MS Dhoni's average in 96 innings in ODIs that India have won - the highest average by anyone who has batted more than 10 times in victorious ODI matches. In ODIs India has lost, the Ranchi Rampager averages just 28.4 (the 80th highest average by anyone who has batted more than 10 times in losing ODIs), giving him one of the highest runs-per-dismissal-difference-between-victories-and-defeats of any player in the history of the limited-over universe. (By way of comparisons: since Dhoni's December 2004 debut, all ODI top-seven batsmen combined have averaged 42.5 in victories and 23.8 in defeats; Michael Bevan, who fulfilled a similar middle-order-finisher role for Australia, averaged 65 in wins and 40 in losses; and current South Africans Hashim Amla and JP Duminy heroically smash 70 and 64 respectively on the train to Triumphtown, but miserably plink just 26 and 17 when on the long road to Losersville.) In the mercifully-now-consigned-to-history ODI series against an alleged England side, Dhoni again proved himself one of ODI cricket's greatest finishers, an ice-veined abacus with forearms stronger than an elephant's hammock, a man who knows (a) where his accelerator pedal is, (b) when to press it, and (c) that his opponents know that he knows when to press it, and how hard he will press it when he chooses to do so. Dhoni has now batted in 47 successful chases, averaging 108 with a strike rate of 90, and he has been not out on 29 of those occasions, closing in on Jonty Rhodes' record of 33 opportunities to be the first batsman to pull a commemorative stump out of the ground at the end of a successful one-day pursuit. The Indian skipper has batted 36 times in unsuccessful chases, hitting five half-centuries, averaging 23, with a strike rate of 71. The massive divergence between his winning and losing averages suggests that Dhoni's wicket is almost as important to a bowling team in an ODI as lungs are to a racehorse. These averages need to be taken with a pinch of salt ‒ he bats lower down the order than most top batsmen, so his high average in successes is boosted by not-outs, and his low average in defeats is diminished because he often comes in having to take risks early in his innings. But that pinch of salt should merely enhance the flavour of the stat, rather than render it inedibly briny. Mmmm. Yum.
Also: The percentage of air made up of nitrogen. Dazzling England gloveman Jack Russell reportedly used to take his own supply of nitrogen on tour with him, in case the local nitrogen disagreed with him.
Also: The percentage of bananas rejected by England's Bodyline skipper Douglas Jardine for being "insufficiently banana-shaped". Jardine was convinced throughout his adult life that only 21.9% of bananas were up to scratch. He preferred bananas to Australians.
Nov 1, 2011

Number of balls faced by Geoffrey Boycott in in Perth in 1978-79. How many did he hit over the boundary rope for four? (a) 439 - he really went for it after being knocked unconscious at breakfast on day one when Ian Botham unexpectedly flang a croissant at him at high speed; (b) 5 - not exactly bums-on-seats batting, more bums-off-seats-to-go-to-the-bar-for-a-beer-to-numb-the-pain batting; or (c) 0 - what had the boundary rope ever done to him? Why should he inconvenience it by sending a ball hurtling towards it? Think about your answer carefully. No conferring. Concentrate. Pens down. The answer is - brace yourselves, Twenty20 fans ‒ (c) 0. In nine hours 42 minutes of batting, the Yorkshire legend managed a solitary all-run four. The Packer-ravaged 78-79 series was by no means Boycott's career highlight - he averaged fractionally under 22, his strike rate was fractionally over 22, and, in all, he smote five scintillating boundaries in more than 24 hours at the crease - fractionally more than one fence-blasting hammer-blow per day's play. In fact, if a team made up entirely of 1978-79 Boycott clones batted at both ends for an entire 90-over day, they would end on 122 for 5. And all this happened to the lilting background tones of Kerry Packer giggling wildly to himself and asking, "Anyone want to watch some guys in silly clothes whacking it about a bit?" Boycott proudly resides in third place in the slowest-recorded match-scoring rate of anyone who has faced at least 400 balls in a Test - narrowly behind Brearley's defiantly strokeless 17 off 64 and 74 off 344 against Pakistan in 1977-78, but way adrift of the career masterpiece of the Plato of Plod himself, Trevor Bailey, who brought humanity to the precipice of spiritual permafrost in scoring 27 off 116, followed by 68 off 427 (match figures of 95 runs off 543 balls, equivalent to two entire days' batting in a modern Test, and a strike rate of 17) at the Gabba in 1958-59. It is now widely accepted by experts that it was Bailey's second innings, rather than competition with the Soviet Union, that prompted America to invest heavily in space travel, in order to offer the people of the world a viable escape route from having to witness similar innings in future.
Also: The percentage increase in sales of coffee reported by hot drink stalls at the Perth Test in 1978-79 whilst Geoff Boycott was at the crease.
Also: The percentage increase in sales of champagne reported by bars at the following Test in Melbourne after Boycott was out 13th ball for 1.
Oct 18, 2011

