The misers amid the carnage
After Anil Kumble conceded just 24 off ten overs as South Africa stacked up 274, the List looks at economical spells in high totals and profligate spells in low scores
Travis Basevi and George Binoy
29-Nov-2006
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Justin Kemp bludgeoned India into submission in the third one-dayer at Cape Town. South Africa powered their way to 274 after being 76 for 6 after 19.2 overs. All the Indian bowlers got hammered. All but Anil Kumble, who conceded only 24 runs off ten overs. This week's List is about economical spells in huge totals and profligate spells in low totals.
Andrew Flintoff's 99 powered England to 307 runs in 50 overs against India at The Oval in 2004. Lakshmipathy Balaji got hammered for 77 off eight overs and Ajit Agarkar leaked 60 in six. However, Harbhajan Singh bowled an outstanding spell and took 2 for 14 off ten overs. His economy of 1.4 is the most economical in comparison to the overall run-rate for a ten over spell. He scored 41 with the bat too in India's chase.
An unexpected name on the list is Aasif Karim's and the bigger surprise is that his Scrooge-like performance came against Australia. Kenya had set Australia a modest target of 175 in the 2003 World Cup. Adam Gilchrist led Australia to victory at a canter in just the 32nd over. However, they weren't able to touch Karim who took 3 for 7 off 8.2 overs. In fact, he had only conceded three runs until Harvey hit the winning boundary off him.
| Player | Ov | W/R | Econ | Opposition | RR | Season | Diff | Scorecard | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SM Pollock (SA) | 5.5 | 0/8 | 1.37 | v NZ 254/5 | 6.68 | 2003/04 | -5.31 | ODI 2101 | ||
| KG Duers (Zim) | 6.0 | 1/17 | 2.83 | v NZ 162/3 | 7.77 | 1991/92 | -4.94 | ODI 728 | ||
| A Flintoff (Eng) | 7.0 | 2/18 | 2.57 | v SL 240/7 | 7.50 | 2002 | -4.92 | ODI 1850 | ||
| AY Karim (Kenya) | 8.2 | 3/7 | 0.84 | v Aus 178/5 | 5.68 | 2002/03 | -4.84 | ODI 1990 | ||
| Harbhajan Singh (India) | 10.0 | 2/14 | 1.40 | v Eng 307/5 | 6.14 | 2004 | -4.73 | ODI 2165 | ||
| Imran Khan (Pak) | 7.0 | 2/10 | 1.42 | v SL 218/10 | 5.66 | 1981/82 | -4.23 | ODI 151 | ||
| FH Edwards (WI) | 10.0 | 0/23 | 2.30 | v NZ 324/6 | 6.48 | 2005/06 | -4.17 | ODI 2342 | ||
| CEL Ambrose (WI) | 6.0 | 1/11 | 1.83 | v SA 160/8 | 5.92 | 1998/99 | -4.09 | ODI 1390 | ||
| WM Clark (Aus) | 10.0 | 1/22 | 2.20 | v WI 313/9 | 6.26 | 1977/78 | -4.05 | ODI 48 | ||
| MA Suji (Kenya) | 10.0 | 1/26 | 2.60 | v India 329/2 | 6.58 | 1999 | -3.97 | ODI 1457 |
Do you remember Australia's Wayne Clark from the late 1970s? He made his his ODI debut against a formidable West Indies side at Antigua under Bob Simpson, who came out of a decade of retirement to lead a depleted Australian side during the Packer years. West Indies clocked 313 in 50 overs at Antigua but Clark had a creditable debut, taking 1 for 22 off ten overs when Desmond Haynes was wreaking havoc. However, the second ODI of the West Indies tour was his last and he played just one more Test against Pakistan at Melbourne.
