Stats - Batsmen in the past decade

I thought i will compile some stats in this post. I am intrigued about 2 things in test matches.

- Those whose highs in terms of performances are in tune with the highs of the team (if they play well, the team usually wins). I consider them MVPs for the team

- Those who are adapted to pressure situations - I took the example of 4th innings when more often than not, the situation demands either batting out the innings for a draw or chasing a challenging target on a dicey pitch.

I compiled the stats in 2 ways - First for the Indians and then to compare the list with that of players worldwide.

Some miscellaneous stats

2000s

In the past decade, i checked the performance of the Indian batsmen in wins. But considering the fact that the so-called "fab-four" have been a part of the squad for pretty much most of the decade, the list is not so surprising (Classification: Innings played >= 15).

Player	Matches	Runs	Average	100s	50s
R Dravid	39	3810	74.7	11	17
SR Tendulkar	35	3163	67.29	12	10
V Sehwag	27	2382	59.55	5	10
VVS Laxman	35	2364	50.29	4	16
G Gambhir	14	1094	49.72	3	6
SC Ganguly	31	1944	46.28	4	11
MS Dhoni	16	857	45.1	1	8
Yuvraj Singh	13	585	39	0	5

Now to check with the performance of other batsmen worldwide. (Top 20 after removing the Indians' names from the list). Surprise, Surprise - No Aussie in the top 5!!!! (probably a good thing indicating that they do not necessarily depend on a couple of individuals for wins)

Player	Matches	Runs	Average	100s	50s
Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pak)	26	2684	83.87	11	9
KC Sangakkara (SL)	41	4179	75.98	14	15
GP Thorpe (Eng)	26	2053	70.79	7	10
JH Kallis (SA)	50	4257	68.66	15	20
BC Lara (WI)	9	952	68	3	6
Younis Khan (Pak)	22	2241	67.9	7	10
Mohammad Yousuf (Pak)	28	2477	66.94	8	11
RT Ponting (Aus)	75	7012	66.15	25	30
GC Smith (SA)	41	3887	65.88	15	12
MEK Hussey (Aus)	32	2821	65.6	9	13
DPMD Jayawardene (SL)	43	3797	65.46	13	13
TT Samaraweera (SL)	30	2222	65.35	8	11
RR Sarwan (WI)	13	1210	60.5	5	6
G Kirsten (SA)	23	1907	59.59	6	10
SR Waugh (Aus)	33	2028	57.94	9	6
S Chanderpaul (WI)	17	1261	57.31	5	6
AG Prince (SA)	29	1738	56.06	7	3
MS Atapattu (SL)	24	1681	56.03	6	6
ML Hayden (Aus)	68	5975	55.84	22	19
DS Lehmann (Aus)	19	1447	55.65	5	7

Fourth Innings Heroes:

Here's the performance of the Indian batsmen in the 4th innings of test matches in the last decade

Player	Matches	Runs	Average	100s	50s
R Dravid	37	993	52.26	0	8
SR Tendulkar	31	723	42.52	1	2
SC Ganguly	29	537	41.3	0	3
VVS Laxman	32	549	36.6	0	3
V Sehwag	25	539	31.7	0	4

And here's how they match up to the other batsmen worldwide in the same time frame (Filter: Batting Average >= 50). While compiling this list, it occurred to me that even statisticians sitting in the dressing rooms have access to this data. However, we don't, for example, see changes to the batting line up in the 4th innings depending upon who is most likely to succeed and who is almost surely not going to score big (those who are primarily first innings players).

Player	Matches	Runs	Average	100s	50s
RT Ponting (Aus)	40	1266	60.28	4	4
GP Thorpe (Eng)	22	457	57.12	1	2
MA Butcher (Eng)	18	562	56.2	1	3
GC Smith (ICC/SA)	30	1275	55.43	3	8
ML Hayden (Aus)	37	1268	52.83	1	9
Younis Khan (Pak)	19	675	51.92	3	3
S Chanderpaul (WI)	33	1136	51.63	2	9
DPMD Jayawardene (SL)	28	757	50.46	2	3

The curious case of Ajay Sharma

I was checking out the stats for Ajay Sharma. He has the 5th highest batting average in first class cricket among all batsmen who have played atleast 50 innings. He played all of 1 test match and 31 ODIs.

• His only test match appearance was in Jan 1988. He made 30 and 23 batting in number 6
• He played 2 ODIs in Jan 1988. He did not bat in the first match and made 2 (not out).
  

-> In the first ODI, India batted first after winning the toss. Ajay Sharma, primarily a middle order batsman, was one of 3 batsmen who all made their debut in the same match. The match was the 3rd of a 7 match series with the series tied at 1-1 :). India played the full quota of 45 overs and Ajay Sharma did not get a bat
-> In the second ODI, Ajay Sharma came into bat at number 9 (thats right!!!!) and made 2 not out. Again, India had won the toss and chose to bat. This is very interesting indeed since one would imagine that a young middle order batsman making his debut can only be judged if he gets some time in the middle.

-> India played 11 more ODIs from then till 31st October when Ajay Sharma next got a look in. Meanwhile, it might be worthy to point out that during this time, Ajay Sharma was not exactly setting the national scene alight with his performances in the first class level.

-> Having had a decent time in the middle for the next few ODIs, his form gradually went on the decline and after a stop and start career, his career as a player for the national side ended. He had played in 31 ODIs.
- Only 1 inning in the number 4 position (59 not out :) )
- Never batted higher up than number 6 in the lineup in any of the matches

• In the 1992/93 Ranji season he scored 784 runs with 5 scores of 50 or more in 9 innings (3 centuries)
  
• In the 1993/94 he made 403 runs in 6 innings with 4 scores of 50 or more
• 1995/96 - 864 runs in 12 innings with 4 hundreds
• 1996/97 - 1033 runs in 10 innings with 5 hundreds

In 1996, Ajay Sharma was 32 years of age and probably in the best form of his lfe. India was not doing very well in the test scene (3 wins out of 9 tests played). It was around this time that a couple of youngsters, Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly and VVS Laxman were given a debut.

Call it plain tough luck or selectors' choice. Ajay Sharma got his chance maybe a little too early in his career to make an impact. And only 1 test match appearance for a guy with a career batting average of 67.46 does sound a touch too harsh. (By far, the fewest test appearances for any player who played atleast 100 first class matches and has an average of 50 or more :( ). I remembered that Michael Hussey made his test debut at age 30. Sometimes, the game can be a gift to some and cruel to others.

This perhaps best illustrates the curious case of Ajay Sharma.