Test runs scored by Mike Hussey in eight Tests since he began the 2010-11 Ashes, sharing a hotel room with a noisy gaggle of question marks over his place in the Baggy Green team. Those question marks had earned the right to rifle through Hussey's minibar, dance in his jacuzzi bath, and snooze groggily on his couch. In his previous 34 Tests, over almost three years, he had scored just three hundreds and averaged 34 - 56th in the world (of players who had played five or more Tests in that time), and the tenth-best Australian. Having averaged over 35 in only three of his last 11 series, Hussey could have had no complaints that the writing was on the wall, nor that the writing was not entirely complimentary in tone, and contained the words "You are selectorial toast" in especially lurid paint. But rather than accept this unwanted decor, he whipped out his old set of paintbrushes, and covered over that writing with a high-class mural depicting himself waving his bat around, celebrating. In eight Tests since then, he has hit five hundreds and five more half-centuries, and posted an average of 73 - the fourth highest in that period, behind Bell, Cook and Misbah, and almost double the average of the next-best Australian, Shane Watson. Hussey's fallow period had followed one of the most remarkable starts to any Test career. In 20 Tests, he had scored 2120 runs, including eight centuries, at an eye-ballooning average of 84 - the best in the world in the November 2005 to January 2008 time slab. During his two Himalayan peak periods, therefore, he has hit 12 hundreds in 28 Tests and averaged 80 - midway between Graeme Pollock and Bradman - whilst in the rift valley in between, he nestled in amidst the statistical likes of Brendan Nash, Wasim Jaffer and Greg Ritchie. For a player and a man who seems to be the embodiment of consistent reliability, Hussey has had a barkingly odd career.
Also: The last year in which there were no recorded disputes about umpiring in top-level cricket.
Also: Virender Sehwag's close-of-play score whenever he visualises himself batting undefeated throughout the first day of a Test.
Sep 30, 2011

