This is the article, the first of a series, using ball-by-ball data, which the readers have repeatedly asked for during the past three years. I wish I could have done it in the previous avatar of my blog, where there would have been 500 comments and wonderful exchanges between readers. Now, I expect 35 comments, although, I presume many read the articles but do not comment because of the hassle associated with that process. Anyhow, nothing can be done about that.

A word of sincere thanks to ESPNcricinfo for the wonderful and sustained effort in doing the ball-by-ball commentary over the past 12 years. They have set a standard of excellence unreached in the past and possibly never in the future. All of us, the cricket lovers, owe them a lot. And all these, without paying a single paisa/penny/cent. May their tribe flourish!

The major credit for getting this analysis work completed should vest with Milind Pandit. I do not want to emphasise the technical aspects. My extensive "C" knowledge lets me mine the data extensively, make the numbers dance and create analysis of different types across and in depth. But I lack the required knowledge for extracting extensive data from the web. Milind is a master in this area. He extracted the ball-by-ball commentary, parsed the same, validated and cleared errors and sent me a 50MB file. A single sentence, but about six weeks of intense effort. I, then, incorporated that huge data segment into my database in my own format and this is the first of, hopefully, many articles to come, based on the huge and exhaustive data base.

I wanted this article to be a co-authored one, with Milind, but the reluctant contributor that he is, he declined. But I will say that this entire analysis would have been still-born but for Milind. May his tribe flourish too! This analysis is named AMB3.

We have complete ball-by-ball data for Tests 1546 to 2089, barring 1553. This fact has to be kept in mind when viewing all AMB3 analyses. We do not have complete data for many modern greats. But we will make by with what we have. After all, there is no need to be rigid in this regard. Whatever insights we draw are like gold dust.

I am going to do the following types of analyses over the next three to four months. Readers can contribute their bit in suggesting whether anything else can be done.

1. The top three modern bowlers: with over 85% of ball-by-ball data available (15 bowlers: Dale Steyn/James Anderson/Harbhajan Singh are featured).

2. The top three previous generation bowlers: with over 40% of ball-by-ball data available (12-15 bowlers: Muttiah Muralitharan/Shane Warne/Glenn McGrath will be featured).

3. The top three modern batsmen: with over 80-85% of ball-by-ball data available.

4. The top three previous generation batsmen: with over 40-45% of ball-by-ball data available.

5. Special analyses, to be decided as we go on, based on reader inputs.

The first analysis will cover the bowlers for whom over 80% of data is available and, wherever possible, over 200 Test wickets have been captured. I have selected 15 bowlers. This article features three top bowlers who are currently active. The selection of three is simple. Two bowlers select themselves. Dale Steyn and James Anderson are almost automatic selections. Only the myopic can question the inclusion of these two. The third selection is a headache. Harbhajan Singh, Graeme Swann, Steve Harmison, Mathew Hoggard, Rangana Herath and Mitchell Johnson present themselves for selection.

Johnson has as many off days as on days and his average is quite high. Herath's success is primarily in Sri Lanka: nearly 70% of his wickets have been captured there. Harmison and Hoggard have retired long back. That leaves us with Swann and Harbhajan. Swann is the traditional offspinner, probably the best after Erapalli Prasanna. He has succeeded all over the world, taken more wickets outside England. However Harbhajan, for whom we have just over 90% of data available, has captured 413 wickets overall and 360 wickets during the covered period. So he gets the nod. That leaves us with Steyn, Anderson and Harbhajan as the featured bowlers. Please note that the complete data for all 15 bowlers is available for downloading.

I am not going to spend too much time on explaining the types of analyses which are possible. It is better that we move on to the tables. Let us see the eight tables for Steyn. Even when commenting on the tables I will offer minimal comments.

