ODI bowling: location summary, country details and key matches

This is a follow-up to the previous article which was an analysis on ODI Batsmen (click here for the article) by teams faced. Normally I do analysis-centric articles which take on and expound a theme. Once in a while I do different types of articles in which I go deep in one area of the game and provide data tables around it. This is one such article.

This information is certainly available through StatsGuru of Cricinfo. However, what will not be available are the composite multidimensional tables which are provided here. You would have to put in multiple queries and saving the tables in an accessible format is another problem.

In order to avoid the usual questions and comments which relate to specific players, let me emphasize how these series of articles would be structured. I would cover the top/selected 12-15 players in a graph to visually present the variations. Then I would present data tables, in the body of the articles, which would normally cover the top 25 players or so. However the most important of the tables are the ones which have been uploaded and are available for downloading for permanent storage and perusal. Normally these cover the complete collection of players, say 150, who meet the cut-off criteria. So, before coming out with comments that "Zaheer Khan or Botham or Walsh are not mentioned", please download the tables and check. Superficial reading of the articles is not enough.

Over the current month or or two, I will be doing the following four tables. These may all not follow in sequence. I may intersperse other pending analysis in between.

1. ODI Batting analysis - summary by location and details by country played against and key tournament matches. Completed.
2. ODI Bowling analysis - summary by location and details by country played against and key tournament matches. Current article.
3. Test Batting analysis - summary by location and details by country played against.
4. Test Bowling analysis - summary by location and details by country played against.

The vs Country grouping is as explained below. I have 10 countries/groups: Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe combined and finally "all other teams". A fair grouping and nothing of relevance would be left out. And the analysis is very extensive in that it is by country played against: at home, away, in neutral locations and across career.

I have defined the key tournament matches by the following criteria. I have deliberately excluded the tri-series finals from this group. At last count there were well over 100 such tournaments and inclusion of these tournaments would dilute the whole concept. Readers might differ. However it should be noted that inclusion of the Sharjah tournaments would also mean inclusion of all CB/VB Series and all inconsequential tri-series ever played. For that matter I have set the criteria as tournaments with 6 teams and above. World Cup Super-Sixes and Super-Eights rank with the Quarter finals.

10 World Cup Finals
20 World Cup Semi-finals
8 World Cup Quarter finals
45 World Cup Super-Sixes and Super-Eights
7 ICC/Champions' Trophy Finals
12 ICC/Champions' Trophy Semi finals
3 Finals of the following three 6+ team tournaments
- Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket, 1984/85 (7 teams)
- MRF World Series (Nehru Cup), 1989/90 (6 teams)
- Australasia Cup, 1989/90 (6 teams)

Total number of key tournament matches: 105 There were a number of comments in the batting article to consider the inclusion of some or all of the tri-series Finals also. I have generally discarded the suggestions because of the preponderance of average tri-series. Anyhow I am not going to be consistent across both areas of the game.

Normally bowling analysis is easier because of the unique nature of the single most important bowling measure, the bowling average. The batting average is an inconsistent and incomplete measure, with its two inherent drawbacks, viz., the confusing treatment of not-outs and the presence of another very important factor, the scoring rate. Bowling average, on the other hand, is a perfect composite of two important measures, viz., the bowling strike rate (BpW) and bowling accuracy (RpB). The single measure is so perfect that it is rare that we have to do any sub-analysis on the two constituent measures.

First the graphs. I would only offer limited comments since I expect the readers to come out with their own comments. I might miss some obvious comment. Should not really matter. The ordering is different for different modes of presentation since we can get different insights. In general, the graphs are ordered by the concerned bowling average values and the tables are ordered by the appropriate wickets values.

