Test-series performances: the top bowlers
A statistical analysis of the best bowling performances in a Test series
Richard Hadlee: 33 wickets in just three Tests against Australia in 1985 • Getty Images
I have embarked on a major project. This has been triggered by a few comments on performance of all-rounders in series. I have extended the scope of the same and will cover, over three articles, the performance of batsmen, bowlers and all-rounders in series. I am aware that Cricinfo statistics section gives you an insight into the runs scored and wickets captured in Test series. However those are raw numbers and also do not show the results by series types. Even Statsguru might not provide that. What I intend to do is to weight the individual player performances in series with various relevant parameters. It is necessary to recognize where players performed (home or away), how did the performance measure against those of the other bowlers, what were the quality of wickets captured, was there a critical series situation et al. That would let us judge performances at their true worth.
1. Where the series was played: Home, away or neutral locations. Instead of penalizing home performances I have left the home wickets at no additional weight and weighted wickets captured at neutral locations at 5% and away at 10%. One could raise endless queries on the subjectivity or not of these weights. However there is no better solution on offer. As far as bowler friendly tracks are concerned, the visiting bowlers might get the extra weight, playing away, but will lose out on the Pitch type. And vice versa.
2. Series situation: I leave the other Tests as they are. An additional weight of 5% is given for the deciders only. As far as I am concerned there is no dead rubber Test. Over the past 10 years every Test is important, because of Test Rankings. The Oval Test, technically, is a dead rubber. However, for England there is a chance to widen the gap at the top and effect a 4-0 whitewash, for India the no.2 rank is at stake and the chance to finish the series at a respectable 1-3 instead of a humiliating 0-4. So the idea of dead rubber will remain only in the minds of some cricket followers/analysts, not with this analyst. Readers should not forget that if India had taken the challenge of 70-plus runs at run-a-ball against West Indies in the last Test, the no.1 position would never have come up for grabs and might have needed a 3/4 match difference.
3. Quality of wickets captured: This is best explained with the following example. Which performance is better. This happened in the Pakistan first innings of last year's Edgbaston Test (Test # 1972).
Anderson 14.3 6 20 4. S. Broad 17.0 7 38 4.Without further information, Anderson's looks much better. Well, you will change your mind if I say that Anderson captured the wickets of Shoaib Malik, Md. Aamer, Umar Gul and Md. Asif, a poor collection indeed. Broad captured the wickets of Imran Farhat, Azhar Ali, Umar Amin and Z Haider, a much better collection of batsmen.
This is done by determining the quality of wickets captured. In two ways: The first is the position of the batsman (it is very important to capture top wickets) and the second is the batting average of the dismissed batsman (equally important to dismiss the better batsmen). The weight ranges from 75% to 150%. The range is quite wide since the situations vary very considerably. I have got the weight for this measure go below 100 so that low order and lesser batsmen's wickets count less.
To weight at a higher level, the dismissal of a specific batsman (because of his beyond-the-zone performance) against a specific team, a la Laxman against Australia, is a great idea, suggested by my tough editor, but is too complicated and beyond the scope of this exercise. It would have more value in Bowling performance rating analysis.
4. Pitch type: This is determined by the Runs per Wicket value for the match. This value ranges from 10 to 100 and the weight ranges from 80% (for 10) to 120 (100). Here also I have got the weight for this measure to go below 100 so that wickets captured on seaming/spinning bowler-friendly tracks are weighted less and on flat tracks, weighted more.
5. Bowler's average vs Teams' series average: This is a completely new measure which has been introduced based on the readers' comments for the batsmen article. The ratio between the series bowling average (for both teams) and Bower bowling average is worked out. This ranges from 0.94 (for the considered 25-wickets plus performances. Can go way down for others) to 3.32 (the bowler out-performs his compatriots by 3-plus times). The weighting ranges from 0.99 to 1.33. I have used the average for both teams rather than for the bowler's team since I felt that would be a correct comparison, incorporating some form of peer performance concept.