D W Steyn

1. Ordered by Wickets in DW STEYN-Batsman combination Batsman BatAvge Inns Balls Runs Wickets StrikeRate AvgeVsBowler Mohammad Hafeez 35.12 14 130 87 8 16.2 10.88 MJ Clarke 52.34 19 376 253 7 53.7 36.14 MEK Hussey 51.53 17 228 89 7 32.6 12.71 IJL Trott 50.01 11 150 65 7 21.4 9.29 V Sehwag 49.34 16 257 208 7 36.7 29.71 Harbhajan Singh 18.36 10 59 34 7 8.4 4.86 BB McCullum 35.39 15 224 129 6 37.3 21.50 Younis Khan 50.74 13 293 149 5 58.6 29.80 SM Katich 45.03 12 291 162 5 58.2 32.40 RT Ponting 51.87 14 228 144 4 57.0 36.00 Total for 10 batsmen 2236 1320 63 35.5 20.95

An innings is counted when the bowler bowls at least a single ball to the batsman. Mohammad Hafeez is the only batsman whose wicket has been captured eight times, that too very economically. Both BpW (Balls-per-Wicket: Strike Rate) and Avge figures are way below the batsman career figures. There are many batsmen at seven wickets. The most noteworthy one is Jonathan Trott, who has been dismissed by Steyn, once every 22 balls. His average against Steyn is around 20% of his career figure. Out of this lot, no one has even exceeded 60 balls per wicket. The top ten batsmen in this regard have been dismissed at a very low strike rate of 35.5. No wonder that Steyn's career strike rate is 41.1.

2. Ordered by Balls bowled in DW STEYN-Batsman combination Batsman BatAvge Inns Balls Dot Balls % of total 1/2/3 run balls % of total Boundary balls % of total MJ Clarke 52.34 19 376 253 67.3% 94 25.0% 30 8.0% AJ Strauss 40.91 16 360 281 78.1% 51 14.2% 28 7.8% AN Cook 49.18 12 329 259 78.7% 52 15.8% 19 5.8% IR Bell 45.58 13 310 241 77.7% 49 15.8% 20 6.5% SR Tendulkar 53.87 11 310 239 77.1% 50 16.1% 21 6.8% Younis Khan 50.74 13 293 225 76.8% 51 17.4% 19 6.5% SM Katich 45.03 12 291 214 73.5% 59 20.3% 19 6.5% V Sehwag 49.34 16 257 172 66.9% 51 19.8% 34 13.2% S Chanderpaul 51.82 9 231 182 78.8% 44 19.0% 7 3.0% RT Ponting 51.87 14 228 166 72.8% 45 19.7% 17 7.5%

Michael Clarke has faced the maximum number of balls and has scored off a third of the balls he faced. Most of the others have been quite circumspect, including Sachin Tendulkar who has faced 310 balls.

3. Ordered by Runs scored in DW STEYN-Batsman combination Batsman BatAvge Inns Balls Runs Scoring Rate Dot Balls % of total 1/2/3 run balls % of total Boundary balls % of total MJ Clarke 52.34 19 376 253 67.3 253 67.3% 94 25.0% 30 8.0% V Sehwag 49.34 16 257 208 80.9 172 66.9% 51 19.8% 34 13.2% AJ Strauss 40.91 16 360 182 50.6 281 78.1% 51 14.2% 28 7.8% SM Katich 45.03 12 291 162 55.7 214 73.5% 59 20.3% 19 6.5% KP Pietersen 49.01 11 187 155 82.9 135 72.2% 24 12.8% 30 16.0% Younis Khan 50.74 13 293 149 50.9 225 76.8% 51 17.4% 19 6.5% PJ Hughes 33.00 10 220 149 67.7 154 70.0% 43 19.5% 23 10.5% SR Tendulkar 53.87 11 310 149 48.1 239 77.1% 50 16.1% 21 6.8% AN Cook 49.18 12 329 147 44.7 259 78.7% 52 15.8% 19 5.8% IR Bell 45.58 13 310 144 46.5 241 77.7% 49 15.8% 20 6.5%

Clarke is on top with a good scoring rate. However look at Virender Sehwag who has an excellent 80+ scoring rate. Kevin Pietersen is still better at 83.