Johnny Bairstow's ODI career strike rate after one match. The Yorkshireman's debut innings of 41 not out off 21 balls was the fastest innings of over 40 on an ODI debut in the history of the known universe. Constable Combustible Shahid Afridi famously splattered 102 off 40 balls (strike rate: 255) in his maiden ODI innings, but it was in his second match, after he registered a disappointingly sedate Did Not Bat in his first. Surprisingly for a nation not universally renowned for the innate flamboyance of its strokeplay, there are five England players in the understandably-seldom-consulted Top Six Fastest ODI Debut Innings Of 40-Plus chart. Not only did Bairstow supplant the previous record holder (Afghanistan's Noor Ali Zadran, who smote 45 off 28 in his first ODI in 2009), but he also overtook his countrymen Luke Wright (50 off 39), Ben Hollioake (63 off 48), Roland Butcher (52 off 38) and John Morris (63 not out off 45). However, before England supporters, redhead fans, and those who see the success of Yorkshire cricketers as inextricably linked to a universally acceptable solution to the Middle East situation, become too excited at Bairstow's brilliant match-clinching debut, it should be noted that Butcher, Morris and Hollioake never surpassed their debut scores, and Wright has reached 50 only once more since his 2007 debut, scoring 52 against New Zealand in 2008.
Also: Balls faced by Peter Burge in scoring 53 in the fifth Test between Australia and West Indies in 1960-61, and by Paul Collingwood during his 135 against South Africa at Edgbaston in 2008. Burge's innings lasted two hours 35 minutes; Collingwood's took four hours 56 minutes. Admittedly, Burge predominantly faced spin, and Collingwood largely encountered pace, but it remains an oddity that, as cricketers have become fitter, stronger and better prepared, aided by modern nutrition and scientific advances, and prompted by the incessant demands of television for non-stop action, they have become increasingly proficient at dawdling back to their bowling markers as if suffering from advanced all-body arthritis. Perhaps cricket's biomechnical experts should be focusing their energies on the brisk walk rather than the repeatable bowling action.
Also: The speed, in miles per hour, at which Andre Nel was convinced he was going to bowl the ball, every time he ran to the wicket. Judging by the look on his face.
Sep 22, 2011

The number of century partnerships England's sixth to tenth wickets have been involved in during 2011 - an all-time record for any Test team in a single year. Since their century stands for the sixth, seventh and eighth wickets in the final Ashes Test in Sydney, they have added six more lower-order hundred-plus partnerships - a record for an English summer ‒ with three against both touring sides. The 109 put on by Prior and Bresnan for the seventh wicket at Trent Bridge took England past the previous world best of eight lower-order century stands in a year, by India in 1983, and West Indies in 1984. England's previous best was six - set last year. If they can maintain their current Krakatoan form, England will be able to make a strong statistical claim for having the best lower middle order in Test history. England's average partnership for their sixth to tenth wickets this year is 57 (compared to 27 last year) - comfortably a record by any team who have played more than one Test in a year, beating the previous best of 48 by South Africa in 1966. And they have scored these runs at a bowler-breaking rate of 4.6 per over. This summer, England's lower order has averaged 48 per wicket against Sri Lanka and 54 versus India - whose own last five wickets have responded with, respectively, 19 and 16 per wicket. And some of those responsible for these lower-order blitzkriegs have been bowling quite nicely as well. By comparison, England's first five wickets in the current series have had just four runs per partnership over India's - 37 to 33. But whilst India's tail has been disintegrating like an egg sandwich re-entering the earth's atmosphere from a high earth orbit, England's has been taking the bull by the horns, swinging the bull round their heads, and training the now subdued bull to do their housework, iron their shirts and cook them dinner.
Also: The number of bowlers England's lower order has reduced to tears of impotent rage this year.
Also: The number in England's order at which Alan Mullally batted in the Oval Test of 1999. In both innings there were no batsmen absent. Mullally did not lock the real numbers 9 and 10 in a cupboard just so he could bat. He was chosen as England's No. 9. He scored 5 and 3, so, by his standards, he almost rose to the challenge. England's No. 9 at Trent Bridge was Stuart Broad - 108 runs off 98 balls in the match, bumping his career average up to 29. How times have changed in English cricket.
Aug 2, 2011

