A study of converting Test fifties into hundreds-1

The ability to convert fifties into hundreds is useful in Tests, even more than converting centuries into double centuries. The “conversion rate” has not received much attention in statistical studies in the past.

If your career includes a score between 50 and 99 but no century, your conversion rate is 0%

If you have no score between 50 and 99 but one or more centuries, your conversion rate is 100%

Most Test batsmen will fall between these extremes (unless they never crossed 50).

Take Virat Kohli. He has 27 Test innings between 50 and 99. Oddly enough he also has 27 centuries.

So he has crossed 50 a total of 27+27 = 54 times, and has gone past 100 on 27 occasions. This is a conversion rate of (27/54)*100 = 50%.

One more example: Sachin Tendulkar has 68 innings between 50 and 99, besides 51 centuries.

So he crossed 50 a total of 68 + 51 = 119 times. His conversion rate is (51/119)*100 is 42.86%

Similarly, we can find Don Bradman’s conversion rate to be (29/(29+13)*100 = 69.05%

Let us now look at studies of all Test players up to Sep 30, 2021.

There are 56 players who have a 100% conversion rate, who have no score between 50-99 plus one or more centuries. The first few are:

RS Bopara is the only one with 3 centuries without any score between 50 and 99.

The next 5 have made 2 centuries, including Wasti who made both his centuries in the same Test.

And then there are 50 others who crossed 50 only once but went on to make a century, ranging from A Lyth to Yasir Shah. KK Nair has a triple century, while D Lloyd and B Kuruppu have doubles. There are a surprisingly high number of players who scored a century on debut and failed to cross 50 afterwards.

For a short time, Fawad Alam had made 4 centuries without a fifty. The record is by GA Headley of long ago, who made 6 centuries before making a fifty.

After crossing the 56 who have a 100% conversion rate with the help of one century, we get:

(This has a cutoff of 55%)

Fawad Alam leads with 5/6 or 83.33%, followed by JF Reid (of the 1980s) and Azhar Mahmood with 75%.

Current players here are Fawad Alam, Najmul Hussain Shanto, Abid Ali and SC Williams (Zimbabwe).

From India there is only S Dhawan and VG Kambli.

If you take those who have scored 10 or more centuries, only Bradman (69.05%) and Headley (66.67) have crossed 55%. The next few are Walcott (51.72), Azharuddin (51.16) and MJ Clarke (50.91)

Here is a complete list of those who scored 10 or more centuries at a conversion rate of 45% or more:

The only current players in this elite group are Kohli and SPD Smith (and M Hafeez from the recent past).

India is represented by Azharuddin, Kohli, Shastri (!) and Umrigar.

(Note that Hayden’s century and other scores in the ICC XI v Aus Test in 2005 have not been counted).

Let us look more closely at current players with 10+ centuries and conversion rates 35+

V Kohli 50.00

SPD Smith 46.55

DA Warner 44.44

Mominul Haque 44.00

D Elgar 43.33

KS Williamson 42.11

CA Pujara 36.73

LD Chandimal 35.48

TWM Latham 35.48

Azhar Ali 35.29

R Taylor 35.19

Note the absence of JE Root (31.51), BA Stokes (29.41), AM Rahane (33.33) and F du Plessis (32.26)

Certainly this last list has some surprises which contradict common perceptions about the heavy scorers of today.

In Part 2, we will look at the other end of the scale-those with the lowest conversion rates.

Analyzing Test captaincies – 2

Today we look at those who captained their sides in only one Test.

There are 46 such cases.

First, the 10 who won that Test:

CA Smith is the only one here whose Test career ended with a win. He did take 5 wickets in an innings and seven in the match, which was the first Test ever played in South Africa. But this Test status of this series was decided several years later.

He finally ended up in Hollywood: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._Aubrey_Smith

He was unfit for the second Test, and another player MP Bowden captained for his only Test. He died in Rhodesia in 1892, and Wisden’s obituary did not mention that he had played in Tests.

This list includes many prominent players, notably Harvey, Bill Brown and Shastri. Shastri was fortunate in having ND Hirwani take 16 wickets on debut.

Mashrafe Mortaza was also fortunate in that he was injured early in the Test and still gets credit for the win where Tamim Iqbal captained for most of the Test. It was Bangladesh’s first Test win abroad and second overall – though the West Indies was effectively fielding a third XI due to boycotts by many players.

Next, the 20 who lost that Test:

This includes Craig Ervine, Tom Latham and Ben Stokes from 2020, and two prominent players from India in Chandu Borde and Pankaj Roy. Also 3 who were playing their only Tests – two South Africans and one West Indian from the early days of their teams.

Other prominent players here are Gordon Greenidge, John Edrich, Mohammed Hafeez, Shahid Afridi, Shane Watson and Tamim Iqbal.

DB Carr is lesser known and played only 2 Tests. His captaincy saw India winning their first Test. He was vice-captain of that England team, while the captain was the equally undistinguished ND Howard who played his only 4 Tests during that series.

Finally, the 16 who drew that Test:

None from recent years. HR Adhikari is the only one from India, who was credited with ending a sequence of 3 successive losses (although India came close to losing that Test as well).

There are a number of well-known players here, such as Deryck Murray, Gary Kirsten, George Headley, Mark Butcher, Ray Lindwall and Tom Graveney. Also note another early South African playing in his only Test.

George Headley would have captained the West Indies earlier and in more than one Test, but for the policy of only having captains of European ancestry.

Review of England-West Indies Tests-2020-I

England won the series 2-1, leading to this points table for the WTC:

England gained 80 points and WI 40 points in this series.

The record for Tests between these countries:

England extended its lead for matches at home, although WI still lead overall.

We now look at Batting records:

Most runs-1200 and above:

The most centuries (10) are by Sobers, followed Richards and Headley  with 8.

The most scores above 50 are 23 by Richards and Sobers, followed by Chanderpaul with 21.

Note the absence of any current players in this list. The most recent is Cook.

Highest innings (200 or more):

Here the only score by a current player is at the bottom (202* by Holder). Note the 1-2 by Lara, both world records at the time.

Highest batting averages (Minimum 20 innings, 40.00):

Hutton and Headley are far ahead of the others. Stokes and Cook are the only ones here from the past few years.

Highest strike rates (Minimum 1000 balls, 55.00):

While No 2 is predictable, No 1 is not. He had scored a century on debut against WI.

Blackwood and Stokes represent the current players.

Continued in https://abn397.wordpress.com/2020/07/31/review-of-england-west-indies-tests-2020-ii/