Review of Ind vs Aus Tests (2023)-Part 1

India won the series 2-1. This was their 4th consecutive series win against Australia.

A total of 106 Tests have been played between these teams.

Australia leads 44-32 with 1 tie and 29 draws.

Both sides do much better at home:

In Australia, Aus lead 30-9 with 13 draws.

In India, Aus trail 14-23 with 1 tie and 16 draws.

We now look at individual records, staring with Batting:

Most runs (1000 and more):

Tendulkar leads by a lrge margin, followed by Ponting. Pujara, Kohli and Smith lead among current players.

Highest innings (175 and above):

While there are many large scores here (including VVSL’s legendary 281), the highest scores from this series are 186 by Kohli and 180 by Khawaja.

The most cenuries are 11 by Tendulkar.

The most 50+ scores are 27 by Tendulkar and 20 by Ponting.

Highest batting average (Minimum 20 innings, 40 and above):

The unexpected leader is David Boon, ahead of Steve Smith. Bradman is not here because he did not play enough. Smith, Kohli and Pujara represent current players.

Highest strike rates (Minimum 1000 balls faced, 50 and above):

Headed by Gilchrist and Sehwag. Warner, Hayden and Bradman are next. Warner, S Smith and Kohli have the highest strike rates among current players.

To be continued.

Review of England-New Zealand Tests-2023 (Part 1)

The series in NZ in February 2023 was drawn 1-1, in contrast to England’s 3-0 sweep at home in 2022.

Th second Test saw two unusual results. It was only the second Test to be won by a margin of 1 run. Here is a list of Tests where the margin was 5 runs or less:

It was only the 4th time that a team lost a Test after imposing a follow-on, and the first such instance when Australia was not involved:

A total of 112 Tests have been played between these teams. England leads 52-13 with 47 draws.

In England, England leads 33-6 with 20 draws in 59 Tests

In New Zealand, England leads 19-7 with 27 draws in 53 Tests.

We now look at individual performances, starting with

Most runs (1000 or more):

JE Root now has the most runs in these matches. He is the only current player in the above list.

Highest individual scores (175 or more):

H Brook’s 186 is the only score from the current series. The highest in recent years was 226 by Root in 2019.

Highest batting averages (Minimum 20 innings and 40.00):

Root has the second-highest average, followed by BA Stokes at some distance.

Highest strike rates (Minimum 1000 balls faced and 50.00):

Fittingly, BB McCullum heads this list. Current players here include Stokes, Pope, Root and Blundell.

To be continued.

Review of Zimbabwe-West Indies Tests-Feb 2023

The recent Test series was won by the West Indies 1-0 with one draw.

A total of 12 Tests have been played between these teams. West Indies leas 8-0 with 4 draws.

In The West Indies, the home team leads 4-0. In Zimbabwe, the west Indies lead 4-0 with 4 draws.

We now look at individual records, starting with Batting:

Most runs (750 or more):

Brathwaite has the most runs (335) among current players.

Gayle and H Masakadza have the most centuries (2) R Sarwan has the most 50+ scores (3).

Highest innings (125 or more):

In this series, T Chanderpaul made the highest score (207*) in matches between these teams, surpassing Lara’s 191 in 2003. Brathwaite made 182. GS Ballance scored a century on debut for Zimbabwe after earlier scoring 4 centuries for England.

Now for Bowling:

Most wickets (12 or more):

Newcomer G Motie is in third place with 19 wickets.

S Shilligford has the most 5wis (3)

Best innings bowling (including all 5wi or more):

G Motie has the best and third-best innings figures.

Best match bowling (for West Indies against all teams, 11wm or better):

Motie’s 13-99 is the third best match bowling for the West Indies. It is also the best for a West Indian spinner, surpassing the 11-152 by Ramadhin in 1950.

Best match bowling (West Indies and Zimbabwe), 8wm or better:

G Motie’s 13-99 is the best for matches between these teams, surpassing S Shillingford’s 10-93 in 2013.

Most dismissals (8 or more):

RD Jacobs has the most dismissals (16). Current player J da Silva is in third place with 10.

Most innings dismissals (4 or more):

Current player CR Ervine has the most catches by a fielder (4)

Most match dismissals (4 or more):

Current keeper has the most match dismissals (6). K Powell has the most by a fielder (5).

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

Note B Mavuta’s performance in this series.

The two Chanderpauls

Shivnarine Chanderpaul made his Test debut in 1994. His son Tagenarine followed in late 2022.

Shivnarine became one of the leading Test batsmen for the West Indies for 20-odd years. So there was much anticipation when his son made his Test debut.

His scores in his first three Tests were 51 &45, 47 &17 and 207* & 15. That is 382 runs at 76.40

Compare this with Shivnarine’s first 3 Tests: 62, 19 & 50, 77 & 5 which is 213 runs at 42.60

Also, we note that Junior scored a double century in his 3rd Test about 60 days after his debut.

In contrast, Senior scored his first century in his 19th Test 3 years after his debut. The first of his two double centuries came in his 79th Test after 11 years. Another example of how the next generation did things in a hurry.