The number of Test double-hundreds scored by Kevin Pietersen - putting him third on the all-time England list, behind the useful pairing of Wally Hammond (7) and Len Hutton (4).
A quick multiple-choice quiz question for you. Pencils ready? You may begin. Who has scored the most Test double-hundreds, with 12 in 52 Tests, at a rate of one every 6.66 innings? (a) Don Bradman; (b) Monty Panesar; (c) North Korean President Kim Jong Il, the self-proclaimed scorer of the world's lowest ever golf round (38 under par), and presumably therefore quite handy at cricket as well; or (d) film actress Zooey Deschanel.
Also: The number of double-hundreds scored in Lord's Tests between 1950 and 2002. There have been five since 2003. There were five from 1938 to 1949, in just six Tests. Shortly after New Zealand's Martin Donnelly scored the last of those, Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China. No double-century was scored in a Lord's Test for 33 years after the communists took hold of China. In March 2003, Hu Jintao became the Chinese president. In July that year, Graeme Smith brutalised England at HQ for 259 aesthetic abominations of runs. Is president Hu behind the recent spate of docile pitches at Lord's? Was the MCC the real force behind the Chinese Communist Party? Was Gubby Allen the mastermind of the Cultural Revolution? I am not willing to answer any of these questions for fear of what potentially life-threatening political machinations the truth might unleash. I merely present the facts. Draw your own conclusions.
Jul 28, 2011

The average of spin bowlers in opening innings of Lord's Tests since 1975, as generously contributed to by Harbhajan Singh's 0 for 152. Indian fans should not be excessively concerned by the failure of their 400-wicket tweaker. The last time a spinner took five wickets in the first innings of a Test at HQ was when Bishan Bedi looped his way to six for lots and lots and lots in 1974. That October, I was born. And I have clearly been bad news for slow bowlers operating in the first innings of Lord's Tests. Before I reluctantly entered this world, spinners had taken their first-innings-of-a-Lord's-Test wickets at a respectable average of 32.3. Since then, they have collectively taken just 73 wickets in the 60 opening innings of Lord's Tests, at an average of 58.2. And the best innings return has been Iqbal Qasim's unforgettable 3 for 101 in 1978.
In the second innings of Lord's Tests during my lifespan to date, spinners average 30.4; in the third, 39.2; and in the fourth, 30.7. (By comparison, for pace bowlers at Lord's, the respective innings averages are: 33.52; 29.50; 32.03; and 33.26.) At all other English Test grounds combined, the respective innings averages for spinners are: 44.37; 39.55; 31.92; and 31.65.
In fact, since my evidently influential birth, of the 29 grounds to have hosted 20 or more Tests, Lord's has been the worst for spinners bowling in the opening innings of a Test. However - hold on to your scorebooks, abacuses and thermos flasks, stats fans - it has been the third-best of those grounds for spinners in the second innings of Tests.
Jul 23, 2011

The average duration, in number of balls faced, of Indian opening partnerships in which Virender Sehwag has been involved.
Also: The average duration, in number of balls faced, of Indian opening partnerships since 2000 in which Virender Sehwag has not been involved. Thus, whether or not the Delhi d'Artagnan is playing, the first Indian wicket falls on average in the middle of the 13th over of an innings. When he is playing, the average score at the fall of that wicket is 54-1. Without him, it is 34-1 - and the opening partnership run rate drops from 4.3 per over to 2.75 per over. (And bear in mind that Sehwag had to open with Sanjay Bangar ten times, so those figures could be even more divergent.)
Also: The percentage of the 12 fastest recorded Test innings of over 100 by Indian openers which has been scored by Sehwag - nine of the 12, including the fastest five. He has also blasted three of the four Test innings of over 200 to have been scored at more than a run a ball (the other being Nathan Astle's Krakatoan 222 against England in 2001-02).
Jul 18, 2011