Bowler analysis - Summary by location

This graph contains the top 11 wicket-takers, who have captured over 300 wickets and 7 other outstanding ODI bowlers. I have altered the presentation slightly. The Blue rectangles, anchored on the left, indicate BowAvg values below 28.0 and Red rectangles, anchored on the right, indicate BowAvg values above 28.0. The size of the rectangle gives an indication of the BowAvg value, the bigger the better or worse, depending on whether these are blue or red. The numbers adjacent to the rectangles indicate the number of wickets captured in that classification.

Most of the bowlers have performed above-par, home, away and in neutral locations. As expected Afridi and Jayasuriya have been below-par everywhere. Kumble has just about beaten par in neutral locations. But two real surprises: Wasim Akram has been below-par at home (72 wickets at 31.12) and less surprisingly, Warne, below-par, away (84 wickets at 30.40).

Bowler analysis - All matches - by opposing country

This graph is similar to the batting graphs. These are ordered by the BowAvg values. The top 15 bowlers are shown. The player's performance against the 10 team groups are plotted. Blue ovals indicate BowAvg values of below 28.0 and Red ovals indicate BowAvg values above 28.0. The size of ovals indicates how far off the par the performances are. The number of wickets captured is displayed, colour-coded, under each country. In general, the cut-off values are 100 wickets. For the lower level Home/Away/Neutral vs-team analysis, the cut-off is lowered to 75 wickets.

Garner's overall average has been stupendous, backed by an excellent strike rate and the best-ever RpO values. He has played very well against all countries barring India: 6 wickets at 32.5. The all-blue performers are Holding, Hadlee, Donald and McGrath. Muralitharan has two below-par countries and has a huge tally against the weaker countries. Wasim Akram has one weak spot, against England. Two relatively unknown bowlers, Pringle and Bracken are in this elite lot.

A vertical perusal of the table indicates that South Africa is the toughest country to bowl against and New Zealand, relatively the friendliest one.

Bowler analysis - Home matches - by opposing country

McGrath was king at home. An all-blue graph. No other top bowler has had this distinction. Pollock has also been quite good, barring 11 against New Zealand at 38.5. Many bowlers seem to have found it tough to bowl against India, even playing at home. Surprisingly Pakistan is the other way around.

Bowler analysis - Away matches - by opposing country

Holding has been good overall against all countries, playing away. But Donald and Johnson have the best record, playing away. As expected, the away BowAvg values graph has a smattering of red ovals scattered across.

Bowler analysis - Neutral matches - by opposing country

Lee has been an outstanding neutral match record with almost all-blue record. Again Donald has done very well also. And McGrath has been equally good. All other leading bowlers have their weak spots. Look at the huge number of wickets captured by Wasim Akram in neutral countries, that too at very low average.

Now for the tables. Most of these are self-explanatory.

