Saturday 31 December 2011

2011 End of Year Activity Rates

A batsman's activity rate is the runs scored per delivery not hit to the fence.

For example two batsmen have 10 off 10. One has hit two 4's, two singles and faced out 6 dot balls. He would have an activity rate of 0.25 because he hit 2 runs off the 8 balls that he didn't hit a boundary off. The second batsman hit one 4, two 2's and two singles. He would have an activity rate of 0.67 because he hit 6 runs off 9 balls that didn't go to the fence.

Here are the batsmen with the highest activity rates:

Test Matches (min 100 balls faced, average of 20)

PlayerMatchesBoundary runsRun runsActivity Rate
MJ Prior (Eng)82342850.544
GP Swann (Eng)846490.516
SCJ Broad (Eng)7140990.452
DL Vettori (NZ)41201780.401
Shakib Al Hasan (Ban)52082430.395
DA Warner (Aus)3941010.388
BRM Taylor (Zim)31542040.370
V Sehwag (India)72301540.364
GC Smith (SA)51561660.360
R Ashwin (India)4110720.348
HMRKB Herath (SL)101401540.347
IR Bell (Eng)84784720.346

It's interesting to note the prevalence of spin bowlers in the list. Swann, Vettori, Shakib, Ashwin and Herath as specialist spinners and Warner, Sehwag and Smith as part timers. As a spinner (although not in their class) I normally liked it when batsmen tried to hit boundaries off me (particularly 6's) as it gave me a chance to get them out. I didn't like them milking singles off me (unless it was a really good batsman, in which case I didn't mind them being at the other end). If this is common among other (better) spinners, then this possibly translates into why they are so keen on running.

One Day Internationals (min 100 balls faced, average of 20)

PlayerMatchesBoundary runsRun runsActivity Rate
JP Duminy (SA)151524110.688
Shahid Afridi (Pak)272502120.688
KS Williamson (NZ)91001700.669
AB de Villiers (SA)102082590.652
MN Waller (Zim)71201250.622
MG Johnson (Aus)221001080.621
EJG Morgan (Eng)161762670.611
DA Miller (SA)548690.611
MEK Hussey (Aus)161422720.606
SK Raina (India)293323900.601
F du Plessis (SA)13981900.59
IJL Trott (Eng)294089070.588
R Dravid (India)536880.583
IR Bell (Eng)251804320.581
SPD Smith (Aus)20701340.580

Again a number of spinners at the top of the list, with Swann, Botha and Ashwin all being in the unfiltered top 15, but missing out on not having a high enough average. This time the spinners and part timers at the top are Duminy, Shahid, Williamson and Waller.

Twenty20 Internationals (min 60 balls faced)

PlayerMatchesBoundary runsRun runsActivity Rate
Misbah-ul-Haq (Pak)526580.879
KC Sangakkara (SL)446600.800
Umar Akmal (Pak)544670.761
TM Dilshan (SL)394420.737
SPD Smith (Aus)612570.722
LD Chandimal (SL)340400.714
CL White (Aus)658610.709
RG Sharma (India)344360.706
BB McCullum (NZ)2100450.703
MJ Guptill (NZ)260470.681
Mohammad Hafeez (Pak)586770.664

There are not many t20 internationals, so there were a much smaller number of players face 100 deliveries. Misbah-ul-Haq is an interesting person to be at the top of the list, as he is not someone that I think of as being quick between the wickets. Likewise Sangakkara. Although both of them have made a test career out of eeking out runs and managing to release pressure. In the t20 game they have obviously found ways of doing this faster. Players like this are actually remarkably useful.

The Block-Bash players:

At the other end of the spectrum are the players who specialise in blocking the good balls and cashing in on the bad ones. These players don't see a lot of value in singles, and prefer to get their runs in multiples of 4 or 6.

Test Matches (min 100 balls faced, average of 20)

PlayerMatchesBoundary runsRun runsActivity Rate
Nazimuddin (Ban)276450.153
MJ Guptill (NZ)51821340.172
Naeem Islam (Ban)238460.174
Yuvraj Singh (India)392440.184
TMK Mawoyo (Zim)31561540.190
BJ Watling (NZ)120220.195
Asad Shafiq (Pak)92082010.197
SR Watson (Aus)6184810.198
Tanvir Ahmed (Pak)360260.203
JL Pattinson (Aus)344440.206
Nasir Hossain (Ban)4122870.208
CR Ervine (Zim)256400.211
NT Paranavitana (SL)112463340.212

A surprising member of this list is Martin Guptill, in that he is probably the quickest between the wickets in world cricket. If he was to ever bat with Inzamam-Ul-Haq he could be turning for the third before Inzy was even thinking about the second. But he has tended to get bogged down in test matches recently, and he really needs to add an extra quick single finding shot.

One Day Internationals (min 100 balls faced, average of 20)

PlayerMatchesBoundary runsRun runsActivity Rate
W Barresi (Neth)101261230.339
R Rampaul (WI)1584460.341
TM Odoyo (Kenya)556460.354
Ahmed Shehzad (Pak)152081630.357
Imrul Kayes (Ban)182062150.358
S Randiv (SL)750330.359
Shahriar Nafees (Ban)11961290.365
AS Hansra (Can)101161760.367
CH Gayle (WI)8132700.368
BJ Haddin (Aus)243502840.377
Usman Limbada (Can)450510.378
CO Obuya (Kenya)81381660.384
V Sibanda (Zim)132622160.385
Mohammad Hafeez (Pak)325784970.391

Both of the West Indians in this list, Gayle and Rampaul, score their runs at a strike rate over 80, and yet are poor at taking singles. To be fair, when Chris Gayle is on strike, it's probably better for him to see as much ball as possible, so a quick single is often not as good an idea as blocking one and hitting the next ball for 6.

Twenty20 Internationals (min 60 balls faced)

Player MatchesBoundary runsRun runsActivity Rate
J Charles (WI)228290.475
DM Bravo (WI)354360.529
AD Hales (Eng)438370.536
SR Watson (Aus)5150450.549
DA Warner (Aus)676530.558
SK Raina (India)480350.574
CJ Chibhabha (Zim)470420.583
DJ Hussey (Aus)628530.596
EJG Morgan (Eng)498550.604
LMP Simmons (WI)358390.609
Asad Shafiq (Pak)568560.629

The name that surprised me this time was David Hussey. He seems like a busy player who is always looking for runs. On closer inspection, he was still scoring a large proportion of his runs in singles, but was generally having a bad run. Still some of his knocks were vital. His 25 off 27, with an activity rate of 0.6 actually carried Australia home for a win.

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