The number of consecutive ODI innings in which Kevin Pietersen has been out caught. During this sequence he has passed 25 on eight occasions, but his 59 against Ireland in Bangalore is his solitary half-century. Nine of these dismissals have been lofted shots ‒ he has been caught at long-on twice, deep midwicket, mid-on, midwicket, mid-off, point, extra cover, and by the bowler (somewhat unfortunately in that case, as Munaf Patel pulled off an act of literally face-saving self-preservation in the World Cup). Pietersen has also been caught reverse-sweeping against Ireland, and edging a forcing off-side shot in the final ODI against Sri Lanka on Saturday; only an edge off Robin Peterson in the first over of England's titanic World Cup encounter with South Africa in Chennai was not an attacking shot. If this proves nothing else, it demonstrates that Pietersen can play all round the wicket. In the air.
Also: The number of sixes Pietersen has thwacked in his last 34 ODI innings, dating back to 17 November 2008, at a rate of one every 83 balls faced. In his first 26 ODI innings, he planked 34 sixes - clearing the ropes once every 38 balls faced. Pietersen is equal 57th in the chart of Most ODI Sixes Hit Since November 17, 2008 (and only the seventh-highest England player). It is admittedly a niche chart, but a chart nonetheless.
Jul 13, 2011

The number of batsmen from current Test nations who, in the last five years, have batted in the top seven in 25 or more ODI innings. When these 98 are ordered by strike rate, only one English player is in the top 20 - Eoin Morgan, scraping in at No. 20, with a strike rate of 90. Of the rest of the current England side, Kevin Pietersen is 43rd (SR 80), Jonathan Trott 58th (78), Ian Bell 77th and Alastair Cook 78th (both 72). When the 98 are ordered by average, again only one English player is in the top 20 - Trott, in fifth, averaging 51. Morgan is 27th (average 39), Cook 46th (35), Pietersen 50th (34) and Bell 55th (33).
Also: The position, in the list of Fastest ODI Innings Of Over 100 Since January 1, 2010, occupied by Alistair Cook's defiant but unsupported 119 off 143 balls at Lord's on Sunday. A hundred and nine ODI hundreds have been scored this decade, and only 11 of those innings have been scored at a slower rate than Cook's 83.21 - a fraction under five runs per over. Since 2000, when a batsman has scored a century at under five runs per over in the first innings of an ODI, his team has gone on to win in half of the matches. When a batsman has scored a first-innings hundred at between five and six per over, his team has been victorious in 68% of the matches; and when a player has smashed a ton at more than a run a ball, his team has defended successfully in 80% of the games. If this proves anything, it is that when an opening batsman scores an ODI hundred, it helps if his Nos. 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7 hit more than two boundaries in 108 balls, and if his No. 4 doesn't crack after a few tight overs and spoon one to deep midwicket after making a good start.
Jul 6, 2011

Ian Bell's Test batting average in 2011 - 446 mellifluous runs in five innings, three of which have ended undefeated ‒ currently the highest average for a year in Test history by anyone who has batted at least five times. Next on the list is Zaheer Abbas, with a relatively inept 194.33 from his five innings in 1978, followed by the man most ESPNcricinfo readers would, of course, assume was guaranteed to clinch a podium place in this category - John Bracewell of New Zealand. He averaged 165 in 1985, making him statistically better than Don Bradman ever was. For a year. (Acknowledging that Bracewell was only out once in his 5 innings.) (And allowing for the fact that Bradman averaged 402 in 1932, a year in which he was only dismissed once.) (And in awareness of the fact that Bradman averaged over 100 in five separate years in which he batted five or more times ‒ no one else has done so three times, and only Boycott, Chanderpaul, Hammond, Imran Khan and Samaraweera have managed it twice.) (And admitting that Bracewell's Test batting average on 1 January 1985 was 8.11.) (And, finally, granting that batting averages are essentially meaningless when players have only been out once or twice.) (But you still cannot, should not, and must not argue with statistics. In 1985, Bracewell was a better batsman than Bradman. And offered more with the ball. And was not in his late 70s as Bradman was at the time.)
Also: The most common Test score over 206. There have been nine innings of 223 in Test history. If there are no more scores of 223 in the next 10 Tests played, there will have been an average of one innings of 223 for every 223 Tests played. [This is an official submission for the ICC's prestigious Most Meaningless Statistic Of The Year award, an increasingly hotly contested gong in the Twenty20 age.]
Jun 29, 2011

