Six of the seven
highest run-scorers in Tests in 2006 were right-handers, but the lefties still managed to edge ahead in the overall averages for the year. Thanks to the contributions of Michael Hussey - 965 runs at 80.41 - and Kumar Sangakkara - 1242 at 69 - and handy contributions by Ashwell Prince, Stephen Fleming and Alastair Cook, the top-order left-handers (Nos. 1 to 7) averaged more than 39, which was marginally more than their right-handed counterparts.
Among the top batsmen, the major disappointment of the year was Sachin Tendulkar. He managed just 267 runs from eight Tests at 24.27, and had to wait till his last match of the year to register his first fifty-plus score (63 in the first innings at Durban). To put his stats in perspective, Tendulkar averaged lesser than the likes of Brett Lee and Mohammad Rafique.
Top-order right and left-handers in 2006
|
Runs |
Average |
100s/ 50s |
| Right-handers |
26,518 |
37.93 |
62/ 124 |
| Left-handers |
13,742 |
39.26 |
31/ 64 |
The story is somewhat similar for
the bowlers as well. The spinners hogged the limelight - Muttiah Muralitharan had a fabulous year with 90 victims, while Shane Warne broke the 700 barrier - but the fast bowlers still ended up conceding nearly three fewer runs per wicket. Makhaya Ntini led the pacers' pack with 58 wickets at 21.60, while the outstanding newcomer of the year was Sreesanth, with 35 wickets from seven Tests at a superb average of 24.40. Some of the successful spinners, on the other hand, conceded far more runs per wicket - Anil Kumble's 57 wickets came at an average of 33.50, while Danish Kaneria averaged 41.07 for his 40 wickets.
Mohammad Yousuf was dominant against all sorts of bowlers in 2006, but he was especially unstoppable against pace, which is an especially good sign considering Pakistan's first assignment of 2007 is a tour to South Africa. Yousuf fell to fast bowlers only six times in the entire year, and the only one to nail him more than once was Steve Harmison, whose two successes against Yousuf came at a cost of 75.50 runs per wicket. Against spin, though, Yousuf was relatively more fallible, being dismissed by them ten times, including thrice by Monty Panesar.
If Yousuf was the king against pace, then Jacques Kallis was awesome against spin in 2006, averaging 221 against them. Shane Warne was the only spinner to dismiss him, but even he conceded 98 runs from the 181 balls he bowled to Kallis. Against pace, though, he was surprisingly suspect, averaging just 29.91 (12 dismissals for 359 runs). Australia's Stuart Clark clearly had his number, dismissing him four times at the cost of just 37 runs. Jason Gillespie is a surprise entry among the top five players against spin, thanks to his unbeaten 201 against Bangladesh at Chittagong.
Just as Ricky Ponting handled pace and spin with equal aplomb through 2006, some of the bowlers in the two tables below were equally lethal against right and left-handers. Muralitharan, Asif and Clark comfortably fall in this category. On the other hand, Shaun Pollock's stats reveal that he enjoyed bowling in the channel to the right-handers far more: he averaged 24.12 against them (16 wickets for 386 runs) but against the lefties he leaked 339 runs and managed just three wickets - a dismal average of 113.
