The top 25 Test Cricket batting and bowling performances of all time


JohnS

Recommended Posts

Anantha Narayanan is a statistical analyst for Cricinfo who came up with an interesting article on the best Test Cricket batting and bowling performances of all time last year in mid-2018. During 2019, Kusal Perera's 153 not out in Durban to ensure a 1-wicket victory for Sri Lanka vs South Africa, Steve Smith's twin 140s at Edgbaston and Ben Stokes 135 not out at Headingley during the 2019 Ashes all rightly made the top 25. For a time, I had great difficulty sourcing this table but I found it today and wanted to share and preserve it here.

1232433708_GoldenWillow25.jpg.d9a1d25956c09871eb788a7763df9a29.jpg

I have had the pleasure of viewing some of these incredible batting performances first-hand and they still remain quite memorable (for example, Brian Lara 153 not out, VVS Laxman 281, Kim Hughes 100 not out et al.)

The top 25 bowling performances are below. This list is from mid-2018. I'm not sure that it has been updated in the last year, my 'gut feeling' is that it has not changed since that time.

1498453015_RedCherry25.jpg.8b62571a5c167425f342378bd69d97ba.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anantha Narayanan, who was the main mathematician behind the original Widen 100, used a mathematical formula based on exceptional performances in a match which lead to victories, and more so when those victories were unlikely. It does have its drawbacks, I notice that the bowling performances are nearly all instances of taking 7 or more wickets in an innings. I know there's been plenty of 5 wickets in an innings hauls that have been memorable, for example, Ian Botham taking 5 for 1 in a spell to win the 4th Test in Edgbaston.

Here is Narayan's original ranking explanation (for batting) below...

I have given below the basis for the creation of the Wisden 100 Batting Performances tables, the predecessor of this ranking, back in 2000.

Test Ratings for Batting - the attributes

1. Batting Base Points

2. Pitch Index

3. Bowling Quality Index

4. Percentage of Score Index
5. Point of Entry Index
6. After Point of Entry Index

7. Wickets falling while at crease Index

8. Support Index

9. Shepherding of tailenders Index

10. Highest score Index

11. Match Status Index

12. Result contribution Index

A brief note on the calculations
When I think back, I am proud of the fact that the basis for the Wisden 100 tables is still very sound. My current base is not that much different, but as time went by, it was clear to me that there was a need to tweak some of the parameters and weights.

- The Batting Base points, based on the runs scored, got just over 30% weightage, which was somewhat on the higher side; this has been rectified now.

- The "Wickets falling while at crease" and "Shepherding of tailenders" had significant overlaps.

- The interpretation of the match situation was correct only for the fourth innings. As such, the "Match Status index" needed substantial improvement.

- The "Point of Entry index" was absolute and not contextual. A score of 20 for 2 is fine while facing/chasing 100 but not if the team is facing/chasing 300.

- The "After Point of Entry index" was lightweight. It didn't really mean a lot.

- The database was in the initial stages and quite raw, without the refinements listed later in the article.

Now let me present the top 20 entries in the original Wisden 100 table for batting performances.

Top batting performances (the 2001 list)

Batsman Rtgpts Runs Year For Vs Inns Result
Don Bradman 262.4 270* 1937 Aus Eng 3 Won
Brian Lara 255.2 153* 1999 Win Aus 4 Won
Graham Gooch 252.0 154* 1991 Eng Win 3 Won
Ian Botham 240.8 149* 1981 Eng Aus 3 Won
Don Bradman 236.8 299* 1932 Aus Saf 2 Won
VVS Laxman 234.8 281 2001 Ind Aus 3 Won
Clem Hill 234.2 188 1898 Aus Eng 1 Won
Azhar Mahmood 232.6 132 1998 Pak Saf 1 Won
Kim Hughes 229.7 100* 1981 Aus Win 1 Won
Brian Lara 228.1 375 1994 Win Eng 1 Drawn
Tip Foster 226.7 287 1903 Eng Aus 2 Won
Clyde Walcott 223.0 220 1954 Win Eng 1 Won
Mark Taylor 221.4 144 1991 Aus Win 3 Won
Brian Lara 221.3 213 1999 Win Aus 2 Won
Dean Jones 220.9 184* 1987 Aus Eng 1 Won
Saleem Malik 219.9 237 1994 Pak Aus 3 Drawn
Pelham Warner 218.4 132* 1899 Eng Saf 3 Won
Reg Simpson 218.4 156* 1951 Eng Aus 2 Won
Hanif Mohammad 217.3 337 1958 Pak Win 3 Drawn
John Edrich 217.1 310* 1965 Eng Nzl 1 Won

Database enhancements
I went in depth into the area of improvements in the database in part one of the article on bowling performance analysis. These can be read here. I will only provide the summary now.

1. Career-Location-to-date (CLtD) batting and bowling averages at the level of each Test.
2. Pitch Quality Index (PQI)
3. Weighted Bowling Quality for the innings
4. Batting quality based on the CLtD Batting averages
5. Identification of nightwatchman innings
6. Wicket-value (WkV) determination

7. Runs per Weighted Innings (RpWI)
8. Enunciation of "neutral" location
9. Contribution analysis

The current basis for analysis
Now for the current parameters and a brief explanation of the same. The first bit of relevant information is that the Batting Performance Ratings will be on a scale of 1000, as is the current practice. The 1000 mark is virtually unreachable: maybe a batsman from Afghanistan scoring, say, 180 not out against Australia at the MCG, in a successful chase, with a score of 300 for 9, recovering from 120 for 8, in a match in which the 300 is by far the biggest total, and against a bowling quartet of, say, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon.

It is necessary to briefly compare the bowling and batting analyses. The number of bowler spells analysed was 44,652. This means, on average, just over 19 bowling spells per Test match. The average rating points for each of these bowling performances is 158.3. Contrast this with the batting scene. The number of innings analysed is 81,839. This means on average just over 35 individual innings in a Test match. The average rating points for these batting performances is 99.5.

This means that, notwithstanding the effort to match the top batting and bowling performances, the average batting performance has a lower value. The difference in numbers is stark: 105 bowling performances clock in at over 700, and 522 are over 600. Contrast this with 61 batting performances over 700 and 287 over 600.

