Head-to-head stats for Lara, Tendulkar, Muralitharan, Warne and eight others

This is the article, the third of a series, using ball-by-ball data, which the readers have repeatedly asked for during the past three years. For an introduction to that work please refer to the first article on contemporary bowlers. I had followed this with another article on contemporary batsmen.

First, let me present a paradox while determining a bowler-batsman confrontation metrics. This relates to the grey area in handling no-balls. The no-ball related runs are charged to the bowlers but not to the batsmen. The ball itself is added to the batsman but not to the bowler. This leads to the following anomaly.

Let us take an over by Mitchell Starc to Alastair Cook, which is the first over of the match.

Ball 1: Dot ball.
Ball 2: 2 runs scored by Cook. 2 runs for team and against Starc.
Ball 3: Wide. 1 run to team and 1 run against Starc.
Ball 3: 2 leg byes. 2 runs to team.
Ball 4: No ball. 1 run scored. 2 runs to team, 2 runs against Starc and 1 run to Cook.
Ball 4: 4 byes. 4 runs to team.
Ball 5: Dot ball.
Ball 6: No ball. 1 run to team, 1 run against Starc.
Ball 6: Dot ball.

At the end of the over the team score is 12 for 0 (9 extras). Starc's analysis reads 1.0-0-6-0 (6 balls and 6 runs (3 to Cook and 3 wide/no-balls)). Cook's score reads 7 balls and 3 runs (2 & 1). No problem about the runs. But the head-to-head confrontation between Starc and Cook has a problem. Do we take six balls or seven balls? I have taken the no ball as a ball for the combination. That is common-sense.

The present article covers the batsmen and bowlers, some who rank amongst the best whoever wielded a bat or held a ball, who have fewer than 75% of ball-by-ball data available. I have changed the format of this article as compared to the previous two. In those I had covered bowlers and batsmen separately and featured four bowlers and batsmen and created a number of tables for each of those. I had also created a downloadable Excel sheet which contained the complete data for the selected batsmen and bowlers.

In this analysis, I have gone about it differently. Since 100% data is not available for these players nothing is gained by doing an elaborate analysis. There would always be that feeling of incomplete data around these tables. Hence I have selected six batsmen and 6 bowlers each from the collection of players who have between 40% and 75% ball-by-ball data available and presented a single table for each player. The comments are thus specific to these players.

I have also uploaded an Excel sheet containing all instances of bowler-batsman combinations with 100 balls or more, extracted from the entire ball-by-ball data. There are 2844 such instances. In addition I have included 110 instances where three or more wickets were captured and fewer than 100 balls bowled. Thus, the data would almost be complete if one downloads all three Excel sheets. A hundred-balls represents a good cut-off. It is of very little relevance to know that Shane Warne bowled ten balls to Dinesh Karthik and 16 runs were scored or that VVS Laxman bowled ten balls to AB de Villiers and 3 runs were scored.

The players selected are given below. The percentage value on the left shows the extent of ball-by-ball data available. Sachin Tendulkar's ball-by-ball percentage is slightly higher since he is still active and each new Test adds to this component. If, as expected, he retires at the end of the South African tour, he is likely to finish at around 60%.

Batsmen: 
    45.1%  Brian Lara
    58.2%  Sachin Tendulkar
    71.3%  Rahul Dravid
    71.9%  Jacques Kallis
    67.4%  Mohammad Yousuf
    72.5%  Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Bowlers:
    54.1%  Muttiah Muralitharan
    40.2%  Shane Warne
    43.0%  Glenn McGrath
    50.2%  Shaun Pollock
    66.7%  Shoaib Akhtar
    53.7%  Anil Kumble

Justification of these players' selections would be akin to gilding the lily. Most of them select themselves. I selected Mohammad Yousuf instead of Inzamam-ul-Haq since there is a lot more data available for him. Shoaib Akhtar is a late selection. Daniel Vettori was an alternative. Similarly, Stephen Fleming for Shivnarine Chanderpaul was another possibility.

I would like to emphasise that the ball-by-ball data availability for these players is around 50%. This has to be remembered when deriving insights. It is also a fact that the 50% mark pertains to the latter half of the concerned player's career. My suggestion is not to extrapolate. Just take the figures at their face value.