See: https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/shivnarine-chanderpaul-51469

and https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/tagenarine-chanderpaul-601968

Review of Aus-SA Tests, 2022-23 Part 2

Hope you have read Part 1.

We now take up Bowling records:

Most wickets (Minimum 50 or more):

Warne has the most wickets, with Grimmett following at a distance. Recent players Steyn and MG Johnson are next. Grimmett (8) and Warne (7) have the most 5wis. Grimmett (4) also has the most 10wms, followed by MG Johnson and Warne.

Best innings bowling (including all 7wi):

MG Johnson is the only one with an 8wi.

Best match bowling (including all 10wm):

Grimmett has 2 of the best 3 performances here.

Bowling averages (Minimum 2000 balls, all instances):

Grimmett and Whitty have the best averages, Goddard and Grimmett the best economy rates, with Whitty and Steyn having the best strike rates.

Now for Fielding:

Most dismissals (25 or more):

Boucher has the most dismissals, although Oldfield has the most stumpings. Ponting (35) and de Villiers (34) have the most catches by fielders.

Most dismissals in an innings (5 or more):

Grout and Lindsay were once Test record-holders in this category.

Most dismissals in a match (7 or more):

de Kock is the only recent player at the top.

Best dismissal rate (0.650 or more):

Headed by Lindsay and Haddin. The best by a pure fielder is 0.964 by RB Simpson, although the “hybrid” de Villiers is a little higher at 1.085.

All-round performances:

Overall (see criteria below):

MG Johnson is a little ahead of TL Goddard.

Match performances (50+ runs and 5+wi):

The best performances include 100/5wi (Kelleway and Benaud) and 50/10wm (Steyn).

Review of Pakistan-New Zealand Tests after 2022-23 series (Part 2)

Hope you have read Part 1.

We now proceed to Bowling records for Tests between these teams.

Most wickets (25 or more):

It is not surprising to see Waqar and Wasim at the top, and that Sir Richard has the most for New Zealand.

The most 5wis are 6 by Wasim followed by 5 by Waqar. Several players have two 10wms.

Southee has the most by current players.

Best innings bowling (including all 7wi or better):

The best figures are the most recent here, 8-41 by Yasir Shah who is not currently in the team. Also note Mohammad Zahid’s 7-for on debut in 1996. The best by NZ was by the lesser-known C Pringle

Best match bowling (including all 10wm or better):

Yasir Shah’s 2018 performance also tops this list. KA Jamieson has the next best performance in recent years. Mohammad Zahid took 11 wickets on debut.

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

The two Ws again. Note the unusually poor average of Vettori.

The best economy rates are Pervez Sajjad and HJ Howarth.

The best strike rates are by Wasim and Waqar.

Now for Fielding:

Most dismissals (15 or more):

The most dismissals are by recent player BJ Watling, followed by current player Sarfaraz Ahmed. Sarfaraz also has the most stumpings (6) and recent player R Taylor has the most catches as a fielder (29).

Most dismissals in an innings (5 or more):

Headed by Wasim Bari (7), followed by Adnan Akmal with 6.

Bari’s 7 was then a world record for innings dismissals.

Most dismissals in a match (7 or more):

Headed by Rashid Latif and BB McCullum with 9.

Best dismissal rates (Minimum 20 innings and 0.600):

Headed by BJ Watling. The best by a fielder is by another recent player R Taylor.

All-round performances(Minimum 20 innings and 2000 balls):

Only Intikhab Alam makes the cut.

All-round match performances (Minimum 50 runs and 5wi):

The best performances are by Mushtaq Mohammad and MD Craig.

Mushtaq and DS Atkinson are the only ones to score a double century and take a 5wi in a match.

MD Craig’s 50/10wm was the highlight of a short career. Also note Sodhi’s performance in the latest series.

Review of Pakistan-New Zealand Tests after 2022-23 series (Part 1)

This series was drawn 0-0 with both Tests at Karachi being drawn.

For Tests between these teams,

Pakistan lead 25-14 with 23 draws.

In Pakistan, Pakistan lead 13-2 with 8 draws.

In New Zealand, Pakistan lead 10-9 with 14 draws.

On neutral grounds, Pakistan trail 2-3 with 1 draw.

Looking at individual performances:

Batting:

Most runs (750 or more):

Javed Miandad leads, with KS Williamson in second place.

Highest innings scores, (150 or more):

Inzamam-ul-Haq leads with a triple century. Williamson has NZ’s record with 238. In this series his 200* was the highest for NZ in Pakistan, surpassing the previous record of 152 by WK Lees in 1976.

Highest averages (Minimum 20 innings and 30.00):

Miandad leads second-placed Williamson by a large margin. Latham and some other recent players can also be seen here.

Highest strike rates (Minimum 1000 balls faced and 40.00):

Led by McCullum with today’s hero Sarfraz Ahmed close behind. R Taylor and Williamson follow closely.

To be continued. See Part 2.