	Career			Key	Mats			Home			Neutral			Away
Batsman	Wkts	Avge	ODIs	Wkts	Avge	RpO	Wkts	Avge	RpO	Wkts	Avge	RpO	Wkts	Avge	RpO
Muralitharan	534	23.08	32	36	21.03	4.31	154	24.62	3.86	220	20.81	3.82	160	24.71	4.14
Wasim Akram	502	23.53	12	14	32.93	4.48	72	31.12	4.36	262	21.21	3.76	168	23.89	3.87
Waqar Younis	416	23.85	3	6	22.83	5.07	67	23.15	4.67	218	22.49	4.75	131	26.47	4.61
Vaas WPUJC	400	27.54	19	23	26.61	4.27	81	27.53	3.89	168	27.08	4.18	151	28.06	4.39
Pollock	393	24.51	15	15	33.47	3.86	193	20.24	3.51	97	27.99	3.83	103	29.23	3.78
McGrath	381	22.02	37	48	17.23	3.93	160	20.13	3.77	113	20.22	3.81	108	26.69	4.07
Lee	377	23.18	12	26	19.00	4.89	169	23.34	4.69	79	18.29	4.55	129	25.97	4.93
S Afridi	344	33.38	8	5	32.60	4.23	62	36.21	4.87	161	33.42	4.55	121	31.89	4.55
Kumble	337	30.90	10	12	39.00	4.81	126	28.94	4.45	144	26.22	4.14	67	44.64	4.37
Jayasuriya	323	36.74	20	18	34.17	4.90	119	28.31	4.45	111	41.03	4.84	93	42.41	5.05
Srinath	315	28.08	12	17	30.71	5.07	103	30.50	4.58	124	27.78	4.54	88	25.68	4.14
Warne	293	25.73	9	18	20.56	4.44	134	24.40	4.17	75	22.88	4.23	84	30.40	4.38
Agarkar	288	27.85	5	2	81.50	5.69	109	27.39	5.29	82	31.71	4.94	97	25.11	4.97
Saqlain M	288	21.79	6	6	38.50	4.75	54	20.61	4.52	174	21.63	4.35	60	23.32	3.99
Vettori	282	31.50	14	16	35.06	4.23	113	31.08	4.06	76	30.86	4.12	93	32.54	4.23
Zaheer Khan	278	29.03	13	21	27.38	5.17	94	30.21	5.20	78	26.35	4.57	106	29.96	4.92
Donald	272	21.79	7	11	28.18	4.56	88	26.35	4.24	94	18.78	4.10	90	20.47	4.10
Kallis	270	31.70	16	15	31.93	4.63	113	32.40	4.93	78	27.44	4.39	79	34.90	5.09
Abdul Razzaq	269	31.83	9	7	34.86	4.07	40	44.23	5.02	126	31.27	4.63	103	27.71	4.60
Ntini	266	24.67	11	7	40.86	5.02	122	24.00	4.42	55	23.56	4.15	89	26.26	4.93
Harbhajan	259	33.40	11	15	26.07	3.99	104	35.48	4.42	70	30.67	4.16	85	33.09	4.28
Kapil Dev	253	27.45	4	9	13.00	2.85	100	27.15	4.01	85	24.49	3.48	68	31.59	3.64
ShoaibAkhtar	247	24.98	6	10	23.80	5.06	46	28.24	5.08	113	23.97	4.70	88	24.57	4.68
Streak	239	29.83	6	5	52.20	5.12	67	26.72	4.47	85	31.47	4.42	87	30.62	4.66
Gough	235	26.44	3	4	35.50	5.26	108	27.27	4.41	34	24.44	4.36	93	26.20	4.40
Walsh	227	30.47	3	2	69.50	4.88	46	40.02	4.35	99	26.04	3.53	82	30.46	3.85
Ambrose	225	24.13	3	4	24.00	3.20	65	25.25	3.58	86	22.64	3.35	74	24.88	3.54
Anderson	208	30.80	9	3	90.67	4.96	91	27.80	4.99	44	28.45	4.73	73	35.95	5.21
Harris	203	37.50	11	4	95.75	4.85	94	29.73	4.07	52	48.38	4.29	57	40.39	4.55
McDermott	203	24.72	2	6	15.83	4.75	125	24.32	3.89	18	24.33	3.84	60	25.67	4.42

This table is ordered by career wickets captured. The top 30 are shown.

Since I have already talked about the Home/Away/Neutral performances in the graph section, I would only talk about the key tournament matches here. The bar for selection for the key tournament matches has been set quite high, and that is the way it should be. It can be safely concluded that these wickets have all been captured in real tough situations. McGrath is the runaway leader in this classification, having captured 48 wickets at a very low BowAvg value of 17.23. This is a very impressive record and should not be swept under the carpet. Imagine, McGrath has captured nearly 13% of his career wickets in tough tournament situations. No wonder that Australia won 5 major World tournaments during the past 20 years.

Muralitharan is a comfortable second with 36 wickets. The surprise is the low tally of the two great Pakistan bowlers. Lee has been very productive in these matches. It is obvious that this would be the domain of the modern bowlers because of the number of matches in WCs classified so. The formats have changed drastically.