The number of five-wicket hauls Chris Tremlett has taken in six Tests since his recall in Australia, in which time he has taken 32 wickets at an average of 23 (all but nine of which have been top six batsmen). His opponents have played him with the comfort of unqualified snake handlers trying to quell a riot at a cobra sanctuary.
Also: The number of five-wicket hauls Chris Tremlett had taken in his previous five seasons of first-class cricket before his recall.
Also: The most wickets Stuart Broad has taken in a Test innings in his last seven Tests, dating back to the third Test against Pakistan last summer. Since the end of the 2009-10 South Africa series, Broad has taken more than two wickets in an innings just once in 11 matches. In that time Swann has done so 13 times in 16 Tests, Anderson 11 in 13, Finn 8 in 12, Tremlett 6 in 6, Bresnan 4 in 5 and Shahzad and Tredwell once each in their only Tests.
Jun 24, 2011

Years since an English bowler reached the 250-Test-wickets landmark. Ian Botham, who ended with 383 scalps and a knighthood, reached 250 in the first Ashes Test of 1982-83, since when the closest to that mark has been Matthew Hoggard, whose career was unceremoniously taken round the back of a disused barn and humanely put down with the Yorkshire allrounder* stranded on 248 wickets. Since then, 25 bowlers have passed the 250-Test-wicket barrier: five Australians, four each from India, Pakistan, South Africa and West Indies, and two from both New Zealand and Sri Lanka. But none from Bangladesh or Zimbabwe. Or England. Anderson is closing in, on 217 (he could theoretically smash through the barrier in the first Test against India, if he really hits his straps), Swann is well past halfway after only two and a half years of Test cricket, and Trott has made some inroads recently - if he can maintain his Lord's strike rate of a wicket every 24 balls for the next couple of years, and persuade his captain to entrust him with the new ball, he will be there in no time. But the fact remains that, since Botham, as many Englishmen have reached 250 Test wickets as Frenchmen, Paraguayans, popes, or members of the North Korean secret service (unless Brett Lee has been in extremely deep cover).
Also: The average plausibility percentage of the official explanation after a player has broken something in a dressing room in a post-dismissal stropping blooper.
Also: The speed, in yards per hour, at which umpires move from their respective positions behind the stumps and at square leg before meeting to waggle their light meters around and infuriate the watching public - the slowest known form of human movement after the reluctant child's walk to the dentist.
Jun 17, 2011

The age at which Sri Lankan batsman start reaching their prime. Five of the Sri Lankan top six in the current series are over 30 years of age - and they have higher Test averages, and faster scoring rates, since they turned 30 than they did in their 20s. Skipper Dilshan leads the way - in his 20s he averaged 36 with a strike rate of 56; the older, wiser Dilshan averages 53 with a strike rate of 79. Sangakkara in his twenties had figures of 54 and 55; in his 30s, these rise to 59 and 56; for Mahela Jayawardene the numbers are 48 and 52, inflating with age and experience to 65 and 53; the twentysomething Thilan Samaraweera's 41 average and 41 strike rate have shot up like a 1950s Russian spacedog to 70 and 55; whilst the younger Prasanna Jayawardene's figures of 24 and 45 are frankly ashamed to be seen on the same page as the 49 average and 59 strike rate he has registered since entering his fourth decade. The future looks very rosy indeed for the 29-year-old Tharanga Paranavitana, who is excitedly counting down the days until his next birthday.
Also: The number of times the average Pakistan captain resigns over the course of his career.
Also: The average elevation, in centimetres, by which MCC members' eyebrows were raised when it was revealed that next year's West Indies tour of England will not feature a Lord's Test, and will instead be played in, and (on this year's evidence) barely noticed by, Cardiff.
Jun 9, 2011