Selected 6 Batsmen

1. Summary table for BRIAN LARA

Bowler	Type	Bowling Avge	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wickets	Batsman Scoring Rate	HtH Average	Bowler Strike Rate
M Muralitharan	rob	22.73	9	709	373	3	52.6	124.33	236.3
Chaminda Vaas	LFM	29.58	9	372	233	1	62.6	233.00	372.0
Andre Nel	RFM	31.86	11	341	185	8	54.3	23.12	42.6
Makhaya Ntini	RF	28.83	11	312	225	1	72.1	225.00	312.0
Steve Harmison	RFM	31.82	13	303	146	4	48.2	36.50	75.8
Danish Kaneria	rlb	34.80	8	298	260	3	87.2	86.67	99.3
Andrew Flintoff	RF	32.79	10	263	109	4	41.4	27.25	65.8
Jacques Kallis	RFM	32.43	8	251	148	0	59.0	148.00	251.0
Brett Lee	RF	30.82	14	243	172	2	70.8	86.00	121.5
Stuart MacGill	rlb	29.03	7	236	174	2	73.7	87.00	118.0
Glenn McGrath	RFM	21.64	12	233	90	2	38.6	45.00	116.5
Jason Gillespie	RF	26.14	8	214	82	0	38.3	82.00	214.0
Shaun Pollock	RFM	23.12	6	192	63	1	32.8	63.00	192.0
Shahid Nazir	RFM	35.33	4	181	88	0	48.6	88.00	181.0
Andy Bichel	RFM	32.24	8	171	112	4	65.5	28.00	42.8
Shane Warne	rlb	25.42	7	168	105	3	62.5	35.00	56.0
Abdul Razzaq	RFM	36.93	6	168	110	0	65.5	110.00	168.0
Thilan Samaraweera	rob	45.93	7	161	80	1	49.7	80.00	161.0
Gareth Batty	rob	66.64	1	161	130	0	80.7	130.00	161.0
Matthew Hoggard	RFM	30.50	10	159	137	1	86.2	137.00	159.0

1. Muttiah Muralitharan bowled millions of balls to Brian Lara, 709 to be precise (for whatever part of the ball-by-data available career of two). But it is safe to say that Lara mastered Muralitharan: and how? Strike rate over 50, average of 124 and a wicket every 40 overs. Not forgetting that most of these balls were bowled in Sri Lanka.
2. On the flip side, a fairly ordinary bowler like Andre Nel had the complete measure of Lara. Eight wickets at a strike rate of 42. Andy Bichel was also quite successful: four wickets, striking every 43 balls. This is difficult to explain considering that he handled much better fast bowlers better.
3. Lara took Danish Kaneria to the cleaners. A scoring rate of more than 87 over nearly 300 balls. He had a scoring rate of over 70 against six bowlers out of these 20.
4. Glenn McGrath, Shaun Pollock and Jason Gillespie kept Lara in check, but with very little success. In fact, Kallis and Gillespie bowled a lot at Lara but did not dismiss him even once. Lara attacked Warne but also lost his wicket often.

2. Summary table for SACHIN TENDULKAR

Bowler	Type	Bowling Avge	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wickets	Batsman Scoring Rate	HtH Average	Bowler Strike Rate
Mitchell Johnson	LF	30.93	18	502	250	3	49.8	83.33	167.3
Paul Harris	lsp	37.87	7	441	154	3	34.9	51.33	147.0
Brett Lee	RF	30.82	19	432	242	5	56.0	48.40	86.4
M Muralitharan	rob	22.73	14	366	196	6	53.6	32.67	61.0
James Anderson	RFM	29.67	23	350	208	9	59.4	23.11	38.9
Ashley Giles	lsp	40.60	5	348	125	1	35.9	125.00	348.0
Andrew Flintoff	RF	32.79	17	342	133	2	38.9	66.50	171.0
Daniel Vettori	lsp	34.42	12	314	95	3	30.3	31.67	104.7
Dale Steyn	RF	22.66	11	310	149	3	48.1	49.67	103.3
Monty Panesar	lsp	33.78	13	304	149	4	49.0	37.25	76.0
Matthew Hoggard	RFM	30.50	13	292	182	3	62.3	60.67	97.3
Mohammad Sami	RF	52.74	9	287	127	1	44.3	127.00	287.0
Mohammad Rafique	lsp	40.76	5	283	140	1	49.5	140.00	283.0
Graeme Swann	rob	28.14	14	279	150	4	53.8	37.50	69.8
Danish Kaneria	rlb	34.80	8	269	151	1	56.1	151.00	269.0
Mervyn Dillon	RFM	33.63	10	267	163	2	61.0	81.50	133.5
Ben Hilfenhaus	RFM	28.51	10	250	161	0	64.4	161.00	250.0
Nathan Hauritz	rob	34.98	5	236	179	1	75.8	179.00	236.0
Shakib Al Hasan	lsp	32.75	5	234	119	1	50.9	119.00	234.0
Cameron Cuffy	RF	33.67	8	233	107	2	45.9	53.50	116.5

