Slight improvement in one-day performances according to latest survey
Things could only get better after the disastrous one-day domestic summer in New Zealand
Lynn McConnell
19-Apr-2002
Things could only get better after the disastrous one-day domestic summer in New Zealand.
And to a certain extend they did.
The annual CricInfo New Zealand survey of the State Shield has revealed an upturn in trends, all the more important because the members of the New Zealand team were available for only two rounds of the Shield this year.
This has meant that what improvements there have been have been achieved by the lower echelon of players.
That will need to continue next year when most of the international players will again by involved in games with India in the warm-up to next year's World Cup.
There are still some disquieting trends; the inability of Otago to be more competitive, the inability of players in the areas below the opening partnerships to post big stands and the seeming inability for players to register individual centuries in the two rounds of games.
Against that, it must be said that to have an improvement this year, when pitches were not all that they could have been, was highly encouraging and a good sign for continued improvement.
Wellington were the big movers in performance levels during the State Shield domestic one-day series this summer.
Their Shield win saw them improve their placing on the overall standings by 3.8%. With Canterbury dropping from their lofty perch with a 1.5% decline, the margin between the two rivals is now just over 10%, compared to 16% last year.
Northern Districts were the other significant mover with the second best winning ratio in the competition since 1993/94 when the two rounds of play was introduced. They have a winning percentage of 59.1.
Otago recorded a 0.5% improvement but still linger well below other sides with their winning ratio of 28.0.
Auckland and Central Districts both suffered declines in performance this year.
Win/loss records in Shell Cups and State Shield (1993/94-2001/02):
Played Won Lost NR % ---------------------------------------------------- Auckland 93 36 55 2 39.7 Canterbury 107 72 33 2 68.2 Central Districts 91 37 52 2 41.7 Northern Districts 104 61 42 1 59.1 Otago 89 24 63 2 28.0 Wellington 100 57 42 1 57.5
Total 292
There was a significant improvement in scoring levels achieved during the State Shield this year. The greatest lift came in the number of sides reaching 250-plus. This was up from six last year to 13 this year, and this in a season marred by frustrations with rain and the subsequent effect on pitches. As a result there two more teams that reached more than 270, which occurred in five matches.
This may have been attributable in part to the best bowlers in the one-day game being tied up in Australia with the New Zealand team, however, the best batsmen were also in Australia which makes the achievement all the more impressive from a batting perspective.
Innings score ranges in Shell Cups and State Shield (1993/94-2001/02):
-200 200+ (240+ 250+ 270+ 300+) -------------------------------------------------------------- 1993/94 45 23 6 2 2 1 1994/95 33 35 14 9 3 1 1995/96 27 41 11 10 7 1 1996/97 28 36 12 9 7 1 1997/98 26 40 21 19 7 - 1998/99 25 43 10 6 4 1 1999/00 31 33 12 8 7 1 2000/01 34 24 11 6 3 2 2001/02 31 28 16 13 5 1
Total 280 303 113 82 45 9
Batsmen did seem to be still struggling to achieve centuries however. With one extra game played this summer there were only two extra centuries and with only seven through the whole programme that must still be a concern.
Total individual centuries in Shell Cups and State Shield (1993/94-2001/02):
Matches Centuries ------------------------------------- 1993/94 34 3 1994/95 34 13 1995/96 34 8 1996/97 32 13 1997/98 33 14 1998/99 34 3 1999/00 32 9 2000/01 29 5 2001/02 30 7
Total 292 75
While the number of centuries may be down, there is clearly a much greater appreciation of the need for better scoring from openers in the competition. There were five century opening stands, one short of the record, and up from only two in the previous summer. While there were 14 half-century stands which was up from seven. The average opening partnership also increased from the lowest since recordings began in 1993/94 of 22.3 last year to a more robust 29.9.
Opening partnerships in Shell Cups and State Shield (1993/94-2001/02):
Matches Average 100+ 50+ ------------------------------------------------ 1993/94 34 33.5 4 15 1994/95 34 31.1 2 15 1995/96 34 30.8 5 14 1996/97 32 35.1 6 15 1997/98 33 27.8 1 15 1998/99 34 35.1 6 16 1999/00 32 30.6 5 12 2000/01 29 22.3 2 7 2001/02 30 29.9 5 14
Total 292 36 123
Further down the order, however, things were not so impressive. The number of century partnerships for all wickets actually decreased to 12, the lowest since the first summer of recording in 1993/94 with 12.
Century partnerships for all wickets in Shell Cups and State Shield (1993/94-2001/02):
Matches Partnerships ------------------------------------------ 1993/94 34 12 1994/95 34 13 1995/96 34 15 1996/97 32 22 1997/98 33 17 1998/99 34 19 1999/00 32 16 2000/01 29 13 2001/02 30 12
Total 292 139
The average team scores offered some interesting statistical phenomena. Wellington, the champions this year, actually performed less impressively with the bat and scored an average of 4.1 runs less per innings than they did last year. That may be a reflection of their potency of their attack, and especially their lowly dismissal of teams like Central Districts in some games.
