Anantha Narayanan

ODI overs analysis using ball-by-ball data: Part 2

A look at various interesting high and low-scoring sequences in ODIs with the help of ball-by-ball data. Plus, a Bradman surprise

Anantha Narayanan
Shaun Pollock bowled in three separate sequences of four consecutive team-maidens in ODIs  AFP

I planned to complete the ODI Overs analysis in two parts. However I have come to the conclusion, after the responses and my own study of the data available, that the anecdotal elements of the analysis were important and deserved a separate article. The readers are also interested in such light-hearted articles. So I will present the second part as a completely anecdotal one. The third part will complete the analytical views.

A lovely surprise awaits the readers at the end of the article. A fun-filled article wrapped up by an evocative nostalgic trip into the '30s. What more does one want?

The reports are current up to and including match No. 3535: the fourth ODI at Dharamsala.

1. Fastest to complete milestones
Desc Inns ODI Match Batting team Bow Inns Start ball No of balls
Fastest 5013123New ZealandPak147.4 11
Fastest 5021963West IndiesCan2 8.2 14
Fastest 10012169New ZealandUsa145.0 28
Fastest 10021963West IndiesCan2 3.6 40

For this and the next analysis I have followed the often used common sense approach. A wide is unreachable by the batsman and should not be treated as a countable ball. A no-ball is playable and can be scored off. Hence a no-ball is counted. That is all. With this preamble let us look at some extreme scoring instances.

In the match between Pakistan and New Zealand, the New Zealand batsmen went on the greatest scoring sequence ever. In 11 balls, starting from 47.4, they reached 50. The sequence was 1wd, 1, 1, 6, 4, 6, 1wd, 6, 1wd, 2, 4, 6, 6 and 6. Ross Taylor and Jacob Oram tore apart Abdur Rehman and Abdul Razzaq.

The teams do not indulge in such heavy hitting in the second innings, pacing their innings, in view of the availability of a clear target score. This was shown clearly in Part 1 of this article. The fastest 50-run sequence was achieved by West Indies against Canada, when they were chasing 203. They achieved this in a mere 20.3 overs. Embedded in this furious run chase was a 14-ball sequence when 50 runs were reached. The carnage started in ball No. 8.2. The sequence went "1, 1, 6, 1, 5nb, 1wd, 1, 4, 6, 4, 6, 6, 0, 4 and 4". Brian Lara and Wavell Hinds decimated Nicholas Ifill and Barry Seebaran.

The fastest 100 in the first innings was when New Zealand finished the innings with a 28-ball carnage of exactly 100 runs. The sequence is too long to be laid out here. In the second innings the sequence was more staid, in the West Indies match we have already seen. West Indies reached 100 in 40 balls, starting with the last ball of the fourth over.

2. Slowest to complete milestones
Desc Inns ODI Match Batting team Bow Inns Start ball No of balls
Slowest 5012063EnglandSlk1 2.3190
Slowest 5022797ZimbabweBng211.1164
Slowest 10012059BangladeshEng1 0.1271
Slowest 10022797ZimbabweBng2 0.1274

This is the other end of the spectrum. People who paid money to watch these matches should have asked for a refund. England's 190-ball 50 against Sri Lanka during 2003 in Dambulla defies description. England finished with 88 in 46.2 overs. Embedded in this run-drought was a 164-ball sequence in which England crawled at around 1.5 runs per over (RpO). There were six maidens and 11 one-run overs during this phase of the innings. The batsmen, not exactly novices: Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Michael Vaughan, Paul Collingwood and Andrew Flintoff. Muttiah Muralitharan returned bowling figures of 10-0-15-1, Chaminda Vaas 9.1-2-15-3, Dilhara Fernando 7-2-13-2, Nuwan Kulasekara 9-1-19-1. All bowlers went for less than 2 runs an over.

The other members of this part of the analysis are not the leading teams. Zimbabwe scored 50 in 164 balls against Bangladesh: Note relatively the faster scoring in the second innings. Bangladesh and Zimbabwe both needed over 45 overs each to compile 100 runs.