The highest values for each measure, which are highlighted, are extracted from the 3233 performances that received in excess of 400 rating points. For validation purposes, the average across these 3233 performances is used. An average across all 81,800-plus innings will not make any sense and will distort the overall picture. A fifty made in a successful chase of 70 would contain too many undeserved outliers.

1. Base points (Runs scored)
The batting base points are given for runs scored. While determining the bowling base points, a gradually increasing scale was used. That is not done here since a very high individual score does not necessarily lead to a win. Of the 30 triple-centuries scored, only 12 (40%) have led to wins. Out of the 18 nine-wicket hauls, 15 (83.3%) have led to wins. Hence the points are allotted in a linear manner.

Brian Lara's unbeaten 400 in Antigua in the drawn Test against England gets the highest points in this measure.

2. HSI value (Support received)br<> The High Score Index is a parametrisation of the support factor. I will describe this briefly. The player's HSI is determined by dividing the player's own score by the next highest score and adjusting this factor by the share of team runs. The final HSI value is a clear indicator of the support scenario.

In the first ever Test, Charles Bannerman's unbeaten 165 out of a team batsman total of 237, coupled with a next best score of 18, gets him the highest ever HSI of 6.38. This fetches him the top placing in this category.

3. IPV (Own score compared to scores of team-mates)
The IPV (Innings Peer Value) compares a player's score with the average individual score of the other batsmen in the two team innings. It is a clear indication of the value of the player's contribution to the team. This works in conjunction with the HSI in that it takes care of the situations where measuring the support factor is not enough. In general, there is a correlation between the two parameters.

Against England in Cape Town in 1899, South Africa's Jimmy Sinclair scored 106 out of the team total of 177. In the second innings, South Africa were bowled out for 35. The average for the 21 South African innings - other than Sinclair's 106 - works out to 4.52 and Sinclair's IPV is the highest ever at 23.43.

4. Runs added with late order
This important parameter gives credit to batsmen who shepherd the lower order and add valuable runs. Often these runs are gold and mean the difference between an unexpected win and a defeat.

In Port Elizabeth in 1992, Kapil Dev came in at 31 for 6 and added 184 for the last four wickets. He scored 129. His innings receives the maximum points in this category.

Against a bowling attack containing Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander and Jacques Kallis, Virat Kohli made 119 in a drawn Test at the Wanderers in 2013-14 AFP

5. Pitch Quality
The match PQI is used for this calculation. This is a normalised value dealing with extremes like the Delhi Test of 1955 - a batsman's paradise supreme, when 1093 runs were scored for ten wickets - at one end, and the MCG Test of 1932 - 234 runs for 29 wickets - at the other. It is normalised to a 100-based value, with proportionate calculations on either side of the median. On this basis, the extreme values are 82 (the 1955 Delhi Test) and 14 (the 1932 MCG Test). A fifty in a match with a PQI of 25 would be far more valuable than a 150 in a match with PQI of 75.

 

In Sharjah in 2002, Pakistan compiled a total of 112 in their two innings. It was not an unplayable pitch, as proved by Australia's total of 310. Embedded in this team effort was a magnificent 119 by Mathew Hayden. The PQI was only 23.2, confirming that the wicket was indeed very difficult to bat on. The innings fetches Hayden the highest points allocation in this category.

 

6. Overall bowling quality
How good the opposing bowlers were is an important factor when evaluating batsmen's performances. Scoring runs is one thing, but scoring runs when a quartet of top-class bowlers are relentlessly at you is a different matter. In this context, a century against the West Indian attack of the 1980s should be valued much higher than a 300 against very average bowling. The bowling quality for the innings is used for this. It is determined using the CLtD (Career-Location-to-Date) values of the bowlers who bowled in the innings. The basis is a weighted harmonic mean of the CLtD averages, thus ensuring that one weak bowler does not dilute the efforts of the other, stronger, bowlers.

 

Against Australia in Adelaide in 1951, Len Hutton carried his bat for an outstanding 156. The bowling was spearheaded by Ray Lindwall, Keith Miller, Bill Johnston, Ian Johnson and Jack Iverson. Hutton's innings gets the highest credit in this category.

 

A couple of innings such as John Lyons' 134 and Allan Steel's 148 before the turn of the century have higher values, but the bowling values for those innings are completely off the radar. The attacks included bowlers with the following career-to-date location-specific bowling averages at the start of those Tests: Frederick Spofforth (9.20), Johnny Briggs (9.26), and George Lohmann (10.44).

 

Virat Kohli's Wanderers classic of 119 and Kim Hughes' MCG masterclass of 100 not out rank quite high.

 

7. Innings target and status
This is inarguably the most complex of calculations, and the one that has changed the most. Each innings has to be handled carefully. This is the one factor that has enabled me to give due recognition to performances across a match. All the innings situations have been summarised below. In short, I determine a target for each innings. The target is a notional one for the first three innings and the actual one for the fourth innings. I determine the status of the innings at the point of a batsman's entry, by a combination of the task ahead (target to actual scores), and the resources at hand (based on which wicket has just fallen). Then I allot the rating points.

 

- The first innings is the easiest. The notional target is 300 for all Tests until 1899, 350 for all Tests until 1920, and 400 for all Tests afterwards. The idea is that no team would start a Test aiming for either 200 or 600.

 

- The second innings is a little more complicated. In a current Test match, if the first batting team has been dismissed for a low score, say 124, the target would be 324, sufficient to achieve a lead of 200. If the first batting team has been dismissed for a middling score, say 255, the target would be to reach a total of 400. If the first batting team has been dismissed for a high score, say 465, the target would be to reach a total of 400. The objective is to be realistic. In any case, the second-innings target is limited by the first-innings target.

