Demonetization meets cricket

Here we have a list of players with the highest batting averages (with a minimum of 20 innings batted). This is as on 23 Nov 2016.

We all know who is No 1, but the No 2 position has changed hands now. Perhaps the No 2 will not play too many Tests in future, so he may maintain his position.

Now see this chart of the rupee-dollar exchange rate:

https://in.finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=USDINR%3DX#symbol=USDINR=X;range=1y

A snapshot of the 6-month graph on the evening of 24 Nov 2016, when it was hitting new highs:

As you can see, this rate has gone well beyond the averages of Pollock and Voges. Let us hope it is not trying to reach Bradman’s average.

 

Making the most of limited chances-bowling

Today we take up the cases of those who got to bowl in only one match or innings. First we consider Tests, followed by ODIs and T20Is.

5 wickets or more in their only Test:

Only one ten-for by CS Marriott, though the best innings bowling here is 7/95 by WH Ashley in the 19th century. All instances of fivers in their only Test are included above.

Also note the 1-Test careers of PJ Cummins and JP Faulkner who probably will play again. There is also CA Smith who spent most of his life in Hollywood and was known as Aubrey Smith

Also note the strange case of the two unrelated Banerjees who bowled well in the only Tests they played in the 1948-49 series against the West Indies. We will meet another 1-Test Banerjee in a moment.

3 wickets or more in their only Test innings:

WH Ashley is the only one with a five-for in this category. Hill, Lyttelton and Nazir Ali bowled in only one innings in their multi-Test careers. Lyttelton’s 4-19 is the best innings bowling by any designated wicket-keeper. A few others such as Boucher and Kirmani have taken 1 wicket in an innings.

A few more players from India here, including ST Banerjee. All 3 players with this surname played exactly one Test each, despite getting reasonable returns.

Now for ODIs:

Three or more wickets in their only ODI:

While an unknown player from PNG tops this list,the only well-known player here is BS Chandrashekhar who was one of India’s leading bowlers of the 70s. Stott played his only ODI during the 1979 World Cup. DV Lawrence played a few Tests with some success.

Three or more wickets in their only ODI innings:

The only addition is England’s veteran Test player Fred Titmus who, like Colin Cowdrey, earned a recall to the ill-starred England tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1974-75.

Now for T20Is:

2 or more wickets in their only T20I:

The best performances here are by little-known players such as Mansoor Amjad and CG Burnett. The better-known Test players here are MS Panesar and CT Tremlett.

2 or more wickets in their only T20I innings:

Here we have several instances of those who bowled only once in a relatively long T20I career (notably Younis Khan in 25 matches, Sarwan and AR White in 18 matches). There are also AC Voges and AJ Redmond (primarily  batsmen).

Next we will take up the best fielding performances by those playing in their only matches and innings.

 

 

The Test debutants of 2015

Here we look at the players who made their Test debuts in 2015, and the highlights of their performances.

We start with batting, listing those who scored at least a fifty:

Only one centurion-but Adam Voges went on to cross 1000 by the end of the year. Ronchi played in only that one Test, Dowrich played in 2 and was not heard of again. Kusal Perera hit two fifties on debut but is now under a doping cloud. CR Brathwaite started promisingly in the end of the year and scored another lower-order fifty in the new year.

The best innings bowling figures (minimum 4 wickets):

The only five-for was by Rashid, after he took 0-163 in the first innings which is the worst innings bowling by a debutant. He played in 3 Tests of that series but did not go on the tour to South Africa. The others made steady progress without anything spectacular.

The best match bowling figures (minimum 6 wickets):

As mentioned above, these three bowlers progressed steadily.

Best innings fielding (minimum 4 dismissals)

Only Australia’s wicketkeeper Peter Nevill qualifies. He has held on to his place in the team.

Best match fielding (minimum 4 dismissals)

Ronchi and Ojha have not played Tests again, Nevill is thriving and Perera’s future is uncertain at least in the short term.

Best all-round performance of batting and fielding (mimimum 50 runs and 4 dismissals)

All three have not been fortunate, as mentioned above.

Best all-round performance of batting and bowling (minimum 20 runs and 2 wickets in match)

This is really scraping the bottom of the barrel-but these are the best all-round performances on debut which can be found. They have continued to play steadily without major scores in Tests.