1. James Anderson had the complete measure of Tendulkar. He got his wickets nine times at a strike rate of 39 balls.
2. In view of the contest at year-end, it is significant to note that Tendulkar has handled Dale Steyn quite comfortably.
3. Tendulkar has been circumspect against most bowlers. There is only one bowler, Nathan Hauritz, against whom Tendulkar had a scoring rate exceeding 70.
4. Possibly because this pertained to Tendulkar's second half of his career, there seems to be a cautious handling of the bowlers. Most spinners have kept Tendulkar quiet.

3. Summary table for RAHUL DRAVID

Bowler	Type	Bowling Avge	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wickets	Batsman Scoring Rate	HtH Average	Bowler Strike Rate
M Muralitharan	rob	22.73	16	688	326	5	47.4	65.20	137.6
Daniel Vettori	lsp	34.42	12	609	275	2	45.2	137.50	304.5
Danish Kaneria	rlb	34.80	13	583	305	5	52.3	61.00	116.6
Matthew Hoggard	RFM	30.50	16	531	218	5	41.1	43.60	106.2
Andrew Flintoff	RF	32.79	17	470	154	3	32.8	51.33	156.7
Mohammad Sami	RF	52.74	14	454	205	2	45.2	102.50	227.0
James Anderson	RFM	29.67	18	432	197	5	45.6	39.40	86.4
Brett Lee	RF	30.82	16	389	153	5	39.3	30.60	77.8
Stuart MacGill	rlb	29.03	8	357	225	0	63.0	225.00	357.0
Makhaya Ntini	RF	28.83	13	345	149	3	43.2	49.67	115.0
Monty Panesar	lsp	33.78	11	343	145	2	42.3	72.50	171.5
Pedro Collins	LFM	34.62	11	341	178	0	52.2	178.00	341.0
Stuart Broad	RFM	31.19	10	340	136	2	40.0	68.00	170.0
Devendra Bishoo	rlb	39.55	9	339	165	2	48.7	82.50	169.5
Mitchell Johnson	LF	30.93	13	324	113	4	34.9	28.25	81.0
Graeme Swann	rob	28.14	9	318	163	3	51.3	54.33	106.0
Ashley Giles	lsp	40.60	7	313	112	2	35.8	56.00	156.5
Jason Gillespie	RF	26.14	12	300	84	4	28.0	21.00	75.0
Paul Harris	lsp	37.87	8	300	107	1	35.7	107.00	300.0
Chris Martin	RFM	33.81	10	297	89	3	30.0	29.67	99.0

1. Rahul Dravid has been quite careful against almost all bowlers. There is only one scoring rate in excess of 60: against Stuart MacGill.
2. No bowler has quite mastered Dravid. The lowest strike rate in this collection is 75, that of Gillespie.
3. Dravid faced Vettori very comfortably: 609 balls and only 2 wickets.