All matches	Career		AUS		ENG		IND		NZL		PAK		SAF		SLK		WIN		B/Z		OTH
Bowlers	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge
Muralitharan	534	23.08	53	31.15	28	24.00	74	31.77	74	17.93	96	25.25	49	23.35			34	28.12	90	15.56	36	11.08
Wasim Akram	502	23.53	67	27.43	32	35.44	60	25.17	64	18.53			35	23.94	92	20.97	89	25.57	42	20.93	21	10.57
Waqar Younis	416	23.85	29	40.76	30	20.10	37	24.49	79	15.85			58	24.91	84	24.36	60	26.98	26	26.35	13	14.08
Vaas WPUJC	400	27.54	47	35.70	32	35.03	70	31.63	49	22.22	61	32.98	40	28.00			26	18.69	61	16.90	14	18.93
Pollock	393	24.51	57	29.35	40	21.77	48	24.48	48	27.31	49	25.14			51	23.90	44	24.23	33	23.09	23	14.04
McGrath	381	22.02			53	22.96	34	26.76	59	19.78	57	19.11	58	23.79	36	25.08	36	25.72	24	20.96	24	12.25
Lee	377	23.18			64	22.61	55	21.00	52	20.98	38	23.18	40	23.65	38	32.61	49	21.63	20	30.30	21	15.00
S Afridi	344	33.38	43	31.05	34	27.53	38	58.21	20	48.20			26	39.15	57	35.12	31	35.16	65	24.75	30	10.60
Kumble	337	30.90	31	40.29	25	46.00			39	27.87	54	24.26	46	32.00	34	51.41	41	23.73	40	25.30	27	15.22
Jayasuriya	323	36.74	29	45.72	32	35.69	44	49.14	38	29.89	71	36.46	33	36.03			29	28.69	40	30.23	7	40.29
Srinath	315	28.08	33	36.73	35	23.71			51	20.41	54	30.69	28	50.25	34	28.03	31	27.74	36	17.19	13	20.54
Warne	293	25.73			22	33.14	15	56.27	49	19.24	37	23.76	60	28.63	29	25.69	50	20.90	23	21.52	8	17.75
Agarkar	288	27.85	36	28.42	21	39.71			20	29.20	32	36.16	18	50.28	49	20.61	32	24.50	61	22.61	19	18.16
Saqlain M	288	21.79	27	23.33	24	19.88	57	24.39	33	21.70			16	36.94	47	24.87	30	18.00	48	13.69	6	17.67
Vettori	282	31.50	53	40.57	24	29.38	27	38.22			31	28.81	25	45.08	25	40.24	31	22.19	49	20.71	17	15.71
Zaheer Khan	278	29.03	23	46.39	25	31.40			30	27.73	28	40.86	22	27.91	62	30.56	13	28.46	44	20.11	31	15.45
Donald	272	21.79	45	25.98	31	19.42	46	21.15	40	21.07	27	24.00			32	20.31	21	27.10	17	19.88	13	10.31
Kallis	270	31.70	34	47.97	25	33.44	30	36.77	37	29.62	40	28.57			31	29.74	42	23.02	18	25.61	13	30.69
Abdul Razzaq	269	31.83	25	28.84	19	37.95	35	39.86	39	34.15			21	47.24	50	29.88	31	27.32	35	19.09	14	28.07
Ntini	266	24.67	39	29.77	20	27.85	25	28.68	37	23.22	49	20.24			27	27.78	27	25.59	33	19.91	9	19.67
Harbhajan	259	33.40	32	46.44	36	25.33			17	40.76	14	57.21	25	30.88	61	26.95	33	34.24	25	32.84	16	24.44
Kapil Dev	253	27.45	45	27.69	28	28.07			33	27.61	42	26.50	12	31.25	38	26.08	43	28.88	12	23.42
ShoaibAkhtar	247	24.98	32	34.78	34	24.18	41	26.80	35	23.46			27	23.59	29	25.38	10	23.00	20	22.05	19	14.26
Streak	239	29.83	18	41.61	33	20.18	39	38.00	19	41.74	35	20.66	17	32.88	28	31.96	24	27.75	16	18.00	10	30.80
Gough	235	26.44	31	31.10			24	31.88	21	27.33	21	34.52	51	21.25	23	25.87	15	37.07	43	18.95	6	22.50
Walsh	227	30.47	30	45.73	25	45.48	44	24.16	21	26.71	65	27.48	4	47.25	26	25.88			6	13.83	6	8.83
Ambrose	225	24.13	61	21.80	14	40.86	32	22.47	13	24.15	69	21.35	15	34.07	12	32.17			5	19.00	4	7.25
Anderson	208	30.80	29	41.45			32	34.75	18	39.72	29	21.90	24	20.71	24	26.96	28	29.39	12	34.83	12	29.75
Harris	203	37.50	31	37.52	20	33.70	24	37.08			26	43.35	20	52.25	30	38.87	22	30.00	21	38.52	9	8.78
McDermott	203	24.72			21	19.43	30	27.47	26	27.58	23	28.74	17	28.12	17	34.12	63	19.43	5	22.80	1	12.00

