New Zealand’s hopes of success in the tri-series with India and Australia starting today will rest on resolving the long-standing puzzle of bowling at the death
Lynn McConnell23-Oct-2003New Zealand’s hopes of success in the tri-series with India and Australia starting today will rest on resolving the long-standing puzzle of bowling at the death. This has consistently been a weak area in the New Zealand game but one which will again be sorely tested given the batting line-ups both the world champion Australians and, the runners-up, India possess.The death phase of games has so often been shown to be the vital stage of matches, the true difference between winning and losing. Control is something of an art form, and was an area where New Zealand enjoyed some ice cold composure during its outstanding era in the 1980s in the one-day game. More recently, the attention to this phase has not resulted in any significant formula being achieved.But if the side is to advance in the one-day game it is the area that most needs addressing. The facts are revealing. New Zealand has the worst of the Test-playing nations, even Bangladesh does better, albeit with less games to throw into the equation. However, New Zealand’s plight can be seen from the fact that the Netherlands has a superior record.Average runs conceded by each country in the 47th-50th overs of completed innings, between September 1 2001 and September 1 2003 (instances in brackets):
1st innings 2nd innings All innings------------------------------------------------------------Pakistan (16) 28.8 ( 6) 25.3 (22) 27.9South Africa (22) 30.2 ( 6) 22.7 (28) 28.6England (13) 31.7 ( 4) 24.3 (17) 29.9West Indies (14) 31.1 ( 2) 24.5 (16) 30.3Australia (19) 31.7 ( 3) 27.0 (22) 31.1Sri Lanka (21) 32.9 ( 5) 27.0 (26) 31.7India (19) 35.1 ( 4) 24.8 (23) 33.3Zimbabwe (22) 37.5 ( 2) 17.0 (24) 35.8New Zealand (17) 38.5 ( 1) 35.0 (18) 38.3Netherlands ( 3) 36.7 - ( 3) 36.7Bangladesh (13) 38.1 - (13) 38.1Namibia ( 6) 40.5 - ( 6) 40.5Kenya ( 8) 43.5 - ( 8) 43.5Canada ( 1) 52.0 - ( 1) 52.0
On Asian soil:
All innings----------------------------Pakistan (11) 24.3Sri Lanka (10) 27.9England ( 2) 28.5West Indies ( 3) 31.0India (12) 34.3New Zealand ( 7) 34.7South Africa ( 3) 34.7Zimbabwe (12) 36.7Australia -Netherlands ( 1) 33.0Bangladesh ( 9) 42.9Kenya ( 4) 43.8Canada -Namibia -
Again, a measure to be considered by a side looking to be competitive on the international scene is the absence of New Zealand bowlers among practitioners regarded as death specialists. Daryl Tuffey, is the only New Zealander to feature, and his placement is a further indication of how under-valued he was by some critics before the just-completed Test series with India. But to see Jacob Oram, Scott Styris and Andre Adams on the list for worst bowling at the death is of significant concern.INDIVIDUAL BOWLING AT THE DEATH:Best death bowlers (minimum qualification 10 overs):
player team overs runs rpo-------------------------------------------------------AR Caddick ENG 11 59 5.36M Muralitharan SL 18 97 5.39A Flintoff ENG 27 161 5.96CD Collymore WI 16 96 6.00GD McGrath AUS 27 170 6.30Wasim Akram PAK 22 140 6.36SM Pollock RSA 57 363 6.37Shoaib Akhtar PAK 19 131 6.89ST Jayasuriya SL 21 145 6.90TJ Friend ZIM 13 90 6.92
On Asian soil (minimum qualification 5 overs):
player team overs runs rpo-------------------------------------------------------Shahid Afridi PAK 5 14 2.80HDPK Dharmasena SL 8 40 5.00M Muralitharan SL 10 50 5.00Wasim Akram PAK 7 40 5.71RP Arnold SL 7 42 6.00Waqar Younis PAK 5 30 6.00D Gough ENG 7 43 6.14Harbhajan Singh IND 5 31 6.20DR Tuffey NZ 9 56 6.22SM Pollock RSA 9 57 6.33
Worst death bowlers (minimum qualification 10 overs):
player team overs runs rpo-------------------------------------------------------SM Ervine ZIM 14 148 10.57JDP Oram NZ 11 110 10.00TM Odoyo KENYA 15 148 9.87DT Hondo ZIM 24 235 9.79PW Gunaratne SL 11 104 9.45IJ Harvey AUS 10 93 9.30AR Adams NZ 21 192 9.14A Nehra IND 10 90 9.00WPUJC Vaas SL 17 150 8.82JN Gillespie AUS 11 97 8.82
On Asian soil (minimum qualification 5 overs):
player team overs runs rpo-------------------------------------------------------DT Hondo ZIM 13 118 9.08SB Styris NZ 6 55 9.17TCB Fernando SL 5 46 9.20JDP Oram NZ 9 87 9.67Z Khan IND 12 120 10.00SM Ervine ZIM 8 82 10.25M Dillon WI 6 62 10.33Mohammad Rafique BDESH 9 96 10.67V Sehwag IND 6 67 11.17TM Odoyo KENYA 7 83 11.86
All New Zealand bowlers at the death:
player team overs runs rpo-------------------------------------------------------KD Mills NZ 4 15 3.75NJ Astle NZ 1 5 5.00CL Cairns NZ 7 43 6.14DR Tuffey NZ 11 83 7.55PA Hitchcock NZ 2 17 8.50SE Bond NZ 16 138 8.63DL Vettori NZ 5 45 9.00AR Adams NZ 21 192 9.14SB Styris NZ 8 78 9.75JDP Oram NZ 11 110 10.00CD McMillan NZ 2 25 12.50CZ Harris NZ 2 25 12.50JEC Franklin NZ 4 57 14.25
On Asian soil:
player team overs runs rpo-------------------------------------------------------KD Mills NZ 2 2 1.00DR Tuffey NZ 9 56 6.22AR Adams NZ 4 31 7.75SE Bond NZ 2 18 9.00SB Styris NZ 6 55 9.17JDP Oram NZ 9 87 9.67CD McMillan NZ 2 25 12.50DL Vettori NZ 1 13 13.00
Most expensive death over:
runs player for against venue season----------------------------------------------------------------28 RJ van Vuuren NAMIB AUS Potchefstroom 2002/0327 AA Donald RSA AUS Perth 2001/0227 JEC Franklin NZ RSA Perth 2001/0226 MA Suji KENYA IND Paarl 2001/0226 AR Adams NZ ZIM Bloemfontein 2002/0325 WPUJC Vaas SL PAK Tangier 200224 JN Gillespie AUS PAK Nairobi (Gymk) 2002/0324 SM Ervine ZIM PAK Sharjah 2002/0323 SM Pollock RSA WI Cape Town 2002/0323 CZ Harris NZ ZIM Bloemfontein 2002/0323 GD McGrath AUS PAK Brisbane 200223 DT Hondo ZIM PAK Sharjah 2002/03
Most economical death over:
runs player for against venue season----------------------------------------------------------------0 Mohammad Sami PAK NL Colombo (SSC) 2002/030 Alok Kapali BDESH WI Benoni 2002/030 AA Donald RSA BDESH Benoni 2002/030 DR Tuffey NZ PAK Dambulla 20030 B Lee AUS RSA Melbourne 2001/020 Shahid Afridi PAK BDESH Dhaka 2001/020 A Symonds AUS BDESH Darwin 20030 A Flintoff ENG NAMIB Port Elizabeth 2002/030 Shahid Afridi PAK BDESH Dhaka 2001/020 KD Mills NZ SL Dambulla 20030 GD McGrath AUS WI Gros Islet 2002/030 Inzamam-ul-Haq PAK BDESH Chittagong 2001/02
Most expensive death spell (2 overs):
runs player for against venue season----------------------------------------------------------------40 RJ van Vuuren NAMIB AUS Potchefstroom 2002/0336 JEC Franklin NZ RSA Perth 2001/0235 WPUJC Vaas SL PAK Tangier 200234 TM Odoyo KENYA RSA Cape Town 2001/0233 LJ Burger NAMIB ZIM Harare 2002/0333 CM Willoughby RSA IND Dhaka 200333 ML Nkala ZIM PAK Bulawayo 2002/0333 IJ Harvey AUS RSA Port Elizabeth 2001/0233 Z Khan IND ZIM Faridabad 2001/0232 D Gough ENG RSA The Oval 200332 V Sehwag IND WI Vijayawada 2002/03
Most economical death spell (2 overs):
runs player for against venue season----------------------------------------------------------------0 Shahid Afridi PAK BDESH Dhaka 2001/022 KD Mills NZ SL Dambulla 20032 JM Anderson ENG PAK Manchester 20033 GD McGrath AUS WI Gros Islet 2002/033 SM Pollock RSA IND Colombo (RPS) 2002/033 Alok Kapali BDESH WI Benoni 2002/034 RC Irani ENG NAMIB Port Elizabeth 2002/034 TM Odoyo KENYA CAN Cape Town 2002/034 Mohammad Hafeez PAK ENG Manchester 20035 V Sehwag IND KENYA Paarl 2001/025 A Kumble IND KENYA Paarl 2001/025 MR Ramprakash ENG ZIM Harare 2001/025 SM Pollock RSA KENYA Benoni 2001/025 CRD Fernando SL BDESH Colombo (SSC) 20025 GD McGrath AUS WI Jamaica 2002/03
Run scoring in death situations is also not healthy. The statistics show that New Zealand, especially in the second innings of matches, is the worst performed of the Test-playing nations in scoring runs at the death. It is better placed in the first innings of games, but only slightly.BY COUNTRY AVERAGE RUN SCORING AT THE DEATH:Average runs scored by each country in the 47th-50th overs of completedinnings (instances in brackets):
1st innings 2nd innings All innings------------------------------------------------------------Pakistan (25) 40.2 - (25) 40.2South Africa (26) 39.1 ( 3) 30.5 (29) 38.2West Indies (15) 38.5 ( 4) 31.3 (19) 36.9India (18) 37.2 ( 1) 30.0 (19) 36.8Zimbabwe (10) 38.3 ( 7) 28.3 (17) 34.2Australia (23) 33.9 ( 2) 30.0 (25) 33.6New Zealand (16) 33.1 ( 4) 24.8 (20) 31.5Sri Lanka (26) 28.7 ( 3) 26.3 (29) 28.4England (20) 27.3 ( 1) 25.0 (21) 27.1Kenya ( 9) 27.2 ( 1) 10.0 (10) 25.5Bangladesh ( 3) 28.7 ( 4) 19.3 ( 7) 23.3Netherlands ( 3) 25.7 ( 1) 11.0 ( 4) 22.0Canada - ( 1) 16.0 ( 1) 16.0Namibia - ( 1) 14.0 ( 1) 14.0
On Asian soil:
All innings----------------------------West Indies (11) 39.0India ( 9) 39.0Pakistan (13) 37.8South Africa ( 4) 35.8Australia ( 1) 35.0Zimbabwe ( 5) 33.4Sri Lanka (13) 30.8New Zealand ( 7) 30.4England ( 4) 28.3Kenya ( 1) 29.0Bangladesh ( 5) 19.2Netherlands ( 1) 19.0Canada -Namibia -
Statistics compiled by Duane Pettet.