Tests of 2022-Captaincy records

Finally, we look at captaincy records. Most teams have had more than one captain during the year:

At first glance, this shows RG Sharma and SPD Smith having a W/L ratio of infinity. However they have captained in only 2 and 1 Tests respectively. If we consider those who captained in a minimum of 5 Tests, then we have BA Stokes (9.00) at the top, followed by PJ Cummins (6.00). Others such as KC Brathwaite (1.50) are far behind.

The most Tests captained in are 11 by D Elgar, followed by Stokes and Cummins (10 each) and Babar Azam (9). Several failed to win any Test, led by JE Root (5) and Shakib Al Hasan (lost all 4).

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 Australia-West Indies Tests-Part 1

Australia won the two-Test series 2-0. This was the first series between these teams since 2015-16 in Australia. The West Indies has not hosted Australia since 2015.

Here is a summary of all Tests between these teams:

Total: 118 Tests, 60 won by Aus, 32 won by WI, 1 tie, 25 draws

In Aus: 68 Tests, 39 won by Aus, 18 won by WI,1 tie, 10 draws

In WI: 50 Tests, 21 won by Aus, 14 won by WI, 15 draws.

Going to individual scores, starting with

Batting:

Most runs, minimum 1000:

Led by Lara by a large margin.Next is Viv Richards. The most by an Aus player is by Steve Waugh. Lara and Richards also have the most centuries (9 each). Lara also has the most 50+ scores (20) followed by Haynes and Border with 19.

No current player here, partly because these teams have not met much in the recent past.

Highest individual scores, minimum 175:

Led by Lara, with what was his first Test century.Second is 269* by the already forgotten AC Voges less than a decade ago. The 242 by KD Walters is significant as he was the first of several to score a double century and century in the same Test. M Labuschagne also achieved this, and his 204 also appears above.

Highest batting averages (Minimum 20 innings and 40.00):

Headed by the somewhat unexpected pair of Ian Chappell and Larry Gomes. Greg Chappell is just after Gomes. No current player here.

Highest strike rates (Minimum 1000 balls faced and 50.00):

Data on balls faced is not fully available. But it is reasonable to assume that Viv Richards would have the highest strike rate. Next is the less disputable SR of Steven Smith..

Now for

Bowling:

Most wickets (Minimum 50):

Headed by the long-serving CA Walsh (135), Ambrose (128) and McGrath (110). Again, no one from recent years.

The most fivers are 8 by Ambrose and McGrath. Only McGrath has taken two tenners.

Best innings bowling (including all 7wi and better):

Nothing from recent years. The most recent entry is by WI’s J Lawson in 2003 (not the Australian GF Lawson).

Best match bowling (Including all 10wm and better):

Headed by the colourful MG Hughes. Nothing after 2012, which does include current player Kemar Roach.

Best bowling averages (Minimum 2000 balls bowled, maximum 30.00):

Headed by McGrath and Garner. We also see that the best economy rates were by Gibbs and Walker, and that the best strike rates were by B Lee and J Thomson). N Lyon represents the current players.

To be continued.

Most runs in a Test

The recent test at Rawalpindi was noted for many things, including one of the highest aggregate scores in a Test. It is, in fact, the 3rd highest in terms of runs scored. Here are the Tests where the most runs were scored:

Most of these matches have been well covered in cricket literature. The first of these (Durban, 1939) had England making 652/5 while chasing 696. They had to leave because of their travel arrangements. The second (Kingston, 1930 had the West Indies at 408/5 while chasing 835 when the teams had to leave. And the Bazball Miracle at Rawalpindi is 3rd on this list. You can see the scorecards here:

https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/stats/index.html?class=1;filter=advanced;orderby=runs;qualmin1=1650;qualval1=runs;template=results;type=aggregate;view=match

Most runs conceded on debut

At the end of the Pakistan-England Test at Rawalpindi, a few new records were set for the most runs conceded.

We first look at Most runs conceded in an innings on debut:

Zahid Mahmood now holds this unwanted record, which he took over from S Randiv of Sri Lanka who had done this against India in 2010

Also the Most runs conceded in an innings:

The record still remains with LO Fleetwood-Smith of Australia against England in 1938 (which included a score of 903/7 with 364 by Hutton). Zahid Mahmood is 9th on this list.

Not sure how long he will play for Pakistan. See this:

https://www.espncricinfo.com/player/zahid-mahmood-433614

Now let us see about Most runs conceded in a match on debut:

Here, Zahid Mahmood is second only to JJ Krezja, who took 12-358 (8-215 and 4-143) against India in 2008. This was not an auspicious beginning as he played only one more Test after this.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/player/jason-krejza-6235

As for Most runs conceded in a match:

This is headed by OC Scott’s 9-374 against England in 1930. This included 5-266 (in 849) and 4-108 (in 272/9 dec).

https://www.espncricinfo.com/player/tommy-scott-52925

Krezja is 2nd, and Zahid Mahmood 3rd in this overall list.

Mahmood took 4-235 (in 657) and 2-84 in (264/7 dec).