The overall effort is that the runs scored in each innings are weighted by the five factors leading to an overall weighting ranging from a theoretical low of around 75% to a theoretical high of 200%. However these are theoretical values and in practice, the range is from 90% to 130%. Stray spells might be weighted down or more. The results are, to say the least, stunning. The true value of bowler performances in series unfolds before us.
The other decision I have taken is that the performances in a series is not going to be influenced by the number of Tests played. Whether a player was dropped or injured is outside the purview of this analysis. A 6-Test series is what it says, whether 4 or 5 Tests were played by a player. The other point is that a series has to have a minimum of 3 Tests to be included in this analysis. Also, the three Triangular tournaments, the 1912 one and the two Asian Championships are not included. This is because these are not bi-lateral series.
The tables are shown for 6, 5, 4 and 3 Test series. These are ordered on the base information, which is the wickets captured. The weighting factor and weighted wickets are also shown. Later in the article similar tables are shown, this time ordered on the weighted wickets. I have stayed away from superfluous information, at least for this analysis, of bowling averages (used however), best bowling, 5/10 wicket hauls et al. When someone captures 30 wickets in a 3/4/5 Test series, it really does not matter whether the average was 15 or 20. At the end I have also shown the top 5 and bottom 5, in terms of weighting, of the wickets captured table (over 500 runs).
First the 6-Test series table. Those who have captured 33 wickets in the series have been shown.
232 1981 ENG-Aus Alderman T.M (Aus) 21.26 6 42 1.034 43.4 296 1989 ENG-Aus Alderman T.M (Aus) 17.37 6 41 1.289 52.8 213 1978 AUS-Eng Hogg R.M (Aus) 12.85 6 41 0.988 40.5 244 1982 PAK-Ind Imran Khan (Pak) 13.95 6 40 1.257 50.3 232 1981 ENG-Aus Lillee D.K (Aus) 22.31 6 39 1.109 43.3 382 1997 ENG-Aus McGrath G.D (Aus) 19.47 6 36 1.066 38.4 331 1993 ENG-Aus Warne S.K (Aus) 25.79 6 34 1.180 40.1 232 1981 ENG-Aus Botham I.T (Eng) 20.59 6 34 0.940 32.0 250 1983 IND-Win Marshall M.D (Win) 18.82 6 33 1.206 39.8 190 1974 AUS-Eng Thomson J.R (Aus) 17.94 6 33 1.114 36.8
This table is dominated by Australian bowlers, with two stunning performances by Alderman leading. The later performance by Alderman was more devastating with more top order dismissals. An interesting fact is that 19 out of 41 dismissals were leg-before dismissals. Imran's is the stand-out performance on the sub-continental feather-beds. The 6-Test series were primarily the domain of Australia and England.
Now the 5-Test series table. Those who have captured 35 wickets in the series have been shown.
37 1913 SAF-Eng Barnes S.F (Eng) 10.94 5 49 1.111 54.4 108 1956 ENG-Aus Laker J.C (Eng) 9.61 5 46 1.091 50.2 65 1935 SAF-Aus Grimmett C.V (Aus) 14.59 5 44 1.120 49.3 526 2005 ENG-Aus Warne S.K (Aus) 19.92 5 40 1.121 44.8 96 1953 ENG-Aus Bedser A.V (Eng) 17.49 5 39 1.035 40.4 43 1924 AUS-Eng Tate M.W (Eng) 23.18 5 38 1.147 43.6 34 1910 AUS-Saf Whitty W.J (Aus) 17.08 5 37 1.026 38.0 111 1956 SAF-Eng Tayfield H.J (Saf) 17.19 5 37 0.918 34.0 38 1920 AUS-Eng Mailey A.A (Aus) 26.28 5 36 1.034 37.2 33 1910 SAF-Eng Vogler A.E.E (Saf) 21.75 5 36 0.959 34.5 289 1988 ENG-Win Marshall M.D (Win) 12.66 5 35 1.192 41.7 177 1972 IND-Eng Chandrasekhar B.S (Ind) 18.91 5 35 0.946 33.1
Barnes' record will stand forever. There are going to be very few 5-Test series and even in these, one bowler capturing half the wickets that fall is never going to happen. Laker almost beat that record. The stand-out modern performance is that of Warne in the 2005 Ashes series, with 40 wickets.