4. Summary table for JACQUES KALLIS

Bowler	Type	Bowling Avge	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wickets	Batsman Scoring Rate	HtH Average	Bowler Strike Rate
Harbhajan Singh	rob	32.38	18	676	382	6	56.5	63.67	112.7
Danish Kaneria	rlb	34.80	13	621	258	4	41.5	64.50	155.2
Shane Warne	rlb	25.42	22	550	280	5	50.9	56.00	110.0
Brett Lee	RF	30.82	21	528	199	3	37.7	66.33	176.0
Anil Kumble	rlb	29.65	14	494	191	1	38.7	191.00	494.0
Daniel Vettori	lsp	34.42	10	475	208	0	43.8	208.00	475.0
Abdur Rehman	lsp	28.41	8	434	222	0	51.2	222.00	434.0
James Anderson	RFM	29.67	22	419	177	7	42.2	25.29	59.9
Zaheer Khan	LFM	32.36	14	382	157	2	41.1	78.50	191.0
Glenn McGrath	RFM	21.64	16	378	133	3	35.2	44.33	126.0
Andrew Flintoff	RF	32.79	15	372	139	4	37.4	34.75	93.0
Steve Harmison	RFM	31.82	13	346	146	4	42.2	36.50	86.5
S Sreesanth	RFM	37.61	12	328	150	4	45.7	37.50	82.0
Chris Martin	RFM	33.81	15	319	158	4	49.5	39.50	79.8
Umar Gul	RFM	34.07	10	303	165	1	54.5	165.00	303.0
Peter Siddle	RFM	28.58	15	294	170	2	57.8	85.00	147.0
Graeme Swann	rob	28.14	8	288	147	1	51.0	147.00	288.0
Ray Price	lsp	36.06	3	277	143	0	51.6	143.00	277.0
Mitchell Johnson	LF	30.93	12	269	88	5	32.7	17.60	53.8
Dwayne Bravo	RM	39.70	9	267	132	2	49.4	66.00	133.5

1. Anderson has been very successful against Jacques Kallis: 7 wickets at a strike rate of 60. Mitchell Johnson has also been quite successful.
2. Barring a few pace bowlers, Kallis has been quite successful against most bowlers.
3. Kallis vs Anil Kumble is simply amazing. 500 balls and a single dismissal. Similarly Graeme Swann has not been successful against Kallis. A single wicket in the 288 balls bowled.
4. Kallis has handled all bowlers quite well but at relatively low scoring rates: all, barring Steve Harmison, below 60.

5. Summary table for MOHAMMAD YOUSUF

Bowler	Type	Bowling Avge	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wickets	Batsman Scoring Rate	HtH Average	Bowler Strike Rate
Anil Kumble	rlb	29.65	17	504	287	5	56.9	57.40	100.8
Matthew Hoggard	RFM	30.50	11	376	196	1	52.1	196.00	376.0
Steve Harmison	RFM	31.82	7	355	235	2	66.2	117.50	177.5
Daniel Vettori	lsp	34.42	8	315	110	2	34.9	55.00	157.5
Irfan Pathan	LM	32.26	16	295	141	5	47.8	28.20	59.0
Monty Panesar	lsp	33.78	7	291	145	3	49.8	48.33	97.0
Harbhajan Singh	rob	32.38	11	263	155	3	58.9	51.67	87.7
Rangana Herath	lsp	29.52	9	244	112	6	45.9	18.67	40.7
L Balaji	RM	37.19	9	233	134	2	57.5	67.00	116.5
Dave Mohammed	lws	51.38	3	228	132	1	57.9	132.00	228.0
Corey Collymore	RFM	32.30	5	191	89	1	46.6	89.00	191.0
Zaheer Khan	LFM	32.36	8	174	100	1	57.5	100.00	174.0
Andrew Flintoff	RF	32.79	5	171	64	3	37.4	21.33	57.0
Jerome Taylor	RF	35.65	5	169	121	0	71.6	121.00	169.0
Ray Price	lsp	36.06	2	158	80	2	50.6	40.00	79.0
Chris Gayle	rob	42.01	6	154	64	2	41.6	32.00	77.0
Dwayne Bravo	RM	39.70	5	148	95	0	64.2	95.00	148.0
Iain O'Brien	RFM	33.27	5	145	73	2	50.3	36.50	72.5
Daren Powell	RFM	47.99	4	144	82	0	56.9	82.00	144.0
Enamul Haque	lsp	57.11	3	140	89	0	63.6	89.00	140.0

1. Mohammad Yousuf against Matthew Hoggard is something. A single wicket in 376 balls.
2. Rangana Herath had the measure of Yousuf. He dismissed him six times in 244 balls. Similarly, Irfan Pathan.
3. Kumble bowled the maximum balls and had only reasonable success. Many bowlers had fair strike rates against Yousuf.
4. Yousuf attacked Harmison and Jerome Taylor.

