Review of Pakistan-England Tests (Dec 2022)-Part 2

Hope you have read Part 1.

Now we look at individual performances in

Bowling:

Most wickets (35 and above):

Qadir and Anderson share the record with 82 wickets. Anderson had played in part of this series. His long-term partner Broad is next with 67.

Best innings bowling (including7wi or more):

Led by Qadir and Botham, the latter taking 8-34 at Lord’s. The best in this series was 7-114 by Abrar Ahmed who was making his debut.

Best match bowling (including 10wm or more):

Led by Underwood and Qadir who each took 13 wickets. In this series Abrar Ahmed took 11-234 on debut

Bowling averages (Minimum 2000 balls, all instances):

The best bowling averages are by Anderson followed by Broad. The best economy rates are by Iqbal Qasim and DA Allen. The best strike rates are by Waqar Younis and Anderson.

Now for

Fielding:

Most dismissals (20 and above):

Headed by Wasim Bari, followed by Kamran Akmal and Knott. Bari and Sarfraz Ahmed have the most stumpings with 4. Root has the most catches by a fielder with 25.

Best innings fielding (5 or more dismissals):

Sarfraz Ahmed took 5 dismissals on 2 occasions, while GO Jones did so twice. No fielder took more than 4 catches.

Best match fielding (7 dismissals or more):

Wasim Bari and Kamran Akmal took 8 dismissals in a match. No fielder took more than 6.

Dismissal rate (Minimum 20 innings and 0.600):

Led by Knott and RW Taylor, followed by Wasim Bari. Root has the best rate for fielders.

All-round performances:

Overall (see criteria in table):

Broad and Botham have the best performances.

Match performances

50+ and 5wi in the match

Of these, the best would be Botham’s century and 8wi, and Qadir’s 61 and 10wm. Honourable mention to Imran Khan’s 100 runs and 8wm in 1982.

Review of Pakistan-Sri Lanka Tests (Jul 2022)-Part 2

Hope you have seen Part 1: https://abn397.wordpress.com/2022/07/31/review-of-pakistan-sri-lanka-tests-jul-2022-part-1/

Continuing with Bowling:

Most wickets (25 or more):

Here Muralitharan has the second spot after Herath, while Saeed Ajmal has the most for Pakistan. Yasir Shah is the only current player.

Best innings bowling (6wi or more):

Herath again, overshadowing Imran Khan. No recent players except for Yasir Shah.

Best match bowling (including 9wm or more):

Here, Imran Khan has better figures than Herath. R Mendis, P Jayasuriya and Yasir Shah represent the current players.

Best bowling averages (Minimum 2000 balls bowled, all instances):

Here, the two Ws have the top spots. Wasim also has the best economy rate, and Waqar the best strike rate.

Fielding:

Most dismissals (15 or more):

Led by Moin Khan and the fielder M Jayawardene. Current players include Dickwella, Chandimal and M Rizwan.

Most innings dismissals (4 or more):

Chandimal has most (6), while two fielders have taken 4 catches.

Most match dismissals (6 or more):

This time it is led by the lesser-known P Jayawardene with 9 dismissals. However, the better-known Jayawardene has the most (6) by a fielder.

Best dismissal rate (Minimum 20 innings, 0.500):

Headed by Moin Khan by a large margin over the second-placed Chandimal. M Jayawardene has the best rate for a fielder. Chandimal represents the current players.

All-round performances:

Overall (see criteria in table):

Wasim has the best figures here, while Vaas does not really qualify as an all-rounder.

Match performances (50+ and 5wi):

The three performances have little to choose between them.

Test captains compared-all round performance

Records up to May 15, 2021 (after Zim-Pak series).

Overall records (see criteria below):

Imra, Sobers and Pollock lead here. Most would be called genuine all-rounders (during their tenure as captain) except for the last 3.

Kapil and L Amarnath represent India. Shakib and JO Holder are the current players, though they are not likely to captain in future.

Match performances (50 and 5wi):

This is in chronological order.

The only double century (219) here is by the long-forgotten DS Atkinson. That was in the context of a match-saving 7th-wicket partnership of 347 with CC Depeiaza.

There is another 150+ score by Sobers in 1966.

There are several others with a century and 5wi, led by Imran with a century and 11 wickets. Even Border has a fifty and 11 wickets with his occasional bowling. More recently Rashid Khan made a fifty and took 11 wickets for Afghanistan.