3. Highest scores reached at end of overs 1-50
Over First Innings Second Innings
ODI Match Batting team Bow Score Run Rate Odi Match Batting team Bow Score S/R
12035South AfricaEng 1919.02149IndiaBng 2222.0
22498CanadaBer 3216.02660New ZealandBng 2814.0
32054AustraliaInd 4013.32389Sri LankaEng 4615.3
42934Sri LankaInd 5814.52660New ZealandBng 6215.5
52934Sri LankaInd 5911.82660New ZealandBng 7815.6
63151AustraliaBng 6611.02660New ZealandBng 9515.8
73451New ZealandWin 8011.42389Sri LankaEng 8612.3
83451New ZealandWin 8610.82389Sri LankaEng10012.5
93451New ZealandWin10011.12389Sri LankaEng10812.0
103451New ZealandWin10410.42389Sri LankaEng13313.3
113451New ZealandWin11610.52389Sri LankaEng14112.8
123451New ZealandWin13511.22389Sri LankaEng14912.4
133451New ZealandWin15912.22389Sri LankaEng15511.9
143451New ZealandWin16812.02389Sri LankaEng15911.4
153451New ZealandWin19412.92389Sri LankaEng16511.0
163451New ZealandWin20813.02389Sri LankaEng17010.6
173451New ZealandWin22313.12389Sri LankaEng17710.4
183451New ZealandWin25013.91963West IndiesCan18210.1
193451New ZealandWin26413.91963West IndiesCan19010.0
203451New ZealandWin27513.81963West IndiesCan20110.1
213451New ZealandWin28313.51963West IndiesCan206 9.8
223187IndiaEng182 8.32389Sri LankaEng202 9.2
232112IndiaPak189 8.22389Sri LankaEng216 9.4
242112IndiaPak194 8.12389Sri LankaEng219 9.1
252932IndiaSlk209 8.42389Sri LankaEng233 9.3
262932IndiaSlk216 8.32389Sri LankaEng245 9.4
272932IndiaSlk227 8.42389Sri LankaEng262 9.7
282932IndiaSlk232 8.32389Sri LankaEng263 9.4
292932IndiaSlk247 8.52389Sri LankaEng274 9.4
302932IndiaSlk261 8.72349South AfricaAus279 9.3
312932IndiaSlk267 8.62349South AfricaAus286 9.2
322932IndiaSlk280 8.82349South AfricaAus299 9.3
332932IndiaSlk288 8.72349South AfricaAus303 9.2
342932IndiaSlk296 8.72349South AfricaAus311 9.1
352932IndiaSlk308 8.82349South AfricaAus315 9.0
362932IndiaSlk311 8.62349South AfricaAus321 8.9
372272New ZealandZim315 8.52932Sri LankaInd326 8.8
382272New ZealandZim325 8.62932Sri LankaInd330 8.7
392272New ZealandZim332 8.52932Sri LankaInd339 8.7
402537South AfricaNet353 8.82932Sri LankaInd343 8.6
412272New ZealandZim357 8.72932Sri LankaInd347 8.5
422272New ZealandZim374 8.92932Sri LankaInd355 8.5
432272New ZealandZim386 9.02932Sri LankaInd364 8.5
442272New ZealandZim396 9.02932Sri LankaInd375 8.5
452420South AfricaZim367 8.22349South AfricaAus388 8.6
462349AustraliaSaf374 8.12349South AfricaAus397 8.6
472932IndiaSlk386 8.22349South AfricaAus405 8.6
482349AustraliaSaf409 8.52349South AfricaAus422 8.8
492349AustraliaSaf420 8.62349South AfricaAus428 8.7
502349AustraliaSaf434 8.72349South AfricaAus438 8.8

These tables are created in response to a specific request by Prateek who wanted to know the highest and lowest scores reached at the end of each over. There are two tables: One for the highest scores and another for the lowest scores.

The tables are self-explanatory. However one seeming anomaly has to be explained. The highest score reached in 21 overs is 283. This was the recent Ryder-Anderson bloodbath. Then for 22 overs the highest drops nearly 100 runs. This was because the New Zealand innings ended at 21 overs. This explains why the scoring rate is well above 10 for the first 21 overs only. In fact this match monopolises the top of the table.

West Indies' batting against Canada makes its mark here also in the second innings table. The run rate for the second half of the innings is higher due to a measured approach, chasing set target. The famous Wanderers run-chase is the last entry, for over 50, in both tables. There is one higher total: Sri Lanka's 443 for 9 against Netherlands. Unfortunately there is no ball-by-ball data for this Amstelveen (mis)match.