6. Summary table for S CHANDERPAUL

Bowler	Type	Bowling Avge	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wickets	Batsman Scoring Rate	HtH Average	Bowler Strike Rate
Harbhajan Singh	rob	32.38	18	790	260	2	32.9	130.00	395.0
Anil Kumble	rlb	29.65	13	500	232	6	46.4	38.67	83.3
Steve Harmison	RFM	31.82	18	464	239	1	51.5	239.00	464.0
Andre Nel	RFM	31.86	12	428	185	3	43.2	61.67	142.7
Makhaya Ntini	RF	28.83	16	413	197	5	47.7	39.40	82.6
Danish Kaneria	rlb	34.80	11	403	207	6	51.4	34.50	67.2
Monty Panesar	lsp	33.78	8	392	179	2	45.7	89.50	196.0
Javagal Srinath	RFM	30.47	11	382	139	3	36.4	46.33	127.3
Paul Harris	lsp	37.87	9	359	179	1	49.9	179.00	359.0
Zaheer Khan	LFM	32.36	9	355	136	2	38.3	68.00	177.5
James Anderson	RFM	29.67	14	339	151	2	44.5	75.50	169.5
Jacques Kallis	RFM	32.43	17	334	113	2	33.8	56.50	167.0
Graeme Swann	rob	28.14	10	330	122	5	37.0	24.40	66.0
Brett Lee	RF	30.82	16	329	126	3	38.3	42.00	109.7
Ashley Giles	lsp	40.60	9	310	138	3	44.5	46.00	103.3
Stuart MacGill	rlb	29.03	9	283	210	3	74.2	70.00	94.3
Daniel Vettori	lsp	34.42	8	277	116	3	41.9	38.67	92.3
Matthew Hoggard	RFM	30.50	14	269	146	4	54.3	36.50	67.2
Stuart Broad	RFM	31.19	10	268	89	5	33.2	17.80	53.6
Ashish Nehra	LM	42.41	6	261	108	0	41.4	108.00	261.0

1. This has already been discussed when looking at Harbhajan Singh. Chanderpaul was dismissed only twice in 790 balls.
2. Still more dominant is Chanderpaul against Harmison. A single dismissal in 464 balls. On a normal day this represents nearly a day's bowling.
3. But look at Chanderpaul's scoring rates. Plenty of instances below 40. He attacked only one bowler: Stuart MacGill.

Selected 6 Bowlers

7. Summary table for M MURALITHARAN

Batsman	Type	Batting Avge	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wickets	Batsman Scoring Rate	HtH Average	Bowler Strike Rate
Brian Lara	LHB	52.89	9	709	373	3	52.6	124.33	236.3
Rahul Dravid	rhb	52.31	16	688	326	5	47.4	65.20	137.6
Ramnaresh Sarwan	rhb	40.01	13	597	222	7	37.2	31.71	85.3
Mohammad Ashraful	rhb	24.01	17	563	276	7	49.0	39.43	80.4
VVS Laxman	rhb	45.97	15	496	240	2	48.4	120.00	248.0
Stephen Fleming	LHB	40.07	5	453	171	0	37.7	171.00	453.0
Alastair Cook	LHB	48.45	8	450	152	2	33.8	76.00	225.0
Paul Collingwood	rhb	40.57	15	393	136	7	34.6	19.43	56.1
Graham Thorpe	LHB	44.66	8	387	110	5	28.4	22.00	77.4
Sachin Tendulkar	rhb	53.87	14	366	196	6	53.6	32.67	61.0
Mark Butcher	LHB	34.58	7	357	106	2	29.7	53.00	178.5
Sourav Ganguly	LHB	42.18	13	323	141	8	43.7	17.62	40.4
Michael Vaughan	rhb	41.44	12	320	97	6	30.3	16.17	53.3
Jacob Oram	LHB	36.33	11	296	107	5	36.1	21.40	59.2
Damien Martyn	rhb	46.38	6	291	122	3	41.9	40.67	97.0
Shoaib Malik	rhb	33.46	4	288	62	0	21.5	62.00	288.0
Gautam Gambhir	LHB	44.19	10	271	137	4	50.6	34.25	67.8
Ashwell Prince	LHB	41.65	6	267	88	3	33.0	29.33	89.0
Marcus Trescothick	LHB	43.76	11	266	110	8	41.4	13.75	33.2
Daniel Vettori	LHB	30.11	10	263	127	3	48.3	42.33	87.7

1. We have already talked of the dominance Lara had over Muralitharan. VVS Laxman and Cook were equally effective. Dravid suffers only in comparison.
2. The top batsmen seem to have played Muralitharan quite well. Only the English trio of Paul Collingwood, Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick seem to have a fair time, at best, against Muralitharan.
3. However the best against Muralitharan is undoubtedly Fleming. Over 453 balls and no dismissal. Shoaib Malik has been equally good.
4. Tendulkar has attacked Muralitharan but also been dismissed frequently. Lara and Tendulkar have been quite aggressive against Muralitharan.

