England vs South Africa 1st Test Review

South Africa defeated England by an innings and 12 runs in the 1st Test.

I was asked a few questions regarding the England bowling, South African batting and the test match overall. Click on the link below to find my answers.

England vs South Africa - 1st Test Review

South Africa vs England Preview

From the recent ODI series between Australia and England we can draw to a conclusion the ashes would have remained in England, had the  test series been scheduled this summer. Last year, the Indians came as the number 1 but failed to win even single match. While Pakistan and Sri Lanka were at least competitive at times, they never really looked like winning. The West Indies series was trail run for the ultimate challenge, the Proteas.

Do the South Africans stand any chance of beat the English on their own soil. Below are some of the key battles with predictions.

England top 5 vs South Africa Top 5

Openers

The top five batsmen of both teams are nearly as good as each other. South Africa are slightly behind in the fact that Alviro Petersen is still finding establishing himself alongside Graeme Smith compare to Cook and Strauss who have been together now for over 5 years. The other advantage the English openers hold is their record against Dale Steyn. Steyn has only managed to dismiss Strauss once is 8 matches and is yet to dismiss Cook in 5 outings.

England 1 - South Africa 0

Middle Order

In number 3,4 and 5 their is not much separating the players. Although Kallis has found runs hard to come by in the last two tours, one gets the feeling he will rectify that this time around. The only area for concern for England is that Steyn has dismissed Peitersen on 4 occasions in 5 matches and the England number 4 has a mere average of 17 against South Africa's prime bowler.

England 1 - South Africa 1

South Africa lower order vs England Lower order

Number 6, 7, 8

With AB Devilliers taking over  the gloves, it will mean Duminy could bat as low as number 7. However, Duminy average of 34 is still 8 runs lower than England number 7, Matt Prior. The only concern for England is Ravi Bopara at number 6.

The advantage England have is Bopara's failure will not be as catastrophic as failure by Duminy or Rudolf. This is due to the England lower order Swann and Broad are better batsmen than their South African counterparts.

It is the lower order batting that South Africa lack the fire power to score the vital runs. The cumulative average of Duminy, Rudolf, Steyn, Philander is significantly lower than Bopara, Prior, Broad and Bresnan. 

England 1 South Africa 0

South African Bowler vs English Bowlers

Steyn v Anderson

The reason these two teams are the best in the world is because both bowling line-ups are capable of taking 20 wickets in a test match. The pace batteries are quite similar. Steyn and Andersen, swing the ball in both directions and are at peak of their powers. Anderson lacks in pace but is more relentless than his counter part. Steyn is a better bowler in overall but Anderson is just ahead in his own backyard.

England - 1 South Africa - 0

Broad v Morkel

Broad and Morkel are both over 6ft 5 and like to hit the deck. Broad holds a slight advantage because he bowls a slightly fuller length that is required in the England. Morkel will be devastating if he gets his length right but as we saw with Ishant Sharma last year, it is easily said than done. If Morkel can bowl well then suddenly the South African bowling looks more daunting than the English pace men.

England - 1 South Africa - 1

Philander vs Bresnan/Finn

The coming of Philander has ensured South Africa have 3 match winning fast bowlers. Philander phenomenal control makes him threat with the old and the new ball. Bresnan on the other hand will leak runs but can bowl an unplayable delivery and is master at breaking a partnership. With the conditions likely to aid seam, Philander will be a handful with his relentless line and length.

South Africa 1 - England - 0

Swann v Tahir

Although Tahir has come on leaps and bounce he is still quite a long way away from being match winning bowler. Tahir's best form of getting wicket is only when the batsmen cannot pick up his googly. After facing Ajmal and Hearth over the winter one doubts Tahir will worry the Englishmen. Swann on the other hand will be

is genuine match winner. More likely than not the tests will go into the final day and Swann's ability to extract sharp turn will trouble the South Africans.

England 1 South Africa 0

Overall  - England 6 South Africa 3

England in their own backyard will be really tough to beat and could even win the series 2- 0. For South Africa to have any chance, the like of Alviro Petersen and Duminy have to score plenty of runs.