Since this is a table of top performers, low bowling averages will not be discussed. I will restrict myself to the surprising high averages by the top bowlers. Muralitharan has found the Indian batsmen tough to bowl against. Wasim Akram's waterloo has been against the English batsmen. Waqar Younis has found the batsmen of his settled land intimidating. The Sri Lankan batsmen handled Lee very well. Warne had problems against English and Indian batsmen. No country's batsmen have mastered McGrath and Donald.

Home matches	Career		AUS		ENG		IND		NZL		PAK		SAF		SLK		WIN		B/Z		OTH
Bowlers	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge
Pollock	193	20.24	31	25.26	29	19.34	23	17.91	11	38.45	19	20.47			26	17.77	27	16.59	18	18.33	9	10.89
Lee	169	23.34			33	19.67	33	19.52	20	23.85	19	24.95	16	21.56	21	39.00	13	13.62	7	36.00	7	15.43
McGrath	160	20.13			30	19.97	7	10.71	20	21.55	30	20.30	26	17.62	23	23.13	12	26.83	9	17.33	3	13.00
Muralitharan	154	24.62	18	23.33	10	13.80	31	40.06	13	20.00	27	25.56	9	16.00			9	30.22	25	19.52	12	11.50
Warne	134	24.40			19	28.21	1	57.00	24	18.00	18	21.78	18	38.83	19	24.74	26	19.62	9	19.33
Kumble	126	28.94	13	30.46	10	51.40			16	28.62	10	26.90	19	24.74	11	48.00	27	21.56	13	26.15	7	12.71
McDermott	125	24.32			6	17.00	17	25.18	19	23.53	14	28.86	8	24.50	14	31.57	45	21.40	2	29.00
Ntini	122	24.00	26	29.00	11	25.36	9	30.00	11	22.73	18	23.72			17	23.35	7	38.86	17	11.82	6	13.00
Jayasuriya	119	28.31	13	31.08	13	16.31	28	36.00	13	20.23	17	27.82	9	35.89			11	21.45	15	27.73
Kallis	113	32.40	21	45.57	9	44.44	11	36.64	7	48.29	17	23.06			16	27.94	18	22.33	11	20.18	3	33.33
Vettori	113	31.08	26	33.27	11	28.82	9	35.78			9	46.22	7	51.00	9	52.67	21	19.67	21	16.57
Agarkar	109	27.39	17	27.00	12	31.17			5	35.80	5	38.80	6	56.67	20	20.00	15	31.13	24	21.04	5	13.40
Gough	108	27.27	22	27.50			12	31.00	2	51.50	15	29.27	15	28.13	10	26.60	11	32.45	17	20.41	4	8.50
Abdur Razzak	107	23.82	9	30.56	7	23.57	4	90.75	9	33.56	10	19.80	4	37.00	2	71.00			41	12.15	21	16.86
Harbhajan	104	35.48	18	54.94	31	22.10			1	41.00	9	54.78	8	23.75	16	37.19	11	38.64	10	21.20
Srinath	103	30.50	12	35.50	21	23.14			11	31.27	4	41.25	9	58.78	16	23.56	19	31.84	11	15.55
S Waugh	101	31.16			15	28.60	13	35.00	17	35.65	13	29.31	5	44.40	10	27.00	26	29.08	2	14.00
Kapil Dev	100	27.15	12	37.83	16	27.50			3	47.00	12	28.08	6	25.00	24	21.67	19	25.74	8	23.00
Cairns	94	31.01	23	36.57	20	21.15	7	36.14			12	41.42	10	29.70	11	26.45	7	19.57	4	44.00
Zaheer Khan	94	30.21	19	44.32	11	22.91			7	21.43	14	40.21	1	43.00	16	29.25	7	17.14	13	27.08	6	8.33