Test captains compared-bowling

Continuing the study of how Test captains have performed in the bowling field.

There are relatively few bowlers who have been long-term captains. And several of them could better be classified as all-rounders.

Most wickets-25 and above:

A significant number have taken more than 100 wickets as captain. And most have been all-rounders. The highest number of wickets by a “pure” bowler is 106 by Bedi followed by 85 by Walsh. Kapil did only slightly better with 111.

Holder and Shakib lead among current players.

Most 5wi (2 and above):

As in the first table, Imran leads. Bedi has the most for India (8). Holder (7) and Shakib (4) lead among current players.

Most 10wm (all instances):

Imran and Intikhab are the only ones with more than one 10-for. Bedi and Kapil represent India, with Holder and newcomer Rashid Khan among current players.

Now for Bowling Averages (minimum 2000 balls bowled, all instances):

Fazal Mahmood, who captained in relatively few Tests has the best average followed by Imran.

The best by India is by Bedi and Kapil, with Holder and Shakib again leading among current players.

At the bottom we have some like Hooper and Richards who did not bowl in many of their Tests.

For Economy Rates, the best are 1.68 by TL Goddard and 1.86 by HB Cave.

For Strike Rates, the best are 40.3 by Waqar Younis and 45.6 by Bob Willis

The “double” of a fifty+ and 10wm in the same Test.

Hope you have read the related piece https://abn397.wordpress.com/2021/02/19/the-double-of-a-century-and-5wi-in-the-same-test/

We now look at the converse: a fifty-plus and ten wickets in an innings in the same match.

This is a little rarer than the earlier case. It has occurred 30 times, compared to 33 times for the earlier case.

Multibaggers are rarer here. We have 3 instances by Sir Richard Hadlee and 2 by Shakib Al Hasan. That’s all. Botham is here, but only for one instance. Ashwin, Sobers and Mushtaq are not here. But there are others such as Bevan and Border who would not usually be considered to be all-rounders.

The most recent instance was by Stuart Broad during one of the Covid Tests of 2020.

Earlier we saw that Bruce Taylor was the only one to score a century and take 5wi on debut. That was against India in 1965.

There is only instance of someone scoring a 50+ and taking 10 wickets on debut. This was John Lever for England v India in 1976. What is even stranger is that India’s S Venkataraghavan appeared in both of these Tests.

Among current and recent players there are MM Ali, SCJ Broad, RA Jadeja, Dilruwan Perera, Rashid Khan, Shakib Al Hasan and DW Steyn. The only other player from India is Kapil Dev (who never made a century and 5wi together).

Also note AK Davidson, who scored 44 and 80 and took 11 wickets in the tied Test in 1960. He was the first to score over 100 runs and 10 wickets in a match. He had this record to himself until Botham scored a century and took 13 wickets against India in early 1980. Imran Khan and Shakib later followed with a century and 10 wickets in 1983 (against India, who else?) and 2014 (against Zimbabwe).

The other double: 50 + 10 wkts in a match

Most of those who follow Test cricket know about the double of a century and 5wi in a match. This has been done 32 times, with the last occasion being the present WI player Roston Chase in 2016.

The lesser-known double is that of 50 and 10wm, which is slightly rarer and has been done on 30 occasions. Stuart Broad joined this list in the 3rd Test against West Indies in 2020.

This seems to be a little harder to achieve compared to the other double. Sir Richard Hadlee is the only one to do it 3 times and Shakib Al Hasan the only one to do it twice. Kapil, Botham and Imran duly appear here. “Sir” Jadeja is the only other player from India here.

In a mirror of Bruce Taylor’s 100 + 5wi against India on his debut in 1965, only one player John Lever has  managed 50 + 10 wm also against India in 1976. Oddly enough S Venkataraghavan was in India’s team on both occasions.

There are some odd cases here involving players who were not generally considered all-rounders, such as Qadir, Border, Bevan and Steyn. And others who had short careers such as Lever, Nash and Craig. But most of the big names of the past few decades are there.

The elite group with a century and 10-for includes Botham, Imran, Shakib and honorary member Davidson with 100 runs and 10-for.

Broad achieved this in the nick of time, taking the last wicket of the match to complete his tenner.

When the tail wagged against India

Indian bowlers have often been frustrated by lower-order batsmen. This happened in the first Test of this series as well as the first innings of the second Test.

