Muttiah Muralitharan leads the bowlers' list for the period 1970 to 2009 © AFP

I have learnt a lot through the Test Batsmen analysis. First and foremost is that doing a single comparison table over 134 years is not the correct method. Test cricket has changed probably 1080 degrees over the years and there cannot be a single yardstick for all the players. Hence I have separated the analysis into multiple periods.

Period Separation:

These periods have been identified with lot of thought and deliberation with inputs from a few interested readers. Many related factors have gone into this process. Separate tables will be prepared for different periods. In addition, I will show, in the follow-up article, two tables separating the bowlers by type of bowling. This will be only for information.

- The bowling era: 1877-1914 (134 Tests and 370 players)
- The batting era: 1920-1969 (535 Tests and 980 players)
- The balanced era: 1970-2009 (1251 Tests and 1220 players).

The first era is so different from the rest of the years that it is essential to separate it into a single one despite the paucity of Tests. Uncovered pitches, 3-day Test matches, 110+ overs bowled in a day, compulsory follow-ons, low average scores et al are some of the features.

The second era was where batting was king. However, the in-between wars period was lit up by the wonderful batting of Bradman, Hammond. Headley, McCabe et al and was the golden era of batting. Still the results were plentiful. What followed the WW-2 was unfortunate. These years were batting dominated. However the batting was defensive and the matches were driven by the desire not to lose, rather than to win. The new teams, India and Pakistan, the weaker New Zealand and the defensive strong teams contributed a lot to this situation. These 50 years form a separate era. There are lot of similarities within the two sub-periods in terms of numbers.

The third era is the most balanced era of all. This era saw great bowlers such as Lillee, Holding, Marshall, Hadlee, Imran, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Kapil Dev, Muralitharan, Warne, Kumble et al. It also saw the presence of great batsmen such as Richards, Greg Chappell, Gavaskar, Tendulkar, Lara, Ponting, Miandad, Dravid, Gooch, Jayawardene et al. Thus there were great contests. As such this was a great balanced era and even though the number of Tests is quite high, this is a logical grouping.

As done for the Batting analysis, the analysis is done in two parts. The first is based on Match Performances and the second part is based on the Career achievements. Many people are under the misapprehension that Match Performance is based on team achievements. This is completely wrong. The Match Performance refers to the concerned bowlers' performances during the specific match and what happened in the match. The only team achievement considered is the result which, at the end of the day, is the most important aspect of any match.

A. Match Performances (Maximum 40 points)

The following factors are used to analyze the match performances of bowlers. The total points secured is divided by the number of innspells (my own term indicating a qualifying bowling stint, taking care to exclude bowling efforts such as 5-0-17-0 et al).

Base points
- Wickets captured
- Balls bowled - to recognize long spells
- Batsmen dismissed - based on his score at time of dismissal
Multiplicative factors
- Overall quality of batting team (primarily top-7 batsmen)
- Bowling accuracy (relative to the innings scoring rate)
- Match-related pitch characteristics
- An adjustment for pace bowlers bowling in the Asian subcontinent and spinners bowling outside
- Match situation
- Home/Away (incorporating relative team strengths)
- Result (incorporating relative team strengths)
- Series situation

B. Career Achievements (Maximum 40 points)

This is an equally important aspect of any such analysis. It also encompasses aspects of bowling which do not require consideration of the match conditions or situation. The only longevity measure is the "Career wickets captured" measure, carrying 5 points (6.2%). This will incorporate the following factors.

- Career wickets captured (5 points)
- Career wickets per innspell (5 points)
- Bowling Strike rate-BpW (10 points)
- Bowling accuracy-RpO (5 points)
- Average Quality of batsmen dismissed - based on CtD bat avge (5 points)
- Type of wickets captured - Top/Middle order/Late order (5 points)
- Performance ratio - % of wickets captured to % of balls bowled (5 points).

C. Match Performances(Maximum 40 points)

1.1. Wickets captured: Straightforward linear weight for wickets captured.
1.2. Balls bowled: This is to recognize the fact that a bowler might have bowled an innspell of 43-12-69-2 and provided great support to the main strike bowler(s). Around 25-over spell is considered as approximately equivalent to a wicket.
1.3. Batsmen dismissed: This is to take care of situations such as the Cardiff/Lord's Tests. The idea is to reward Anderson who dismissed Ponting at 0 as against Panesar who dismissed him at 150. Anderson gets almost complete credit while Panesar none. The importance of dismissing a top batsman at a low score cannot be over-emphasized. However it must be noted that in the Career Batsman quality measure, both Anderson and Panesar would get credit for 56.18.
2.1. Overall quality of batting team: This is based on the Career-todate batting averages of the first 7 batsmen and minimal weight to the late order batsmen.
2.2. Bowling accuracy: This is in relation to the bowling team's overall innings performance. three recent examples shown.
- Saf: 651 in 154.3 (Siddle 35-15-67-1)
- Nzl: 619 in 154 (Harbhajan 41-7-120-2)
- Ind: 379 in 92 (Franklin 14-4-38-1)
In each of these cases the bowler concerned has done very well as compared to his team mates and will be credited with the appropriate multiplicative factor, Siddle and Harbhajan more than Franklin because of the higher proportion of overs delivered.
2.3. Match-related pitch characteristics: Based on Arjun's suggestion of the 10 best scores. I have done an analysis of many matches of different periods and this measure has come out very well. The highest value is 1319 in the (in)famous Slk-Ind test in which 6 centuries, including Jayasuriya's 340, were scored. The lowest was in an Ashes test during 1888 with a figure of 181, the four innings scores being 116, 53, 60 and 62 (???). The higher this value is, the more difficult the bowlers' task is and vice versa.
2.4. Location based adjustment: All pace bowlers bowling in the sub-continent get a lift up and all spinners bowling outside get a lift up. There is no negative valuation. These are based on actual summary calculations.
2.5. Match situation: The innings type. In the second innings, what score was being defended, in the third innings, what is the deficit/advantage and what was the attempted target score and in the fourth innings, what was the score being defended and what was the margin of win, if there was one.
2.6. Home/Away: No blind computation. This takes into account the relative strengths of the two teams. Weaker teams, whether playing home or away will get additional weight and vice versa.
2.7. Result: Here also the relative strengths are taken into account.
2.8. Series situation: Is it a dead rubber, is the series still in the balance, what is the series score at mid points et al.

D. Career Achievements (Maximum 40 points)

1. Career wickets captured (5 points): Only longevity based measure. 5 points for 1000 wickets.
2. Career wickets per innspell (5 points): Performance based measure.
3. Bowling Strike rate-BpW (10 points): This generally favours the fast bowlers. And that is the way it should be.
4. Bowling accuracy-RpO (5 points): This generally favours the spinners.
5. Average Quality of batsmen dismissed - based on CtD bat avge (5 points): Averaged over all the wickets captured.
6. Type of wickets captured - Top/Middle order/Late order (5 points): The Top/Middle order gets clubbed together and gets much higher weight than the low order and then the average determined.
7. Performance ratio - % of wickets captured to % of balls bowled (5 points). This is to reward the bowlers who have delivered maximum while bowling less. Generally favours the fast bowlers although readers would be surprised to see Stuart Macgill in the top-10.