 

- The third innings is the toughest of all. The situation has to be assessed accurately and a target worked out. This has to be done realistically. First, I look at innings in which the batting team has a deficit, either through a follow-on or otherwise. Depending on the deficit, the target for the innings will vary. If the deficits are 250-plus, 200-249, 150-199, 100-149 and sub-100, the targets will be the runs required to set fourth-innings targets of 150, 175, 200, 250 and 300 respectively. Next, I will look at innings in which the batting team has a lead. Depending on the lead, the target for the innings will vary. If the lead is below 150, the target will be the lead plus 250. If the lead is greater than 150, the target will be the runs required to set a fourth-innings target of 400. Finally, the target is set to a minimum of 100. Quite complicated, no doubt, but totally understandable and based on common sense.

 

- The fourth innings is straightforward. The target is set in stone and ranges from 1 to 836.

 

The innings-type value was the highest for Kamran Akmal against India in the Karachi Test of 2006. The notional first-innings target was 400. Akmal came in at 39 for 6 and took Pakistan to a respectable score of 245. If one ignores the monster third innings of 599, this was not an easy batting pitch.

 

At Lord's in 1984, Gordon Greenidge led West Indies' chase of 342 with an unbeaten 214 Adrian Murrell / © Getty Images

8. Innings performance
While the previous parameter works on the innings status at a batsman's entry, this parameter determines to what extent the team has achieved its task, and rewards the team and the batsmen. The first three innings, in which the targets can be exceeded comfortably, are adjusted to be at par with the fourth innings, in which the target can only be reached.

 

I have taken care to exclude instances like Hutton scoring an unbeaten 98 in a successful chase of 142 for 1. At Lord's in 1984, West Indies had a tough target of 341 and Gordon Greenidge masterminded the chase with a majestic innings of 214 not out. His innings gets the highest points in this measure.

 

9. Contribution to match result
I am not a great proponent of the American axiom of "winning is everything", but I feel strongly that winning is something. Winning a Test is important, and the ratings process must give due credit to the batting performances that were primarily responsible for wins, as against the ones that led to draws or losses.

 

This is a direct link to the result, the location and the relative team strengths. There are three locations (Home, Neutral and Away), three results (Win, Draw and Loss) and three team-strength situations (Strong, Comparable and Weak). The team is allotted a certain number of points based on these three parameters. The rating will be highest for an away win by a weak team against a strong team and lowest for a home loss for a strong team against a weak team.

 

The team points are then allocated to the batsmen based on their contribution to the result. The complex match contribution values are used to do this. Hence, there has to be a combination of a magnificent batting performance and an outstanding result (away win against a much stronger team) to get high points in this measure. As has already been seen, the contribution is worked on a non-contextual basis. The first eight parameters are contextual.

 

Bruce Mitchell got the maximum points in this regard for his unbeaten 164 at Lord's in 1935. South Africa had a small lead of 30 over England in the first innings. Mitchell remained not out on 164 and took South Africa to a match-winning total of 278. It can be seen that this recognition is for a combination of a magnificent innings and an equally wonderful away win over a very strong team.

 

A general view on the Batsmen Performance Ratings
The analysis covers all Tests till the second one between Sri Lanka and South Africa in Colombo in 2018. It is likely that part two might include the first two England-India Tests as well.

 

As has already been explained, the ratings work is done by allotting points for nine measures. The overall weight ranges from around 4% to 20%. The individual performance weights could have a wider range. For a performance to be in the top ten or so, it cannot score quite low on even one measure. For a performance to be in the top 50 or so, it could sustain one or possibly even two sub-par measures. For a performance to be in the top 200, maybe two or three sub-par measures could be permissible. And so on.

 

What anyone perceives as a top batting performance, making their top ten, could be found lacking in some attribute or the other from the list above. Perhaps the pitch was a very good batting one, or the bowlers were, at best, average; perhaps it was a home game, there was no pressure on the team (and the batsmen); the match might not have been won, and so on.

 

The bottom line is that it is extremely tough to do a good guess. This problem is compounded because our knowledge is limited. Even if we have encyclopaedic knowledge, we are influenced by the fact that some matches we watched live and read about, and others we might have only read about.

 

Take Azhar Mahmood's 132 at Kingsmead against South Africa. When one thinks of great batting performances, this stays under the radar. But it is, almost inarguably, one of the truly great modern batting performances, with almost no negative points. The same could be said about Clem Hill's 188 or Graham Gooch's unbeaten 154. That is where computer-based analysis is superior; it has no heart to contend with and works with no limits or limitations and no bias.

 

In view of the importance of the allocated weights, I am sure readers could rightfully ask me, "How do you know you have got the correct weights?" The answer is that it is a combination of common sense, knowing what to look for, looking for out-of-place performances, and checking the overall summaries. My gut feel says what to expect in the overall percentage values. If the "Base Runs value" exceeds 20%, I would be concerned. If the HSI, IPV or "Runs with late order" exceed 5%, I would not be happy. If "Contribution to match result" is below 10% or above 15%, I would start worrying. If one performance is an undeserved total outlier, I would not sleep peacefully.

 

The basis for analysis might seem to be arbitrary. That is possibly true. However, many months of work have gone into the numbers to ensure that these do not carry too much or too little weight. The results of the analysis are also not one person's views. There has been a lot of consultation to ensure that there is consensus. I must have spent an hour on each of the top 30 performances, going over each of the nine values and evaluating it with the overall values. In addition, I also check a few selected random performances every time the list is prepared.

 

The final answer is that this compilation is the result of hard work over hundreds of days. There is no easy tool to do the checking. That is one reason why I get upset when some readers throw inane, superficial and silly questions after a five-minute read of complex articles. Since I have spent nearly a thousand hours working on the analysis, I request that readers should at least spend that many seconds reading it.

 

A preview of part two
I have presented below three charts as a preview of part two of the analysis. This will give an idea of the way the analyses have been done. But I must also confess that part two will become too long unless I move something to this article.

 

First is a summary of the weights secured by the nine parameters.

 

Only four of the nine parameters used to judge batting performances get weights of more than 10%, with bowling quality and pitch quality getting the highest Anantha Narayanan

I am happy at the weights, which have been summarised across the 3233 qualifying performances. The four parameters that get more than 10% weight each are probably the most important and get their deserved places. Of course, it should be understood that the weights for individual performances will be quite different. A third-innings effort where the team is way behind will have a high "Innings Status" parameter value. Any batsmen who batted against the great bowling line-ups of West Indies during the 1980s or Australia either side of the turn of the millennium will have high "Overall Bowling Quality" values. Batsmen who performed well on difficult pitches with PQI lower than 35, will have high "Pitch Quality" values. And so on.

 

Next is a grouping of the 3233 batting performances, by period.

 

There have been 1.53 top batting performances per Test in the period since 2000, which is the highest among all time periods Anantha Narayanan

Since the number of Tests played in different periods varies from 134 during the 1876-1914 period to 833 in 2000-2018, I had to adopt an alternate measure to compare. I worked out the frequency of top batting performances per Test across the periods. During the first period, this was the lowest at 1.10 performances per Test. This is understandable, given the difficulties in batting on uncovered wickets, and the fact that Tests were played over three days. Then there was an increase to 1.20 during the period 1920-1939.

 

The third era, 1946-1959, saw the bowlers hold sway, with 1.20 top batting performances per Test. The next period, 1960-1979, saw a lot of defensive but prolific batting, and this is indicated by the move up to 1.41 performances per Test. The next period saw a slight drop to 1.38 performances per Test. Recently batting levels have improved significantly and we have 1.53 performances per Test in the 2000-2018 period. The overall average during the 2313 Tests played so far is 1.40.

 

Now let us look at a pie-chart of the top batting performances, by innings.

 

Only 9.1% of the top batting performances have come in the fourth innings, compared with 36% in the first Anantha Narayanan

First let us get some basic information. In the 2313 Tests played so far, there have been 2313 first innings, 2294 second innings, 2233 third innings and 1550 fourth innings. This explains why only 9.1% of the performances are in the fourth innings. In terms of frequency, the first innings is the best, with 36.0%; followed by the second innings, with 32.5%; the third innings, with 22.4%; and finally the fourth innings. The last one is understandable since many fourth innings are inconsequential, or present no chance of a win for either team. Also, many fourth-innings targets are small to middling and do not warrant outstanding performances.

 

Do come in - It is your turn
As I have already indicated, both the "Wisden" and "100" have been retired from descriptions of these rankings. The Wisden 100 was a masterstroke and indicated the breadth of coverage. I acknowledge Wisden Online's pioneering initiative, and am proud of having been the master chef. As a logical follow-up to Red Cherry 25, I have named this list the Golden Willow 25.

 

Any references to performances outside the list of 25 will be without any revelation of their actual position or rating points. I will only indicate a broad range. This will avoid any unnecessary comments and back and forth.

 

 

 

And below is the bowling...

 

 

 

It's been 17 years since my Wisden top 100 Test innings of all time was first unveiled to the public and now it's time for an upgrade.

 

Back in 2001, I received a lot more bouquets than brickbats, but while the bouquets make me happy, the brickbats help shape my future analyses. I am grateful and indebted to all the cricket enthusiasts who took the time to study the lists, appreciated the effort, and commented. This exercise is dedicated to the enthusiasts who have waited for this update, confident that I would do a good job of ironing out the wrinkles and incorporating all the new improvements in the database. Of course, this effort will also reveal the memorable performances in the last decade and a half and show where these rank against the best of the best.

 

The Wisden 100 background
Anthony Bouchier, the CEO of Wisden Online, with whom I was working as a consultant in 2000, first brought up the idea of ranking the top 100 individual performances. During the next 12 months, this one-sentence concept became a massive project as I interacted with Wisden stalwarts in the UK and India, got the database checked and cleaned up, and wrote scores of C programs. The response to the Wisden 100 lists was heartening. The wide distribution of performances made sure no one period got undue credit. The list brought into the limelight many unknown and forgotten performances, such as the batting masterpieces of Clem Hill, Azhar Mahmood and Kim Hughes; and the bowling performances of Hugh Tayfield, James White, Devon Malcolm and Graham McKenzie among others.

 

When Wisden Online wound up operations, it bequeathed the rights to the Wisden 100 to me. However, in deference to the farsightedness and pioneering efforts of Wisden Online, I decided I would retire the name "Wisden 100". The new lists are my enhancements and reflect my philosophy.

 

I have given below the basis for the initial creation of Wisden 100 Bowling Performances tables.

 

Test ratings for bowling - a brief note on the calculations

 

1. Bowling Base Points
2. Pitch Index
3. Batting Quality Index
4. Dismissed Batsman Quality Index
5. Bowling Accuracy Index
6. Highest Wickets Index
7. Match Status Index
8. Result Contribution Index

 

When I think back over this base, after 17 years, I am proud of the fact that the basis is still sound. My current base is not that much different to the initial one. (I will not explain these here but the descriptions of the parameters are good indicators of what they cover.) As time went by, it was clear to me that there was a need for some important tweaks in the parameters and weights.

 

- The Bowling Base points, based on the wickets taken, got just over 30% weightage back then, which was perhaps a little high and has been rectified now.

 

- The Bowling Accuracy got more weight than warranted.

 

- The first two innings got a bit of a raw deal. I am reminded of the comments of a long-standing reader of mine: "We tend to overlook the first- and second-innings efforts in favour of the third- and fourth-innings efforts because of the drama associated with the latter." Very well said, and true.

 

- The "Highest wickets index" was quite a lightweight one; it didn't really mean a lot.

 

- The database was in the initial stages and quite raw, without the refinements listed later in the article.

 

First, let me present the top 20 entries in the original Wisden 100 table for bowling performances.