Next the 4-Test series table. Those who have captured 25 wickets in the series have been shown.
84 1950 ENG-Win Valentine A.L (Win) 20.42 4 33 1.134 37.4 410 1999 WIN-Aus McGrath G.D (Aus) 16.93 4 30 1.092 32.7 496 2003 SAF-Win Ntini M (Saf) 21.38 4 29 1.168 33.9 91 1952 ENG-Ind Trueman F.S (Eng) 13.31 4 29 1.057 30.6 263 1985 WIN-Nzl Marshall M.D (Win) 18.00 4 27 1.091 29.4 509 2004 IND-Aus Kumble A (Ind) 25.37 4 27 0.998 27.0 282 1987 IND-Win Walsh C.A (Win) 16.81 4 26 1.109 28.8 169 1970 SAF-Aus Procter M.J (Saf) 13.58 4 26 1.084 28.2 84 1950 ENG-Win Ramadhin S (Win) 23.23 4 26 1.073 27.9 410 1999 WIN-Aus Walsh C.A (Win) 20.73 4 26 0.962 25.0 157 1967 AUS-Ind Prasanna E.A.S (Ind) 27.44 4 25 1.052 26.3
The 4-Test series are the poor cousins. Not many and even the performances are average. Valentine, on his first tour of England, leads the table. McGrath's 1999 Caribbean performance is the modern classic. An unlikely bowler, Ntini, is next. It will be of interest to note that this was Kumble's only 25-plus wicket capture in a series.
Let us now see the 3-Test series table. Those who have captured 25 wickets in the series have been shown.
19 1896 SAF-Eng Lohmann G.A (Eng) 5.80 3 35 1.080 37.8 267 1985 AUS-Nzl Hadlee R.J (Nzl) 12.15 3 33 1.241 41.0 440 2001 IND-Aus Harbhajan Singh (Ind) 17.03 3 32 1.164 37.2 459 2001 SLK-Zim Muralitharan M (Slk) 9.80 3 30 1.182 35.4 283 1987 PAK-Eng Abdul Qadir (Pak) 14.57 3 30 1.025 30.7 306 1990 PAK-Nzl Waqar Younis (Pak) 10.86 3 29 0.976 28.3 499 2004 SLK-Aus Muralitharan M (Slk) 23.18 3 28 1.036 29.0 335 1993 PAK-Zim Waqar Younis (Pak) 13.81 3 27 0.950 25.6 494 2003 SLK-Eng Muralitharan M (Slk) 12.31 3 26 1.210 31.4 499 2004 SLK-Aus Warne S.K (Aus) 20.04 3 26 1.101 28.6 455 2001 SLK-Win Vaas WPUJC (Slk) 15.42 3 26 1.058 27.5 430 2000 SLK-Saf Muralitharan M (Slk) 18.46 3 26 1.056 27.5 571 2008 SLK-Ind Mendis B.A.W (Slk) 18.38 3 26 1.050 27.3 423 2000 PAK-Slk Muralitharan M (Slk) 19.85 3 26 1.044 27.1 554 2007 SLK-Bng Muralitharan M (Slk) 10.85 3 26 1.029 26.7 30 1907 ENG-Saf Blythe C (Eng) 10.38 3 26 0.977 25.4 339 1994 NZL-Pak Wasim Akram (Pak) 17.24 3 25 1.118 28.0 26 1902 SAF-Aus Llewellyn C.B (Saf) 17.92 3 25 0.885 22.1
Even though Lohmann leads the table, Hadlee's was the most devastating of all, coming in an away series against Australia. Harbhajan suffers only in comparison with Laxman. It can be seen that many of these 25-plus wicket performances are modern ones.
I have given below the top bowlers in each of the series types, this time based on the weighted wickets captured. Varying number of bowlers have been shown.