8. Summary table for SHANE WARNE

Batsman	Type	Batting Avge	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wickets	Batsman Scoring Rate	HtH Average	Bowler Strike Rate
Jacques Kallis	rhb	56.10	22	550	280	5	50.9	56.00	110.0
Kevin Pietersen	rhb	48.31	18	521	308	5	59.1	61.60	104.2
Ashwell Prince	LHB	41.65	18	466	164	11	35.2	14.91	42.4
Mark Boucher	rhb	30.30	22	417	219	9	52.5	24.33	46.3
Andrew Flintoff	rhb	31.78	19	407	225	7	55.3	32.14	58.1
Ian Bell	rhb	46.58	13	396	177	5	44.7	35.40	79.2
Neil McKenzie	rhb	37.39	11	366	153	4	41.8	38.25	91.5
Herschelle Gibbs	rhb	41.95	14	347	166	6	47.8	27.67	57.8
Nathan Astle	rhb	37.02	15	333	141	2	42.3	70.50	166.5
Paul Collingwood	rhb	40.57	10	317	165	2	52.1	82.50	158.5
Alec Stewart	rhb	39.56	12	294	160	5	54.4	32.00	58.8
Stephen Fleming	LHB	40.07	8	294	125	2	42.5	62.50	147.0
Mark Butcher	LHB	34.58	12	287	151	4	52.6	37.75	71.8
Michael Vaughan	rhb	41.44	10	285	131	3	46.0	43.67	95.0
Nasser Hussain	rhb	37.19	10	278	109	3	39.2	36.33	92.7
Jacques Rudolph	LHB	35.43	10	260	114	4	43.8	28.50	65.0
Shaun Pollock	rhb	32.32	13	252	172	2	68.3	86.00	126.0
Andrew Strauss	LHB	40.91	12	241	141	8	58.5	17.62	30.1
Gary Kirsten	LHB	45.27	5	238	128	1	53.8	128.00	238.0
Thilan Samaraweera	rhb	48.77	7	226	78	0	34.5	78.00	226.0

1. What do we see with Ashwell Prince? In the earlier article we have already seen Prince's three dismissals by Swann in five balls. Now we see that Warne has dismissed Prince 11 times at a strike rate of 40 balls.
2. Mark Boucher was dismissed nine times at a strike rate of 46, Andrew Flintoff seven times at 58, Alec Stewart five times at 59 and finally Andrew Strauss eight times at 30. Warne seems to have had the measure of all.
3. Kevin Pietersen has attacked Warne and has a high strike rate. Look at the way Shaun Pollock has handled Warne very effectively.
4. Look at how effectively Thilan Samaraweera has handled Warne.

9. Summary table for GLENN MCGRATH

Batsman	Type	Batting Avge	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wickets	Batsman Scoring Rate	HtH Average	Bowler Strike Rate
Herschelle Gibbs	rhb	41.95	17	492	191	3	38.8	63.67	164.0
Marcus Trescothick	LHB	43.76	24	438	184	6	42.0	30.67	73.0
Jacques Kallis	rhb	56.10	16	378	133	3	35.2	44.33	126.0
Mark Butcher	LHB	34.58	15	365	174	5	47.7	34.80	73.0
Michael Vaughan	rhb	41.44	14	348	193	6	55.5	32.17	58.0
Andrew Strauss	LHB	40.91	15	336	168	3	50.0	56.00	112.0
Nathan Astle	rhb	37.02	10	297	189	3	63.6	63.00	99.0
Ian Bell	rhb	46.58	13	293	108	5	36.9	21.60	58.6
Kevin Pietersen	rhb	48.31	13	270	135	5	50.0	27.00	54.0
Brian Lara	LHB	52.89	12	233	90	2	38.6	45.00	116.5
Ramnaresh Sarwan	rhb	40.01	9	232	82	2	35.3	41.00	116.0
Graeme Smith	LHB	48.63	12	224	81	5	36.2	16.20	44.8
Stephen Fleming	LHB	40.07	13	222	63	7	28.4	9.00	31.7
Mike Atherton	rhb	37.70	10	210	86	6	41.0	14.33	35.0
Paul Collingwood	rhb	40.57	11	199	54	2	27.1	27.00	99.5
Gary Kirsten	LHB	45.27	10	196	75	4	38.3	18.75	49.0
Mark Richardson	LHB	44.77	9	193	58	1	30.1	58.00	193.0
Nasser Hussain	rhb	37.19	12	192	41	4	21.4	10.25	48.0
Chris Gayle	LHB	42.46	8	177	63	4	35.6	15.75	44.2
Neil McKenzie	rhb	37.39	10	176	76	2	43.2	38.00	88.0