 

Top bowling performances during 2001

 

RtgPts Test Year Bowler Analysis For Vs Ground
253.9 437 1957 HJ Tayfield 9 / 113 SAF Eng Johannesburg
248.6 1443 1999 A Kumble 10 / 74 IND Pak Delhi
241.7 428 1956 JC Laker 10 / 53 ENG Aus Old Trafford
238.8 179 1929 JC White 8 / 126 ENG Aus Adelaide
237.1 1029 1985 RJ Hadlee 9 / 52 NZL Aus Brisbane
234.4 1266 1994 DE Malcolm 9 / 57 ENG Saf The Oval
226.1 905 1981 RGD Willis 8 / 43 ENG Aus Headingley
225.1 234 1934 H Verity 8 / 43 ENG Aus Lord's
224.3 233 1934 WJ O'Reilly 7 / 54 AUS Eng Trent Bridge
224.1 543 1968 GD McKenzie 8 / 71 AUS Win Melbourne
223.7 1423 1998 M Muralitharan 9 / 65 SLK Eng The Oval
223.2 138 1921 AA Mailey 9 / 121 AUS Eng Melbourne
222.1 527 1962 LR Gibbs 8 / 38 WIN Ind Bridgetown
222.0 1539 2001 Harbhajan Singh 8 / 84 IND Aus Chennai
219.7 849 1979 Sarfraz Nawaz 9 / 86 PAK Aus Melbourne
218.1 699 1972 RAL Massie 8 / 53 AUS Eng Lord's
216.9 676 1971 JA Snow 7 / 40 ENG Aus Sydney
216.7 942 1982 Imran Khan 8 / 60 PAK Ind Karachi
215.1 1243 1994 PS de Villiers 6 / 43 SAF Aus Sydney
215.1 405 1955 IW Johnson 7 / 44 AUS Win Georgetown

 

Database enhancements
I'll say that if I had version 1.3 of the database in 2001, today I have version 9.7. My own knowledge and insight into the database has increased tremendously. Extremely valuable inputs from readers have gone into refining and fine-tuning the database. However, I am glad to say that many of the innings and bowling performances from the Wisden 100 tables are still at the top positions in the current lists.

 

The Weighted Bowling Quality for England's 58 all out in Auckland earlier this year will be high, and correspondingly any good batting effort in this innings will be rated well Getty Images

These are the database improvements:

 

1. Availability of Career-Location-to-date (CLtd) batting and bowling averages at the level of each Test. This took me years to develop and is, almost certainly, the most important data improvement. Topsy-turvy careers such as those of Michael Hussey, Daniel Vettori, Ricky Ponting, and Kumar Sangakkara, among batsmen, and Muttiah Muralitharan, Ian Botham and Alan Davidson, among bowlers, are now handled properly.

 

2. Pitch Quality Index (PQI) is a complex measure that compares the expected runs scored/wickets captured for that particular location (home/away/neutral) for the batsmen/bowlers who played with the actual runs scored/wickets captured. This is done for both innings and both teams. The PQI for the match is determined using the comparative values for the combinations. Many methods, including visual inspection, were used to validate the PQI data.

 

3. The Weighted Bowling Quality for the innings is a huge improvement. This is done by taking the CLtd averages of the bowlers who bowled in the innings. Thus, when Imran Khan played in 18 Tests purely as a batsman, his bowling figures were not considered. Recently when Trent Boult and Tim Southee bowled 124 balls between them to dismiss England for 58 in Auckland, the Weighted Bowling Quality was very good since only these two bowlers bowled. Therefore, Craig Overton, who scored an invaluable 33 from No. 9, got additional credit.

 

4. The Batting quality is determined based on the CLtd Batting averages and is a true reflection of that particular innings.

 

5. The fact that every nightwatchman innings has been identified and marked as such, using the average batting position and the position the batsman batted in, enables a much more accurate determination of the batting strength.

 

6. The standardised Wicket value (WkV) determination has enabled fine-tuning of the very important Dismissed Batsmen Quality parameter. Again, CLtd averages are the base for WkV determination.

 

7. The Runs per Weighted Innings (RpWI) metric is a great improvement over the batting average as well as the Runs per Innings measures, and is a true indicator of the career of the batsmen.

 

8. There is clear acknowledgement of neutral locations and the development of related figures. Till 2001, there were very few neutral Tests. However, as of today, more than 40 Tests have been played in neutral locations.

 

9. The non-contextual Contribution analysis undertaken by me and my frequent collaborator Milind Pandit is a top-down analysis. The match points flow down to the innings, then to the teams, then to the functions, and finally to the players. Notwithstanding the overall complexity of the system, the final results are extremely easy to use and understand. They are used to distribute the team result points to the individual players.

 

The current basis for analysis
The first bit of relevant information is that the Bowling Performance Ratings will be on a scale of 1000, as is the current practice nowadays. The 1000 mark is virtually unreachable: maybe a bowler from Zimbabwe capturing, say, 9 for 25 against Australia at the MCG while successfully defending a sub-100 total in the fourth innings could get to that point (perhaps in 2020, when Steven Smith and David Warner are back to support the few other batsmen averaging 50-plus in the Australian team).

 

The highest values for each measure highlighted are extracted from the 3461 performances that received in excess of 430 rating points (exactly 50% of the rating points for the best performance). For validation purposes, the average across these 3461 performances is used. An average across all 44,500-plus bowling spells will not make any sense and may distort the overall picture. The bowling analyses have been normalised to six-ball overs.

 

1. Base points (Wickets captured)
The Bowling Base points are given for wickets captured. A gradually increasing scale is used. It is a paradox that the tenth wicket, in all probability that of a No. 11 batsman, carries a higher value than the first five wickets. However, this is influenced by the fact that among all the bowling performances to date, there have been just two ten-wicket hauls, 16 instances of nine-fors and 76 of eight-fors. These rare performances deserve the higher weight given for the latter wickets.

 

The Manchester effort of Jim Laker and the Anil Kumble masterclass in Delhi get the highest points in this measure.

 

A ratings system with the right parameters will ensure that first- or second-innings performances don't get overlooked for ones in the third and fourth innings Getty Images

2. Dismissed-batsmen quality
The new measure called Wicket value (WkV) is used for this work. This is an important index, which distinguishes between two bowlers who have taken five wickets each; the first one has accounted for batsmen 1-5 and the second one for batsmen 6-10. This is done in two parts. The first is to give credit for the dismissal itself. The batsman's CLtd batting average is used for this. The highest value was given to the bowler who dismissed Don Bradman and so on. The second part rewards the timing of dismissal. A bowler who dismissed Virat Kohli for a low score gets higher credit than a bowler who dismissed Kohli after he reached a hundred.