Stuart Clark is fast cementing his spot in the Australian Test team but in one-dayers his stats are not as impressive - an average of 33 and economy of 5.50. In the second match of the recent DLF Cup in Malaysia, West Indies smacked 87 runs off Clark's seven overs, an economy of 12.42 while West Indies scored at 5.76.
| Player | Ov | W/R | Econ | Opposition | RR | Season | Diff | Scorecard | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SR Clark (Aus) | 7.0 | 0/87 | 12.42 | v WI 273/7 | 5.76 | 2006/07 | 6.66 | ODI 2417 | ||
| DW Steyn (SA) | 5.0 | 1/58 | 11.60 | v Aus 245/10 | 4.96 | 2005/06 | 6.63 | ODI 2316 | ||
| SC Ganguly (India) | 5.0 | 0/62 | 12.40 | v Pak 316/6 | 6.32 | 1998 | 6.08 | ODI 1352 | ||
| AB Agarkar (India) | 5.0 | 0/52 | 10.40 | v Pak 129/2 | 4.60 | 1998/99 | 5.79 | ODI 1437 | ||
| AR Adams (NZ) | 5.0 | 1/54 | 10.80 | v Zim 252/7 | 5.04 | 2002/03 | 5.76 | ODI 1984 | ||
| HT Davis (NZ) | 5.0 | 0/54 | 10.80 | v India 221/2 | 5.20 | 1997 | 5.60 | ODI 1206 | ||
| JH Kallis (SA) | 5.0 | 0/52 | 10.40 | v NZ 256/9 | 5.12 | 2000/01 | 5.28 | ODI 1655 | ||
| GRJ Matthews (Aus) | 5.0 | 0/54 | 10.80 | v India 242/7 | 5.56 | 1986/87 | 5.23 | ODI 393 | ||
| JH Kallis (SA) | 5.0 | 0/50 | 10.00 | v Pak 228/10 | 4.78 | 1997/98 | 5.21 | ODI 1303 | ||
| SI Mahmood (Eng) | 7.0 | 2/80 | 11.42 | v SL 319/8 | 6.38 | 2006 | 5.04 | ODI 2385 |
Here's another obscure name from the 1980s: England's Greg Thomas, a genuinely fast bowler dogged by injury, played just five Tests for England, the first four of which were during a 0-5 drubbing in West Indies. In his last Test of the tour, Thomas got hit for 101 off 15 overs out of a total of 312 (run-rate 3.27). He was dropped for the final Test and played just one more against New Zealand at Trent Bridge in 1986.
| Player | Ov | W/R | Econ | Opposition | RR | Season | Diff | Scorecard | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JG Thomas (Eng) | 15.0 | 0/101 | 6.73 | v WI 312/10 | 3.46 | 1985/86 | 3.27 | Test 1044 | ||
| JN Gillespie (Aus) | 15.2 | 5/88 | 5.73 | v Eng 191/10 | 2.71 | 1998/99 | 3.02 | Test 1431 | ||
| RGD Willis (Eng) | 18.0 | 2/123 | 6.83 | v WI 302/10 | 4.09 | 1984 | 2.74 | Test 991 | ||
| MG Hughes (Aus) | 15.0 | 0/86 | 5.73 | v WI 369/10 | 3.03 | 1988/89 | 2.70 | Test 1114 | ||
| AM Blignaut (Zim) | 16.0 | 2/92 | 5.75 | v WI 347/10 | 3.11 | 2001 | 2.63 | Test 1553 | ||
| Asif Masood (Pak) | 12.0x8 | 2/100 | 6.25 | v Aus 425/10 | 3.63 | 1972/73 | 2.61 | Test 705 | ||
| CRD Fernando (SL) | 16.0 | 1/107 | 6.68 | v SA 378/10 | 4.13 | 2000/01 | 2.55 | Test 1529 | ||
| JB Stollmeyer (WI) | 15.0 | 2/80 | 5.33 | v India 454/10 | 2.86 | 1948/49 | 2.47 | Test 304 | ||
| JE Emburey (Eng) | 16.0 | 2/95 | 5.93 | v WI 448/9 | 3.46 | 1988 | 2.46 | Test 1098 | ||
| CK Langeveldt (SA) | 17.0 | 1/100 | 5.88 | v Aus 258/10 | 3.42 | 2005/06 | 2.45 | Test 1777 |
Travis Basevi is the man who built Statsguru. George Binoy is editorial assistant of Cricinfo