CD actually managed an impressive lift in their overall scoring by 11.7 runs per innings, although their 180.7 was still the lowest of all sides.
Canterbury dropped 4.6 runs per innings while Auckland dropped 1.9. Northern Districts managed a 7.9 runs per innings increase. Otago too, despite their lack of success, continued an upward trend with their batting performances being the only team to average over 200 per innings with 201.8.
Average team scores in Shell Cups and State Shield (1993/94-2001/02):
Auck Cant CD ND Otago Well Average ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1993/94 153.5 194.2 172.1 193.3 173.9 180.8 178.6 1994/95 199.5 197.6 205.6 204.4 186.2 199.0 198.9 1995/96 191.0 238.5 159.2 197.3 180.0 226.5 200.5 1996/97 179.8 193.8 207.6 210.5 189.0 199.1 197.1 1997/98 188.0 206.0 234.5 194.2 218.9 228.8 212.1 1998/99 174.9 220.5 202.0 199.4 203.2 205.1 198.1 1999/00 188.8 218.5 185.5 201.0 193.7 180.1 194.9 2000/01 199.3 187.1 169.0 185.9 196.6 196.2 188.5 2001/02 197.4 182.5 180.7 193.8 201.8 192.1 191.1
Average 185.8 202.6 190.6 198.0 193.3 202.0 195.7
As was indicated by the decline in the value of all batting partnerships, the average value of wickets throughout the competition, continued a decline which began after the peak of 28.12 in 1997/98. It has now reached 24.67, with only Wellington (27.05), Auckland (25.63) and Northern Districts (25.08) managing to score the annual average.
Average value of wickets in Shell Cups and State Shield (1993/94-2001/02):
Auck Cant CD ND Otago Well Average ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1993/94 20.19 31.50 23.45 23.43 20.13 32.60 23.17 1994/95 26.76 27.26 33.16 26.95 20.23 22.60 27.16 1995/96 21.65 39.20 17.49 26.45 21.42 26.64 25.07 1996/97 26.54 33.60 25.60 25.00 21.97 27.38 26.50 1997/98 22.65 29.08 31.85 24.56 28.80 31.93 28.12 1998/99 24.98 32.66 24.93 25.73 26.38 25.64 25.67 1999/00 28.21 36.42 20.12 26.63 22.78 20.46 25.36 2000/01 24.16 26.74 23.80 23.83 23.28 27.63 24.90 2001/02 25.63 24.19 23.24 25.08 22.74 27.05 24.67
Average 24.47 30.70 24.53 25.30 22.32 26.65 25.62
Auckland and Canterbury (706) and Central Districts (707) have lost the fewest wickets in the all-time records of the competition but apart from Canterbury the figures do not reflect a dominance in batting performance.
Auckland in the past season lost 11 more wickets than in the previous season while Canterbury lost six more. CD lost one fewer, ND lost seven more, Otago lost five fewer and Wellington remained the same.
Total wickets lost in Shell Cups and State Shield (1993/94-2001/02):
Auck Cant CD ND Otago Well Total -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1993/94 76 79 95 99 95 80 524 1994/95 82 87 62 91 92 84 498 1995/96 97 73 91 97 84 102 544 1996/97 61 75 73 101 86 80 476 1997/98 83 85 81 87 76 86 498 1998/99 77 81 81 93 97 96 525 1999/00 87 66 83 83 85 88 492 2000/01 66 77 71 78 76 71 439 2001/02 77 83 70 85 71 71 457
Total 706 706 707 814 762 758 4453
Perhaps one of the most telling figures, and one of the most encouraging is the climb in runs scored per over. CD, the champions from last season were the only team to decline. The overall average increased by 0.16 to 4.41 runs per over. Interestingly, Canterbury achieved the biggest increase with a lift of 0.31 runs per over. They are still the historical leader in the survey with their runs coming at an average of 4.53 while Wellington is back on 4.37. Auckland also achieved an outstanding change with a 0.28 lift in their annual figure. Otago too, increased by 0.19 to 4.54.
Runs per over in Shell Cups and State Shield (1993/94-2001/02):
Auck Cant CD ND Otago Well Average ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1993/94 3.62 4.13 3.89 3.92 3.79 3.81 3.87 1994/95 4.05 4.37 4.20 4.38 3.79 4.39 4.20 1995/96 3.98 5.16 3.38 4.29 3.87 4.58 4.25 1996/97 4.04 4.92 4.62 4.42 4.11 4.36 4.42 1997/98 4.20 4.86 4.74 4.24 4.51 4.77 4.57 1998/99 3.63 4.34 4.46 4.38 4.38 4.45 4.27 1999/00 4.13 4.53 4.10 4.43 4.07 4.24 4.26 2000/01 4.40 4.08 4.13 4.36 4.35 4.25 4.25 2001/02 4.68 4.39 4.11 4.37 4.54 4.36 4.41
Average 4.06 4.53 4.18 4.30 4.14 4.37 4.27
(Statistics compiled by Duane Pettet)