Matters of life at the death for NZ to consider
New Zealand's hopes of success in the tri-series with India and Australia starting today will rest on resolving the long-standing puzzle of bowling at the death
Lynn McConnell
23-Oct-2003
New Zealand's hopes of success in the tri-series with India and Australia starting today will rest on resolving the long-standing puzzle of bowling at the death. This has consistently been a weak area in the New Zealand game but one which will again be sorely tested given the batting line-ups both the world champion Australians and, the runners-up, India possess.
The death phase of games has so often been shown to be the vital stage of matches, the true difference between winning and losing. Control is something of an art form, and was an area where New Zealand enjoyed some ice cold composure during its outstanding era in the 1980s in the one-day game. More recently, the attention to this phase has not resulted in any significant formula being achieved.
But if the side is to advance in the one-day game it is the area that most needs addressing. The facts are revealing. New Zealand has the worst of the Test-playing nations, even Bangladesh does better, albeit with less games to throw into the equation. However, New Zealand's plight can be seen from the fact that the Netherlands has a superior record.
Average runs conceded by each country in the 47th-50th overs of completed innings, between September 1 2001 and September 1 2003 (instances in brackets):
1st innings 2nd innings All innings ------------------------------------------------------------ Pakistan (16) 28.8 ( 6) 25.3 (22) 27.9 South Africa (22) 30.2 ( 6) 22.7 (28) 28.6 England (13) 31.7 ( 4) 24.3 (17) 29.9 West Indies (14) 31.1 ( 2) 24.5 (16) 30.3 Australia (19) 31.7 ( 3) 27.0 (22) 31.1 Sri Lanka (21) 32.9 ( 5) 27.0 (26) 31.7 India (19) 35.1 ( 4) 24.8 (23) 33.3 Zimbabwe (22) 37.5 ( 2) 17.0 (24) 35.8 New Zealand (17) 38.5 ( 1) 35.0 (18) 38.3
Netherlands ( 3) 36.7 - ( 3) 36.7
Bangladesh (13) 38.1 - (13) 38.1
Namibia ( 6) 40.5 - ( 6) 40.5
Kenya ( 8) 43.5 - ( 8) 43.5
Canada ( 1) 52.0 - ( 1) 52.0
On Asian soil:
All innings ---------------------------- Pakistan (11) 24.3 Sri Lanka (10) 27.9 England ( 2) 28.5 West Indies ( 3) 31.0 India (12) 34.3 New Zealand ( 7) 34.7 South Africa ( 3) 34.7 Zimbabwe (12) 36.7 Australia -
Netherlands ( 1) 33.0
Bangladesh ( 9) 42.9
Kenya ( 4) 43.8
Canada -
Namibia -
Again, a measure to be considered by a side looking to be competitive on the international scene is the absence of New Zealand bowlers among practitioners regarded as death specialists. Daryl Tuffey, is the only New Zealander to feature, and his placement is a further indication of how under-valued he was by some critics before the just-completed Test series with India. But to see Jacob Oram, Scott Styris and Andre Adams on the list for worst bowling at the death is of significant concern.