4. Ordered by Bowling strike rate (High) in DW STEYN-Batsman combination Batsman Career Balls/Inns Inns Balls Wickets Strike rate Azhar Ali 99.6 8 228 1 228.0 PJ Hughes 60.0 10 220 1 220.0 KC Sangakkara 97.1 8 203 1 203.0 AJ Strauss 80.8 16 360 2 180.0 W Jaffer 69.7 8 161 1 161.0 PD Collingwood 79.7 5 153 0 153.0 TT Samaraweera 88.2 6 150 0 150.0 S Chanderpaul 100.5 9 231 2 115.5 AN Cook 97.1 12 329 3 109.7 SP Fleming 82.8 8 215 2 107.5 Total for 10 batsmen 2250 13 173.1

These are the batsmen who sold their wickets very dearly to Steyn. And they succeeded. For the division in this analysis 0 wkt is taken as 1. Who would have expected Azhar Ali and Phillip Hughes to top the table? Probably the most praiseworthy is Andrew Strauss who has a BpW figure of 180 over 360 balls. Paul Collingwood and Thilan Samaraweera were bloody-minded. They told Steyn, "You are the best bowler in the world. But you will not dismiss us". It took 173 balls for Steyn to get rid of each of these obdurate batsmen, nearly four times his career strike rate.

5. Ordered by Bowling Strike rate (Low - Top order batsmen) in DW STEYN-Batsman combination Batsman Career Balls/Inns Inns Balls Wickets Strike rate Mohammad Ashraful 49.9 6 26 3 8.7 NJ Astle 69.2 6 33 3 11.0 N Deonarine 66.0 4 59 4 14.8 TM Dilshan 57.8 8 50 3 16.7 Mohammad Hafeez 60.3 14 130 8 16.2 AF Giles 37.9 5 53 3 17.7 GP Swann 25.4 8 78 4 19.5 IJL Trott 98.2 11 150 7 21.4 SB Styris 64.4 9 99 4 24.8 Tamim Iqbal 61.4 8 97 4 24.2 Total for 10 batsmen 775 43 18.0

Now for the low strike rates. Three wickets are necessary to be considered as minimum for this table. To get proper insights I have split this table into two. One for the proper batsmen, averages exceeding 20 and the other for late order batsmen. Mohammad Hafeez, Nathan Astle, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Trott are the leading batsmen in this table. All have lost wickets more frequent than once every 25 balls. These batsmen were dismissed at around 40% of Steyn's career strike rate.

6. Ordered by Bowling Strike rate (Low - Late order batsmen) in DW STEYN-Batsman combination Batsman Career Balls/Inns Inns Balls Wickets Strike rate IE O'Brien 16.7 3 10 3 3.3 CS Martin 5.9 6 18 4 4.5 RP Singh 14.5 3 21 3 7.0 Harbhajan Singh 23.8 10 59 7 8.4 DAJ Bracewell 22.8 5 36 4 9.0 NM Lyon 22.1 5 49 3 16.3 JE Taylor 23.5 6 56 3 18.7 PM Siddle 28.3 11 95 3 31.7 Total for 10 batsmen 344 30 11.5

Are we seeing it correctly? There is a late-order batsman who is above our dear Chris Martin. Iain O'Brien faced only ten balls and was dismissed three times. Martin was dismissed four times but he faced a whopping eight balls more. Look at how competently Peter Siddle has batted.

7. Ordered by Batting Scoring rate (High) in DW STEYN-Batsman combination Batsman CareerScRt Inns Balls Runs Scoring Rate Dot Balls % of total 1/2/3 run balls % of total Boundary balls % of total CH Gayle 59.8 9 122 115 94.3 76 62.3% 31 25.4% 18 14.8% MG Johnson 58.6 11 148 133 89.9 99 66.9% 29 19.6% 21 14.2% KP Pietersen 62.8 11 187 155 82.9 135 72.2% 24 12.8% 30 16.0% V Sehwag 82.2 16 257 208 80.9 172 66.9% 51 19.8% 34 13.2% DL Vettori 58.1 10 127 94 74.0 88 69.3% 24 18.9% 15 11.8% MJ Prior 63.0 9 135 101 74.8 89 65.9% 31 23.0% 15 11.1% MJ Clarke 55.8 19 376 253 67.3 253 67.3% 94 25.0% 30 8.0% PJ Hughes 53.8 10 220 149 67.7 154 70.0% 43 19.5% 23 10.5% Mohammad Hafeez 53.6 14 130 87 66.9 97 74.6% 19 14.6% 14 10.8% KC Sangakkara 54.0 8 203 131 64.5 150 73.9% 33 16.3% 21 10.3% Total for 10 batsmen 1905 1426 74.9

These are the batsmen who decided that even if it was Steyn bowling, he had to go for runs. Chris Gayle, Pietersen and Sehwag are predictably the top placed batsmen, with scoring rates exceeding 80. But they have a usurper in the middle. Somehow, Mitchell Johnson has taken a liking for Steyn's bowling, scoring at 90. Look at the boundary ball percentage of Pietersen, with 16% and Gayle/Johnson, at 14%. That means Pietersen hit a boundary for each over Steyn bowled to him. Steyn's propensity to attack is shown by the very high scoring rate of these ten batsmen.