296 1989 ENG-Aus Alderman T.M (Aus) 17.37 6 41 1.289 52.8 244 1982 PAK-Ind Imran Khan (Pak) 13.95 6 40 1.257 50.3 232 1981 ENG-Aus Alderman T.M (Aus) 21.26 6 42 1.034 43.4 232 1981 ENG-Aus Lillee D.K (Aus) 22.31 6 39 1.109 43.3 213 1978 AUS-Eng Hogg R.M (Aus) 12.85 6 41 0.988 40.5 331 1993 ENG-Aus Warne S.K (Aus) 25.79 6 34 1.180 40.1 ... 37 1913 SAF-Eng Barnes S.F (Eng) 10.94 5 49 1.111 54.4 108 1956 ENG-Aus Laker J.C (Eng) 9.61 5 46 1.091 50.2 65 1935 SAF-Aus Grimmett C.V (Aus) 14.59 5 44 1.120 49.3 526 2005 ENG-Aus Warne S.K (Aus) 19.92 5 40 1.121 44.8 43 1924 AUS-Eng Tate M.W (Eng) 23.18 5 38 1.147 43.6 289 1988 ENG-Win Marshall M.D (Win) 12.66 5 35 1.192 41.7 96 1953 ENG-Aus Bedser A.V (Eng) 17.49 5 39 1.035 40.4 ... 84 1950 ENG-Win Valentine A.L (Win) 20.42 4 33 1.134 37.4 496 2003 SAF-Win Ntini M (Saf) 21.38 4 29 1.168 33.9 410 1999 WIN-Aus McGrath G.D (Aus) 16.93 4 30 1.092 32.7 91 1952 ENG-Ind Trueman F.S (Eng) 13.31 4 29 1.057 30.6 ... 267 1985 AUS-Nzl Hadlee R.J (Nzl) 12.15 3 33 1.241 41.0 19 1896 SAF-Eng Lohmann G.A (Eng) 5.80 3 35 1.080 37.8 440 2001 IND-Aus Harbhajan Singh (Ind) 17.03 3 32 1.164 37.2 459 2001 SLK-Zim Muralitharan M (Slk) 9.80 3 30 1.182 35.4 494 2003 SLK-Eng Muralitharan M (Slk) 12.31 3 26 1.210 31.4 283 1987 PAK-Eng Abdul Qadir (Pak) 14.57 3 30 1.025 30.7
Note how much Alderman's 1989 effort has gained, mainly because of the quality of wickets. Imran's wonderful effort of 40 wickets in the subcontinent gets its due. Similarly Hadlee's Trans-Tasman away-haul of 33 moves up to 41 wickets.
Now the top-10, across all series types, whose weight value is the highest and lowest. This is a very interesting mini-table which brings out the value of this type of weighting.
175 1972 WIN-Nzl Taylor B.R (Nzl) 17.70 5 27 1.303 35.2 296 1989 ENG-Aus Alderman T.M (Aus) 17.37 6 41 1.289 52.8 137 1964 IND-Eng Titmus F.J (Eng) 27.67 5 27 1.270 34.3 62 1934 ENG-Aus O'Reilly W.J (Aus) 24.93 5 28 1.265 35.4 197 1976 ENG-Win Holding M.A (Win) 12.71 5 28 1.262 35.3 244 1982 PAK-Ind Imran Khan (Pak) 13.95 6 40 1.257 50.3 516 2004 SAF-Eng Hoggard M.J (Eng) 25.50 5 26 1.249 32.5 267 1985 AUS-Nzl Hadlee R.J (Nzl) 12.15 3 33 1.241 41.0 447 2001 ENG-Aus McGrath G.D (Aus) 16.94 5 32 1.227 39.2 293 1988 AUS-Win Ambrose C.E.L (Win) 21.46 5 26 1.227 31.9 ... ... ... 33 1910 SAF-Eng Faulkner G.A (Saf) 21.90 5 29 0.892 25.9 26 1902 SAF-Aus Llewellyn C.B (Saf) 17.92 3 25 0.885 22.1 24 1901 AUS-Eng Noble M.A (Aus) 19.00 5 32 0.872 27.9 200 1976 IND-Eng Bedi B.S (Ind) 22.96 5 25 0.834 20.8
Taylor's effort was against a good West Indian side, away, and included quite a few top order wickets. He also achieved this in 4 Tests. I have already talked about Alderman and will do so again later. Titmus' case is interesting. He was playing away, against a good Indian line-up. However the real clincher was the quality of wickets, an amazing 23 out of 27 were those of the top batsmen. Similar was the situation with O'Reilly and Holding.
Finally the top-10, across all series types, whose series average has been the way above the rest of the bowlers who bowled in the series. A true peer performance indicator.
459 2001 SLK-Zim Muralitharan M (Slk) 3 30 9.80 86-32.57 3.32 554 2007 SLK-Bng Muralitharan M (Slk) 3 26 10.85 72-34.40 3.17 244 1982 PAK-Ind Imran Khan (Pak) 6 40 13.95 130-42.17 3.02 19 1896 SAF-Eng Lohmann G.A (Eng) 3 35 5.80 98-17.38 3.00 55 1931 AUS-Saf Ironmonger H (Aus) 5 31 9.55 155-26.24 2.75 494 2003 SLK-Eng Muralitharan M (Slk) 3 26 12.31 96-32.58 2.65 115 1958 ENG-Nzl Lock G.A.R (Eng) 5 34 7.47 135-19.38 2.59 197 1976 ENG-Win Holding M.A (Win) 5 28 12.71 164-31.55 2.48 267 1985 AUS-Nzl Hadlee R.J (Nzl) 3 33 12.15 95-30.11 2.48 175 1972 WIN-Nzl Taylor B.R (Nzl) 5 27 17.70 120-43.69 2.47
Finally let me give my own selection of the top performances in a series. This time ordered based on my preference.
Hadlee's 33 wickets vs Australia, away, during 1985: In my opinion, this was the best ever performance by a bowler in a Test series. There is no denying that Australia were not a great team during 1985. However this was an away tour and Australia are not pushovers in their backyard. Hadlee captured 9, 6, 5, 2, 5 and 6 wickets in the six innings. 5 times out of 6 innings he captured 5-plus wickets. Even Muralitharan in his prime did not achieve this. In a reasonably low-scoring series, he also scored 126 runs. The 2-1 win for New Zealand was the icing on the cake.
Imran Khan's 40 wickets vs India during : This suffered only by comparison to Hadlee's master class. To capture 40 wickets on the flat-bed pitches of Pakistan against a very strong Indian batting lineup was Imran's best ever effort as a bowler and captain. He had 5 five-wicket hauls and helped Pakistan win 3-0. His only support came from Sarfraz Nawaz, with 19 wickets.
Laker's 46 wickets vs Australia during 1956: This has to come in because of the 19 wickets at Manchester. But then there is the small matter of 27 wickets in the four remaining Tests. This was somewhat similar to Richards' 1976 performance, a bowler dominating a quality batting team throughout the series. The Australians, despite McDonald, Harvey, Craig, Davidson, Miller, Benaud, Lindwall et al, had no answers.
SF Barnes' 49 wickets vs South Africa during 1914: Just as I could not ignore Bradman's 974, there is no way I can miss this performance. Barnes achieved this, playing away in South Africa. He captured 49 wickets in four Tests. Then, according to C M-J "S.F.Barnes declined to play after a difference of opinion concerning administrative matters.". If he had played he would have ended with 60-plus wickets and a career tally of 200-plus wickets. He played no more Tests.
Alderman's 41 wickets vs England, away, during 1989: Alderman had captured 42 wickets on the 1981 tour of England. However I selected this one since his overall wicket quality was much better, as evidenced by the significant weight-up these performances have received. 28 of Alderman's 41 wickets were those of 1-6 batsmen. The English batting quality in these two tours was approximately the same. Australia won 4-0 and this was due to two men, Alderman and Taylor.
Warne's 40 wickets vs England, away, during 2005: This is a modern classic. Reminds me of Lara's efforts at Sri Lanka. Warne, coming to the end of the career, captured 40 wickets against a strong English team. That Australia lost 1-2 should not take anything away from Warne's magnificence. If Lee had hit the full toss a few yards to the left or right Australia might have won 3-0. Warne's bowling in the last Test, when his tally of 12 wickets included 9 top batsmen is one of the greatest bowling efforts ever.
I have fixed 3 Tests as the minimum criteria for defining a proper Test series. Let me confirm that, unlike the batsmen crossing 500 runs, no bowler has crossed 25 wickets in a 2-Test series.
Just to complete the Series bowling analysis, I have given below the table of batsmen who have captured 25 wickets or more in a series most number of times. Totally expected results with Muralitharan at the top. Once again emphasises the top quality and class of the West Indian greats, four of them featured here. Grimmett and O'Reilly feature 9 times. Surprises, Kumble, Harbhajan and Wasim Akram just once and Zaheer, not even once.
Muralitharan: 6 Grimmett: 5 Ambrose: 5 Garner: 5 Marshall: 5 Warne: 5 on 4, plenty (O'Reilly, Lillee, Kapil Dev, McGrath and Walsh).
To download the complete list of players who have crossed 500 runs in a Test series, please right-click here and save the file.
Now for the Bowling hall of fame (or more correctly, shame). While I sympathise with these bowlers, I like this part of the exercise since it throws a challenge to me to identify such performances. The only criteria I have set is that the concerned bowler should have captured 100 Test wickets or more. This is to ensure that the list contains only regular bowlers.
Ser Year Hme Vs Bowler Avge Wkts
Emburey at least managed to bowl accurately and kept his RpO to a very good 2.13. Rafique bowled in only 3 innings, but at least managed a wicket, at a high RpO of 4.41. McKenzie bowled in the first two Tests, was dropped for the third, came back in the fourth and successfully claimed a wicket. His RpO was 3.0.
Since the article has already become long, I will keep the all-round analyses to later posts. This will also enable the readers to exchange information in an informed manner.
Readers' selection: I would expect some justification supporting your nomination. Please lighten my task.
Harbhajan Singh (32 in 3 Tests during 2001 vs Aus at home: 37.2 AdjWkts). Arjun. Marshall (35 in 4 Tests during 1988 vs Eng away: 41.7 adjwkts). Gerry. Ambrose (33 in 5 Tests during 1992 vs Aus away: 39.9 adjwkts). Gerry. Larwood (33 in 5 Tests during 1932 vs Aus away: 38.3 adjwkts). Paul. Davidson (33 in 4 Tests during 1960 vs Aus away: 36.8 adjwkts). Ruchir. Muralitharan (24 in 3 Tests during 2006 vs Eng away: 31.0 (est) adjwkts) Ruchir. Alderman (42 in 6 Tests during 1981 vs Eng away: 43.4 adjwkts) Tom. Hogg (41 in 6 Tests vs Eng at home during 1978: 40.5 adjwkts) Manish/Jerry. Mendis (26 in 3 Tests vs Ind at home during 2008: 27.3 adjwkts). Ajinkya/Pallab. Warne (26 in 3 Tests vs Slk, Away during 2004: 28.6 adjwkts). Marshall (35 in 5 vs Eng, away during 1988: 41.7 adjwkts). Harsh Donald (33 in 5 Tests vs Eng, away during 1998: 37.4 adjwkts). Arjun. Snow (31 in 5 Tests vs Aus, away during 1970: 37.8 adjwkts).Engle+Turner. Garner (31 in 5 Tests vs Aus, at home during 1984: 33.3 adjwkts. Alex. Holding (24 in 3 Tests vs Aus, away during 1981. Gerry+Alex Saqlain (20 in 3 Tests during 1999 vs Ind, away). Arjun+others Kumble (21 in 3 Tests during 1999 at home). Arjun+others Bedser (39 in 5 Tests during 1953 at home-5x5 wkts: 40.4 adj). Waspsting. Tyson (28 in 5 Tests, vs Aus, away: 29.3 adj). Shane Thomson (33 in 5 Tests vs Eng at home during 1974: adj 36.8 ). Gerry/WS. Barnes (34 in 5 Tests vs Aus, away during 1911: 38.5 adjwkts). Delmeister. Waqar Younis (29 in 3 Tests vs Nzl, at home during 1990: adj 28.3 wkts). Del.
Anantha Narayanan has written for ESPNcricinfo and CastrolCricket and worked with a number of companies on their cricket performance ratings-related systems