Look at the struggles Pollock had at home against the New Zealand batsmen, Lee against the Sri Lankan batsmen, Muralitharan against the Indian batsmen, Warne against South African batsmen and so on. The bowlers who have done very well at home are McGrath and Pollock.

Neutral matches	Career		AUS		ENG		IND		NZL		PAK		SAF		SLK		WIN		B/Z		OTH
Bowlers	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge
Wasim Akram	262	21.21	21	22.57	13	32.69	46	23.48	20	18.80			10	25.80	66	18.73	59	23.36	16	15.94	11	6.82
Muralitharan	220	20.81	2	75.50	10	32.70	28	20.82	34	12.56	53	27.28	26	19.00			17	25.53	34	14.74	16	13.44
Waqar Younis	218	22.49	13	31.31	4	26.75	25	28.04	29	12.72			21	25.24	67	22.84	43	23.37	13	17.00	3	11.00
Saqlain M	174	21.63	7	31.00	10	13.40	47	24.70	21	17.67			4	67.50	41	21.90	25	19.40	16	9.31	3	26.33
Vaas WPUJC	168	27.08	5	42.40	11	44.00	30	27.70	16	28.44	40	33.50	15	24.40			18	12.44	25	20.32	8	16.12
S Afridi	161	33.42	15	32.20	8	41.75	25	45.92	12	46.17			11	41.55	35	34.03	19	37.42	11	29.27	25	7.20
Kumble	144	26.22	14	40.57	5	34.00			9	23.78	44	23.66	13	27.08	11	37.91	10	26.70	22	21.64	16	16.88
Abdul Razzaq	126	31.27	6	54.17			21	25.81	20	28.40			15	35.47	27	31.37	16	27.50	13	28.54	8	35.88
Srinath	124	27.78	9	40.56	8	27.62			2	34.50	50	29.84	6	52.00	15	17.00	12	21.25	12	24.67	10	18.00
McGrath	113	20.22			6	23.17	13	31.85	20	14.45	16	16.50	14	27.93	6	25.33	11	17.45	9	21.89	18	13.72
ShoaibAkhtar	113	23.97	11	44.27	8	17.75	18	30.33	12	25.58			12	27.50	18	16.56	8	24.88	9	19.67	17	13.12
Jayasuriya	111	41.03	3	77.00	6	71.00	7	69.00	16	32.81	36	41.11	13	27.08			9	43.00	15	31.73	6	32.33
Walsh	99	26.04	3	47.67	9	42.33	14	21.86	3	19.33	39	23.23	1	99.99	18	30.06			6	13.83	6	8.83
Pollock	97	27.99	6	30.00	5	12.00	12	39.00	24	20.50	14	29.21			17	27.12	4	55.75	4	51.75	11	19.55
Prasad	96	29.91	13	28.85	6	10.50			9	21.89	35	30.60	6	47.50	8	33.75	3	64.33	14	26.57	2	22.50
Donald	94	18.78	12	20.17	4	34.25	9	20.67	24	16.92	13	16.23			15	20.20	6	21.67	4	16.50	7	12.00
Ambrose	86	22.64	5	23.80			13	24.15	1	19.00	45	20.87	5	27.60	10	30.20			3	9.33	4	7.25
Aaqib Javed	86	33.15			2	17.00	36	27.44	6	34.17			2	61.00	24	32.67	13	44.92	3	35.67
Kapil Dev	85	24.49	12	17.83	4	22.25			21	20.62	20	22.55	1	36.00	8	32.38	17	32.00	2	28.00
Streak	85	31.47	4	60.25	6	27.00	14	42.57	2	84.00	17	19.29	3	46.00	17	29.82	15	19.87			7	33.86