8. Ordered by Batting Scoring rate (Low) in DW STEYN-Batsman combination Batsman CarScrRt Inns Balls Runs Scoring Rate Dot Balls % of total 1/2/3 run balls % of total Boundary balls % of total D Ganga 38.9 6 106 23 21.7 91 85.8% 14 13.2% 1 0.9% KS Williamson 40.3 8 151 37 24.5 130 86.1% 18 11.9% 3 2.0% Misbah-ul-Haq 40.7 10 207 58 28.0 183 88.4% 16 7.7% 9 4.3% TT Samaraweera 46.9 6 150 50 33.3 127 84.7% 18 12.0% 6 4.0% MHW Papps 35.3 7 101 37 36.6 86 85.1% 9 8.9% 6 5.9% S Chanderpaul 42.9 9 231 90 39.0 182 78.8% 44 19.0% 7 3.0% MJ Guptill 43.4 10 190 73 38.4 160 84.2% 18 9.5% 12 6.3% Junaid Siddique 41.4 7 114 45 39.5 91 79.8% 17 14.9% 6 5.3% MEK Hussey 50.1 17 228 89 39.0 185 81.1% 33 14.5% 12 5.3% W Jaffer 48.1 8 161 67 41.6 132 82.0% 21 13.0% 9 5.6% Total for 10 batsmen 1639 569 34.7

These batsmen hung on for dear life. It did not matter to them that the dot-ball percentage was 85+ or that they hit a boundary every 25 balls but survival was a must. Shivnarine Chanderpaul has played maximum number of balls in this group. Michael Hussey follows closely.

J M Anderson

9. Ordered by Wickets in JM ANDERSON-Batsman combination Batsman BatAvge Inns Balls Runs Wickets StrikeRate AvgeVsBowler SR Tendulkar 53.87 23 350 208 9 38.9 23.11 JH Kallis 56.10 22 419 177 7 59.9 25.29 KC Sangakkara 56.99 10 241 147 6 40.2 24.50 MJ Clarke 52.34 19 255 153 6 42.5 25.50 GC Smith 48.63 27 701 411 6 116.8 68.50 MV Boucher 30.30 21 273 161 6 45.5 26.83 R Dravid 52.31 18 432 197 5 86.4 39.40 V Sehwag 49.34 14 109 120 5 21.8 24.00 AG Prince 41.65 13 247 113 5 49.4 22.60 RT Ponting 51.87 19 347 233 4 86.8 58.25 Total for 10 batsmen 3374 1920 59 57.2 32.54

Tendulkar leading the table is not a surprise seeing that eight Tests have been played during the past two years. Note the high quality of Anderson wickets: almost all are top-order batsmen. Anderson has taken nearly ten overs for each of these wickets.

10. Ordered by Balls bowled in JM ANDERSON-Batsman combination Batsman BatAvge Inns Balls Dot Balls % of total 1/2/3 run balls % of total Boundary balls % of total GC Smith 48.63 27 701 504 71.9% 142 20.3% 57 8.1% R Dravid 52.31 18 432 349 80.8% 50 11.6% 33 7.6% HM Amla 52.12 15 429 310 72.3% 84 19.6% 37 8.6% SR Watson 35.34 15 427 338 79.2% 55 12.9% 34 8.0% MEK Hussey 51.53 17 424 323 76.2% 75 17.7% 26 6.1% JH Kallis 56.10 22 419 337 80.4% 60 14.3% 23 5.5% G Gambhir 44.19 16 398 331 83.2% 43 10.8% 24 6.0% AB de Villiers 50.51 16 393 303 77.1% 66 16.8% 26 6.6% SR Tendulkar 53.87 23 350 260 74.3% 56 16.0% 34 9.7% RT Ponting 51.87 19 347 245 70.6% 70 20.2% 33 9.5%

England and South Africa seem to have played quite often. The combination of Anderson-Graeme Smith is over 700 balls. This is way above the next highest. This collection is a top-ten list of batsmen over the past few years.