Let us now look at the tables. The same criteria is used for all periods so the tables are comparable, while exercising a degree of caution. The bowler should have reached the mark of 100 career wickets. The tables are current upto and inclusive of match no. 1924 (Second Sri Lnka - Pakistan Test completed recently).

Before readers rush off with comments let me outline below in a simple manner all factors which have been taken care of. Please do not make redundant comments on these factors.

1. Bowler perf points in stronger bowling teams have been increased.
2. Bowler perf points in weaker bowling teams have been decreased.
3. Bowler perf points against stronger batting lineups have been increased.
4. Bowler perf points weaker batting lineups have been decreased.
5. Pace bowler perf points in subcontinent matches have been increased.
6. Spin bowler perf points in outside-sc matches have been increased.
7. Batsman quality is career-to-date and adjusted based on period.
8. Longevity gets a weight of 6.25% and performance measures 93.75%.
9. Effort put in by bowlers, even supportive, has been recognized.

1. Current era (1970-2000): Table of top bowlers

SNo. Cty Bowler          BT Ratio Total Match  Wkt  Bow  Bow  Wkt  Wkt Perf
                                   Pts  Perf   Pts StRt  Acc  Bat  Qty  Idx
                         Max Wt-> 80.0  40.0  10.0 10.0  5.0  5.0  5.0  5.0

  1. Slk Muralitharan M  ROB 1.28 51.30 23.85 6.49 6.74 3.89 4.02 3.81 2.51
  2. Aus Lillee D.K      RF  1.20 48.05 21.48 3.87 7.62 3.20 4.92 3.98 2.98
  3. Aus Warne S.K       RLB 1.20 48.00 22.52 5.57 6.47 3.64 3.69 3.61 2.52
  4. Nzl Hadlee R.J      RFM 1.20 47.97 21.16 4.37 7.69 3.38 4.73 3.88 2.76
  5. Pak Imran Khan      RF  1.20 47.90 21.41 3.87 7.37 3.46 5.15 3.92 2.72
  6. Saf Steyn D.W       RF  1.14 45.55 20.34 2.94 8.01 2.72 4.31 3.68 3.55
  7. Win Marshall M.D    RF  1.14 45.44 18.89 3.77 7.94 3.38 4.59 4.01 2.85
  8. Aus McGrath G.D     RFM 1.12 44.86 18.77 4.57 7.03 3.81 3.84 4.05 2.79
  9. Ind Kumble A        RLB 1.11 44.58 20.13 5.08 5.62 3.58 4.13 3.78 2.26
 10. Pak Waqar Younis    RFM 1.10 44.18 18.67 3.74 7.89 2.91 4.07 3.90 3.00

 11. Saf Donald A.A      RF  1.10 44.13 18.52 3.61 7.49 3.35 4.01 4.02 3.12
 12. Win Ambrose C.E.L   RF  1.09 43.55 18.76 3.81 6.90 3.83 4.01 3.96 2.27
 13. Win Holding M.A     RF  1.08 43.40 17.80 2.94 7.70 3.22 5.06 3.96 2.71
 14. Pak Wasim Akram     LFM 1.08 43.22 18.90 3.84 6.90 3.57 3.91 3.69 2.41
 15. Pak Shoaib Akhtar   RF  1.08 43.21 19.12 2.60 7.53 2.93 4.19 3.93 2.91
 16. Aus Lawson G.F      RF  1.08 43.20 19.26 2.70 6.40 3.12 5.18 4.17 2.37
 17. Aus Reid B.A        LFM 1.08 43.03 18.55 2.68 6.92 3.42 4.35 4.10 3.00
 18. Win Croft C.E.H     RF  1.07 42.97 18.20 2.43 7.86 3.15 4.61 4.10 2.61
 19. Aus Thomson J.R     RF  1.07 42.82 17.32 2.72 7.57 2.79 5.43 4.19 2.78
 20. Ind Harbhajan Singh ROB 1.06 42.51 20.26 3.46 5.63 3.59 3.81 3.61 2.14

This is a galaxy of the best bowlers who have graced the grounds over the past 40 years. Not one of them does not deserve his place in this exclusive list. One might like minor moves amongst the top-10, but no one can say with any degree of conviction that there is even one undeserving candidate, including Dale Steyn.

Muralitharan is deservedly on top, that too by a margin of around 6%. The fact that he has played for Sri Lanka has only aided him slightly. His top-drawer performances, day in and day out, have given him the highest Match Performance points. His collection of wickets, wickets per innspell, good accuracy, quality of batsmen dismissed are all in the top 10%. Only in the last two measures does he lag behind others since he has taken a lion's share of his team's bowling efforts and has captured significant number of late order batsmen.

Lillee, who is in second place just ahead of Warne, was the first of the modern great fast bowlers. He formed a great team with Thomson and would have comfortably crossed 450 wickets barring the mid-career switch to Packer and injuries, because of which he missed 30 Tests. A sub-24 average and a 52+ strike rate tell the story.

Warne, in third position, is much more than the "ball of the century" and similar mind-blowing efforts. He had great variations and, barring against and in India, he was devastating everywhere. On dead pitches he had the ability to think out set batsmen. He gains slightly because he was in a strong bowling attack.

What does one say of Richard Hadlee, who is in fourth place. He might have played for a weak team but this works against him in the Match Performance analysis. However he has maintained 5 wickets per Test throughout his career. He was the single bowling star for his team for many years and deserves his second spot.

What Imran Khan would have done if he had bowled in those 8 batting-only Tests is anybody's guess. His 40-wickets performance against India in the 1982-83 series is one of the best series efforts ever and without any doubt the best performance by a pace bowler in the Asian sub-continent. A great captain and one of the greatest pace bowlers ever, as shown by this placement.

Before readers start sending torrents of mails asking why xyz is not ahead of pqr or something similar, please look at what separates the second to fifth placed bowlers, just 0.15 point. Kindly see them together as a band of equals.

Steyn comes in next. Do I see eyebrows raised at Steyn. If so, do not forget that his strike rate is 39.2, bettered only by the pre-WW1 figure of 34.1 by Lohmann (should be ignored for all purposes). He has captured 170 wickets in 33 Tests at an outstanding average of 23+. His Performance ratio (% of balls to % of wickets) is the highest for any bowler, standing at 1.78. His placement is also a vindication of the algorithms used in that a bowler with 170 wickets could be placed above bowlers who have captured in excess of 550 wickets.

Marshall, McGrath, Kumble and Waqar Younis complete this table of great bowlers. Each of these is a giant and could easily have graced the top-5. Alan Donald, the greatest South African pace bowler ever, just misses out.

