Tuesday 7 January 2014

Ashes 2013/14 in numbers - an Aussie domination at last


Well… It’s all done and dusted now!!!! Two months ago the English squad arrived in the Australian shores with high hopes of winning their 4th consecutive Ashes series and perhaps with their best chance to win it 5-0. But cricket is a game known for its glorious uncertainties and the outcome of this series is a testament to that old saying!!! In this edition of the blog we will look into all the runs and ruins from Ashes 2013/14.

This series was the first time ever Australia played with an unchanged XI for the whole series of 5 tests or more - a proof of their form and fitness. Also it’s the first instance of a side winning all tests of a 5-match series with the same XI players.

Teams playing same XI in all 5 tests of a series

Team
Series
Year
Host country
Result
England
Ashes
1884/85
Australia
Won (3-2)
South Africa
Eng in SA
1905/06
South Africa
Won (4-1)
West Indies
Frank Worrell trophy
1990/91
West Indies
Won (2-1)
Australia
Ashes
2013/14
Australia
Won (5-0)

 The 5-0 whitewash was the 3rd such instance in Ashes history with England at the receiving end all the 3 times. All the 3 whitewash took place in Australia and it’s the 2nd time it occurred in the last 3 Ashes series held in Australia.

Ashes whitewashes (5-0)
 
Year
Aus Captain
Eng Captain
Host country
1920/21
W Armstrong
Johnny Douglas
Australia
2006/07
Ricky Ponting
Andrew Flintoff
Australia
2013/14
Michael Clarke
Alistair Cook
Australia

Batting
 
Team
Runs
Avg
RPO
100/50
HS/LS
Aus
3189
41.41
3.75
10/15
570/204
Eng
2158
21.58
2.89
1/10
353/136

Australia averaged nearly 20 runs more per wicket that England. In fact England’s average runs per wicket of 21.58 is their 3rd lowest in an Ashes series since 1900. All from top 7 but George Bailey scored hundreds for Australia. . 4 Australians scored 2 hundreds each in this series which is a first in Ashes. Australia mange to convert 10 of their 25 fifty plus scores to a century whereas England’s lone century came from the new comer Ben Stokes in the 2nd innings at the WACA. England’s tally of one century in the whole Ashes series is the 2nd lowest for them in the last 100 years. (None of the English players scored a century in the 1972 Ashes, highest being Brian Luckhurst’s 96). On the other hand Australia’s tally of 10 hundreds in the series is the joint most for them in an Ashes. None of the English batsmen scored over 300 in the series and only Stokes averaged above 30 (34.87). England was dismissed below 200 for 6 times in their 10 innings while England could dismiss Australia only 5 times in 10 innings. England was dismissed in a mere 31.4 overs in the second innings at Sydney which is the second least they batted in a completed Ashes innings in the last 100 years following their 28.2 over surrender at the Gabba in 2002/03 series.

Warner & rogers : Complemented each other very well and gave Australia good starts more often than not
 
Most runs in the series

Player
Inngs
Runs
Avg
SR
100 / 50
HS
David Warner
10
523
58.11
74.39
2 / 2
124
Brad Haddin
8
493
61.62
71.55
1 / 5
118
Chris Rogers
10
463
46.30
48.99
2 / 3
119
Michael Clarke
10
363
40.33
57.25
2 / 0
148
Shane Watson
10
345
38.33
65.21
1 / 2
103

·         Kevin Pietersen scored the most runs for England (294 at 29.40) while Ben Stokes was their only batsman averaging above 30 and scored only the 100 for them.

Partnerships

 
 
Aus
 
 
 
 
Eng
 
 
 
Wkt
Runs
Avg
RR
100/50
Highest
Runs
Avg
RR
100/50
Highest
Opening
419
41.90
3.52
1 / 2
157
250
25.00
2.81
0 / 2
85
Middle order (3-6)
1576
47.75
3.72
5 / 6
200
1075
26.87
2.72
1 / 5
111
Lower Order (7-10)
739
30.79
4.21
1 / 3
114
562
14.05
3.54
0 / 0
49

Australia averaged more than England in partnerships for all wickets and also scored runs at a faster pace for all wickets except #8 (Eng’s 5.07 to Aus’s 4.40). England managed just one century partnership the whole series – Pietersen & Root adding 111 for the 3rd wicket in the 2nd innings at the Adelaide Oval whereas Australia had century partnerships for all wickets down to #7 except for the 4th wicket, mostly because of Bailey’s indifferent form with the bat compared to the rest of his team mates. England averaged above 30 only for the 3rd wicket stand (30.50). Australia averaged more than 50 for the 6th and 7th wicket with a total of 4 century partnerships. Australia recovered from positions of 132/6, 257/5, 143/5 and 97/5 because of their strong lower middle order lead by Brad Haddin and ably supported by Johnson, Harris & Siddle. Haddin scored 493 runs in 8 innings at 61.62 and a strike rate of 71.55 with a century & 5 fifties. He now holds the record of scoring most runs in a series at no. 7 or lower, most runs in a series for a designated WK, most fifties in a series by a WK and scoring 50 or more in each of the 1st innings of all 5 tests of a series.

