Asian cricketers in SENA countries

First we look at how batsmen from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have done in South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia in the past 10 years (June 2013 to June 2023). The cutoff is a minimum of 20 innings in this period.

Headed by AD Mathews of Sri Lanka. The top 5 from India are Kohli, Pant, Rahane, Pujara and RG Sharma.

We continue this study for bowling (minimum 2000 balls bowled) for the same period:

Headed by JJ Bumrah. The next 4 are I Sharma, M Shami, M Amir (Pak) and M Siraj.

Note that R Ashwin has a better average than Jadeja as well as UT Yadav.

For the sake of completeness, we look at fielding figures as well (Dismissals per innings, for a minimum of 20 innings):

Headed by Sarfraz Ahmed (Pak). The next four are RR Pant, LD Chandimal (who are primarily keepers), followed by K Mendis and Asad Shafiq.

Test statistics for 2018-2

Now for bowling:

Most wickets in 2018 (25 or more):

JJ Bumrah took 48 wickets in the calendar year of his debut, coming 3rd after Alderman (54 in 1981) and Ambrose (49 in 1988). The previous record for India was 40 by Doshi in 1979. A Dananjaya took 27 wickets in his debut calendar year.

The most fivers were 4 by Taijul and Miraz of Bangladesh and Holder of the West Indies. No one took more than one tenner.

Best innings bowling (including all instances of 6wi and above):

The best effort by Maharaj was in a losing cause.

Best match bowling (including all instances of 9wm and above):

Maharaj also figures here with a 12-wicket haul when his side lost. Yasir Shah’s 14-wicket haul was the best in the UAE. He and Imran Khan are the only Pakistani bowlers to have taken 14 wickets in a match.

Bowling averages (Minimum 2000 balls, all instances):

Bumrah has the best average and strike rate, while Anderson has the best economy.

Fielding:

Most dismissals (15 or more):

de Kock and Paine lead, although Dickwella has the most stumpings. Kusal Mendis has the most catches by a non-keeper.

Most innings dismissals (5 or more):

Newcomer Pant is the only one with 6 dismissals. SPD Smith has the most catches by a non-fielder, making him one of several to share this record in all Tests. Saha took 5 catches in each innings of a match.

Most match dismissals (6 or more):

Pant with 11 dismissals shared the world record with Russell and de Villiers. Earlier in the year Saha had an Indian record with 10 dismissals.

The most by a non-keeper was 7 by Rahul, in the only Test which India won on that series. Smith made 6 catches before being disgraced.

Dismissal rate (Minimum 20 innings, 0.500):

de Kock and Paine at the top, leading the others by a large margin. Kusal Mendis has the best by a non-keeper.

All-round performance:

Overall (see criteria in table):

Not a good year for all-rounders, as Cummins is the only one to make the cut with these relatively modest standards.

Match (50 and 5wi):

More good performances, with Cummins’ last-gasp performance at the end. Holder also has two entries here.

 

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: