The boundary crossers in Tests: an in-depth look

In one of my responses I had mentioned that I have to alternate some lighter articles with the heavier ones. This is one of the lighter ones. It still contains information which you cannot get otherwise but I expect that the topic will not elicit hundreds of comments and cross-comments. Quite a bit of this information is available in Cricinfo but not necessarily in this form and order.

Readers might remember that I had elicited help from readers and five of them, viz., Boll, Rameshkumar, Anshu, Ranga and Raghav chipped in magnificently and helped me add balls played data for about 500+ matches. Along with that I was able to derive the fours/sixes information also. This article is dedicated to these five readers. I have given below the summary of the balls played/fours/sixes information in my database.

Total balls data available:1380 Tests(out of 2036 - 67.7&%)
Continuous information available: 1070-2036 (967 Tests)
1980 - 1987 period:188 out of 221 Tests.
1877 - 1979 period:225 out of 867 Tests.

At a pinch I can say that I have complete information available for all the modern greats including Tendulkar, Lara, Steve Waugh et al.

Since there are many tables, the tables are presented with appropriate headers and the comments are provided at the end of the tables. All the tables, barring one, are for batsmen for whom complete balls/fours/sixes information is available. The cut-off is 1500 Test runs since this is a sub-set of top batsmen.

Player career analysis - by % of runs in boundaries

Batsman	LH	Team	Runs	4s	6s	46-Runs	%
Shahid Afridi		Pak	1716	220	52	1192	69.5%
Flintoff A		Eng	3845	513	82	2544	66.2%
Gayle C.H	~	Win	6373	936	75	4194	65.8%
Sehwag V		Ind	8178	1174	88	5224	63.9%
Gibbs H.H		Saf	6167	887	47	3830	62.1%
Yuvraj Singh	~	Ind	1775	247	19	1102	62.1%
Trescothick M.E	~	Eng	5820	830	42	3572	61.4%
Harbhajan Singh		Ind	2165	271	40	1324	61.2%
Kaluwitharana R.S		Slk	1933	284	6	1172	60.6%
Hinds W.W	~	Win	2608	368	16	1568	60.1%
Cairns C.L		Nzl	3320	365	87	1982	59.7%
Imran Farhat	~	Pak	2327	340	4	1384	59.5%
Kamran Akmal		Pak	2648	372	14	1572	59.4%
Tamim Iqbal	~	Bng	1748	241	12	1036	59.3%
Gilchrist A.C	~	Aus	5570	676	100	3304	59.3%
...
...
Taylor M.A	~	Aus	7525	729	9	2970	39.5%
Healy I.A		Aus	4356	422	5	1718	39.4%
Matthews G.R.J	~	Aus	1849	166	5	694	37.5%
McCosker R.B		Aus	1622	143	3	590	36.4%
Jones A.H		Nzl	2922	245	8	1028	35.2%

As could be expected, the mercurial Shahid Afridi leads the table of boundary share with 69.5%. This could be partly discounted by the fact that Afridi has scored only 1716 runs. However Flintoff ups the ante with 66.2% out of the 3845 runs he scored. However the real impact is made by Chris Gayle who has scored 65.8% of his 6000+ runs in boundaries. Sehwag has scored over 63% of his 8000+ runs in boundaries. Then comes Gibbs. It is interesting that the three of the top-5 who have scored a lot of runs in boundaries are openers. Harbhajan Singh is a surprise occupant of this space and is the only bowler here. However considering that he has scored more Test runs than Afridi or Srikkanth or Sardesai, his place is well-deserved.

At the other end the usual culprits are there. Stodgy openers like Mark Taylor, McCosker are present here. Jones of New Zealand occupies the last place. Anticipating a question from interested readers, let me say that Chris Tavare just manages to beat Mark Taylor, with 39.9%.

Player career analysis - by number of runs in boundaries

Batsman	LH	Team	Runs	4s	6s	4/6-Runs	%
Tendulkar S.R		Ind	15470	1995	67	8382	54.2%
Lara B.C	~	Win	11953	1559	88	6764	56.6%
Dravid R		Ind	13288	1655	21	6746	50.8%
Ponting R.T		Aus	13196	1490	73	6398	48.5%
Kallis J.H		Saf	12379	1375	90	6040	48.8%
Sehwag V		Ind	8178	1174	88	5224	63.9%
Jayawardene M		Slk	10089	1195	47	5062	50.2%
Sangakkara K.C	~	Slk	9347	1178	29	4886	52.3%
Waugh S.R		Aus	10927	1175	20	4820	44.1%
Inzamam-ul-Haq		Pak	8830	1105	48	4708	53.3%
Hayden M.L	~	Aus	8626	1046	82	4676	54.2%
Laxman V.V.S		Ind	8781	1135	5	4570	52.0%
Gooch G.A		Eng	8900	1079	25	4466	50.2%
Chanderpaul S	~	Win	9709	1057	31	4414	45.5%
Smith G.C	~	Saf	7997	1020	23	4218	52.7%
Gayle C.H	~	Win	6373	936	75	4194	65.8%
Mohammad Yousuf		Pak	7530	956	51	4130	54.8%
Jayasuriya S.T	~	Slk	6973	910	59	3994	57.3%
Gower D.I	~	Eng	8231	979	10	3976	48.3%
Ganguly S.C	~	Ind	7212	900	57	3942	54.7%

This is just to round off the article. The table lists the batsmen in order of the runs they scored off boundaries. As expected Tendulkar leads the table with 8382 runs in boundaries. Lara has leap-frogged over three batsmen who have scored more runs than him to be in second place with 6764 runs in boundaries. This shows his propensity to essay boundary shots. The next three places are taken by the next three top run-scoring batsmen.

Summary of fours and sixes hit by batsmen

Maximum fours: Tendulkar -1995(10.6 fours/Test)
Maximum sixes: Gilchrist -100(1.04 sixes/Test)

Average fours per Test (more than 11 fours per Test)

Sehwag : 1174 in 96 Tests - 12.2 fours/Test Lara : 1559 in 131 Tests - 11.9 fours/Test Sangakkara: 1174 in 106 Tests - 11.1 fours/Test

Average sixes per Test (more than 1 six per Test)

Afridi: 52 in 27 Tests - 1.93 sixes/Test Chris Cairns: 87 in 62 Tests - 1.40 sixes/Test Gilchrist : 100 in 96 Tests - 1.04 sixes/Test Flintoff : 82 in 76 Tests - 1.04 sixes/Test

Soon Tendulkar will hit his 2000th four. To put it in perspective, Tom Hayward, Gaekwad and Wasim Jaffer et al did not reach 2000 Test runs. Gilchrist reached the 100 mark, in his last but fifth Test and went through four Tests without going over the ropes. He at least did not do a Don, and managed to reach 100.

Sehwag averages 12.2 fours per Test and Lara, 11.9 fours per Test. Sangakkara is the only other batsman to exceed 11 fours per Test. Including Tendulkar there are 7 other batsmen who have crossed 10 fours per Test.

Only four batsmen exceed a six per Test. This group is led by Afridi, who, if he plays in one Test and hits four sixes, would cross 2.0. Chris Cairns, basking in the deserved success of his London libel case, has a healthy 1.4 per Test. Gilchrist and Flintoff complete this table.

Player career analysis - by % of runs in boundaries - for players for whom part data is available

Batsman	LH	Team	Mats	Runs	4s	6s	Runs-Data-Avlble	4s-6s-Runs	% of DA-Runs
Kapil Dev N		Ind	131	5248	490	43	3707	2218	59.8%
Srikkanth K		Ind	43	2062	203	15	1551	902	58.2%
Richards I.V.A		Win	121	8540	873	66	6701	3888	58.0%
Wasim Akram	~	Pak	104	2898	318	52	2785	1584	56.9%
Greenidge C.G		Win	108	7558	702	46	5642	3084	54.7%
Ijaz Ahmed		Pak	60	3315	417	23	3312	1806	54.5%
D'Oliveira B.L		Eng	44	2484	277	14	2215	1192	53.8%
Richardson R.B		Win	86	5949	744	23	5792	3114	53.8%
Stewart A.J		Eng	133	8465	1121	9	8456	4538	53.7%
de Silva P.A		Slk	93	6361	711	40	5754	3084	53.6%
Hussain N		Eng	96	5764	734	24	5763	3080	53.4%
Ranatunga A	~	Slk	93	5105	511	31	4247	2230	52.5%
Hadlee R.J	~	Nzl	86	3124	309	25	2644	1386	52.4%
Sidhu N.S		Ind	51	3202	357	38	3163	1656	52.4%
Logie A.L		Win	52	2470	284	6	2240	1172	52.3%
Greig A.W		Eng	58	3599	404	17	3338	1718	51.5%
Azharuddin M		Ind	99	6215	680	18	5633	2828	50.2%
Saleem Malik		Pak	103	5768	663	7	5380	2694	50.1%
Stackpole K.R		Aus	43	2807	205	3	1705	838	49.1%
McCabe S.J		Aus	39	2748	230	4	1931	944	48.9%

There is one table for batsmen for whom I do not have complete balls/fours/sixes data available. I have selected only batsmen for whom I have the relevant data available for at least half the number of runs they scored in their careers. No one would be surprised to see Kapil Dev, with nearly 60% of his runs in boundaries. Srikkanth is there by virtue of his crossing 2000 runs, the cut-off. However the important batsman is the next one, Richards. I have data available for 80% of his runs. He has scored 58% of his runs in boundaries. Wasim Akram, with his propensity for big hitting, is a surprise placement next and then comes Greenidge. Bradman is somewhat lower down, at 39.6%. Let me confess, I am not even sure of the data.

Table by frequency of boundaries - in balls/boundary

Batsman	LH	Team	Balls	4s	6s	Frequency
Shahid Afridi		Pak	1973	220	52	7.3
Sehwag V		Ind	9975	1174	88	7.9
Gilchrist A.C	~	Aus	6796	676	100	8.8
Flintoff A		Eng	6196	513	82	10.4
Harbhajan Singh		Ind	3306	271	40	10.6
Gayle C.H	~	Win	10782	936	75	10.7
Kamran Akmal		Pak	4196	372	14	10.9
Jayasuriya S.T	~	Slk	10686	910	59	11.0
Kaluwitharana R.S		Slk	3203	284	6	11.0
Yuvraj Singh	~	Ind	3044	247	19	11.4
Tamim Iqbal	~	Bng	2906	241	12	11.5
Dilshan T.M		Slk	7071	579	21	11.8
Lara B.C	~	Win	19753	1559	88	12.0
Smith I.D.S		Nzl	2873	231	7	12.1
Trescothick M.E	~	Eng	10685	830	42	12.3
...
...
McCosker R.B		Aus	3833	143	3	26.3
Marsh G.R		Aus	8109	305	1	26.5
Flower G.W		Zim	10011	351	16	27.5
Jones A.H		Nzl	7443	245	8	29.4
Tavare C.J		Eng	5735	175	0	32.8

Now we come to the frequency of boundary-hitting. The first is the frequency with which a boundary (four or six) was hit. Shahid Afridi has done so once in every 7.3 balls, that is almost one an over. Sehwag has done it once every 7.9 balls, but over nearly 100 Tests. Gilchrist, every 8.8 balls, again over many Tests. These three are the batsmen to have gotten a frequency below 10 balls. Lara's place is noteworthy since he has got a boundary every 12 balls, over 131 Tests.

Now for the other end of the table. Tavare has a frequency of one every 32.8 balls and four others are just below 30. Almost all are stodgy openers.

Table by frequency of Sixes - in balls/six

Batsman	LH	Team	Balls	6s	Frequency
Shahid Afridi		Pak	1973	52	38
Cairns C.L		Nzl	5816	87	67
Gilchrist A.C	~	Aus	6796	100	68
Flintoff A		Eng	6196	82	76
Harbhajan Singh		Ind	3306	40	83
Dhoni M.S		Ind	5851	61	96
McMillan C.D		Nzl	5674	54	105
Haddin B.J		Aus	3916	37	106
Sehwag V		Ind	9975	88	113
Botham I.T		Eng	8565	67	128
...
...
Javed Omar		Bng	4509	1	4509
Young B.A		Nzl	5229	1	5229
Manjrekar S.V		Ind	5282	1	5282
Marsh G.R		Aus	8109	1	8109
Boon D.C		Aus	18116	2	9058
...
...
Trott I.J.L		Eng	4433	0	0
Robinson R.T		Eng	3846	0	0
Russell R.C	~	Eng	5289	0	0
Tavare C.J		Eng	5735	0	0

I am not moved by sixes in ODIs, much less in T20s. However, in Tests, there is a charm vested with sixes. This table analyzes the frequency of hitting sixes. This table is again led by Shahid Afridi who hits a six every 38 balls. Every 6 overs, during which he would have also hit six fours. Mind-boggling indeed. Then comes Chris Cairns whose frequency is 67, closely followed by Gilchrist, with 68 and Flintoff, with 76. Look at the next entry. The feisty Sardar, Harbhajan Singh has cleared the ropes every 83 balls, some feat indeed for a bowler. I am sure if ever he read this article he would be proud of this recognition.

At the other end there are five batsmen who have hit 1 and 2 sixes and have frequencies exceeding 4500 balls. Omar, Young, Manjrekar and Marsh have managed to hit a single six in their career. How about Boon, who, in his 18116-ball career, has hit two sixes, I was fascinated by this number, two. So I made a special study of Boon's career. The first six was in the early part of his career, in the tied Test at Chennai. The second six was hit late in his career during 1993 at Oval.

Now we come to a special category. These four batsmen, all Englishmen, had careers lasting upwards of 3800 balls and never managed to hit a ball past the ropes. Trott is recent vintage and in today's attacking environment has managed not to hit a six. Let us wait for his maiden six. Readers must note that these tables are not complete. I do not have complete balls-played information for Vijay Manjrekar who has scored the maximum number of runs (3208) without hitting a six. His less illustrious son managed to go over the ropes a single time: just before retiring, at Nottingham.

Table by frequency of Fours - in balls/four

Batsman	LH	Team	Balls	4s	Frequency
Sehwag V		Ind	9975	1174	8.5
Shahid Afridi		Pak	1973	220	9.0
Gilchrist A.C	~	Aus	6796	676	10.1
Kaluwitharana R.S		Slk	3203	284	11.3
Kamran Akmal		Pak	4196	372	11.3
Gayle C.H	~	Win	10782	936	11.5
Jayasuriya S.T	~	Slk	10686	910	11.7
Tamim Iqbal	~	Bng	2906	241	12.1
Flintoff A		Eng	6196	513	12.1
Harbhajan Singh		Ind	3306	271	12.2
Dilshan T.M		Slk	7071	579	12.2
Yuvraj Singh	~	Ind	3044	247	12.3
Smith I.D.S		Nzl	2873	231	12.4
Habibul Bashar		Bng	5020	401	12.5
Lara B.C	~	Win	19753	1559	12.7
...
...
Marsh G.R		Aus	8109	305	26.6
McCosker R.B		Aus	3833	143	26.8
Flower G.W		Zim	10011	351	28.5
Jones A.H		Nzl	7443	245	30.4
Tavare C.J		Eng	5735	175	32.8

Frequency of fours follow the boundary table. However Sehwag has a better frequency of 8.5 balls/four than Afridi. Then comes Gilchrist, with 9 balls. At the other end, the table is propped by Chris Tavare, with 32.8, which is the same as the boundary frequency since he has not hit a six.

Hundreds with less than 20% in boundaries

Test	Year	Batsman	For	Vs	Bpos	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	4s-6s %
1513	2000	Thorpe G.P	Eng	Pak	3	118	301	2	0	6.8%
1567	2001	Tillakaratne H.P	Slk	Win	6	105	247	3	0	11.4%
984	1984	Mohsin Khan	Pak	Eng	1	104	136	3	0	11.5%
180	1929	Woodfull W.M	Aus	Eng	1	102	381	3	0	11.8%
910	1981	Chappell G.S	Aus	Pak	3	201	296	6	0	11.9%
983	1984	Border A.R	Aus	Win	6	100	269	3	0	12.0%
913	1981	Wood G.M	Aus	Pak	2	100	305	3	0	12.0%
138	1921	Makepeace J.W.H	Eng	Aus	3	117	260	4	0	13.7%
263	1938	Bradman D.G	Aus	Eng	3	144	379	5	0	13.9%
600	1966	Barrington K.F	Eng	Aus	4	102	288	4	0	15.7%
811	1977	Amarnath M	Ind	Aus	3	100	175	4	0	16.0%
283	1947	Hutton L	Eng	Aus	1	122	356	5	0	16.4%
1999	2011	Chanderpaul S	Win	Ind	5	116	343	5	0	17.2%
257	1937	Fingleton J.H.W	Aus	Eng	6	136	428	6	0	17.6%
536	1963	Rev.DS Sheppard	Eng	Aus	1	113	218	5	0	17.7%
622	1967	Barrington K.F	Eng	Pak	3	109	366	5	0	18.3%
159	1925	Ponsford W.H	Aus	Eng	4	128	233	6	0	18.8%
854	1979	Boycott G	Eng	Ind	1	125	293	6	0	19.2%
536	1963	Booth B.C	Aus	Eng	6	103	274	5	0	19.4%
555	1964	Booth B.C	Aus	Saf	5	102	233	5	0	19.6%
1164	1991	Jones A.H	Nzl	Slk	3	122	217	6	0	19.7%
1208	1993	Waugh S.R	Aus	Win	3	100	207	5	0	20.0%

Now I come to analysing individual innings in terms of boundary content. There are four tables. The first lists centuries with lower than 20% boundary content. The table is headed by Thorpe whose score of 118 included just 2 fours resulting in a boundary content % of only 6.8%, the only instance of a century with less than 10% boundary content.

Fifties with less than 10% in boundaries

Test	Year	Batsman	For	Vs	Bpos	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	4s-6s %
836	1978	Boycott G	Eng	Aus	1	77	337	1	0	5.2%
1567	2001	Samaraweera T.T	Slk	Win	7	77	180	1	0	5.2%
1031	1985	Edgar B.A	Nzl	Aus	2	74	291	1	0	5.4%
500	1961	Nurse S.M	Win	Aus	3	70	259	1	0	5.7%
1394	1998	Flower A	Zim	Slk	5	67	212	1	0	6.0%
936	1982	Laird B.M	Aus	Pak	1	60	134	1	0	6.7%
1513	2000	Thorpe G.P	Eng	Pak	3	118	301	2	0	6.8%
1513	2000	Thorpe G.P	Eng	Pak	3	118	301	2	0	6.8%
114	1911	Kelleway C	Aus	Saf	6	59	172	1	0	6.8%
1071	1987	Rizwan-uz-Zaman	Pak	Ind	2	58	252	1	0	6.9%
158	1924	Hobbs J.B	Eng	Aus	1	57	128	1	0	7.0%
138	1921	Bardsley W	Aus	Eng	2	56	87	1	0	7.1%
1544	2001	McKenzie N.D	Saf	Win	3	55	216	1	0	7.3%
1180	1991	Vengsarkar D.B	Ind	Aus	4	54	180	1	0	7.4%
1317	1995	Law S.G	Aus	Slk	6	54	118	1	0	7.4%
113	1911	Bardsley W	Aus	Saf	4	54	98	1	0	7.4%
1898	2008	Prior M.J	Eng	Ind	8	53	102	1	0	7.5%
1568	2001	Marillier D.A	Zim	Bng	8	52	94	1	0	7.7%
870	1980	Laird B.M	Aus	Win	2	52	119	1	0	7.7%
816	1978	Simpson R.B	Aus	Ind	5	51	102	1	0	7.8%
959	1983	Tavare C.J	Eng	Nzl	1	51	171	1	0	7.8%
1824	2006	Strauss A.J	Eng	Aus	1	50	132	1	0	8.0%
258	1937	Gregory R.G	Aus	Eng	6	50	188	1	0	8.0%
235	1934	Sutcliffe H	Eng	Aus	2	69	161	0	1	8.7%
550	1964	Goddard T.L	Saf	Aus	1	84	265	2	0	9.5%

The second table lists fifties with less than 10% boundary content. Boycott's 77 contained a single four and this works out to 5.2%. Samaraweera's innings is identical to Boycott's in every respect. Thorpe's 100 also finds a place here. It is interesting to see Sutcliffe's 60 in this table, the only highlight being that the only boundary was a six.

Hundreds with greater than 75% in boundaries

Test	Year	Batsman	For	Vs	Bpos	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	4s-6s %
796	1977	Gilmour G.J	Aus	Nzl	8	101	146	20	1	85.1%
1562	2001	Gibbs H.H	Saf	Zim	1	147	164	28	2	84.4%
1522	2000	Dippenaar H.H	Saf	Nzl	1	100	192	21	0	84.0%
1897	2008	Taylor J.E	Win	Nzl	8	106	107	17	3	81.1%
1917	2009	Laxman V.V.S	Ind	Nzl	5	124	212	25	0	80.6%
1039	1986	Richardson R.B	Win	Eng	3	102	140	19	1	80.4%
1594	2002	Flintoff A	Eng	Nzl	7	137	163	23	3	80.3%
1594	2002	Astle N.J	Nzl	Eng	5	222	168	28	11	80.2%
1325	1996	Astle N.J	Nzl	Win	4	125	150	22	2	80.0%
1659	2003	Gibbs H.H	Saf	Eng	2	183	258	35	1	79.8%
1654	2003	Butcher M.A	Eng	Saf	3	106	182	21	0	79.2%
1577	2001	McMillan C.D	Nzl	Bng	6	106	140	18	2	79.2%
901	1981	Richards I.V.A	Win	Eng	3	114	226	21	1	78.9%
1679	2003	Chanderpaul S	Win	Saf	7	109	171	20	1	78.9%
1194	1992	Kaluwitharana R.S	Slk	Aus	7	132	158	26	0	78.8%
1323	1996	Cairns C.L	Nzl	Zim	6	120	96	10	9	78.3%
1454	1999	Lara B.C	Win	Aus	4	100	84	15	3	78.0%
1953	2010	Shakib Al Hasan	Bng	Nzl	6	100	129	15	3	78.0%
1551	2001	Gayle C.H	Win	Zim	2	175	255	34	0	77.7%
1616	2002	Sehwag V	Ind	Win	2	147	206	24	3	77.6%
1121	1989	Lamb A.J	Eng	Aus	4	125	204	24	0	76.8%
1588	2002	Shahid Afridi	Pak	Win	2	107	150	16	3	76.6%
1913	2009	Hughes P.J	Aus	Saf	1	115	151	19	2	76.5%
905	1981	Botham I.T	Eng	Aus	7	149	148	27	1	76.5%
1781	2006	Sehwag V	Ind	Pak	1	254	247	47	1	76.4%
1731	2005	Gilchrist A.C	Aus	Pak	6	113	120	14	5	76.1%
975	1984	Crowe M.D	Nzl	Eng	4	100	247	19	0	76.0%
687	1971	Knott A.P.E	Eng	Pak	7	116	175	22	0	75.9%
1413	1998	Tendulkar S.R	Ind	Aus	4	177	207	29	3	75.7%
1003	1984	Saleem Malik	Pak	Nzl	6	119	169	21	1	75.6%
1964	2010	Sehwag V	Ind	Slk	2	109	118	19	1	75.2%
2016	2011	Amla H.M	Saf	Aus	3	112	134	21	0	75.0%