INDIVIDUAL BOWLING AT THE DEATH:
Best death bowlers (minimum qualification 10 overs):
player team overs runs rpo ------------------------------------------------------- AR Caddick ENG 11 59 5.36 M Muralitharan SL 18 97 5.39 A Flintoff ENG 27 161 5.96 CD Collymore WI 16 96 6.00 GD McGrath AUS 27 170 6.30 Wasim Akram PAK 22 140 6.36 SM Pollock RSA 57 363 6.37 Shoaib Akhtar PAK 19 131 6.89 ST Jayasuriya SL 21 145 6.90 TJ Friend ZIM 13 90 6.92On Asian soil (minimum qualification 5 overs):
player team overs runs rpo ------------------------------------------------------- Shahid Afridi PAK 5 14 2.80 HDPK Dharmasena SL 8 40 5.00 M Muralitharan SL 10 50 5.00 Wasim Akram PAK 7 40 5.71 RP Arnold SL 7 42 6.00 Waqar Younis PAK 5 30 6.00 D Gough ENG 7 43 6.14 Harbhajan Singh IND 5 31 6.20 DR Tuffey NZ 9 56 6.22 SM Pollock RSA 9 57 6.33
Worst death bowlers (minimum qualification 10 overs):
player team overs runs rpo ------------------------------------------------------- SM Ervine ZIM 14 148 10.57 JDP Oram NZ 11 110 10.00 TM Odoyo KENYA 15 148 9.87 DT Hondo ZIM 24 235 9.79 PW Gunaratne SL 11 104 9.45 IJ Harvey AUS 10 93 9.30 AR Adams NZ 21 192 9.14 A Nehra IND 10 90 9.00 WPUJC Vaas SL 17 150 8.82 JN Gillespie AUS 11 97 8.82On Asian soil (minimum qualification 5 overs):
player team overs runs rpo ------------------------------------------------------- DT Hondo ZIM 13 118 9.08 SB Styris NZ 6 55 9.17 TCB Fernando SL 5 46 9.20 JDP Oram NZ 9 87 9.67 Z Khan IND 12 120 10.00 SM Ervine ZIM 8 82 10.25 M Dillon WI 6 62 10.33 Mohammad Rafique BDESH 9 96 10.67 V Sehwag IND 6 67 11.17 TM Odoyo KENYA 7 83 11.86
All New Zealand bowlers at the death:
player team overs runs rpo ------------------------------------------------------- KD Mills NZ 4 15 3.75 NJ Astle NZ 1 5 5.00 CL Cairns NZ 7 43 6.14 DR Tuffey NZ 11 83 7.55 PA Hitchcock NZ 2 17 8.50 SE Bond NZ 16 138 8.63 DL Vettori NZ 5 45 9.00 AR Adams NZ 21 192 9.14 SB Styris NZ 8 78 9.75 JDP Oram NZ 11 110 10.00 CD McMillan NZ 2 25 12.50 CZ Harris NZ 2 25 12.50 JEC Franklin NZ 4 57 14.25On Asian soil:
player team overs runs rpo ------------------------------------------------------- KD Mills NZ 2 2 1.00 DR Tuffey NZ 9 56 6.22 AR Adams NZ 4 31 7.75 SE Bond NZ 2 18 9.00 SB Styris NZ 6 55 9.17 JDP Oram NZ 9 87 9.67 CD McMillan NZ 2 25 12.50 DL Vettori NZ 1 13 13.00
Most expensive death over:
runs player for against venue season ---------------------------------------------------------------- 28 RJ van Vuuren NAMIB AUS Potchefstroom 2002/03 27 AA Donald RSA AUS Perth 2001/02 27 JEC Franklin NZ RSA Perth 2001/02 26 MA Suji KENYA IND Paarl 2001/02 26 AR Adams NZ ZIM Bloemfontein 2002/03 25 WPUJC Vaas SL PAK Tangier 2002 24 JN Gillespie AUS PAK Nairobi (Gymk) 2002/03 24 SM Ervine ZIM PAK Sharjah 2002/03 23 SM Pollock RSA WI Cape Town 2002/03 23 CZ Harris NZ ZIM Bloemfontein 2002/03 23 GD McGrath AUS PAK Brisbane 2002 23 DT Hondo ZIM PAK Sharjah 2002/03
Most economical death over:
runs player for against venue season ---------------------------------------------------------------- 0 Mohammad Sami PAK NL Colombo (SSC) 2002/03 0 Alok Kapali BDESH WI Benoni 2002/03 0 AA Donald RSA BDESH Benoni 2002/03 0 DR Tuffey NZ PAK Dambulla 2003 0 B Lee AUS RSA Melbourne 2001/02 0 Shahid Afridi PAK BDESH Dhaka 2001/02 0 A Symonds AUS BDESH Darwin 2003 0 A Flintoff ENG NAMIB Port Elizabeth 2002/03 0 Shahid Afridi PAK BDESH Dhaka 2001/02 0 KD Mills NZ SL Dambulla 2003 0 GD McGrath AUS WI Gros Islet 2002/03 0 Inzamam-ul-Haq PAK BDESH Chittagong 2001/02
Most expensive death spell (2 overs):
runs player for against venue season ---------------------------------------------------------------- 40 RJ van Vuuren NAMIB AUS Potchefstroom 2002/03 36 JEC Franklin NZ RSA Perth 2001/02 35 WPUJC Vaas SL PAK Tangier 2002 34 TM Odoyo KENYA RSA Cape Town 2001/02 33 LJ Burger NAMIB ZIM Harare 2002/03 33 CM Willoughby RSA IND Dhaka 2003 33 ML Nkala ZIM PAK Bulawayo 2002/03 33 IJ Harvey AUS RSA Port Elizabeth 2001/02 33 Z Khan IND ZIM Faridabad 2001/02 32 D Gough ENG RSA The Oval 2003 32 V Sehwag IND WI Vijayawada 2002/03
Most economical death spell (2 overs):
runs player for against venue season ---------------------------------------------------------------- 0 Shahid Afridi PAK BDESH Dhaka 2001/02 2 KD Mills NZ SL Dambulla 2003 2 JM Anderson ENG PAK Manchester 2003 3 GD McGrath AUS WI Gros Islet 2002/03 3 SM Pollock RSA IND Colombo (RPS) 2002/03 3 Alok Kapali BDESH WI Benoni 2002/03 4 RC Irani ENG NAMIB Port Elizabeth 2002/03 4 TM Odoyo KENYA CAN Cape Town 2002/03 4 Mohammad Hafeez PAK ENG Manchester 2003 5 V Sehwag IND KENYA Paarl 2001/02 5 A Kumble IND KENYA Paarl 2001/02 5 MR Ramprakash ENG ZIM Harare 2001/02 5 SM Pollock RSA KENYA Benoni 2001/02 5 CRD Fernando SL BDESH Colombo (SSC) 2002 5 GD McGrath AUS WI Jamaica 2002/03
Run scoring in death situations is also not healthy. The statistics show that New Zealand, especially in the second innings of matches, is the worst performed of the Test-playing nations in scoring runs at the death. It is better placed in the first innings of games, but only slightly.
BY COUNTRY AVERAGE RUN SCORING AT THE DEATH:
Average runs scored by each country in the 47th-50th overs of completed
innings (instances in brackets):
1st innings 2nd innings All innings ------------------------------------------------------------ Pakistan (25) 40.2 - (25) 40.2 South Africa (26) 39.1 ( 3) 30.5 (29) 38.2 West Indies (15) 38.5 ( 4) 31.3 (19) 36.9 India (18) 37.2 ( 1) 30.0 (19) 36.8 Zimbabwe (10) 38.3 ( 7) 28.3 (17) 34.2 Australia (23) 33.9 ( 2) 30.0 (25) 33.6 New Zealand (16) 33.1 ( 4) 24.8 (20) 31.5 Sri Lanka (26) 28.7 ( 3) 26.3 (29) 28.4 England (20) 27.3 ( 1) 25.0 (21) 27.1
Kenya ( 9) 27.2 ( 1) 10.0 (10) 25.5
Bangladesh ( 3) 28.7 ( 4) 19.3 ( 7) 23.3
Netherlands ( 3) 25.7 ( 1) 11.0 ( 4) 22.0
Canada - ( 1) 16.0 ( 1) 16.0
Namibia - ( 1) 14.0 ( 1) 14.0
On Asian soil:
All innings ---------------------------- West Indies (11) 39.0 India ( 9) 39.0 Pakistan (13) 37.8 South Africa ( 4) 35.8 Australia ( 1) 35.0 Zimbabwe ( 5) 33.4 Sri Lanka (13) 30.8 New Zealand ( 7) 30.4 England ( 4) 28.3
Kenya ( 1) 29.0
Bangladesh ( 5) 19.2
Netherlands ( 1) 19.0
Canada -
Namibia -
Statistics compiled by Duane Pettet.