Expert Speak blogs : Castrol Cricket ODI Batting Index: a new measure to define greatness

Follow @castrolcricket

ODI Batting Index: a new measure to define greatness

Y.Ananthanarayanan

The ODI Bowling average is a composite of the two important measures, viz., Bowling strike rate and Bowling accuracy as demonstrated by the following formula.

However Batting does not have a single measure to measure the achievements of batsmen. There are two measures, viz., Batting average and Batting strike rate which are two independent measures. Consider the following two batsme

Cricketer	Batting average	Batting strike rate
Shahid Afridi	23.13	110.86
Rahul Dravid	39.43	71.18

Both are equally important players. The two key measures are about 30-40% apart for these two great ODI batsmen. How does one measure their contributions?

There is a need for a single composite measure. Hence I had proposed a new measure called ODI Batting Index a few years back. This has evolved over the years and what is presented here is a current and very effective interpretation. The following simple formula is proposed:

Batting Index = (Modified) Batting average x Batting strike rate.

Initially, I had used the Batting average and this was quite unfair to the top order batsmen. Then I did this by the “Runs per innings” measure which turns to be quite unfair to the middle order batsmen. Hence I have evolved a new modified Batting average measure which is computed by dividing the Runs scored by an extrapolated number which lies between number of innings and number of dismissals. This is done based on the number of not outs. The results are excellent and can truly be used to measure a batsman’s greatness.

SNo	LH	Batsman	Ctry	Inns	NO	s Runs	AdjAvg	StRt	ODIIdx

1		Richards I.V.A	Win	167	24	6721	43.36	90.2	39.11
2		Dhoni M.S	Ind	140	36	5317	43.58	89.2	38.88
3		Zaheer Abbas	Pak	60	6	2572	45.12	84.8	38.26
4		Hussey M.E.K	Aus	102	35	3623	42.62	87.2	37.15
5		Tendulkar S.R	Ind	429	40	17394	42.53	85.9	36.53
6		Pietersen K.P	Eng	85	15	3179	40.76	87.2	35.54
7		Sehwag V	Ind	213	8	7036	33.67	103.4	34.82
8		Gilchrist A.C	Aus	279	11	9619	35.11	96.9	34.03
9		Hayden M.L	Aus	155	15	6133	41.44	79.0	32.72
10		Ponting R.T	Aus	321	36	12311	40.63	80.5	32.71
11		Smith G.C	Saf	147	9	5613	39.25	83.1	32.62
12		Symonds A	Aus	161	33	5088	35.09	92.4	32.44
13		Gayle C.H	Win	200	14	7429	38.49	83.1	31.98
14		de Villiers A.B	Saf	89	11	3092	36.81	86.7	31.93
15		Bevan M.G	Aus	196	67	6912	42.40	74.2	31.45
16		Trescothick M.E	Eng	122	6	4335	36.43	85.2	31.04
17		Yuvraj Singh	Ind	230	32	7345	34.32	88.9	30.51
18		Gambhir G	Ind	92	8	3148	35.77	84.9	30.35
19		Lara B.C	Win	289	32	10405	38.11	79.5	30.31
20		Saeed Anwar	Pak	244	19	8824	37.55	80.7	30.29
-
29		Jayasuriya S.T	Slk	432	18	13428	31.74	91.2	28.96
-
41		Twose R.G	Nzl	81	11	2717	35.75	75.4	26.96

The tables are self-explanatory. Richards is on top deservedly with a modified average figure of 43.36 and strike rate of 90.2. He is closely followed by Dhoni who has a modified average figure of 43.58 and strike rate of 89.2. The underrated classicist, Zaheer Abbas is third with an excellent modified average of 45.12 and strike rate of 84.8. Two great modern batsmen, Hussey and Tendulkar complete the top-5.

Any ODI Index value of above 30 represents greatness. Since the top-20 includes batsmen from most top teams, I have also shown the figures of Jayasuriya who is the leading Sri Lankan batsman and surprisingly, Twose who leads the New Zealanders. The top-20, along with Jayasuriya represents a collection pf possibly the best ODI batsmen of all time.

Posted by Y.Ananthanarayanan on 01/18 at 10:36 AM

hint fire decide dutyboard claudius rohit migration curbe liverpool sourcesthe fontbr breforesteriores nolicomenti

Posted by on 03/27 at 02:33 AM

Page 1 of 1 pages