Here we list all scores in Tests of 70 and above from No 8-11 (sorry, 12) against India:

This includes several debut scores (including 137* by Neesham, 105 by BR Taylor, 103* by Samaraweera to begin with) as well as career-best scores of 173 by IDS Smith, 137* by Neesham, 107 by Christiani and numerous others such as MA Starc, MD Marshall, TT Bresnan and even Anderson and Muralitharan. The most recent entry is KA Maharaj with 72.

We also look at the averages (with a minimum of 10 innings) for those who batted at 8-12 against India:

Vettori, Broad and Starc have scored the most runs here. Starc, JO Holder and Broad have done well in recent years.

Finally, partnerships of 90+ from the 8th wicket onward against India:

Ironically the highest such partnership is for the last wicket, when Anderson scored his only Test fifty. From the current series we have Maharaj and Philander with 109 for the 9th, and Muthusamy and Piedt with 91 for the 8th.

 

 

ODIs between India and Pakistan-2

Hope you have read Part 1.

Now we take up Bowling.

Most wickets (25 and above):

A close bunching at the top, led by the senior W.

No current players.

Best innings bowling (includes all instances of 5 or more wickets):

No performances in the last few years.

Best bowling averages (Minimum 1000 balls, all instances):

Imran and Kumble lead. Shoaib Malik is the only current player.

The best economy rates are by Akram and Imran.

The best strike rates are by Waqar and Saqlain.

Now to Fielding:

Most dismissals (15 or more):

Led by Moin and non-keeper Azharuddin. Dhoni is next.

Innings dismissals (4 and above):

Mongia is the only one with 5 dismissals. Several non-keepers have 4 catches.

Best dismissal rate (Minimum 20 innings and 0.500):

Moin Khan and MS Dhoni lead, while M Kaif has the best for non-keepers.

All-round performances:

Overall (see criteria):

Led by the semi all-rounder Ganguly and Imran.

All-round match performances ( 30 runs and 3 wickets):

Abdul Razzaq has the best figures here, followed by Tendulkar.

 

Best performances by losing captains-2

Hope that you have read part 1: https://abn397.wordpress.com/2018/08/05/best-performances-by-losing-captains/

We look at other performances by captains in tests lost by their team. We will see that India is well represented here.

Best innings bowling (including all instances of 5wi and above):

Kapil is the only captain who has taken more than 7 wickets here. BS Bedi, Imran Khan and Courtney Walsh have multiple appearances. Current players include Shakib Al Hasan (multiple appearances), Graeme Cremer and Jason Holder.

Best match bowling (8wm and above):

Kapil again heads this, from that same match in 1983. Bedi is the only other one with a 10-for. Current players include Jason Holder and Graeme Cremer.

Best innings fielding (5 dismissals):

Includes a few current players such as Mushfiqur, SPD Smith and Sarfraz. Sammy and Smith are the only non-keepers here.

Best match fielding (6 dismissals):

Current player Sarfraz Ahmed tops this list along with AC Gilchrist, while MS Dhoni and SPD Smith also appear. SP Fleming and SPD Smith (twice) are the only non-keepers. Gilchrist was a “regular” stand-in captain.

Best all-round performance (50 and 5wi):

Holder and Shakib from the present, while Imran Khan has two appearances from the same series in 1982. The best performances would by by Imran (July 1982) and Holder.

 

Shakib Al Hasan’s all round feat

Bangladesh’s first Test victory against Australia came in their fifth attempt, having lost all four of the previous Tests. Two were in Australia and two were at home.

The main architect of this victory was Shakib Al Hasan with a fine all-round performance, which we will look at in more detail:

While the feat of a century + fiver is well documented, the “converse” of a fifty and ten wickets is not. But it can easily be got from Statsguru.

Fifty and ten wickets in a Test:

Only 28 such instances in all Tests. The only ones who have done this on more than one occasion are Sir Richard Hadlee (3 times) and now Shakib Al Hasan (twice). Kapil and India’s false knight also make appearances (while R. Ashwin does not). Moeen Ali was the last entry before Shakib.

Kapil and Jadeja are the only ones from India.

If you take the still rarer feat of a fifty and two five-fors:

Only 14 instances-including two by Sir Richard and two by Shakib. None from India.

