Too Much Quantity. Too Little Quality.

 

 

Ashes 2013

 

Why have England’s players burnt out?

 

December 30^th 2013

 
 

A look at the statistics for 2013 offers some insight into why some of England’s players are struggling. The top two and three of the top five wicket-takers in Test cricket in 2013 are English. Why? Of front line bowlers, just seven have played ten or more Tests in 2013 (eight if you count Kane Williamson). It is no surprise then to find Stuart Broad, who has played all fourteen Tests for England in 2013, well ahead of his nearest rival, Jimmy Anderson, with 62 wickets to Anderson’s 52.

Just one bowler in the world has bowled more than 500 overs in Tests in 2013. No prizes for guessing whom: Jimmy Anderson’s 531 completed overs (38 per Test) put him more than fifty ahead of Stuart Broad. Peter Siddle, who has the persevering workhorse role in the Australian side is the only other bowler to have played in fourteen Tests in 2013 and the only other bowler to have passed 450 overs in the year, although with a far inferior strike rate to Broad or Anderson.

No prizes either for guessing who is the only other bowler to pass fifty wickets. Dale Steyn has played just nine Tests in the year and close to 200 overs fewer than Jimmy Anderson, but has quite stunning numbers: strike rate 42 (bettered only by Mitch Johnson and, more unexpectedly, Marlon Samuels, who has only bowled 40 overs all year, but has taken ten wickets); average 17.7; best figures, a stunning 6-8.

After Dale Steyn comes a name that few people would guess: Trent Boult has 46 wickets in 11 Tests at an average of 25.1 and strike rate of 56 – more than respectable numbers. Graeme Swann, with 43 wickets and a strike rate of 61 completes the top five, despite missing four Tests in 2013.

A little down the list, two names stand out. Ravi Ashwin is often regarded by Indian fans as a lower middle-order batsman who can bowl a little, but his 41 wickets in 7 Tests have come at an average of 22.5 and an amazing strike rate for a spinner of 52. Shane Shillingford though has played just six Tests in 2013 and looks unlikely to play in 2014. A look at his numbers shows what a crippling loss he will be for the West Indies: 36 wickets at 22.3, with a strike rate of 44 that is even better than Vernon Philander!

The list also shows the inequalities in the amount of cricket played by sides. While England and Australia have played 14 Tests, New Zealand 12, South Africa 9 and India 8, Sri Lanka have played just 3 Tests in 2013 and Bangladesh and Zimbabwe only 4. However, Robiul Islam’s 19 wickets at 22.1 for Bangladesh suggest that maybe, just maybe, they have found themselves the strike bowler that they need to start winning Tests against the medium-sized teams.

No prizes either for guessing the top run scorers in 2013. Michael Clarke’s late burst has pushed him past Ian Bell, the only two batsmen to pass 1000 runs in the year. The batsman of the year though surely is AP de Villiers with 933 runs at 77.8, with just 13 innings in 9 Tests.

A look at the top ten run scorers though shows the poor quality that the largest quantity of Test cricket has provided: Alistair Cook’s 916 runs (4^th in the list) scored at 33.9; Joe Root’s 862 (7^th) at 34.5; Shane Watson’s 810 (9^th) at 35.2. In contrast, Ross Taylor’s 866 runs have been made at 77.2 and Pujara, has an equally impressive 829 at 75.4. At the other end of the scale, Phil Hughes and Jonny Bairstow have an amazing 15 Tests between them in 2013 and both have more than 350 runs in the year at an average of just 27, while Jacques Kallis’s 309 runs have come at just 25.8 (the worst of all batsmen with at least 300 runs in Tests in 2013, apart from Stuart Broad), despite his century in his final innings before retirement.