Barring a few matches against England, Wasim Akram was the master of neutral pitches. Almost similar situation with Muralitharan.

Away matches	Career		AUS		ENG		IND		NZL		PAK		SAF		SLK		WIN		B/Z		OTH
Bowlers	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge	Wkts	Avge
Wasim Akram	168	23.89	38	26.58	13	34.77	12	32.33	37	15.46			18	21.89	13	22.62	13	32.85	16	24.06	8	11.50
Muralitharan	160	24.71	33	32.73	8	25.88	15	35.07	27	23.70	16	18.00	14	36.14			8	31.25	31	13.26	8	5.75
Vaas WPUJC	151	28.06	32	34.91	9	45.22	14	45.71	29	17.90	14	23.57	20	31.10			8	24.88	21	15.33	4	20.25
Waqar Younis	131	26.47	13	49.08	24	16.04	2	33.50	29	21.34			31	21.81	10	29.60	8	46.12	9	36.22	5	18.20
Lee	129	25.97			29	23.07	10	36.70	19	22.58			24	25.04	11	30.27	26	26.08	6	33.17	4	18.50
S Afridi	121	31.89	28	27.32	14	30.57	8	80.00	4	56.75			9	32.44	17	23.94	12	27.08	26	25.69	3	35.67
McGrath	108	26.69			17	28.18	14	30.07	19	23.53	11	19.64	18	29.50	7	31.29	13	31.69	6	25.00	3	2.67
Zaheer Khan	106	29.96	2	46.00	12	38.67			14	31.57	10	49.40	15	27.00	29	28.10	2	38.50	19	17.84	3	16.00
Pollock	103	29.23	20	35.50	6	41.67	13	22.69	13	30.46	16	27.12			8	37.00	13	30.38	11	20.45	3	3.33
Abdul Razzaq	103	27.71	19	20.84	13	33.31	7	50.86	11	40.36			5	68.60	16	25.75	15	18.53	11	7.82	6	17.67
Agarkar	97	25.11	10	28.90	9	51.11			4	21.50	6	38.17	7	47.43	11	18.36	15	16.40	30	15.70	5	24.20
Johnson	97	23.57			10	26.40	24	26.00	15	27.60			18	20.17	11	18.27	8	20.75	10	22.60	1	28.00
Jayasuriya	93	42.41	13	53.15	13	38.77	9	74.56	9	38.67	18	35.33	11	46.73			9	23.22	10	31.70	1	54.00
Vettori	93	32.54	21	44.90	6	31.67	11	38.73			5	32.40	11	30.36	11	28.36	4	41.50	24	20.54
Gough	93	26.20	9	39.89			8	37.75	19	21.47	2	96.00	33	17.30	2	55.00	4	49.75	16	18.50
Donald	90	20.47	23	23.35	15	14.47	18	20.11	9	22.56	1	94.00			5	15.20	11	25.55	2	24.50	6	3.83
Ntini	89	26.26	12	28.25	9	30.89	3	49.00	11	26.18	24	16.79			6	44.00	17	20.24	6	41.83	1	23.00
Srinath	88	25.68	12	35.08	6	20.50			38	16.53			13	43.54	3	99.99			13	11.69	3	16.33
ShoaibAkhtar	88	24.57	18	26.00	19	26.11	14	20.64	12	27.92			3	28.33	9	22.11	2	15.50	9	23.44	2	24.00
Streak	87	30.62	14	33.50	16	13.88	13	48.92	11	35.91	12	19.08	7	37.43	7	36.29	1	95.00	6	17.00
Harbhajan	85	33.09	5	38.20	5	29.00			6	34.00			10	48.00	33	23.52	13	41.08	13	37.15
Warne	84	30.40			3	64.33	7	52.86	14	21.07	1	99.99	29	27.90	7	26.86	17	26.94	4	20.50	2	25.50
Walsh	82	30.46	16	50.00	6	47.50	23	21.30	11	28.09	18	25.94	3	27.33	5	13.00
Kallis	79	34.90	11	51.00	10	32.60	10	32.00	12	36.25	8	41.75			7	37.29	17	24.00	1	64.00	3	16.00
Mills	78	25.18	15	30.60	8	28.00	5	63.00					17	20.76	9	25.33			24	16.04
Holding	78	19.53	49	20.51	15	16.20	3	31.33	1	23.00	10	15.80
Marshall	75	28.64	38	28.66	15	24.60	5	31.80			17	29.18