Australia has three bowlers and Pakistan, as a tribute to their fast bowling skills, two bowlers. There are 3 spinners in this elite group, probably par for the period. Let me also add that only one more spinner, Harbhajan, that too just about, makes it to the top-20, making this a pace bowlers' era. Anyhow, other than, to a lesser extent, Saqlain Mushtaq and Abdul Qadir, there have not been very good spinners during these times.

As I am readying this for despatch, I get to view all-time best Australian XI. The three Australian bowlers in the Top-10 from this table and the no.2 from the Middle-era table have all found their place.

To view the complete list, please click here.

2.Current era (1970-2000): Table with support data

SNo. Cty Bowler          B/T Inn Rating Wkts Bow   Bow   Wkt  Wkt  B/W
                             Spls  Pts       StRt  RpO  Avge Qual Ratio

  1. Slk Muralitharan M  ROB  219 51.30 770  54.6 2.44 20.09 0.76 1.26
  2. Aus Lillee D.K      RF   127 48.05 355  52.0 2.76 24.58 0.80 1.49
  3. Aus Warne S.K       RLB  262 48.00 708  57.5 2.65 18.47 0.72 1.26
  4. Nzl Hadlee R.J      RFM  146 47.97 431  50.9 2.63 23.63 0.78 1.38
  5. Pak Imran Khan      RF   132 47.90 362  53.8 2.55 25.75 0.78 1.36
  6. Saf Steyn D.W       RF    61 45.55 170  39.3 3.62 21.55 0.74 1.78
  7. Win Marshall M.D    RF   149 45.44 376  46.8 2.69 22.97 0.80 1.42
  8. Aus McGrath G.D     RFM  241 44.86 563  52.0 2.50 19.22 0.81 1.40
  9. Ind Kumble A        RLB  234 44.58 619  66.0 2.70 20.66 0.76 1.13
 10. Pak Waqar Younis    RFM  149 44.18 373  43.5 3.25 20.33 0.78 1.50

 11. Saf Donald A.A      RF   126 44.13 330  47.0 2.84 20.06 0.80 1.56
 12. Win Ambrose C.E.L   RF   170 43.55 405  54.6 2.31 20.04 0.79 1.14
 13. Win Holding M.A     RF   110 43.40 249  50.9 2.79 25.28 0.79 1.36
 14. Pak Wasim Akram     LFM  175 43.22 414  54.7 2.59 19.56 0.74 1.21
 15. Pak Shoaib Akhtar   RF    78 43.21 178  45.7 3.37 20.94 0.79 1.46
 16. Aus Lawson G.F      RF    75 43.20 180  61.8 2.97 25.90 0.83 1.19
 17. Aus Reid B.A        LFM   40 43.03 113  55.3 2.68 21.75 0.82 1.50
 18. Win Croft C.E.H     RF    52 42.97 125  49.3 2.84 23.06 0.82 1.31
 19. Aus Thomson J.R     RF    87 42.82 200  52.7 3.19 27.17 0.84 1.39
 20. Ind Harbhajan Singh ROB  137 42.51 330  65.1 2.81 19.07 0.72 1.07

To view the complete list, please click here.

3. Middle era (1920-1969): Table of top bowlers

SNo. Cty Bowler          BT Ratio Total Match  Wkt  Bow  Bow  Wkt  Wkt Perf
                                   Pts  Perf   Pts StRt  Acc  Bat  Qty  Idx
                         Max Wt-> 80.0  40.0  10.0 10.0  5.0  5.0  5.0  5.0

  1. Aus Grimmett C.V    RLB 1.25 49.87 25.94 3.53 6.19 3.71 4.22 3.70 2.58
  2. Aus O'Reilly W.J    RLB 1.23 49.24 25.98 2.97 5.99 3.89 4.62 3.72 2.06
  3. Saf Tayfield H.J    ROB 1.13 45.20 23.10 2.94 5.12 3.46 4.93 3.76 1.87
  4. Eng Trueman F.S     RF  1.11 44.29 18.72 3.42 8.53 2.94 3.56 3.82 3.30
  5. Pak Fazal Mahmood   RFM 1.10 44.08 21.16 2.78 6.15 3.37 4.32 4.11 2.20
  6. Eng Laker J.C       ROB 1.09 43.46 19.32 2.75 7.00 3.36 4.33 3.99 2.70
  7. Aus McKenzie G.D    RF  1.07 42.84 19.91 2.97 6.07 3.19 4.39 4.07 2.24
  8. Eng Bedser A.V      RFM 1.07 42.68 19.51 3.13 6.45 3.22 3.85 3.94 2.60
  9. Ind Chandrasekhar B RLB 1.06 42.23 18.86 3.12 6.57 3.09 4.50 3.90 2.20
 10. Win Hall W.W        RF  1.04 41.51 17.42 2.60 8.04 2.74 3.44 4.16 3.11

 11. Aus Davidson A.K    LFM 1.04 41.43 17.88 2.67 7.06 3.49 3.98 3.91 2.44
 12. Eng Tate M.W        RFM 1.03 41.19 19.80 2.51 4.80 3.93 4.09 3.89 2.18
 13. Eng Snow J.A        RFM 1.03 41.17 17.71 2.69 7.24 3.10 3.69 3.96 2.78
 14. Ind Bedi B.S        LSP 1.02 40.79 18.88 3.10 4.88 3.66 4.50 4.00 1.77
 15. Saf Pollock P.M     RF  1.02 40.75 16.81 2.32 7.80 3.09 3.68 3.97 3.09
 16. Eng Underwood D.L   LSP 1.02 40.74 17.52 3.02 5.58 3.74 4.62 4.12 2.15
 17. Ind Gupte S.P       RLB 1.01 40.57 19.36 2.74 5.58 3.14 3.59 3.84 2.32
 18. Win Gibbs L.R       ROB 1.01 40.54 20.00 3.19 4.21 3.67 4.01 3.65 1.79
 19. Aus Lindwall R.R    RF  1.00 40.17 15.75 2.67 7.35 3.15 4.67 3.90 2.69
 20. Aus Johnston W.A    LSP 1.00 40.06 17.54 2.40 6.22 3.33 4.10 4.09 2.38

Tayfield, the South African off spinner is in third position, in a list where spin is king. His 9 for 113 off 37 consecutive overs against England remains the best bowling performance ever in this analysis.

Trueman, the fiery fast bowler and the first to reach 300 test wickets is in fourth position. He is also the best fast bowler in this middle era.

The fifth position is held by that master of seam, Fazal Mahmood, who troubled the batsmen on the matting wickets of Pakistan but outside also and allowed Pakistan to have a reasonable start to their test initiation. Unfortunately there was a lot of defensive thinking which meant that Fazal also had to act as the stock bowler.

The top-10 is completed by Laker, McKenzie, Alec Bedser, Chandrasekhar and Hall, an outstanding quintet. There are 5 spinners in this top-10 group indicating that this was an era which had a very strong spin presence.

To view the complete list, please click here.

