Win some, draw some

At which venues are you more likely to get a result and which grounds frequently produce drawn Tests? Last week's column focused on the different scoring-rates and totals at various stadiums around the world. This week, we look at venues with the highest percentage of results and draws.

Only six of the top 15 grounds with the highest percentage of results are located in the subcontinent, of which the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai is India's solitary representative. The Wankhede's average runs per wicket of 24.12 was the lowest for any ground since 1996. Six Indian venues, three in the top four, are among grounds with highest percentage of draws.

Highest average of matches getting a result - Tests (qualification: 5 matches)

Ground	Span	Mat	Res	Draw	% Res	Ave Days	Inns Wins
MA Aziz Stadium, Chittagong	2001-2005	8	8	0	100.00	4.00	4
Melbourne Cricket Ground	1877-2005	98	83	15	84.69	4.60	16
Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar	1995-2003	6	5	1	83.33	4.33	2
Newlands, Cape Town	1889-2006	39	32	7	82.05	3.90	10
Sydney Cricket Ground	1882-2006	94	77	17	81.91	4.73	15
St George's Park, Port Elizabeth	1889-2004	21	17	4	80.95	4.10	1
SuperSport Park, Centurion	1995-2005	10	8	2	80.00	4.30	2
W.A.C.A. Ground, Perth	1970-2005	33	26	7	78.79	4.30	11
Brisbane Cricket Ground, Woolloongabba, Brisbane	1931-2005	48	37	11	77.08	4.67	9
Adelaide Oval	1884-2005	64	48	16	75.00	5.05	8
Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium	1993-2004	8	6	2	75.00	4.75	4
Headingley, Leeds	1899-2004	65	48	17	73.85	4.20	14
Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy	1983-2006	19	14	5	73.68	4.37	4
Galle International Stadium	1998-2004	11	8	3	72.73	4.64	4
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai	1975-2006	21	15	6	71.43	4.52	3

Of the grounds with highest averages per wicket featured in last week's List, seven venues are among those with the lowest percentage of results, showing a strong correlation between high scoring-rates and draws. At first look, the Feroz Shah Kotla seems to be an exception because it has an average per wicket of 35.40, the ninth highest, but its six most recent matches have had results in favour of India. However, the average per wicket in these matches is 30.39, only marginally higher that the MCG and the SCG.

Lowest average of matches getting a result - Tests (qualification: 5 matches)

Ground	Span	Mat	Res	Draw	% Res	Ave Days	Inns Wins
McLean Park, Napier	1979-2006	5	1	4	20.00	5.20	0
Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai	1948-1973	17	6	11	35.29	4.88	1
Green Park, Kanpur	1952-2004	19	7	12	36.84	4.84	1
Punjab C.A. Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh	1994-2006	7	3	4	42.86	4.86	0
Bourda, Georgetown, Guyana	1930-2005	30	13	17	43.33	5.00	1
Vidarbha C.A. Ground, Nagpur	1969-2006	9	4	5	44.44	4.78	2
Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad	1978-2006	24	11	13	45.83	4.75	1
Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore	1959-2006	37	17	20	45.95	4.76	5
Eden Gardens, Kolkata	1934-2005	34	16	18	47.06	4.76	4
Ellis Park, Johannesburg	1948-1954	6	3	3	50.00	4.00	1
Antigua Recreation Ground, St John's, Antigua	1981-2005	20	10	10	50.00	4.75	3
Gujarat Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad	1983-2005	8	4	4	50.00	4.62	1
R.Premadasa Stadium, Khettarama, Colombo	1992-2005	6	3	3	50.00	4.50	2
Eden Park, Auckland	1930-2006	47	24	23	51.06	4.43	5
Old Trafford, Manchester	1884-2005	70	36	34	51.43	4.14	11

All teams enjoy playing at home - the familiarity of the pitches, the weather and the crowd support combine to form a formidable advantage. South Africa's record at Cape Town shows that. In 22 ODIs, South Africa have won 19 and of the three losses, two were against Australia. Their Test record here reads poorly - 13 wins and 19 losses in 39 games - but a closer look reveals that while they won only three out of 24 matches till 1970, since their readmission in the 1990s, they have 10 victories and three defeats from 15 Tests, all against Australia.

Best records by the home team on a ground - Tests (qualification: 3 matches)

Ground	Team	Span	Mat	Won	Lost	% Won
Goodyear Park, Bloemfontein	South Africa	1999-2001	3	3	0	100.00
Multan Cricket Stadium	Pakistan	2001-2005	4	3	1	75.00
Bellerive Oval, Hobart	Australia	1989-2005	7	5	0	71.43
Galle International Stadium	Sri Lanka	1998-2004	11	6	2	54.55
Edgbaston, Birmingham	England	1902-2005	41	21	7	51.22
Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica	West Indies	1930-2005	41	21	7	51.22
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai	India	1975-2006	21	9	6	42.86
Westpac Park, Hamilton	New Zealand	1991-2004	13	5	2	38.46
Harare Sports Club	Zimbabwe	1992-2005	26	5	13	19.23
MA Aziz Stadium, Chittagong	Bangladesh	2001-2005	8	1	7	12.50

Worst records by the home team on a ground - Tests (qualification: 5 matches)

Ground	Team	Span	Mat	Won	Lost	% Won
National Stadium, Dhaka	Bangladesh	2000-2005	9	0	7	0.00
McLean Park, Napier	New Zealand	1979-2006	5	0	1	0.00
Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo	Zimbabwe	1994-2005	17	1	9	5.88
Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad	Pakistan	1978-2006	24	6	5	25.00
Green Park, Kanpur	India	1952-2004	19	4	3	21.05
Bourda, Georgetown, Guyana	West Indies	1930-2005	30	7	6	23.33
Old Trafford, Manchester	England	1884-2005	69	21	14	30.43
Old Wanderers, Johannesburg	South Africa	1896-1939	22	7	8	31.82
Adelaide Oval	Australia	1884-2005	64	32	16	50.00