Donald has performed best on away pitches. And Holding. The wicket tally for both, however, was below 100.

To download/view the Excel sheet containing the following tables, please click/right-click here. The serious students of the game are going to have a link to this Excel file on their desktop and refer to it a few times a day.

Bowler location summary and key tournament match performances.
Bowler wickets analysis vs Team - for all matches
Bowler wickets analysis vs Team - for home matches
Bowler wickets analysis vs Team - for away matches
Bowler wickets analysis vs Team - for neutral matches

I am not going to do too much of work on the conclusions which can be drawn. This is not that type of article. Just a minimalistic set of statements to complete the all-time best ODI team, according to me.

There is a need to mention four bowlers who stand out for various reasons.

The first (amongst equals) is McGrath. An overall bowling average of 22, composed of averages below 27.0 against all countries and below 20 against couple of countries. Impeccable control over line and length, all delivered at good pace. Add to it the 48 wickets in key matches, it is difficult to think of anyone else as the first selection.

The next one is Garner. Not many wickets, by today's standards, but understandable. But almost all top quality wickets, a very low career Bowling average, a wicket every 36 balls at an RpO of just over 3.0. How can anyone not include him. How successful today's batsmen would have been against Garner, with his height, bounce he normally extracted and swing and cut he could generate at will. Possibly not 18+ but comparable to McGrath's figures.

The third one is Wasim Akram. His overall numbers speak for themselves. Above-par performances in all locations outside Pakistan and the ability to generate wicket-taking deliveries at will. Almost certainly the best left-arm fast bowler to have played ODI cricket. His batting would be a bonus.

Finally for the spinner. Muralitharan's huge number of wickets against the weaker teams and Warne's relative lack of success in away locations means that my selection is going to be Saqlain Mushtaq. An excellent career bowling average and very consistent sub-24.0 average in any location means he is going to be effective everywhere.

Four jewels in the crown, that is all one can say.

So these four bowlers, McGrath, Garner, Wasim Akram and Saqlain Mushtaq complete the team line-up. It is difficult to leave out Hadlee, Waqar Younis, Donald, Lee, Bond, Holding, Muralitharan and Warne. But that is the way selections go.

At a later date I might come with a combined article, doing the Batting computations using the ODI Index (RpAI (excluding single-digit not outs) x S/R). This will ensure that strike rate will be given its due importance. Also will, at least partly, address the vexed question of averages vs runs per innings. I might then look at including at least 4/5 Team tournament Finals.