My predication England 2 - 0.

India's ODI all-rounder debate ?

India's ODI team start a new season this week in Sri Lanka and while the team selection is as per expected, India are still searching for a distinct all-rounder. Ideally, the all-rounder should bowl his allocated 10 overs and be able to bat at number 7.  The all-rounder plays an important role in the team composition and gives the team right balance. India in the last 5 years have struggled to find the right person and have tried different compositions. Below are team India's results with the different compositions.

India over the last 5 years have played 158 matches of which 144 have produced results. Below is table that show how team India has performed in last 5 years.

India ODI Last 5 years
Played	N/R or abandon
158	14
Results	Played	Won	Lost	Tie	Win %
Overall	144	88	53	3	61%
In-sub-continent	92	63	28	1	69%
Outside-sub-con	52	25	25	2	50%

As expected India has an outstanding record in the sub-continent but their winning percentage outside is only 50%. In the 144 matches Indian team has played in the last 5 years the team has decided on different compositions according to the conditions. I have broken down the 144 games down as per the team composition.

	Played	Won	Lost	Tie	Winning %
With 1 all rounder	103	66	34	3	64.08
Asia	72	50	21	1	69.44
Overseas	31	16	13	2	51.61
7 Specialist Batsmen	23	12	11	0	52.17
Asia	13	8	5	0	61.54
Overseas	10	4	6	0	40.00
5 specialist bowlers	6	3	3	0	50.00
Asia	0	0	0	0	0.00
Overseas	6	3	3	0	50.00
2 all rounders	12	7	5	0	58.33
Asia	7	5	2	0	71.43
OVerseas	5	2	3	0	40.00

• Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja and Irfan Pathan (only when he would have batted in number 7 position) have been classified as the all-rounders. These 3 players have played in majority of the matches. One other player India has used as a distinct all-rounder in last 5 years was Abhisek Nayar (3 matches).

• Second type of composition is playing with the seven specialist batsmen. In each of these occasions the wicket keepers has been classified as a specialist batsmen. India have used 4 wicket keepers in the last 5 years, Dhoni, Patel, Kartik, Ojha and a solitary match for Saha. Although Yuvraj, Raina, Sehwag and Rohit Sharma bowl frequently,  each of these players have been classified as a specialist batsmen.

• The only time India have played 5 specialist bowlers was nearly 4 years ago in England under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid. Irfan Pathan is only classified as a specialist bowler if he has batted number 8 or below. (Irfan batting at number 7 was classified into the all-rounder category)

• The 2 all-rounder composition was only used in dead rubbers or when the team has been depleted with injuries and their were desperate measures.

What assumptions can we make from the stats above ? The 5 bowlers strategy has not been applied for over 4 years now and with India struggling to find a single all-rounder it is highly unlikely that India will play two of them. The statistics do not favour the 7 batsmen policy but inevitably it was the composition that won India the world cup. The 1 all-rounder strategy seems the most likely and it has been used most often. Which all-rounder has performed the best and which all-rounder should India look forward to in the future ? 

Below are statistics over the last 5 years of the 4 players who can term as "all-rounders".

In the all-rounder debate the table below illustrates how the all-rounders have fared in win, loses, in subcontinent and in Asia.

Yusuf Pathan
	Career	Bat Avg	Strike Rate	Wickets	Bowling Avg	Eco	Bowled 10 overs	Bowled less than 5
Overall	54	27	113.6	33	41.36	5.49	5	30
Matches Won	38	39.21	122.6	30	32.1	5.28	3	16
Matches Lost	16	16.46	96.86	3	127.12	6.04	2	14
Asia	35	25.83	116.83	22	42.4	5.4	4	19
Outside Asia	19	28.75	109.52	11	39.27	5.7	1	11

The most compelling stat is the number of times Yusuf has bowled less than 5 over's or has not bowled in a match. It is clear indication Yusuf's place in the team is pre-dominantly as a batsman. Furthermore, Yusuf offers no real variety to the bowling, as he is an right hand off-spinner. Players like a Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma provide similar bowling options and are better batsman than Yusuf.