4. Middle era (1920-1969): Table of support data

SNo. Cty Bowler          B/T Inn Rating Wkts Bow   Bow   Wkt  Wkt  B/W
                             Spls  Pts       StRt  RpO  Avge Qual Ratio

  1. Aus Grimmett C.V    RLB   66 49.87 216  67.2 2.16 21.10 0.74 1.29
  2. Aus O'Reilly W.J    RLB   48 49.24 144  69.6 1.95 23.08 0.74 1.03
  3. Saf Tayfield H.J    ROB   61 45.20 170  79.8 1.95 24.67 0.75 0.94
  4. Eng Trueman F.S     RF   122 44.29 307  49.4 2.62 17.80 0.76 1.65
  5. Pak Fazal Mahmood   RFM   50 44.08 139  70.7 2.10 21.58 0.82 1.10
  6. Eng Laker J.C       ROB   81 43.46 193  62.3 2.05 21.67 0.80 1.35
  7. Aus McKenzie G.D    RF   106 42.84 246  71.9 2.49 21.94 0.81 1.12
  8. Eng Bedser A.V      RFM   91 42.68 236  67.4 2.21 19.24 0.79 1.30
  9. Ind Chandrasekhar B RLB   95 42.23 242  66.0 2.71 22.48 0.78 1.10
 10. Win Hall W.W        RF    88 41.51 192  54.3 2.92 17.20 0.83 1.55

 11. Aus Davidson A.K    LFM   80 41.43 186  62.3 1.98 19.92 0.78 1.22
 12. Eng Tate M.W        RFM   67 41.19 155  80.8 1.94 20.45 0.78 1.09
 13. Eng Snow J.A        RFM   90 41.17 202  59.5 2.69 18.44 0.79 1.39
 14. Ind Bedi B.S        LSP  113 40.79 266  80.3 2.14 22.50 0.80 0.89
 15. Saf Pollock P.M     RF    50 40.75 116  56.2 2.58 18.39 0.79 1.55
 16. Eng Underwood D.L   LSP  145 40.74 297  73.6 2.11 23.10 0.82 1.07
 17. Ind Gupte S.P       RLB   56 40.57 149  75.7 2.34 17.94 0.77 1.16
 18. Win Gibbs L.R       ROB  141 40.54 309  87.8 1.99 20.07 0.73 0.89
 19. Aus Lindwall R.R    RF   112 40.17 228  59.9 2.31 23.36 0.78 1.34
 20. Aus Johnston W.A    LSP   75 40.06 160  69.0 2.08 20.49 0.82 1.19

To view the complete list, please click here.

5. Pre-WW1 era (1877-1914): Table of top bowlers

SNo. Cty Bowler          BT Ratio Total Match  Wkt  Bow  Bow  Wkt  Wkt Perf
                                   Pts  Perf   Pts StRt  Acc  Bat  Qty  Idx
                         Max Wt-> 80.0  40.0  10.0 10.0  5.0  5.0  5.0  5.0

SNo. Cty Bowler          BT Ratio Total Match  Wkt  Bow  Bow  Wkt  Wkt Perf
                                   Pts  Perf   Pts StRt  Acc  Bat  Qty  Idx
                         Max Wt-> 80.0  40.0  10.0 10.0  5.0  5.0  5.0  5.0

  1. Eng Barnes S.F      RFM 1.27 50.71 26.15 3.90 6.72 3.53 3.37 3.97 3.08
  2. Aus Turner C.T.B    RFM 1.06 42.41 19.35 3.12 5.92 3.95 3.97 4.15 1.96
  3. Eng Richardson T    RF  1.05 41.87 19.84 3.44 5.92 2.95 3.26 3.93 2.52
  4. Aus Spofforth F.R   RFM 1.02 40.96 17.58 2.90 6.48 3.42 4.10 3.92 2.55
  5. Aus Saunders J.V    LSP 1.01 40.52 18.80 2.59 6.40 2.89 3.40 3.86 2.58
  6. Eng Blythe C        LSP 1.01 40.50 18.10 2.58 6.40 3.44 3.30 4.29 2.39
  7. Aus Trumble H       ROB 1.00 40.06 17.75 2.56 5.44 3.62 4.79 3.91 2.00
  8. Eng Peel R          LSP 1.00 39.85 18.77 2.70 5.92 3.91 2.46 3.90 2.20
  9. Eng Lohmann G.A     RFM 0.98 39.27 15.71 3.03 7.28 3.99 2.32 3.76 3.18
 10. Aus Cotter A        RFM 0.98 39.25 17.74 2.41 5.84 2.62 4.30 4.12 2.23

 11. Aus Giffen G        ROB 0.94 37.43 17.18 2.50 5.04 3.28 3.53 3.91 1.98
 12. Aus Palmer G.E      ROB 0.93 37.28 16.03 2.41 5.44 3.66 3.75 3.80 2.19
 13. Eng Briggs J        LSP 0.91 36.43 14.69 2.56 6.40 3.54 2.68 3.76 2.79
 14. Aus Jones E         RF  0.90 36.10 14.69 1.98 5.36 2.94 4.76 4.06 2.30
 15. Aus Whitty W.J      LFM 0.90 36.10 14.46 2.28 5.92 3.44 3.68 3.96 2.36
 16. Saf Vogler A.E.E    RLB 0.89 35.43 14.20 2.10 6.56 2.76 3.28 4.18 2.36
 17. Nzl Cameron F.J     RFM 0.88 35.04 13.45 1.63 5.76 4.33 4.24 3.79 1.84
 18. Saf Faulkner G.A    RLB 0.87 34.79 14.37 2.03 6.44 2.82 3.47 3.67 1.98
 19. Aus Noble M.A       ROB 0.87 34.67 13.51 2.05 5.28 3.37 4.85 3.70 1.92
 20. Eng Ferris J.J      LM  0.83 33.14  9.94 3.16 7.04 3.87 3.22 3.95 1.95
 21. Eng Rhodes W        LSP 0.81 32.24 12.47 1.90 5.44 3.40 3.54 3.49 2.00
 22. Saf Sinclair J.H    RLB 0.72 28.83 10.73 1.63 5.44 2.59 2.88 3.99 1.56
 23. Aus Armstrong W.W   RLB 0.69 27.57 10.47 1.37 2.73 3.70 4.00 3.97 1.34
 24. Eng Woolley F.E     LSP 0.69 27.52  8.79 1.28 4.49 3.30 4.10 3.83 1.75

Exactly 10 bowlers fulfill the criteria (Since changed cut-off to 60 wkts). The list is, as expected, headed by Sid Barnes, by the reckoning of many, the best fast-medium bowler ever. He is ahead of the next bowler by over 20%. Then come those deadly exponents of pace and spin who revelled on those uncovered deadly pitches.

Surprising thing is that Lohmann, despite his devastating strike rate and average, comes as low as fifth. His match performances have been below-par. The opposition has also been quite average. This list is dominated by spinners, 7 in all, but led by two great fast medium bowlers. Quite surprising that there is no leg spinner. Grimmett and O'Reilly started the tradition of great leg spinners, after the war.