 

Kapil Dev's magnificent effort of 30.5-7-85-8 against Pakistan in 1982-83 gets the highest points in this measure. The high home averages of the Pakistani batsmen contributed significantly to this.

 

3. Top batsmen dismissed index
This is a new parameter I introduced to take care of situations where most teams have players of average standard playing for them in the first few years after they enter the Test arena. Many of these batsmen have low averages despite the fact that they are batting at the top. However, it is important to recognise bowlers who take top-order wickets (top six plus No. 7). That is how the teams win Tests. Hence, some credit is given to dismissing top batsmen. Care is taken that the nightwatchmen playing in top positions are identified and handled appropriately.

 

It is not a surprise that Laker and Kumble get the most points in this regard. In addition, Saqlain Mushtaq's 8 for 164 against England in 2000-01, Muttiah Muralitharan's 9 for 51 against Zimbabwe in 2001-02, and Subash Gupte's 9 for 102 against West Indies in 1958-59 share top billing on this measure.

 

4. Bowling strike rate
This is very important because in Test matches the objective for all bowlers is to take wickets. The actual strike rate and the relative strike rate are both acknowledged. Bowling figures of 20-2-50-4 are very good when the team has captured ten wickets in 150 overs. If three wickets are the limit, Haris Sohail's recent spell of 1.0-0-1-3 takes the top spot. If this is increased to five, Ernie Toshack's amazing spell of 3.1-1-2-5 against India in 1947-48 gets the top honours.

 

However, among the qualifying performances, Harbhajan Singh, for his spell of 4.3-0-13-5 against West Indies in 2006, Shane Watson, for his spell of 5.0-2-17-5 against South Africa in 2011-12 , and Hugh Trumble, for his spell of 6.5-0-28-7 against England in 1903-04 get the highest points on this measure.

 

5. Bowling accuracy
This is the parameter with the least weight among the nine. However, it is important to recognise bowling accuracy to some extent since accurate bowling has its value in most innings barring those in which the bowler is defending 500 or bowling with a lead of over 200 runs. However, in order to be fair to the bowlers, the individual bowling accuracy is matched against the team's bowling accuracy. Figures of 20-2-50-2 are very good when the team has conceded 400 runs in 100 overs.

 

Max Walker, for his accurate spell of 21.2-8-15-6 against Pakistan in 1972-73 and Fred Titmus, for his spell of 26.0-17-19-5 against New Zealand in 1965 get the highest points on this measure.

 

Not that there have not been more accurate spells. How can anyone forget the Bapu Nadkarni marathon of 32-27-5-0 against England in 1963-64? But that spell does not get anywhere in the ratings exercise because of the absence of wickets.

 

Some of Murali's performances will be ranked lower than expected because they came at home AFP

6. Pitch Quality
The match PQI is used for this calculation. This is a normalised value dealing with extremes, like India v New Zealand, Delhi, 1955-56: a batsman's paradise supreme - 1093 runs for ten wickets at one end, and Australia v South Africa, Melbourne, 1931-32: an MCG gluepot - 234 runs for 30 wickets, at the other. It is normalised to a 100-based value, with appropriate proportionate calculations either side of the median. On this basis, the extreme values are 82 for India-New Zealand and 14 for Australia-South Africa. A fifty in a match with a PQI of 30 would be more valuable than a 150 in a match with a PQI of 75. In contrast, 6 for 60 in a match with a PQI of 30 would be less valuable than 4 for 90 in a match with PQI of 75.

 

Subhash Gupte, in taking 7 for 128 against New Zealand in Hyderabad in 1955-56, faced the toughest pitch. (It is true that his bowling colleagues also bowled on this tough pitch.)

 

7. Overall batting quality
How good the opposing batsmen were is an important factor when evaluating bowlers' performances. Taking wickets is one thing, but sustained bowling against top-quality batting outfits is another. The Batting strength index for the innings is determined using the CLtd values for the top seven batsmen. Care is taken to exclude the nightwatchman, where applicable.

 

Eric Hollies, during his spell of 5 for 131, faced the toughest batting septet of all time in Bradman's farewell Test in 1948.

 

8. Innings type and status
This is the one factor that enabled me to give due recognition to first- and second-innings performances. All the innings situations have been summarised below.

 

- The first two innings are considered together to distinguish between situations where the team scores are 120/100, 120/400, 400/120 and 400/400. In the first case, dismissing the other team for a low score gets due credit but is diluted because it is a bowling pitch. The 120/400 and 400/120 are similar. The bowlers who dismissed the other team for 120 have bowled on a middling pitch and they get more credit. The bowlers who dismissed the other team for 400 have bowled on the same pitch and they get less credit. The 400/400 indicates a good batting pitch and the bowlers get a lot more credit. The situations in between are handled appropriately.

 

- The third innings is a tough one. Is the bowler bowling with the match approximately on equal terms, or backed by a lead (small to substantial), or handicapped by a deficit (small to substantial)? Innings wins are straightforward. A notional credit is given to the winning team's bowlers. For the other matches, the quantum of the lead decides the credit. A performance of 5 for 34 by Ian Johnson against South Africa in Durban in 1949-50 gets very good reward.

 

- The fourth innings is straightforward. What matters finally is the target and the margin of win. A combination of these two numbers is used to realise interim factors that determine the reward. The lower the target and/or the lower the margin, the more the bowlers are rewarded. Fanie de Villiers gets recognised for his 6 for 43 in Sydney in 1993-94 - a target of 117 and victory by five runs. Where the target is high or the winning margin is high, the rewards are suitably diluted.

 

The innings-type related value was the highest for Frederick Spofforth against England in 1882, when Australia defended 84 runs and won by seven runs.

 

Where will Eric Hollies' spell in which he bowled Don Bradman for a duck rank? Getty Images

9. Contribution to match result
This is a direct link to the result, the location and the relative team strengths. There are three locations (Home, Neutral and Away), three results (Win, Draw and Loss) and three team-strength situations (Strong, Comparable and Weak). The team is allotted x number of points based on these three parameters. The number of points will be highest for an away win by a weak team against a strong team and lowest for a home loss by a strong team against a weak team.

