Of belters and minefields

A look at which grounds are conducive to run-scoring, and which ones support the bowlers

12-Apr-2006

Some statistics, like Bradman's average, are known to pretty much every cricket buff. But The List will bring you facts and figures that aren't so obvious, adding fuel to those fiery debates about the most valuable middle-order bat, and the most useless tailender. If there's a particular List that you would like to see, e-mail us with your comments and suggestions.

England dismissed India for 100 in the Mumbai Test. The Wankhede's average of 24.12 is the lowest for any ground since 1996. © AFP

According to stereotypes, Test pitches in India are conducive to turn, the Australian and South African variety are bouncy, in England it will seam and swing, tracks in Pakistan produce run-fests, and ones in Sri Lanka and West Indies, of late, are slow and low. A week after South Africa scaled Australia's 434 at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, Sri Lanka and Pakistan toiled hard for a total of 264 runs in 89 overs in a one-dayer at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. This week, the List takes a look at various grounds and the kind of totals they allow.

The Punjab Cricket Association Stadium at Mohali is the only ground in the world to average over 40 runs per wicket in Tests. As a result, four of the seven matches played there have been drawn. But for batting paradises in India, or for that matter the world, there are few that beat the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground in Nagpur. It has an average of 43.92 runs per wicket in Tests since 1996, 34.63 per wicket and a run-rate of 5.58 in ODIs.

Highest average of runs per wickets on grounds - Tests (qualification: 5 matches)
Ground	Span	Mat	Runs	Wkts	Ave
Punjab C.A. Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh	1994-2006	7	7943	198	40.11
Antigua Recreation Ground, St John's, Antigua	1981-2005	20	21211	555	38.21
Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad	1973-1984	5	5094	134	38.01
R.Premadasa Stadium, Khettarama, Colombo	1992-2005	6	6153	164	37.51
Vidarbha C.A. Ground, Nagpur	1969-2006	9	9283	249	37.28
McLean Park, Napier	1979-2006	5	3921	107	36.64
Green Park, Kanpur	1952-2004	19	18508	506	36.57
Bourda, Georgetown, Guyana	1930-2005	30	29120	803	36.26
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi	1948-2005	28	27435	775	35.39
Adelaide Oval	1884-2005	64	76724	2172	35.32

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Among the low-scoring grounds, Dunedin heads the list. It has just eight 300 plus scores in ten Tests and one of the lowest scoring-rates at 2.45 runs per over. The usual suspects, Headingley, Cape Town and the MCG are all there but if you had to bet on which ground had the lowest average runs per wicket in the last ten years, would you have backed the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai?

Lowest average of runs per wickets on grounds - Tests (qualification: 5 matches)
Ground	Span	Mat	Runs	Wkts	Ave
Carisbrook, Dunedin	1955-1997	10	8047	313	25.70
National Stadium, Dhaka	1955-2005	17	13380	511	26.18
St George's Park, Port Elizabeth	1889-2004	21	18519	704	26.30
Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy	1983-2006	19	15631	571	27.37
Old Wanderers, Johannesburg	1896-1939	22	20962	742	28.25
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai	1975-2006	21	20004	686	29.16
Headingley, Leeds	1899-2004	65	59848	2043	29.29
Newlands, Cape Town	1889-2006	39	36440	1231	29.60
Melbourne Cricket Ground	1877-2005	98	98338	3316	29.65
Sydney Cricket Ground	1882-2006	94	92712	3110	29.81

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If you're looking for runs aplenty and more than a healthy helping of boundaries, don't buy tickets to games at the Arnos Vale Ground in Kingstown, St Vincent or the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Sri Lanka. In 16 ODIs at Kingstown, teams have scored in excess of 250 just thrice, and below 200 on 19 occasions. Its average per wicket, 23.52, is the lowest in the world and its run-rate of 4.07 is second only to Dambulla. The first six matches at Dambulla produced sub-200 scores and after 20 games only four times has a team scored in excess of 250.

Lowest average of runs per 6 balls on grounds - ODIs (qualification: 10 matches)
Ground	Span	Mat	Runs	Balls	RR
Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium	2001-2005	20	7461	11014	4.06
Arnos Vale Ground, Kingstown, St Vincent	1981-2005	16	5953	8772	4.07
Headingley, Leeds	1973-2005	30	11280	16537	4.09
Old Trafford, Manchester	1972-2005	35	13977	20298	4.13
MA Aziz Stadium, Chittagong	1988-2005	10	3598	5191	4.15
Edgbaston, Birmingham	1972-2005	37	14734	20818	4.24
Melbourne Cricket Ground	1971-2005	120	47768	66499	4.30
Basin Reserve, Wellington	1975-2005	26	9781	13491	4.35
W.A.C.A. Ground, Perth	1980-2006	58	23234	31898	4.37
Westpac Park, Hamilton	1981-2003	12	4595	6299	4.37

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The trend among Test grounds is that Asian venues have higher averages while the ones with lower averages are from all over. The one-day list is similar. The top ten grounds with highest averages and run-rates are an India-Pakistan monopoly, apart from the odd exception.

Highest average of runs per 6 balls on grounds - ODIs (qualification: 10 matches)
Ground	Span	Mat	Runs	Balls	RR
Vidarbha C.A. Ground, Nagpur	1985-2005	12	5853	6287	5.58
Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore	1978-2006	48	21883	25604	5.12
National Stadium, Karachi	1980-2006	31	13241	15537	5.11
Captain Roop Singh Stadium, Gwalior	1988-2003	10	4833	5762	5.03
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi	1982-2006	14	6496	7836	4.97
Karnataka State C.A. Stadium, Bangalore	1982-2005	14	6128	7402	4.96
Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala	1982-2000	11	4419	5339	4.96
Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo	1996-2006	35	15077	18240	4.95
SuperSport Park, Centurion	1992-2006	25	11084	13455	4.94
Gujarat Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad	1984-2005	12	5638	6845	4.94

If there's a particular List that you would like to see, e-mail us with your comments and suggestions.

George Binoy is editorial assistant of Cricinfo