4. Lowest scores reached at end of overs 1-50
Over First Innings Second Innings
ODI Match Batting team Bow Score Run Rate Odi Match Batting team Bow Score S/R
11805New ZealandSaf 0 0.02298IndiaSaf 0 0.0
21805New ZealandSaf 0 0.02298IndiaSaf 0 0.0
31805New ZealandSaf 0 0.02298IndiaSaf 0 0.0
41805New ZealandSaf 0 0.03527IrelandSco 1 0.2
51726EnglandAus 1 0.23410ScotlandAus 2 0.4
63418KenyaAfg 4 0.72794Sri LankaBng 5 0.8
73418KenyaAfg 5 0.72276ZimbabweNzl 5 0.7
83418KenyaAfg 5 0.62794Sri LankaBng 6 0.8
91465ScotlandWin 6 0.72346West IndiesNzl 7 0.8
103418KenyaAfg 7 0.72345AustraliaSaf 7 0.7
113418KenyaAfg 8 0.72345AustraliaSaf 7 0.6
123418KenyaAfg 8 0.72345AustraliaSaf 11 0.9
133418KenyaAfg 8 0.62345AustraliaSaf 17 1.3
143418KenyaAfg 11 0.82884New ZealandSlk 21 1.5
153418KenyaAfg 12 0.82884New ZealandSlk 24 1.6
163418KenyaAfg 16 1.02146U.A.E.Slk 25 1.6
173418KenyaAfg 16 0.92345AustraliaSaf 28 1.6
183418KenyaAfg 18 1.02345AustraliaSaf 29 1.6
193418KenyaAfg 23 1.23389West IndiesPak 35 1.8
201465ScotlandWin 25 1.23389West IndiesPak 37 1.9
211465ScotlandWin 28 1.33389West IndiesPak 40 1.9
221465ScotlandWin 29 1.33389West IndiesPak 41 1.9
231465ScotlandWin 35 1.53389West IndiesPak 42 1.8
241465ScotlandWin 37 1.53389West IndiesPak 47 2.0
251465ScotlandWin 43 1.73389West IndiesPak 48 1.9
261465ScotlandWin 44 1.73389West IndiesPak 50 1.9
271465ScotlandWin 45 1.73389West IndiesPak 51 1.9
281465ScotlandWin 46 1.63389West IndiesPak 51 1.8
292063EnglandSlk 50 1.73389West IndiesPak 53 1.8
302063EnglandSlk 52 1.73389West IndiesPak 55 1.8
312063EnglandSlk 53 1.73389West IndiesPak 55 1.8
322063EnglandSlk 54 1.73389West IndiesPak 59 1.8
332063EnglandSlk 55 1.73389West IndiesPak 59 1.8
342063EnglandSlk 58 1.73389West IndiesPak 61 1.8
352063EnglandSlk 59 1.73389West IndiesPak 65 1.9
362063EnglandSlk 60 1.73389West IndiesPak 76 2.1
372063EnglandSlk 61 1.62143Hong KongBng 80 2.2
382063EnglandSlk 66 1.72143Hong KongBng 80 2.1
392063EnglandSlk 67 1.72797ZimbabweBng 86 2.2
402063EnglandSlk 72 1.82797ZimbabweBng 89 2.2
412063EnglandSlk 73 1.82797ZimbabweBng 92 2.2
422063EnglandSlk 78 1.92797ZimbabweBng 94 2.2
432063EnglandSlk 80 1.92797ZimbabweBng 95 2.2
442063EnglandSlk 82 1.92797ZimbabweBng 96 2.2
452063EnglandSlk 85 1.92797ZimbabweBng100 2.2
462063EnglandSlk 88 1.92143Hong KongBng105 2.3
472063EnglandSlk 88 1.92797ZimbabweBng114 2.4
482059BangladeshEng116 2.42797ZimbabweBng115 2.4
492059BangladeshEng121 2.52797ZimbabweBng119 2.4
502674EnglandNzl130 2.62797ZimbabweBng127 2.5

The first four bowlers bowled by South Africa against New Zealand in match No. 1805 were maidens and this fact is reflected in this table. Similarly the first three overs bowled by South Africa against India in the second innings of match No. 2298 were also maidens. The lowest scores at the end of 25th over are 43 and 47 respectively. The lowest score at the end of the full 50 overs is 130 and 127. It is obvious that many an innings would have folded for sub-100 totals around over 40-45.