1. With whatever data available, it is clear that McGrath has dominated quite a few batsmen. Fleming has the lowest strike rate: seven wickets at 32. Mike Atherton, six at 35. Pietersen and Ian Bell have similar figures.
2. Only Herschelle Gibbs has really dominated McGrath. To a lesser extent, Kallis and Strauss.
3. The metronome that McGrath was, it is amazing to see Nathan Astle taking him quite comfortably at a very good strike rate. Nasser Hussain found it difficult to get McGrath away.

10. Summary table for SHAUN POLLOCK

Batsman	Type	Batting Avge	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wickets	Batsman Scoring Rate	HtH Average	Bowler Strike Rate
Marcus Trescothick	LHB	43.76	18	381	126	4	33.1	31.50	95.2
Michael Vaughan	rhb	41.44	18	367	91	5	24.8	18.20	73.4
Matthew Hayden	LHB	50.74	11	356	152	2	42.7	76.00	178.0
Justin Langer	LHB	45.27	11	352	137	3	38.9	45.67	117.3
Andrew Strauss	LHB	40.91	9	336	121	2	36.0	60.50	168.0
Michael Hussey	LHB	51.53	8	312	122	1	39.1	122.00	312.0
Ricky Ponting	rhb	51.87	14	291	151	3	51.9	50.33	97.0
Rahul Dravid	rhb	52.31	11	277	69	5	24.9	13.80	55.4
Taufeeq Umar	LHB	38.72	8	277	72	1	26.0	72.00	277.0
Ramnaresh Sarwan	rhb	40.01	9	241	108	4	44.8	27.00	60.2
Mark Butcher	LHB	34.58	10	233	66	1	28.3	66.00	233.0
Chris Gayle	LHB	42.46	6	224	117	1	52.2	117.00	224.0
Damien Martyn	rhb	46.38	8	223	72	2	32.3	36.00	111.5
Virender Sehwag	rhb	49.34	8	206	120	3	58.3	40.00	68.7
Mahela Jayawardene	rhb	49.57	8	195	58	2	29.7	29.00	97.5
Brian Lara	LHB	52.89	6	192	63	1	32.8	63.00	192.0
Sachin Tendulkar	rhb	53.87	10	186	85	3	45.7	28.33	62.0
Graham Thorpe	LHB	44.66	10	185	69	2	37.3	34.50	92.5
Marvan Atapattu	rhb	39.02	8	183	55	3	30.1	18.33	61.0
Andrew Flintoff	rhb	31.78	10	177	88	4	49.7	22.00	44.2

1. Shaun Pollock has had the measure of Flintoff and to a lesser extent, Dravid.
2. Mike Hussey has handled Pollock very well. 312 balls and a single dismissal tells the story. A few Australian top order batsmen and Lara have also been quite effective.
3. Chris Gayle has attacked Pollock's bowling with lot of success.