6. Pre-WW1 era (1877-1914): Table with support data

SNo. Cty Bowler          B/T Inn Rating Wkts Bow   Bow   Wkt  Wkt  B/W
                             Spls  Pts       StRt  RpO  Avge Qual Ratio

SNo. Cty Bowler          B/T Inn Rating Wkts Bow   Bow   Wkt  Wkt  B/W
                             Spls  Pts       StRt  RpO  Avge Qual Ratio

  1. Eng Barnes S.F      RFM   48 50.71 189  41.7 2.37 16.83 0.79 1.54
  2. Aus Turner C.T.B    RFM   29 42.41 101  51.3 1.93 19.85 0.83 0.98
  3. Eng Richardson T    RF    22 41.87  88  51.1 2.96 16.31 0.79 1.26
  4. Aus Spofforth F.R   RFM   29 40.96  94  44.5 2.48 20.51 0.78 1.28
  5. Aus Saunders J.V    LSP   27 40.52  79  45.1 3.02 17.01 0.77 1.29
  6. Eng Blythe C        LSP   36 40.50 100  45.5 2.46 16.51 0.86 1.20
  7. Aus Trumble H       ROB   57 40.06 141  57.4 2.28 23.93 0.78 1.00
  8. Eng Peel R          LSP   35 39.85 102  51.1 1.97 12.30 0.78 1.10
  9. Eng Lohmann G.A     RFM   34 39.27 112  34.1 1.89 11.60 0.75 1.59
 10. Aus Cotter A        RFM   34 39.25  89  52.1 3.30 21.49 0.82 1.12

 11. Aus Giffen G        ROB   39 37.43 103  62.0 2.62 17.67 0.78 0.99
 12. Aus Palmer G.E      ROB   29 37.28  78  57.9 2.23 18.75 0.76 1.09
 13. Eng Briggs J        LSP   45 36.43 118  45.2 2.36 13.42 0.75 1.40
 14. Aus Jones E         RF    29 36.10  64  58.6 2.97 23.81 0.81 1.15
 15. Aus Whitty W.J      LFM   25 36.10  65  51.6 2.45 18.41 0.79 1.18
 16. Saf Vogler A.E.E    RLB   27 35.43  64  43.2 3.16 16.40 0.84 1.18
 17. Nzl Cameron F.J     RFM   36 35.04  63  77.7 2.39 21.21 0.76 0.92
 18. Saf Faulkner G.A    RLB   38 34.79  82  51.5 3.09 17.36 0.73 0.99
 19. Aus Noble M.A       ROB   63 34.67 121  59.2 2.54 24.24 0.74 0.96
 20. Eng Ferris J.J      LM    16 33.14  61  37.7 2.02 16.10 0.79 0.97
 21. Eng Rhodes W        LSP   75 32.24 127  64.8 2.50 17.68 0.70 1.00
 22. Saf Sinclair J.H    RLB   36 28.83  63  57.1 3.33 14.42 0.80 0.78
 23. Aus Armstrong W.W   RLB   70 27.57  87  92.2 2.19 20.00 0.79 0.67
 24. Eng Woolley F.E     LSP   72 27.52  83  78.3 2.60 20.50 0.77 0.87

I do not expect the readers to agree with all the placings. They have every right to disagree in a nice, positive, contributory manner. I have no problems if you express your disagreement supported by subjective, objective or figures-based arguments. Kindly stay away from rude, offensive or abusive comments. Also resist making mundane bare comments such as "abc is better than xyz.". Also all comments on batsmen have to be relevant to the topic under discussion. Otherwise, they are unlikely to see the light of the day.

One final note. Muralitharan's action has been analyzed and deemed to be perfectly acceptable by ICC. That is enough for me. That may not be enough for some readers, I have no problem with that. However please do not raise that issue in response to this article. One such comment I will ignore. If readers persist with such comments, I will have no other option but to ignore all their comments, however valid those might be. This is not the forum for such comments.

A reminder that the bowler-type tables will be brought out in the follow-up article.

Comments (100)

July 13, 2009

A follow-up to ODI strike rates

Posted by Ananth Narayanan at in Batting

The earlier article uncovered a measure which could stand firm across decades, across different types of pitches/conditions and across different types of bowling skills and strategies. There were not many comments. However there were two comments which suggested enhancing the analysis by expanding the scope of coverage. These two were very sound and I decided to do a follow-up immediately before coming out the eagerly-awaited Test Bowler Analysis next week.

First a recap. The initial analysis compared the Batsman career strike rate with the rest of the team's strike rate, in the matches played by the batsman. The concerned table is given below.

Player career strike rates compared to own team strike rates

SNo Batsman           Cty Mat  Runs Balls  S/R OBRuns OBBalls   S/R  BSRF

  1.Shahid Afridi     Pak 276  5642  5083 1.110  49132  65461 0.751 147.9%
  2.Kapil Dev N       Ind 225  3783  3979 0.951  32898  49298 0.667 142.5%
  3.Powell R.L        Win 108  2085  2157 0.967  17332  24678 0.702 137.6%
  4.Richards I.V.A    Win 187  6721  7451 0.902  25859  38757 0.667 135.2%
  5.Sehwag V          Ind 205  6592  6472 1.019  37006  46569 0.795 128.2%
  6.Wasim Akram       Pak 356  3717  4224 0.880  51127  73789 0.693 127.0%
  7.Jayasuriya S.T    Slk 431 13151 14443 0.911  70806  97706 0.725 125.6%
  8.Klusener L        Saf 171  3576  3978 0.899  26076  35034 0.744 120.8%
  9.Flintoff A        Eng 141  3393  3819 0.888  20940  28419 0.737 120.6%
 10.Gilchrist A.C     Aus 287  9619  9923 0.969  52125  64341 0.810 119.7%
 11.Tikolo S.O        Ken 117  3213  4214 0.762  16758  26291 0.637 119.6%
 12.Cairns C.L        Nzl 215  4950  5879 0.842  33299  47167 0.706 119.3%
 13.Zaheer Abbas      Pak  62  2572  3216 0.800   8669  12863 0.674 118.7%
 14.Chappell G.S      Aus  74  2331  3088 0.755  10480  16449 0.637 118.5%
 15.de Silva P.A      Slk 308  9284 11497 0.808  46393  67537 0.687 117.6%
 16.Gower D.I         Eng 114  3170  4222 0.751  17751  27765 0.639 117.4%
 17.McCullum B.B      Nzl 153  2984  3353 0.890  22785  29918 0.762 116.9%
 18.Botham I.T        Eng 116  2113  2816 0.750  17981  27866 0.645 116.3%
 19.Pollock S.M       Saf 303  3519  4059 0.867  40335  54126 0.745 116.3%
 20.Pietersen K.P     Eng  92  3127  3576 0.874  14069  18585 0.757 115.5%
...
 77.Inzamam-ul-Haq    Pak 378 11739 15827 0.742  60323  81270 0.742 100.0%
...
142.Taylor M.A        Aus 113  3514  5867 0.599  18912  25762 0.734  81.6%
143.Yasir Hameed      Pak  56  2028  3029 0.670  10522  12777 0.824  81.3%
144.Tillakaratne H.P  Slk 200  3789  6544 0.579  28664  39951 0.717  80.7%
145.Mudassar Nazar    Pak 122  2653  5067 0.524  17685  25900 0.683  76.7%
146.Marsh G.R         Aus 117  4357  7721 0.564  18347  24649 0.744  75.8%

To view the complete list, please click here.