Ravindra Jadeja
	Career	Bat Avg	Strike Rate	Wickets	Bowling Avg	Eco	Bowled 10 overs	Bowled less than 5
Overall	55	28.66	78.61	57	38.42	4.98	19	6
Matches Won	31	29.66	94.34	45	26.6	4.67	11	2
Matches Lost	24	29.5	29.5	11	79.54	5.32	7	5
Asia	40	30.16	78.92	45	32.93	4.8	11	3
Outside Asia	15	26.41	78.07	12	59	5.41	8	3

Interestingly enough Jadeja's batting average is higher than Yusuf Pathan's but he's overall strike rate is well below Pathan. Considering number 7 batsmen role is accelerate the innings at the end, it is an area Jadeja is lacking in. However, Jadeja's bowling is more potent compared to Yusuf and he tends to bowl 10 over more often than not. There is not much to be desired about Jadeja's bowling outside the sub-continent. One benefit Jadeja has over Yusuf is that he provides a left arm spinning option especially with Yuvraj currently on the sidelines.

Irfan Pathan	Career	Bat Avg	Strike Rate	Wickets	Bowling Avg	Eco	Bowled 10 overs	Bowled less than 5
Overall	42	18.48	76.61	50	39.04	5.68	17	3
Matches Won	19	15.71	74.82	26	33.92	5.48	8	0
Matches Lost	19	20.18	78.58	23	42.21	5.93	9	1
Asia	28	16.53	74.47	13	48.85	5.91	6	1
Outside Asia	14	21.4	79.25	9	31.88	5.97	3	0

From the statistics it is evident that Irfan is most effective while playing outside the sub-continent. Not only does his bowling average drop significantly, Irfan's batting average is higher outside Asia. Strangely enough his batting average is also higher in matches India has lost. In the matches India has lost, Irfan has faced more deliveries and thus his batting average is higher, suggesting Irfan can get India out of the crisis if required. With the next world cup in Australia, Irfan seems like a logical candidate for the number 7 spot. Additionally, Irfan will inevitably bowl you the 10 over's and allows India to play two spinners if required.

While that covers all the all-rounder India has played in the last five years, it is also interesting to look at the statistics of Yuvraj Singh. It remains to be seen if Yuvraj can overcome his illness and be as effective again. Below are Yuvraj's stats over the last 5 years.

Yuvraj Singh	Career	Bat Avg	Strike Rate	Wickets	Bowling Avg	Eco	Bowled 10 overs	Bowled less than 5
Overall	95	40.28	88.69	61	37.24	5.04	16	31
Matches Won	60	52.9	91.94	46	30.78	4.88	13	29
Matches Lost	34	25.73	80.86	14	55.12	5.46	1	17
Asia	68	45.78	87.92	50	32.88	4.88	15	16
Outside Asia	31	30.41	90.83	11	56	5.75	1	15

No doubt Yuvraj's batting record is as good as it gets, so let's look at his bowling. One standout is that Yuvraj's bowling is equally effective as Jadeja's in the sub-continent. While Jadeja's wickets per match ratio is better than Yuvraj, the economy and bowling average is almost the same. Yuvraj has economy of 4.88 to Jadeja's 4.80 and Yuvraj's bowling average of 32.88 is better than Jadeja's average of 32.93. Outside of Asia, both bowlers are not effective although Yuvraj still boasts a better bowling average. From the statistics we can assume if Yuvraj is in the playing eleven in Asia there should be no place for Jadeja.

Looking ahead India are scheduled to play ODI matches in South Africa, England, Australia and New Zealand before the next world cup. The form of Irfan Pathan with the ball and Yuvraj's return to competitive cricket are two decisive factors that will determine the composition of the team before the next world cup. Offcourse, India could yet develop another Irfan but looking through the junior ranks at current that seems like a distinct possibility.