Now for the other end of the spectrum. Hundreds with boundary content greater than 75%. Gilmour's 101 contained 20 fours and a six, 86 runs, leading to 85.1%. Gibbs' 147 contained 124 runs in boundaries. Dippenaar's 100 contained 21 fours. Richards' famous 56-ball hundred misses out since the knock of 110 contained 7x4s and 7x6s, a total 0f 70 runs and 63.6%.

Fifties with greater than 85% in boundaries

Test	Year	Batsman	For	Vs	Bpos	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	4s-6s %
942	1982	Madan Lal S	Ind	Pak	9	52	63	11	1	96.2%
1395	1998	Kaluwitharana R.S	Slk	Zim	7	51	47	12	0	94.1%
1587	2002	Gayle C.H	Win	Pak	2	66	118	15	0	90.9%
1868	2008	Southee T.G	Nzl	Eng	10	77	40	4	9	90.9%
1203	1992	Rutherford K.R	Nzl	Slk	5	53	62	9	2	90.6%
1615	2002	Younis Khan	Pak	Aus	4	58	62	13	0	89.7%
1833	2007	Mohammad Ashraful	Bng	Ind	5	67	41	12	2	89.6%
1704	2004	Flintoff A	Eng	Nzl	6	54	79	12	0	88.9%
1761	2005	Mahwire N.B	Zim	Nzl	9	50	34	8	2	88.0%
1775	2005	Jayawardene D.P.M.D	Slk	Ind	3	71	80	14	1	87.3%
1690	2004	Gayle C.H	Win	Eng	1	62	81	12	1	87.1%
1697	2004	Asim Kamal	Pak	Ind	7	60	90	13	0	86.7%
1017	1985	Botham I.T	Eng	Aus	6	60	51	10	2	86.7%
1591	2002	Sehwag V	Ind	Zim	6	74	118	16	0	86.5%
798	1977	Edwards G.N	Nzl	Aus	6	51	47	11	0	86.3%
1967	2010	Umar Gul	Pak	Eng	9	65	46	8	4	86.2%
1538	2001	Hinds W.W	Win	Saf	1	56	114	12	0	85.7%
1165	1991	Labrooy G.F	Slk	Nzl	9	70	80	12	2	85.7%
1018	1985	Gatting M.W	Eng	Aus	6	75	180	16	0	85.3%
1493	2000	Gilchrist A.C	Aus	Nzl	8	75	80	16	0	85.3%
1919	2009	Ramdin D	Win	Eng	7	61	98	13	0	85.2%
796	1977	Gilmour G.J	Aus	Nzl	8	101	146	20	1	85.1%

Now for the last table. This contains fifties with boundary content greater than 85%. Madan Lal's is an inscrutable innings. 52 in 63 balls, not even run-a-ball, but with 11 fours and a six, 50 runs in boundaries. How he must have defended those 50 dot balls. Kaluwitharana's 51 contained 48 runs in boundaries. Gayle's 66 contained 60 runs in boundaries. Southee's 77 contained 4x4s and 9x6s, 70 runs in boundaries: all in his debut Test.