There were two excellent suggestions. The more far-reaching and top-drawer suggestion came from Abdulla who suggested that I compare the player strike rates with the strike rates applicable for all the players during the players' career. A simple suggestion. However this was also quite difficult to develop but has far-reaching implications in that it allows us to look at a players' career in true perspective, viz., in relation to his exact peers.

I have built a Player career span segment of the database. The great thing is that such comparisons can now be made not just on strike rates but on other relevant factors such as Batting and Bowling averages, Strike Rates, Bowling accuracy, Runs per match et al. My sincere thanks to Abdulla for opening the door on this fascinating treasure-trove.

In both cases I have taken care that the players' own performances and team extras are excluded from the Match and Player career span figures (for want of a better term. Readers are invited to offer their suggestions for this measure.)

Player career strike rates compared to Player career span strike rates

 SNo Batsman          Cty St/Rt <---Player Career Span---> Ratio
                                Mats    Runs   Balls St/Rt

  1.Shahid Afridi     Pak 1.110 1727  675319  905740 0.746 148.9%
  2.Kapil Dev N       Ind 0.951  884  315912  472334 0.669 142.1%
  3.Sehwag V          Ind 1.019 1399  542088  726324 0.746 136.5%
  4.Richards I.V.A    Win 0.902  657  231329  347757 0.665 135.6%
  5.Powell R.L        Win 0.967  821  317559  432398 0.734 131.6%
  6.Gilchrist A.C     Aus 0.969 1559  606126  816737 0.742 130.6%
  7.Jayasuriya S.T    Slk 0.911 2223  852640 1166792 0.731 124.6%
  8.Wasim Akram       Pak 0.880 1704  648988  913613 0.710 123.9%
  9.Symonds A         Aus 0.924 1479  576233  770030 0.748 123.5%
 10.Zaheer Abbas      Pak 0.800  325  111928  172049 0.651 122.9%
 11.Klusener L        Saf 0.899 1136  440634  601710 0.732 122.8%
 12.Flintoff A        Eng 0.888 1405  547613  731734 0.748 118.7%
 13.Yuvraj Singh      Ind 0.893 1226  477541  630604 0.757 117.9%
 14.Dhoni M.S         Ind 0.909  657  258316  334702 0.772 117.8%
 15.Chappell G.S      Aus 0.755  196   66408  103226 0.643 117.3%
 16.Tendulkar S.R     Ind 0.856 2231  851567 1164382 0.731 117.1%
 17.McCullum B.B      Nzl 0.890 1040  406431  534609 0.760 117.1%
 18.Pollock S.M       Saf 0.867 1634  642511  863944 0.744 116.6%
 19.Cairns C.L        Nzl 0.842 1644  634542  875659 0.725 116.2%
 20.de Silva P.A      Slk 0.808 1735  653214  921125 0.709 113.9%
...
 83.Samuels M.N       Win 0.756 1071  422058  558413 0.756 100.1%
 84.Javed Miandad     Pak 0.672 1053  377675  559175 0.675  99.5%
...
142.Wessels K.C       Saf 0.556  770  276221  408463 0.676  82.2%
143.Habibul Bashar    Bng 0.605 1590  625424  843319 0.742  81.5%
144.Campbell S.L      Win 0.590  743  291157  400299 0.727  81.2%
145.Tillakaratne H.P  Slk 0.579 1598  612869  857466 0.715  81.0%
146.Mudassar Nazar    Pak 0.524  514  182279  271972 0.670  78.1%

To view the complete list, please click here.

This is truly the measure of greatness. I would appreciate if readers understand that this only compares the Strike Rates and not bring in the Averages into the discussion. That will be the subject of another analysis.

Shahid Afridi truly stands tall in terms of his strike rate comparison with his peers. During his career of 276 matches, a total of 1727 matches were played. The average strike rate, sans Afridi, during these 1727 matches, is an impressive .746 and Afridi outscores his peers at an astounding 148.9%. An underrated player, even by his own countrymen at times, he stands supreme.

Kapil Dev outscored his peers by a wide margin of 42.1% indicating how far ahead he was, at least as far as strike rates are concerned. Then comes Sehwag who has an impressive 36.5% and the incomparable Richards who also has a very good lead over his peers of 35.6%. Ricardo Powell completes the top 5 clocking in at 31.6%.

The Top-10 is rounded by Gilchrist, Jayasuriya, Wasim Akram. Symonds and Zaheer Abbas. All great strikers of the ball. The surprise is the position of Zaheer Abbas. He scored at 22.9% over his peers, indicating his immense contributions during a low scoring period.

There is a significant change so far as Tendulkar is concerned. He outscored his team-mates by 13.9%. Hoever he has outscored his peers, over 431 matches in a span of 2231 matches by an impressive 17.1%.

Samuels and Miandad have almost perfectly matches their peer strike rates. The rear of the table is populated by players who were not known for their striking ability.

The second one, made by Karthik, suggested that I expanded the scope a little bit by comparing with the strike rates applicable for the rest of the match rather than the rest of the innings. This makes a lot of sense since it adjusts for widely varying performances in the same match. My thanks to Karthik.

Player career strike rates compared to Match strike rates

 SNo Batsman          Cty St/Rt <---Match figures--->  Ratio
                                   Runs   Balls St/Rt

  1.Shahid Afridi     Pak 1.110   99136  133940 0.740 150.0%
  2.Richards I.V.A    Win 0.902   55082   85923 0.641 140.7%
  3.Kapil Dev N       Ind 0.951   69813  102464 0.681 139.5%
  4.Powell R.L        Win 0.967   36314   50521 0.719 134.5%
  5.Sehwag V          Ind 1.019   78773   99466 0.792 128.6%
  6.Gilchrist A.C     Aus 0.969  106771  139873 0.763 127.0%
  7.Wasim Akram       Pak 0.880  102549  147528 0.695 126.6%
  8.Jayasuriya S.T    Slk 0.911  153293  211317 0.725 125.5%
  9.Klusener L        Saf 0.899   53273   72429 0.736 122.2%
 10.Symonds A         Aus 0.924   63755   82415 0.774 119.5%
...
 77.Gambhir G         Ind 0.839   30372   36203 0.839 100.0%
...
144.Marsh G.R         Aus 0.564   39756   56599 0.702  80.3%
145.Tillakaratne H.P  Slk 0.579   63736   86846 0.734  78.9%
146.Mudassar Nazar    Pak 0.524   37385   55308 0.676  77.5%

To view the complete list, please click here.