5. Consecutive overs with 25+ runs difference
ODI Match Bowling team Bat Inns Over no Bowler Runs Over Bowler Runs
1794BangladeshPak2 9Enamul Haque2810Tareq Aziz 0
1837IndiaWin2 6AB Agarkar 0 7T Yohannan25
2362IndiaEng117RP Singh 118VRV Singh26
2537NetherlandsSaf130DLS van Bunge3631LP van Troost 5
2584Sri LankaPak238SL Malinga 039CM Bandara32
2814ZimbabweKen148E Chigumbura2749AG Cremer 1
2981ZimbabweInd1 3CB Mpofu 0 4E Chigumbura26
3398South AfricaSlk232JP Duminy 133RJ Peterson35
3398South AfricaSlk233RJ Peterson3534JP Duminy 0
3416EnglandAus143BA Stokes 344JE Root28
3421IndiaAus248I Sharma3049R Ashwin 5

These are chalk and cheese overs. The difference in runs scored is greater than 25. The maximum difference between overs is the 35 between the famous Robin Peterson over and the following JP Duminy over which was a maiden. In fact this is an amazing sequence and is represented in two consecutive entries in this table. The sequence was Duminy (1) - Peterson (35) - Duminy (0). How could Peterson bowl a 35-run over between two near-maidens?

Herschelle Gibbs' famous 36-run over off Daan van Bunge was followed by the frugal five-run over by Luuk van Troost. Lasith Malinga's maiden over was followed by Malinga Bandara's 32-run extravaganza. And so on. And readers will note that these are not that frequent. In 1700 matches there are only ten matches in which this has happened.

6. Four consecutive maiden overs
ODI Match Bowling team Bat Inns Over-1 Bowler Over-2 Bowler Over-3 Bowler Over-4 Bowler
1805South AfricaNzl1 1SM Pollock 2M Ntini 3SM Pollock 4M Ntini
2066West IndiesZim2 6VC Drakes 7R Rampaul 8VC Drakes 9R Rampaul
2216South AfricaEng211SM Pollock 12A Nel 13SM Pollock 14A Nel
2258EnglandAus122SP Jones 23SJ Harmison 24SP Jones 25SJ Harmison
2345South AfricaAus2 8M Ntini 9SM Pollock 10M Ntini 11SM Pollock
2719West IndiesAus110DBL Powell 11JE Taylor 12DBL Powell 13DJ Bravo
2742Sri LankaInd126BAW Mendis 27M Muralitharan 28BAW Mendis 29M Muralitharan
3313BangladeshWin1 4Shafiul Islam 5Sohag Gazi 6Shafiul Islam 7Sohag Gazi
3313BangladeshWin1 5Sohag Gazi 6Shafiul Islam 7Sohag Gazi 8Shafiul Islam
3389West IndiesPak111DJG Sammy 12JO Holder 13DJG Sammy 14JO Holder

Four maiden overs in a row! I can hear someone saying whether I am serious. Yes, I am. When I did three maidens in a row, I had over 30 entries. When I did five maidens, I had one entry. So I plumped for four. Let us not forget that these are Maidens. No run accrued to the teams.

Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini opened the proceedings with four maidens in a row against New Zealand. This is the only instance of four consecutive maidens starting from the first over of the innings. Pollock was involved in another four-maiden series, this time with Andre Nel, against England. And then Pollock achieved this again, once again with Ntini. He is some bowler!

But the most amazing sequence was the recent Bangladesh-West Indies sequence. West Indies reached 17 for 1 in three overs. Then Kieran Powell, Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels played five consecutive maiden overs against Sohag Gazi and Shafiul Islam. This was Samuels of Delhi vintage, not the Kochi player. These three seemingly attacking players played 33 consecutive dot balls, and lost two wickets. Strange indeed.

Let us not forget that these are for part of the recent 1700 matches or so. Phil Simmons, in his spell of 10-8-3-4, Bishan Bedi in his spell of 12-8-6-1, Sunil Joshi in his spell of 10-6-6-5 and Richard Hadlee in his spell of 12-6-10-0 could as well have bowled five consecutive maidens in tandem with other bowlers.

7. Consecutive overs greater than 20
ODI Match Bowling team Bat Inns Over no Bowler Runs Over Bowler Runs
1994ZimbabwePak149SM Ervine2450DT Hondo23
2046South AfricaPak149SM Pollock2250JH Kallis20
2140West IndiesEng145DJ Bravo2146DR Smith27
2169USANzl147HR Johnson2748LC Romero27
2411EnglandPak149SI Mahmood2650J Lewis21
2506PakistanSaf146Abdul Razzaq2247Mohammad Asif28
2807KenyaZim148PJ Ongondo2649NN Odhiambo20
3046EnglandPak149JM Anderson2150TT Bresnan21
3221IndiaWin149A Mithun2350UT Yadav20
3336EnglandNzl142CR Woakes2143SCJ Broad20
3359NetherlandsSaf147Mudassar Bukhari2048PA van Meekeren23
3362New ZealandEng148KD Mills2249MJ McClenaghan20
3362New ZealandEng149MJ McClenaghan2050TG Southee22
3428AustraliaInd147XJ Doherty2648JP Faulkner20

These are consecutive overs in which 20 runs were crossed. Not many instances are there, with none during the second innings. However one match stands out. That is the recent Trent Bridge ODI between England and New Zealand. All the last three overs of the England exceeded 20 runs. This is the only such instance. The main destroyer was Jos Buttler, with his 16-ball 47.

