Test statistics for 2018-1

Summarizing the team performances of 2018

Ranked by W/L ratio:

And the ICC ranking tables at the end of the year:

Note that the rankings are quite different, as the ICC rankings cover a longer period and are supposed to take the opponent’s strength into account.

Note the close bunching for 2nd to 4th position by England, New Zealand and South Africa. Also 6th and 7th (Pakistan and Sri Lanka) and for 8th and 9th (West Indies and Bangladesh).

Now we go on to individual performances.

Batting:

Most runs: 500 and above:

Virat Kohli has the most centuries (5). He also has the most scores above 50 (10).

Highest innings (110 and above):

The top score of 264* by Tom Latham was the highest by anyone carrying his bat through an innings, surpassing the 244* by Alastair Cook less than a year earlier. Here is a live link of all those who carried their bat through an innings, in chronological order.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/records/283149.html

Curiously, it was the first instance of anyone scoring 264 or 264* in a Test. The lowest score which has never been made is 229/229*  (but there is also an outlier at 140*).

KJ O’Brien is here for Ireland’s first Test century, while Afghanistan still has no score above 50.

Highest batting average (Minimum 20 innings, all instances):

Kohli and the hitherto unheralded Kusal Mendis are on top here, as in the listing of most runs. Others from India can also be seen here.

Highest strike rates (Minimum 1000 balls faced, all instances):

Here it is Buttler and Mominul  who have the highest strike rates. Pujara is near the bottom as we may expect. Kohli and Rahane are also here.

To be continued:

Carrying bat through an innings for and against India

The full list of “carry-throughs” can be found here.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/records/283149.html

This is a dynamic link. D Elgar is the latest addition to this list in the Test starting on 24/01/2018.

The very first “carry-through” was by SA’s AB Tancred was 26* out of 47 in the Test starting on 25/03/1889. This remains a record for the lowest such score, though there are a few more under 50. The highest was recorded about a month ago, when AN Cook made 244* out of 491 in the Test starting on 26/12/2017. There are a few other double centuries, one of which is listed below.

Anyway, Elgar was only the 5th opener to carry his bat through an innings against India.

1) Nazar Mohammed, 124*/331 at Lucknow in match starting on 23/10/1952. Pakistan won by 10 wickets, though India won the series 2-1. This was Pakistan’s first Test series. See note in 3) below.

2) WM Lawry (Australia’s captain), 49*/107 at Delhi, starting 28/11/1969. India won this Test by 7 wickets, though Australia won the series 3-1. Lawry also carried his bat through an innings in an Ashes Test in 1971, which Australia lost.

3) Mudassar Nazar, 152*/323 at Lahore, starting 23/01/1983. Drawn, while Pakistan won the series 3-0. This is the only instance in all Tests where a father and son have both carried their bats through an innings.

4) Saeed Anwar, 188*/316 at Kolkata, starting 16/02/1999. Pakistan won by 46 runs. This was part of the Asian Test Championship, which was finally won by Pakistan.

5) D Elgar, 86*/177 at Johannesburg, starting 24/01/2018. India won by 63 runs, though SA won the series 2-1. Elgar had done this earlier against England in 2015, in a match which SA lost.

There are only 4 such instances for Indian openers in Tests:

1) SM Gavaskar, 127*/286 v Pak at Faisalabad, starting 03/01/1983. Pakistan won by 10 wickets and the series 3-0. Mudassar Nazar returned the compliment later in the series, as mentioned above.

2) V Sehwag, 201*/329 v SL at Galle, starting 31/07/2008. India won by 170 runs, though SL won the series 2-1.

3) R Dravid, 146*/300 v Eng at the Oval, starting 18/08/2011. India lost by an innings and 18 runs, and lost the series 4-0 in a clean sweep.

4) C Pujara, 145*/312 v SL at Colombo (SSC) starting on 28/08/2015. India won by 117 runs and the series 2-1.