There is not much of a difference in the ratios when we include the other team's strike rates indicating that the top players outperform their own team mates and match peers by similar margins.

Powell moves down to fourth spot moving Kail Dev and Richards up. Gilchrist moves up substantially indicating that his team mates scored raather freely as compared to his match peers. Gambhir has matched his team mates and match peers exactly. No major change is there at the end except that Marsh moves off the bottom which is now occupied by Mudassar Nazar.

Comments (18)

July 7, 2009

ODI Strike Rates - a fresh look (and a preview of Test Bowler Analysis)

Posted by Ananth Narayanan at in Batting

	Shahid Afridi outscores his team-mates by more than 37% © Getty Images

Since I need some time to complete the Test Bowler Analysis, I have come out with an article on ODI Strike Rates. What started as an interim article has turned out to be a very interesting one.

Whenever we compare measures across years we always have problems since the relevant period strategies, pitch/ground conditions, quality of bowling (or batting), prevailing laws etc vary significantly. Shahid Afridi's 100+% strike rate cannot be blindly compared to Viv Richards' sub-90 strike rate since everything has changed over the years.

I have created a new factor comparing the Batsman career strike rate with the rest of the team's strike rate, in the matches played by the batsman. The great thing with this measure is that this stands firm across decades, across different types of pitches/conditions and across different types of bowling skills and strategies.

If the average scoring rate of the period was way below currently acceptable values, no problem, this condition applies to all the players in that match. Was the pitch unplayable, no problem, this condition applies to all the players in that match. Was the pitch a belter, no problem. Were the grounds small or huge, no problems. Was there a devastating bowling attack, no problem. Was it the East African or Canada bowling attack, no problem, all should have helped themselves to the buffet lunch. And so on. Our comparison applies only to matches played by the batsman so these are completely valid.

The analysis has also evolved. My first idea was to compare the batsman's career strike rate to the team's overall strike rate. Then I changed to the concerned match strike rate of the team but this had an element of overlap since the player's own performance is embedded in the team's performance. Finally I came out with the idea of taking into account the other players' strike rates. This has worked out very well.

Now let us look at the tables. The criteria is that the concerned batsman should have scored a minmum of 2000 ODI runs. Even this means that there is a sample size of 146 batsmen. This table is current upto match no. 2855, the fourth ODI between West Indies and India.

Table of Career strike rates to Concerned match team strike rates

SNo Batsman           Cty Mat  Runs Balls  S/R OBRuns OBBalls   S/R  BSRF

  1.Shahid Afridi     Pak 276  5642  5083 1.110  52937  65461 0.809 137.3%
  2.Kapil Dev N       Ind 225  3783  3979 0.951  35676  49298 0.724 131.3%
  3.Powell R.L        Win 108  2085  2157 0.967  18941  24678 0.768 125.9%
  4.Richards I.V.A    Win 187  6721  7451 0.902  28195  38757 0.727 124.1%
  5.Sehwag V          Ind 205  6592  6472 1.019  40230  46569 0.864 117.9%
  6.Wasim Akram       Pak 356  3717  4224 0.880  55541  73789 0.753 116.9%
  7.Jayasuriya S.T    Slk 431 13151 14443 0.911  77876  97706 0.797 114.2%
  8.Klusener L        Saf 171  3576  3978 0.899  27976  35034 0.799 112.6%
  9.Gilchrist A.C     Aus 287  9619  9923 0.969  56114  64341 0.872 111.1%
 10.Flintoff A        Eng 141  3393  3819 0.888  22790  28419 0.802 110.8%
 11.Chappell G.S      Aus  74  2331  3088 0.755  11416  16449 0.694 108.8%
 12.Pollock S.M       Saf 303  3519  4059 0.867  43168  54126 0.798 108.7%
 13.Cairns C.L        Nzl 215  4950  5879 0.842  36554  47167 0.775 108.6%
 14.Zaheer Abbas      Pak  62  2572  3216 0.800   9520  12863 0.740 108.1%
 15.Tikolo S.O        Ken 117  3213  4214 0.762  18721  26291 0.712 107.1%
 16.Gower D.I         Eng 114  3170  4222 0.751  19486  27765 0.702 107.0%
 17.McCullum B.B      Nzl 153  2984  3353 0.890  24937  29918 0.834 106.8%
 18.Pietersen K.P     Eng  92  3127  3576 0.874  15244  18585 0.820 106.6%
 19.Botham I.T        Eng 116  2113  2816 0.750  19731  27866 0.708 106.0%
 20.de Silva P.A      Slk 308  9284 11497 0.808  51495  67537 0.762 105.9%
 21.Rhodes J.N        Saf 245  5935  7310 0.812  42228  54993 0.768 105.7%
 22.Trescothick M.E   Eng 123  4335  5086 0.852  21661  26647 0.813 104.9%
 23.Symonds A         Aus 198  5088  5504 0.924  34568  39054 0.885 104.4%
 24.Tendulkar S.R     Ind 425 16684 19481 0.856  76047  92266 0.824 103.9%
 25.Moin Khan         Pak 219  3266  4011 0.814  37111  47228 0.786 103.6%
...
 40.Gibbs H.H         Saf 244  8038  9647 0.833  45073  54128 0.833 100.0%
...
142.Yasir Hameed      Pak  56  2028  3029 0.670  11363  12777 0.889  75.3%
143.Wessels K.C       Saf 109  3367  6057 0.556  16626  22456 0.740  75.1%
144.Tillakaratne H.P  Slk 200  3789  6544 0.579  31601  39951 0.791  73.2%
145.Mudassar Nazar    Pak 122  2653  5067 0.524  19282  25900 0.744  70.3%
146.Marsh G.R         Aus 117  4357  7721 0.564  20183  24649 0.819  68.9%

Note: The OB figures reflect the aggregate of the runs/balls of the other batsmen who batted in all the innings in which the concerned batsman has batted. If the concerned batsman did not bat at all, the figures for that innings are not included in the aggregate.

As expected Shahid Afridi is at the top. He has out-scored his team-mates by an amazing margin of 37.3% although his team-mates themselves score at a fair clip, 80.9. This underscores his value to the team. He outperforms his team-mates by such a wide margin, I fail to understand how the selectors could ever drop him, I am not even referring to his bowling.

Look at the second entry, also a proof that this measure cuts across years with ease. Kapil Dev has outperformed his team-mates by over 26%. His team-mates have been sluggish. However this understandable since those were the times. It was outstanding performance by Kapil Dev to score at a great strike rate of over 90% during those days when 70 was the norm.

Third player in the table is Ricardo Powell, who has out-scored his team-mates by over 25%. Whatever happened to Powell.

Now comes two interesting entries. Viv Richards' value to his team cannot be exemplified more than by this measure. He has outscored his team-mates by over 21%, day in and day out. This, coupled by the achievements of those mean and fiery fast men, was primarily responsible for the West Indian successes of the 1970s/80s.