The others are instances where two consecutive overs exceeded 20 runs. It is surprising to note that Pollock, who has been part of many maiden-over sequences, is present, along with Jacques Kallis. Surprisingly the fastest scoring innings of all time, the 21-over 283 by New Zealand, contains no such sequence. Similarly the famous Wanderers match does not contain such a sequence.

It is almost certain that there would be very few such sequences during the first half of the ODI matches. Bowlers were not treated like third-class citizens then.

8. High % of team runs in a single over
ODI Match Bowling team Bow Inns Over MaxOvers Team Score Bowler Runs % of TS
1473AustraliaInd23749205SK Warne2110.24%
1794BangladeshPak2 936221Enamul Hoque2812.67%
1801New ZealandSaf14950270JEC Franklin2710.00%
1837IndiaWin2 723124T Yohannan2520.16%
1873AustraliaPak14850227JN Gillespie2410.57%
1889IndiaSlk11050222AB Agarkar2310.36%
1928IndiaNzl2 527109J Srinath2220.18%
1963CanadaWin2 721206D Joseph2110.19%
1963CanadaWin21021206BB Seebaran2612.62%
1984New ZealandZim15050252AR Adams2610.32%
2217ZimbabweBng2 833202E Chigumbura2411.88%
2335West IndiesNzl21742204JE Taylor2210.78%
2395ZimbabweBng11150206EC Rainsford2110.19%
2411EnglandPak14950235SI Mahmood2611.06%
2435Sri LankaSaf14950219MF Maharoof2210.05%
2463PakistanWin1 647207Naved-ul-Hasan2110.14%
2537NetherlandsSaf13040353DLS van Bunge3610.20%
2583IndiaBng24749238D Mongia2610.92%
2584Sri LankaPak23942239CM Bandara3213.39%
2671West IndiesSaf21329211DJ Bravo2210.43%
2706BangladeshInd21036223Dolar Mahmud2410.76%
2764BangladeshNzl15050212Abdur Razzak2511.79%
2792West IndiesNzl2 235211DBL Powell2310.90%
2809KenyaZim24249236PJ Ongondo2611.02%
2826EnglandWin24047244SJ Harmison2610.66%
2828EnglandWin2 715117AD Mascerenhas2420.51%
3036NetherlandsIre2 921129Adeel Raja2620.16%
3049ZimbabweIre15050238EC Rainsford2410.08%
3150BangladeshAus22226232Suhrawadi Shuvo2711.64%
3311BangladeshWin24547228Rubel Hossain2410.53%
3331AustraliaWin23739212GJ Maxwell2411.32%
3341ScotlandAfg23034203PL Mommsen2512.32%
3358IrelandPak24749230TJ Murtagh2410.43%
3398South AfricaSlk23344167RJ Peterson3520.96%
3434Sri LankaNzl22323203HMRKB Herath2512.32%

These are the overs in which the overs comprised of high percentage of team scores. The criteria are 10% of 200-plus innings, 15% of 150-plus innings and 20% of 100-plus innings. Quite a few overs qualify.

There are five overs in which over 20% of team runs were scored. Four of these are 100-plus scores. The one noteworthy exception is the Peterson over in which he conceded 35 runs in a team total of 167: that is nearly 21%. Another over that stands out is the Bandara over to Pakistan. On a fair score of 239, Bandara conceded 32 runs in an over, which worked out to 13.4%.

In the next part, I will do the concluding analysis. I will look at over groups across countries and periods. That will be pure analysis and one tough analysis to present because of the three dimensional nature of data.

A bonus for the readers. I have a rare two-volume collection of Bradman memorabilia. It is a fantastic set of books and contains scorecards, telegrams, photographs, letters et al. Along with each article I will scan one such rare document and attach for user viewing. To view the first such scan, please click HERE. This is a chart of Bradman's record-breaking 334. I will leave it to the discerning readers to summarise the chart in their own inimitable ways. The one thing that stands out is the 360 degrees coverage. Look at the number of boundaries in the "V".

Anantha Narayanan has written for ESPNcricinfo and CastrolCricket and worked with a number of companies on their cricket performance ratings-related systems