A new method to measure Pitch behaviour

Traditionally, pitch behaviour in ODI cricket is measured on the basis of Runs per Wicket. Our expert attempts a different view.

I have adopted a new method of evaluating the Pitch behaviour in ODI matches. The traditional method is to do this based on Runs per Wicket value. This has an inherent weakness, in that more than half of the wickets, in normal matches, are those of late order batsmen and batsmen who slog. Hence I have adopted a measure which is the average of the top 5 scores in the match, taken across the two teams. It has turned out to be a very robust measure which reflects the type of pitch on which the match was played very well.

The number 5 has been selected after a number of trials. For quite some time, I had the average of top-6. However, a careful analysis had shown that the sixth best score turned to be a low not-so-relevant score in many matches. Hence I restricted myself to the top-5, out of the 22 scores.

The purpose of the article is only to open the doors for the readers to a new concept. The question of how this measure is used to get a handle on the Pitch behaviour is outside the scope of this article.

Table of top 20 matches ordered on Top 5 score average

The top entry is not a surprise. This is the match with the highest aggregate of runs scored. The top 5 scores are 175, 164, 90, 81 and 79. The next is a recent successful, but narrow, defence of a 400+ score by India. The high scores were 160, 146, 90, 69 and 67. We then quickly move to a successful chase of 300+ by India. The high scores were 140, 124, 117, 82 and 41.

Note how even good chases of high-200 scores have appeared in this table.

Table of bottom 20 matches ordered on Top 5 score average

Sri Lanka is the only team which has dismissed the opposing team under 40, not once but three times. It will not surprise anyone that there are the last three matches. The top-5 scores are 28, 7, 6, 4 and 4; 24, 9, 9, 9 and 6; and 23, 16, 13, 6 and 4. The top-5 averages for these three matches are around 10.0.

Later in the table there are a few matches in which a team has scored 100 runs or more.

Just as a matter of interest I have presented below the Top 5 score average for the recently concluded India-New Zealand series.