pujara, Kohli and Smith lead among current players.
Highest innings (175 and above):
While there are many large scores here (including VVSL’s legendary 281), the highest scores from this series are 186 by Kohli and 180 by Khawaja.
The most centuries are 11 by Tendulkar.
The most 50+ scores are 27 by Tendulkar and 20 by Ponting.
Highest batting average (Minimum 20 innings, 40 and above):
The unexpected leader is David Boon, ahead of Steve Smith. Bradman is not here because he did not play enough. Smith, Kohli and Pujara represent current players.
Highest strike rates (Minimum 1000 balls faced, 50 and above):
Headed by Gilchrist and Sehwag. Warner, Hayden and Bradman are next. Warner, S Smith and Kohli have the highest strike rates among current players.
Continuing with individual performances in Bowling:
Most wickets (50 or more):
Headed by Sir Richard. He is followed by three current players (Broad, Anderson and Southee) with Boult and Wagner a little further down. Sir Richard also has the most 5-fors (8).
Best innings bowling (including all 7wi or better):
None in recent years.
Best match bowling (including all 10wm or better):
Note the top two by Underwood (and 3 of the top 4 performances).
The only recent one is Leach’s 10-for in 2022.
Best bowling averages (Minimum 2000 balls, 30.00 or better):
Underwood’s average is by far the best. Boult, Anderson and Broad are also seen here.
Underwood has the best bowling average, economy rate and strike rate. In second place are Willis, Illingworth and Caddick respectively.
Now for Fielding:
Most dismissals (25 or more):
Parore and Bob Taylor have the most dismissals. SP Fleming has the most by a non-keeper. TG Evans has the most stumpings. From recent years there are Blundell and Root.
Most innings dismissals (5 or more):
C Read is the only one with 6 dismissals in an innings. There is only Blundell from recent years.
Most match dismissals (6 or more):
Blundell is among the three keepers with 8 catches in a match. Allan Lamb has the most (6) by a fielder
Best dismissal rate (Minimum 20 innings, 0.700 or better):
Here, Ian Smith has the best average followed by Parore and Watling. Fleming has the most by a fielder. Latham and Root represent current players.
All-round performances:
Overall (see criteria in the table):
Headed by Botham, followed by Hadlee and Cairns at a distance.
Match performance (50 and 5wi):
Many entries here. Of special note are those with a century and 5wi, including Botham (1978 and 1984).
Those with a 50 and 10wm include Greig, Hadlee (1986) and Nash. Nash was the first to achieve this at Lord’s.
The series in NZ in February 2023 was drawn 1-1, in contrast to England’s 3-0 sweep at home in 2022.
Th second Test saw two unusual results. It was only the second Test to be won by a margin of 1 run. Here is a list of Tests where the margin was 5 runs or less:
It was only the 4th time that a team lost a Test after imposing a follow-on, and the first such instance when Australia was not involved:
A total of 112 Tests have been played between these teams. England leads 52-13 with 47 draws.
In England, England leads 33-6 with 20 draws in 59 Tests
In New Zealand, England leads 19-7 with 27 draws in 53 Tests.
We now look at individual performances, starting with
Most runs (1000 or more):
JE Root now has the most runs in these matches. He is the only current player in the above list.
Highest individual scores (175 or more):
H Brook’s 186 is the only score from the current series. The highest in recent years was 226 by Root in 2019.
Highest batting averages (Minimum 20 innings and 40.00):
Root has the second-highest average, followed by BA Stokes at some distance.
Highest strike rates (Minimum 1000 balls faced and 50.00):
Fittingly, BB McCullum heads this list. Current players here include Stokes, Pope, Root and Blundell.
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