The amount, as a percentage, by which Muttiah Muralitharan exceeds his nearest challenger in the Most International Wickets Taken chart - 1347 to Warne's 1001. Sachin Tendulkar has scored 25.9% more international runs than the second most prolific international batsman, three-time England Ashes-winning legend Ricky Ponting. The Mumbai Master leads the Baggy Green Great by 32795 to 26052.
Also: The rating of the India v Pakistan Mohali semi-final on the Lazlowulf Scale (the international standard measuring system for sporting hype). Previous notable scores include: 2010 Football World Cup final: 6.5
Ali v Foreman, the Rumble In The Jungle, 1974: 7.3
Apr 2, 2011

India's batting average against spin in matches against Test opposition in this World Cup. They have also tonked the tweakers to Thwacksville at 6.2 runs per over. Both figures are by far the best of the tournament. However, Pakistan's multi-prong spin squadron have taken their wickets against Test nations at an average of 21, and conceded a tight-fisted 3.9 per over - which are also both tournament bests. Roll on Wednesday.
Also: The distance, in millions of miles, from Earth to the furthest point at which the pre-Mohali-semi-final hype can be seen with the naked eye. Also: The number of times since Friday that AB de Villiers has turned to Faf du Plessis and said: "Er, Faf, erm, what, er, what exactly were you… oh… never mind."
Mar 30, 2011

Shahid Afridi's bowling average this World Cup. In 64.3 overs, he has annoyed Ian Chappell 21 times, and pointed a total of 42 fingers at the sky. His mid-19th-century-style bowling average is backed up by an economy rate of 3.48. Afridi has raised his game for the big stage. In his previous 24 ODIs from January 2010, he had taken 23 wickets at 45, and been hit for almost five runs per over.
Also: The 100-metre sprint personal best of Philip Tufnell, on a course from the stumps to the pavilion at Queen's Park Oval, Trinidad, in 1998. In place of the traditional starter's pistol used in most athletics, Tufnell's PB began when Curtly Ambrose began his run-up.
Mar 27, 2011

Surprise England injury replacement Jade Dernbach's economy rate in List A limited-overs matches. Overlooked-despite-taking-6-for-45-in-a-recent-ODI-in-Australia Chris Woakes leaks his List A runs at 5.26. Jettisoned-some-time-ago-for-being-consistently-too-expensive Saj Mahmood trumps them both at 5.17. Dropped-for-being-repeatedly-hammered-all-over-the-place-in-this-World-Cup Jimmy Anderson's economy rate in the tournament so far is 6.55.
Also: Age in years at which scientists now believe a batsman will have to start playing international cricket in order to have any chance of overhauling Sachin Tendulkar's record of international centuries.
Mar 24, 2011

The percentage of completed day-night games won by the team batting first at both semi-final-hosting-venues, Colombo and Mohali: 46 of 69 chasing teams have ended games swigging their own tears from the bitter flagon of defeat under the Premadasa floodlights. Ten of 15 have done likewise at the PCA. Of the other quarter-final venues: only 5 of 19 teams batting first have won day-nighters in Mirpur; scrupulously even-handed Ahmedabad has doled out five victories to chasers, four to defenders. The final-hosting Wankhede has seen six out of 10 teams fail to chase down their target in the Mumbai night.
Also: The percentage of Chappell brothers with lifetime bans from membership of the Disappointing Test Match Career Club.
Mar 21, 2011

Number of World Cup runs by which Sachin Tendulkar now exceeds, amongst others, Elvis Presley, Albert Einstein, Lalit Modi, former Czech tennis ace Hana Mandlikova, Madonna, Michelangelo and 1980s Somerset seam bowling stalwart Colin Dredge. (Dredge: "This race isn't over. I'm not done with World Cup batsmanship yet. I'm Colin Dredge. No man shall defy me. You wait, Tendulkar, you just wait.")
Also: Number of times South African match-almost-winning hero Lance Klusener has found himself saying "oops" out loud whilst thinking about the 1999 World Cup Semi-final.
Also: The year in which experts now expect Tendulkar to retire from international cricket.
Mar 18, 2011