Then comes the modern great, Sehwag. His team, India itself, has scored at a pretty good rate, 86.4. Sehwag has still managed to outscore his team-mates by 18%. This single factor has been one of the main reasons for the Indian team's recent successes.

In the next 5 places we have Wasim Akram, Jayasuriya, Kluesener, Gilchrist and Flintoff who have all outscored their team-mates by over 10%. All are great strikers.

Tendulkar has managed to outscore his team-mates by around 4%, mainly because the rest of the team, with a number of attacking batsmen, including Sehwag, Yuvraj et al, have scored at a good rate of 82.4. But his contributions, in the opening position, have been outstanding. Note the relatively lower placement of Symonds, just over 4%, indicating, a la Tendulkar, the higher scoring rate of his team-mates, in this case a very high 88.5.

Gibbs is the only batsman who has almost exactly mirrored his team-mates' achievements.

At the other hand we have mostly defensive batsmen of olden years, led by Geoff Marsh whose team-mates have outscored him by over 30%. The only modern batsman is Yasser Hameed who has scored at an amazing 25% below his team-mates, accepting that this group includes Afridi.

To view the complete list, please click here.

The above table includes the team extras in the runs scored. Thus the rest-of-the-team strike rates is slightly higher. I have given below the same table, this time excluding the team extras. No major changes.

SNo Batsman           Cty Mat  Runs Balls  S/R OBRuns OBBalls   S/R  BSRF

  1.Shahid Afridi     Pak 276  5642  5083 1.110  49132  65461 0.751 147.9%
  2.Kapil Dev N       Ind 225  3783  3979 0.951  32898  49298 0.667 142.5%
  3.Powell R.L        Win 108  2085  2157 0.967  17332  24678 0.702 137.6%
  4.Richards I.V.A    Win 187  6721  7451 0.902  25859  38757 0.667 135.2%
  5.Sehwag V          Ind 205  6592  6472 1.019  37006  46569 0.795 128.2%
  6.Wasim Akram       Pak 356  3717  4224 0.880  51127  73789 0.693 127.0%
  7.Jayasuriya S.T    Slk 431 13151 14443 0.911  70806  97706 0.725 125.6%
  8.Klusener L        Saf 171  3576  3978 0.899  26076  35034 0.744 120.8%
  9.Flintoff A        Eng 141  3393  3819 0.888  20940  28419 0.737 120.6%
 10.Gilchrist A.C     Aus 287  9619  9923 0.969  52125  64341 0.810 119.7%
 11.Tikolo S.O        Ken 117  3213  4214 0.762  16758  26291 0.637 119.6%
 12.Cairns C.L        Nzl 215  4950  5879 0.842  33299  47167 0.706 119.3%
 13.Zaheer Abbas      Pak  62  2572  3216 0.800   8669  12863 0.674 118.7%
 14.Chappell G.S      Aus  74  2331  3088 0.755  10480  16449 0.637 118.5%
 15.de Silva P.A      Slk 308  9284 11497 0.808  46393  67537 0.687 117.6%
 16.Gower D.I         Eng 114  3170  4222 0.751  17751  27765 0.639 117.4%
 17.McCullum B.B      Nzl 153  2984  3353 0.890  22785  29918 0.762 116.9%
 18.Botham I.T        Eng 116  2113  2816 0.750  17981  27866 0.645 116.3%
 19.Pollock S.M       Saf 303  3519  4059 0.867  40335  54126 0.745 116.3%
 20.Pietersen K.P     Eng  92  3127  3576 0.874  14069  18585 0.757 115.5%
 21.Trescothick M.E   Eng 123  4335  5086 0.852  19830  26647 0.744 114.5%
 22.Lamb A.J          Eng 122  4010  5290 0.758  19026  28691 0.663 114.3%
 23.Rhodes J.N        Saf 245  5935  7310 0.812  39173  54993 0.712 114.0%
 24.Tendulkar S.R     Ind 425 16684 19481 0.856  69447  92266 0.753 113.8%
 25.Crowe M.D         Nzl 143  4704  6464 0.728  20206  31581 0.640 113.7%
...
 77.Inzamam-ul-Haq    Pak 378 11739 15827 0.742  60323  81270 0.742 100.0%
...
142.Taylor M.A        Aus 113  3514  5867 0.599  18912  25762 0.734  81.6%
143.Yasir Hameed      Pak  56  2028  3029 0.670  10522  12777 0.824  81.3%
144.Tillakaratne H.P  Slk 200  3789  6544 0.579  28664  39951 0.717  80.7%
145.Mudassar Nazar    Pak 122  2653  5067 0.524  17685  25900 0.683  76.7%
146.Marsh G.R         Aus 117  4357  7721 0.564  18347  24649 0.744  75.8%

Test Bowler Analysis

I have given below a brief write-up on the Test Bowler Analysis. If you want to send in your comments on this, please do so, as a separate comment, titling the same, "Test Bowler Analysis".

1. Period Separation: These periods have been identified with lot of thought and deliberation with inputs from a few interested readers. Many related factors have gone into this process. Separate tables will be prepared for different periods. I have considered, and rejected, a separation of Pace and Spin since there will be too many tables and we will not have the charm of a Murali/Warne vs Hadlee/Lillee comparison.

- The bowling era: 1877-1914 (134 Tests and 370 players)
- The batting era: 1920-1969 (535 Tests and 980 players)
- The balanced era: 1970-2009 (1251 Tests and 1220 players).

2. Match Performance: This is a very important aspect of any such analysis. Many readers have completely forgotten that this is not career-based and takes into account every ball bowled and wicket captured weighted by the match conditions and the opposition. Those who are shouting at the rooftops that the career-end figures are not favourable to one player over the other should take the trouble of understanding this aspect of analysis carefully. This will incorporate the following factors.

- Wickets captured (Base)
- Balls bowled (Base) - to recognize long spells
- Batsmen dismissed - based on his score at time of dismissal (Base)
- Overall quality of batting team - primarily top-7 batsmen
- Bowling accuracy - relative to the innings scoring rate
- Own team's bowling quality (to take care of very strong bowling sides)
- Match-related pitch characteristics
- Match situation (incl first day spinners' performances, defending low/high totals in innings 2, innings 3 situation, levels of fourth innings totals defended, win margins et al.
- Home/Away - incorporating relative team strengths
- Result - incorporating relative team strengths.

3. Career Achievements: This is an equally important aspect of any such analysis. It also encompasses aspects of bowling which do not require consideration of the match conditions or situation. The only longevity measure is the "Career wickets captured" measure with no more than a 10% weight. This will incorporate the following factors.

- Career Wickets captured
- Bowling Strike rate (BpW)
- Bowling accuracy (RpO)
- Average Quality of batsmen dismissed - based on CtD batting average
- Type of wickets captured - Top order / Middle order / Late order
- % of wickets with own efforts - Bowled/Lbw/C&b (Still undecided on this).

Once again reminding the readers to send separate comments on this topic.

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