 

Winning a Test is important. I am not a great proponent of the American axiom of "winning is everything" but I feel strongly that winning is something. And the ratings process must give due credit to the bowling performances that were primarily responsible for a win as opposed to the ones that enabled the teams to draw.

 

The team points are then allocated to the bowlers based on their contribution to the result. The complex Match contribution values are used for this purpose. Hence, there has to be a combination of a magnificent bowling performance (eight-plus wickets) and an outstanding result (away win against a much stronger team) to get high points on this measure. As has already been seen, the contribution is worked out on a non-contextual basis and this is a good way of allocating the team points. The first eight parameters are contextual.

 

Sarfraz Nawaz, for his spell of 47.2-7-86-9 against Australia at the MCG in 1978-79 got the most points in this regard. It can be seen that this recognition is for a combination of magnificent performances by Sarfraz and Pakistan both.

 

A general view on the Bowler Performance Ratings
The ratings work is done by allotting points for the nine measures. The overall weight ranges from around 5% to 20%. The individual performance weights could have a wider range. For a performance to be in the top ten or thereabouts, it cannot score low on even a single measure. For a performance to be in the top 50, it could sustain sub-par scores on one or possibly even two measures. For a performance to be in the top 200, maybe two to three sub-par scores could be sustained. And so on.

 

As fans, what we perceive to be a top performance could be lacking in something or the other. You could expect Murali's 9 for 51 against Zimbabwe to be in the top ten. After all, this is the nearest any bowler has come to a ten-wicket haul without actually taking one. You may even have a strong emotional connection to the spell. However, the performance just misses out on a top 50 place because: 1) Sri Lanka were playing at home; 2) they were far stronger than Zimbabwe; 3) Zimbabwe's batting was decidedly weak - barring Andy Flower, the other batsmen did not even reach a CLtd average of 30. These are enough reasons to push this performance down, although it's still comfortably in the top 60.

 

And, for similar reasons, Murali's 8 for 70 at Trent Bridge and 9 for 65 at The Oval are comfortably in the top 30.

 

The bottom line is that it is extremely tough to take a good guess at what performances are ranked where. This problem is compounded because we are limited by our knowledge. Even if we have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the game, we are influenced by what we saw rather than by what we might have only read about. Take Trevor Bailey's 7 for 34 in Kingston, 1953-54. When one thinks of great bowling performances, this spell does not immediately jump up even though it's one of the few bowling performances with no negative points. Moving across different time periods, the same can be said about Tayfield's 9 for 113 against England or Richard Hadlee's 9 for 52 at the Gabba.

 

That is where computer-based analysis is superior. It has no heart to contend with and works with no limits or limitations. In a way, the only acquired bias could be mine, the creator's. So I have kept my heart to myself, set aside my own likes and dislikes, and assumed that the parameters I have set are correct. I should also be ready to fine-tune the system to accommodate the changes in the derived data content. My use of the newly available data derivatives would change the results, hopefully not drastically.

 

In view of the importance of the allocated weights, I am sure readers will ask me: "How do you know you have the correct weights?" A very valid question indeed. The answer is that there is no Eureka moment. It is a combination of common sense, knowing what to look for, looking for out-of-place performances and checking the overall summaries. My gut says what to expect in the overall percentage values. If "Base wicket value" exceeds 20%, I will be concerned. If "Bowling accuracy" exceeds 5%, I won't be pleased. If "Contribution to match result" is below 10% or above 15%, I will start to worry. If one performance is an undeserved total outlier, I won't sleep peacefully. And I have done a lot of consultation to ensure that there is consensus about the rankings.

 

If a bowling performance against a seemingly weak team ends up being placed very high, I make sure it deserves the high place. I have a special trick of selecting five random performances, say 18th, 92nd, 278th, 945th and 1987th, after each run of the program. Then I check those performances in the context of the match and satisfy myself that the placing looks reasonably okay in overall terms.

 

This compilation is the result of hard work over hundreds of days and is not for the faint-hearted. There is no easy tool to do the checking. That is one reason why I get upset when some readers ask inane, superficial and silly questions after a five-minute read of complex articles. Since I have spent nearly a thousand hours on this project, I request that the readers should at least spend that many seconds.

 

A preview of part two
I have presented below three charts that provide a preview of the analyses in part two. This will give you an idea of the way the analyses have been done.

 

First is a summary of the weights secured by the nine parameters.

 

Anantha Narayanan

I am very happy with the weights, which have been summarised across the 3461 qualifying performances. I know that all these are for taking three or more wickets, so I know that across all performances, the "Wickets Captured" weight will come be 20. The four parameters that get more than 10% weight are probably the most important and get their deserved places. Of course, it should be understood that the weights for individual performances will be quite different. A fourth-innings defence of a low target will have a high "Innings Type/Status" value. Any bowlers who bowled against the great batting teams of the 1948 Australians will have high "Overall Batting Quality" values. Bowlers who performed well on pitches with PQI greater than 60 will have high "Pitch Quality" values. And so on.

 

Next is a grouping of the 3461 bowling performances that qualified for the final summarising, by period.

 

Anantha Narayanan

Since the number of Tests played in different periods varies from 134 during 1876-1914 to 823 during 2000-2018, I had to adopt an alternative measure to compare. I worked out the frequency of top bowling performances per Test across the periods. During the first period, this was the highest at 1.81 performances per Test. This is understandable in view of the uncovered wickets, the infancy of batting skills, and three-day Tests. Then there was a dramatic drop to 1.48 during the period 1920-1939. Again, understandable since this period had some of the best batsmen who ever graced the crease: Bradman, Hammond, Hobbs, Hutton, McCabe, Headley etc.

 

The third era, of 1946-1959, saw the bowlers holding sway, with 1.55 performances per Test. The next period, 1960-1979, saw a lot of defensive, draw-at-all-costs batting and this is indicated by the all-time-low occurrence of 1.40 top bowling performances per Test. Then, there was a period with several world-class bowlers - Holding, Marshall, Hadlee, Warne, Murali, McGrath, Ambrose and Kumble. This has resulted in the next two periods showing increasing frequency in top bowling performances: 1.45 during 1980-1999 and 1.53 during 2000-2018. The overall average during the 2303 Tests played so far is 1.50.