While we are at it, let us take the analogous case of two fifties and one five-for:

Only 14 instances, including four from India. Mankad, Umrigar and Surti could not save their team from defeat, while B. Kumar’s neglected batting helped in a draw.

No one has achieved this more than once.

No one has scored two fifties AND two five-fors in a Test. From the above we see that the nearest approaches were by Davidson in 1960 (44, 80, 5wi and 6wi) and Vettori in 2008 (55*, 76, 5wi and 4wi).

There have, however been four instances of 100 runs and 10 wickets in a match-in which Shakib figures again:

Review of Tests between the West Indies and Pakistan-2

Continuing our review of all Tests between these teams, after the conclusion of the recent series.

Bowling-20 or more wickets:

Imran and Akram top the list, with Walsh having the most wickets for the West Indies. Among current players there are Yasir Shah (46), Bishoo (36) and Gabriel (25). The most 5wi are 6 by Imran and 5 by Yasir Shah. No one has taken 10wm more than once.

Best innings bowling-all cases of 6wi and above:

While Croft and Imran have the best innings figures for their teams, Yasir Shah’s 7-94 and 6-63, Mohammad Amir’s 6-44 and Gabriel’s 5-11 are from the just-concluded series. The second best figures of 8-49 were by Bishoo in the series in the UAE last year.

Best match bowling-all cases of 9wm and above:

Gabriel and Yasir Shah recorded 9-wicket hauls in this series, although the overall record of 12-100 was set by Fazal Mahmood long ago. Bishoo and Yasir Shah had  10-wicket hauls last year in the UAE.

Bowling averages (Minimum 2000 balls)-all instances:

Croft has the best bowling average with Marshall and Wasim Akram close behind.

Of current players, Yasir Shah and Bishoo can be seen here.

The best economy rates are 2.05 by Gibbs and 2.36 by Fazal Mahmood.

The best strike rates are 39.6 by Waqar Younis and 41.7 by Croft.

Fielding: 12 or more dismissals:

The record of 29 dismissals was set by Alexander long ago, though Kamran Akmal and Moin Khan are second with 25. The most stumpings is by Imtiaz Ahmed (8) and most by non-keepers 23 by Viv Richards and Younis Khan. Dowrich and Sarfraz Ahmed are slowly moving up.

Best innings fielding: 4 or more dismissals:

The record of 5 is shared by DL Murray, Moin Khan and Kamran Akmal (twice). The most by non-keepers is 4 by Mathias, Logie and Taufeeq Umar.

Best match fielding: 5 or more dismissals:

The much-maligned Kamran Akmal has the record of 9 dismissals, while Imtiaz Ahmed holds the record of 3 stumpings. The most catches by non-keepers is 5 by Logie, Taufeeq Umar and Younis Khan. Younis achieved this in the 2nd Test of this series.

Best dismissal rate (20 or more innings):

No wicket-keepers figure in this list as none of them played enough. The best dismissal rate is by Younis Khan followed by Viv Richards.

All-round performance (see criteria in table):

Even with these modest criteria, only Imran Khan qualifies with a respectable total of 775 runs and 80 wickets.

All-round match performance (fifty and 5wi in match):

Oddly enough, Imran did not achieve this but the then captain Mushtaq Mohammad’s all-round performance is one of the finest for Pakistan. And we are reminded of Gayle’s lesser-known bowling capability.

 

 

 

Tests between Pakistan and the West Indies-2

Continuing the review. Hope you have seen the first part.

Looking at fielding:

Dismissals (10 and above):

Imtiaz Ahmed has the most stumpings (8), Alexander the most catches by a keeper (25) and Viv Richards the most catches by a non-keeper (23) followed by Greenidge with 19. No current players here other than Younis Khan.

Most catches in an innings (4 and above):

No recent instances. The much-maligned Kamran Akmal did do his share of catching.

Most catches in a match (5 and above):

As above, no instance after 2005 but Kamran Akmal tops the list. Note Imtiaz Ahmed’s consistency.

Highest dismissal rates (Minimum 20 innings, all instances):

Oddly enough no specialist wicketkeeper appears here as none of them played enough. Richards, Majid and Richardson top the list. You can however see their dismissal rates in the first table above, with Kamran Akmal having  a rate of 2.777 in 9 innings.

All-round performance (overall):

Only these two played enough to meet this modest target.

All-round performance in a match (50 and 5wi):

Gayle’s forgotten all-round ability appears here.