11. Summary table for ANIL KUMBLE

Batsman	Type	Batting Avge	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wickets	Batsman Scoring Rate	HtH Average	Bowler Strike Rate
Younis Khan	rhb	50.74	13	661	332	5	50.2	66.40	132.2
Ricky Ponting	rhb	51.87	13	579	295	4	50.9	73.75	144.8
Mohammad Yousuf	rhb	52.29	17	504	287	5	56.9	57.40	100.8
S Chanderpaul	LHB	51.82	13	500	232	6	46.4	38.67	83.3
Jacques Kallis	rhb	56.10	14	494	191	1	38.7	191.00	494.0
Michael Clarke	rhb	51.59	14	469	276	6	58.8	46.00	78.2
Michael Vaughan	rhb	41.44	11	459	272	2	59.3	136.00	229.5
Simon Katich	LHB	45.03	15	439	265	6	60.4	44.17	73.2
Matthew Hayden	LHB	50.74	15	399	256	5	64.2	51.20	79.8
Ramnaresh Sarwan	rhb	40.01	12	394	151	3	38.3	50.33	131.3
Kamran Akmal	rhb	30.79	15	379	201	5	53.0	40.20	75.8
Mahela Jayawardene	rhb	49.57	8	370	161	3	43.5	53.67	123.3
Inzamam-ul-Haq	rhb	49.61	10	352	234	5	66.5	46.80	70.4
Paul Collingwood	rhb	40.57	10	324	146	3	45.1	48.67	108.0
Misbah-ul-Haq	rhb	43.20	6	320	125	0	39.1	125.00	320.0
Damien Martyn	rhb	46.38	12	317	178	5	56.2	35.60	63.4
Kevin Pietersen	rhb	48.31	11	310	176	2	56.8	88.00	155.0
Nasser Hussain	rhb	37.19	9	288	147	4	51.0	36.75	72.0
Michael Hussey	LHB	51.53	7	276	170	1	61.6	170.00	276.0
Mohammad Sami	rhb	11.60	13	272	67	5	24.6	13.40	54.4

1. Many of the batsmen who faced Kumble have played him quite well. We have already seen Kallis' 494 balls per wicket.
2. For all the accurate bowling Kumble was famous for, quite a few batsmen have very good scoring rates, led by Inzamam.
3. Look at how comfortably Hussey and Misbah-ul-Haq have handled Kumble.
4. Damien Martyn is the one Kumble had some measure of.

12. Summary table for SHOAIB AKHTAR

Batsman	Type	Batting Avge	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wickets	Batsman Scoring Rate	HtH Average	Bowler Strike Rate
Rahul Dravid	rhb	52.31	12	283	91	2	32.2	45.50	141.5
Virender Sehwag	rhb	49.34	8	212	177	3	83.5	59.00	70.7
Justin Langer	LHB	45.27	8	174	127	0	73.0	127.00	174.0
Marcus Trescothick	LHB	43.76	7	165	73	2	44.2	36.50	82.5
Sourav Ganguly	LHB	42.18	9	164	100	2	61.0	50.00	82.0
VVS Laxman	rhb	45.97	10	154	80	1	51.9	80.00	154.0
Sachin Tendulkar	rhb	53.87	8	140	79	2	56.4	39.50	70.0
Sanath Jayasuriya	LHB	40.07	4	137	103	1	75.2	103.00	137.0
Ian Bell	rhb	46.58	6	129	84	2	65.1	42.00	64.5
Matthew Hayden	LHB	50.74	7	115	55	3	47.8	18.33	38.3
Ricky Ponting	rhb	51.87	8	111	65	2	58.6	32.50	55.5
Wasim Jaffer	rhb	34.11	6	109	47	2	43.1	23.50	54.5
Habibul Bashar	rhb	30.88	5	102	95	1	93.1	95.00	102.0

1. Shoaib Akhtar has been quite effectively handled by the Indian batsmen, led by Dravid and Laxman. Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag have had mixed time against Akhtar.
2. Matthew Hayden is the batsmen against whom Akhtar has had some success.

One final reminder that we are looking at ball-by-ball data of around 50% for the players concerned. However, it should be noted that in certain cases, because one part of the concerned bowler-batsman pair could as well have complete data, the data presented is complete for this combination. Examples are Steyn vs Tendulkar and Warne vs Pietersen.

These are just samples of the type of insights which can be drawn. I have created an Excel sheet with 2954 instances of ball-by-ball data where the number of balls exceeds 100 or number of dismissals exceed 3. To download/view the document, a veritable treasure-trove of information, please CLICK HERE.

These three articles complete the first phase of analysis using the ball-by-ball data which has been extracted by Milind. After a break of an article or two I will look at some special analysis using this priceless data. Any suggestions from readers will be welcome. To start with, I may start with a single-Test based analysis.