 

Now let us look at a pie chart of the top bowling performances by innings.

 

Anantha Narayanan

In the 2303 Tests played so far, there have been 2303 first innings, 2284 second innings, 2223 third innings and 1543 fourth innings. This explains why only 14.8% of the performances are in the fourth innings. In terms of frequency, the third innings is the best, with 46.7%; followed by the second innings, with 44.4%; the first innings, with 38.6%; and finally, the fourth innings, with 33.2%. The last one is understandable since many fourth innings are inconsequential low-target innings or draws with no chance of a positive result.

 

Readers' thoughts welcome
Other than the featured performances, any reference to the ones outside my list of top 30 will be without any revelation of the actual position or rating points. I will only indicate a broad range. This will avoid any unnecessary comments back and forth.

 

How should I present the featured data? A slight change in weight given will move the performances around. However, I am confident that even if I change the weights, no more than three-fourths of the performances will go out of the top 30 table, and even so only down to positions 30-50. These are all once-in-a-lifetime performances.

 

So, do I present the top 30 as a single table with the rating points, or do I present them as groups of performances with only a range of rating points as the indicator? Maybe in sequence, as firsts among equals, within the group but avoiding the actual rating points? I think the readers should have a say. May I request you to send in your comments? In anticipation of these comments, let me keep all options alive.

 

 

 

The original links for these articles are below...

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/24213846/the-top-batting-performances-test-cricket-part-1

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/23738846/top-bowling-performances-test-cricket-part-1

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

john, for me, this just goes to show you can twist stats to get the results you want. more than a third of the greatest performances in test cricket are by one nation and a nation which has a reasonable but hardly stellar winning rate? 

this reminds me of a number of years back when i had an argument with a some idiot (might even have been the same bloke) who wrote a book about how tendulkar was a far superior bat to bradman. part of it was that because sachin played more nations than bradman, that should be heavily weighted in his favour - he had all manner of formulae and weird calculations and it all added up to nonsense. if you take those powerhouse nations like bangladesh and zimbabwe out of tendulkar's figures, he averages a fraction over 50, i believe. still fabulous but not quite a shade under 100. left out all manner of other factors. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ken, I think at the end of the day, you have to take these type of lists with an asterisk applied to them because all those batting and bowling performances relied on outstanding individual displays when the rest of your team-mates couldn't deliver, hence why people like Lara and Murilitharan are up there more than once. The best test teams in the last 50 years have been the West Indian and Australian ones, but we see no Viv Richards, no Joel Garner, no Malcolm Marshall, no Ricky Ponting, no Shane Warne, no Glenn McGrath, no Steve Waugh.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, JohnS said:

Ken, I think at the end of the day, you have to take these type of lists with an asterisk applied to them because all those batting and bowling performances relied on outstanding individual displays when the rest of your team-mates couldn't deliver, hence why people like Lara and Murilitharan are up there more than once. The best test teams in the last 50 years have been the West Indian and Australian ones, but we see no Viv Richards, no Joel Garner, no Malcolm Marshall, no Ricky Ponting, no Shane Warne, no Glenn McGrath, no Steve Waugh.

john, absolutely correct.

innings like botham and stokes for sure, but then i remember a brilliant rearguard ton from mark waugh to save a test v south africa. and allowed us to win the series if i recall. if memory does serve, that innings, even though it did not win the test, was absolutely crucial to us winning the series. so surely it was way more valuable than stokes' knock? as good as that was, leaving aside our dopey idiots and their useless reviewing and the even worse umpiring, it did nothing in terms of winning the series. what is more crucial? 

no sobers? has this bloke ever seen a cricket game? sachin? 

no shane warne. he is either a seriously myopic pommy fan or a dimwitted and bog average mathematician locked in his mum's basement. 

john, you mention mcgrath. 1997 ashes series, we lose the first test with mcgrath going 2 for more than 150. at lords with a day lost already, he comes in and takes 8-38. we don't win the test but it stops the rot, turns the series on its head. he goes on to win man of the series and take a whopping 36 wickets. we go on to retain the ashes, 3-2. no mention by this dill.  

but stuart broad takes 8 in an innings in the 2017 ashes series but only 21 overall, and it is the 2nd greatest performance of all time. 

this bloke is an utter idiot and his stats and lists are worthless. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, I remember those Mark Waugh innings in 1997/98. There was one where Australia was bowled out for a little over 100 and at the end of the 2nd day I think South Africa were effectively 0-168 in the lead. The next day Shane Warne helped to clean up South Africa to end up leading by 265. This is the 2nd test at Port Elizabeth, Durban. So Australia need over 250 to win a game where no team came close to that total in the test. Mark Waugh hit an absolutely resolute and brilliant 116 to win the test that I remember Ian Healy hitting a six to win by 2 wickets.

The next season in Australia, Mark Waugh batted practically all of day five on a crumbling wicket to deny South Africa a win and ensure Australia drew the game. Again, Mark hit a 100. I remember that the South African bowling attack was no slouch either, they had Shaun Pollock and Allan Donald.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, JohnS said:

Yes, I remember those Mark Waugh innings in 1997/98. There was one where Australia was bowled out for a little over 100 and at the end of the 2nd day I think South Africa were effectively 0-168 in the lead. The next day Shane Warne helped to clean up South Africa to end up leading by 265. This is the 2nd test at Port Elizabeth, Durban. So Australia need over 250 to win a game where no team came close to that total in the test. Mark Waugh hit an absolutely resolute and brilliant 116 to win the test that I remember Ian Healy hitting a six to win by 2 wickets.

The next season in Australia, Mark Waugh batted practically all of day five on a crumbling wicket to deny South Africa a win and ensure Australia drew the game. Again, Mark hit a 100. I remember that the South African bowling attack was no slouch either, they had Shaun Pollock and Allan Donald.

yep. that second innings is the one that really sticks with me. his best knock for me. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

Community Software by Invision Power Services, Inc.