Win the toss and bat

The Adelaide Oval has traditionally been the best venue for batsmen among all grounds in Australia. Cricinfo looks at the numbers which tell the story of this venue.

Damien Martyn: an average of 96.50 in five Tests at Adelaide © Getty Images

1 - The number of times, since 1983, the captain winning the toss has decided to field first. In 64 Tests at the Adelaide Oval, only eight times has the opposition been put in to bat, and only once has that move paid off: in 1981-82, Clive Lloyd's West Indies chased a stiff fourth-innings target of 236 to win by five wickets.

93.33% - The percentage of Tests that have produced a decisive result at Adelaide since 1992. In the last 15 matches here, only one has been drawn - between Australia and South Africa in 1997-98. Even in that game, South Africa were only three wickets away from victory, as Mark Waugh's famous - and controversial - century saved Australia.

43 - The average runs per wicket here in the first innings. In the fourth innings, the corresponding figures drops to 23.5

96.50 - Damien Martyn's average at this ground. In five Tests he has scored 386 runs and remained not out five times. In fact, he had scored 305 runs here before he was dismissed for the first time. Matthew Hayden (62.90), Justin Langer (average 61.17) and Ricky Ponting (53.72) have also done well here.

24 - The number of centuries scored in the last 12 Tests here - that's an average of two hundreds per Test

51 - The number of wickets for Shane Warne at this venue, making him the highest wicket-taker at Adelaide. He averages only 29.19 here, though, compared to his career average of 25.32. In 12 Tests, he has taken just two five-fors.

53 - Stephen Harmison's bowling average at Adelaide - in his only Test here, he leaked 106 runs in 28.4 overs, and managed two wickets

31.59 - The number of runs fast bowlers have conceded per wicket at Adelaide since 1995. For spinners, that figure rises to 35.03.