Most runs in a series batting at #7 or lower
Player
Team
Vs
Year
Inngs
Runs
Avg
100 / 50
HS
Brad Haddin
Aus
Eng
2013/14
8
493
61.62
1 / 5
118
Adam Gilchrist
Aus
SA
2002/03
5
473
157.66
2 / 1
204*
Andrew Flintoff
Eng
SA
2003
8
423
52.87
1 / 3
142
Ian Botham
Eng
Aus
1981
10
399
44.33
2 / 1
149*
Wasim Raja
Pak
WI
1976/77
7
368
61.33
1 / 3
117*

Brad Haddin : The man who was rescued Australia every time when they were in trouble
Bowling

Team
Overs
Wkts
Avg
SR
5 wkts
BBI
Aus
746.4
99
20.86
45.2
5
7/40
Eng
850.2
74
41.97
68.9
2
6/81

The bowling and batting averages of Australia and England are almost the reverses of each other. The difference between batting and bowling averages for Australia is +19.09 and for England is -21.67. The trio of Johnson, Siddle & Harris was relentless and hardly bowled a poor spell among them. England’s main strike bowler James Anderson averaged 43.92 per wicket at took a wicket every 13.5 overs (to Johnson’s 13.92 at a wicket every 5 overs).  Stuart Broad well in most parts of the series but lacked the support from other end to keep up the pressure. England picked 4 seamers standing over 6’5” tall for the series but Broad apart, the other 3 played just 2 tests among them. Aussie paceman average 18.35 per wicket which the best for them in an Ashes since 1890.

Pace - comparison
Team
Overs
Wkts
Avg
SR
5 wkts
BBI
Aus
559.2
79
18.35
42.4
4
7/40
Eng
588.3
60
34.86
58.8
2
6/81

Spin - comparison
Team
Overs
Wkts
Avg
SR
5 wkts
BBI
Aus
187.2
20
30.80
56.2
1
5/50
Eng
257.5
14
71.21
110.5
0
4/82

·         The above table excludes 4 overs off Kevin Pietersen’s off spin.

The bowling average of 30.80 for Aussie spinners is the best in an Ashes series since Shane Warne’s retirement. The averaged less than half of their English counterparts and struck once every 9 overs to England’s 18 overs.  Both Swann and Panesar averaged above 80 per wicket while rookie Borthwick took 4 wickets in his only test  but they came at 6.30 runs per over.

Most wickets in the series

Player
Overs
Wkts
Avg
SR
ER
5 wkts
BBI
Mitchell Johnson
188.4
37
13.97
30.5
2.74
3
7/40
Ryan Harris
166.2
22
19.31
45.3
2.55
1
5/25
Stuart Broad
161.5
21
27.52
46.2
3.57
1
6/81
Nathan Lyon
176.2
19
29.36
55.6
3.16
1
5/50
Peter Siddle
156.4
16
24.12
58.7
2.46
0
4/57

All the Australian seamers went for less than 3 an over while none of the English counterparts did the same. Johnson was so lethal in this series underlined by the fact the only 2 English batsmen averaged above 20 off him (Pietersen 48.50 & Carberry 27.66). Captain Cook scored 766 runs in the last Ashes in Australia at 127.66. This time he failed to get past 100 even once. His struggles earlier on against Johnson and Harris accounted for England’s misery at the top of the order. Ryan Harris averaged 6.66 and 9 against Cook and Pietersen respectively dismissing them thrice each.

 
Johnson - the hurricane that uprooted the English top order and blew away the tail
 
The twin Ashes series – a comparison

Australia

Series
Players used
Runs
Avg
100s
Wkts taken
Avg
5 wkts
Avg Diff
2013 in Eng
17
2613
29.35
4
84
32.57
3
-3.21
2013/14 in Aus
11
3077
39.96
10
99
20.86
5
19.09

England

Series
Players used
Runs
Avg
100s
Wkts taken
Avg
5 wkts
Avg Diff
2013 in Eng
14
2684
31.57
5
87
30.27
6
1.30
2013/14 in Aus
18
2030
20.30
1
74
41.97
2
-21.67

Australia under Michael Clarke have made one of the greatest comebacks in the history of cricket and their next series in South Africa is now one which cricket fans across the world would be having their sights set on. Dale Steyn vs Mitchell Johnson – one of the contests to look forward to in 2014. For England it’s time to ponder over what went wrong and to make some fresh changes.
 
 


TAILENDER

A cartoon from @satishacharya during the series.

 
 

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