11. Ordered by Runs scored in JM ANDERSON-Batsman combination Batsman BatAvge Inns Balls Runs Scoring Rate Dot Balls % of total 1/2/3 run balls % of total Boundary balls % of total GC Smith 48.63 27 701 411 58.6 504 71.9% 142 20.3% 57 8.1% HM Amla 52.12 15 429 254 59.2 310 72.3% 84 19.6% 37 8.6% RT Ponting 51.87 19 347 233 67.1 245 70.6% 70 20.2% 33 9.5% SR Watson 35.34 15 427 217 50.8 338 79.2% 55 12.9% 34 8.0% MEK Hussey 51.53 17 424 214 50.5 323 76.2% 75 17.7% 26 6.1% SR Tendulkar 53.87 23 350 208 59.4 260 74.3% 56 16.0% 34 9.7% MS Dhoni 39.71 19 347 201 57.9 258 74.4% 59 17.0% 32 9.2% R Dravid 52.31 18 432 197 45.6 349 80.8% 50 11.6% 33 7.6% AB de Villiers 50.51 16 393 193 49.1 303 77.1% 66 16.8% 26 6.6% RR Sarwan 40.01 11 312 190 60.9 233 74.7% 48 15.4% 32 10.3%

This follows a similar sequence to the balls played table. Graeme Smith is the runaway leader, with 411 runs. Note how quickly Ricky Ponting has scored.

12. Ordered by Bowling strike rate (High) in JM ANDERSON-Batsman combination Batsman Career Balls/Inns Inns Balls Wickets Strike rate RR Sarwan 81.1 11 312 1 312.0 HM Amla 90.9 15 429 2 214.5 TT Samaraweera 88.2 8 204 1 204.0 AB de Villiers 82.0 16 393 2 196.5 SM Katich 85.7 9 183 1 183.0 AN Petersen 72.7 5 172 1 172.0 S Chanderpaul 100.5 14 339 2 169.5 G Kirsten 95.4 7 167 0 167.0 CA Pujara 101.9 5 160 0 160.0 MN Samuels 71.3 4 158 0 158.0 Total for 10 batsmen 2517 10 251.7

Ramnaresh Sarwan has lasted 312 balls and been dismissed once. Hashim Amla has been equally effective, lasting 429 balls for two dismissals. The high numbers for Amla, AB de Villiers, Alviro Petersen and Smith (117) makes me think that Anderson was not that successful against the South African top order. Gary Kirsten, Cheteshwar Pujara and Marlon Samuels have lasted 150 balls and did not lose their wicket to Anderson. Well over 40 overs were required for Anderson to capture each of these tough-to-dislodge batsmen.

13. Ordered by Bowling Strike rate (Low - Top order batsmen) in JM ANDERSON-Batsman combination Batsman Career Balls/Inns Inns Balls Wickets Strike rate Shoaib Malik 67.0 3 33 3 11.0 AJ Redmond 56.1 6 60 4 15.0 HDRL Thirimanne 61.8 6 69 4 17.2 V Sehwag 58.0 14 109 5 21.8 SK Raina 49.7 4 70 3 23.3 DG Brownlie 63.5 7 102 4 25.5 JM How 43.7 10 140 4 35.0 SPD Smith 61.3 6 110 3 36.7 SR Tendulkar 89.6 23 350 9 38.9 Imran Farhat 64.5 8 152 4 38.0 Total for 10 batsmen 1195 43 27.8

The "batsmen" are included in this table. The really top batsmen in this collection are the two Indian stalwarts. Sehwag's discomfiture against the lateral movement is well known. Also, this reflects the past eight Tests. However Tendulkar's record against Anderson is surprising. His BpW is below 50, contrast this with his 100+ BpW against Steyn. 26 balls per wicket is a fairly low strike rate considering that these were all top-flight batsmen.

14. Ordered by Bowling SR (Low - Late order batsmen), ANDERSON-Batsman combination Batsman Career Balls/Inns Inns Balls Wickets Strike rate Umar Gul 18.0 5 48 3 16.0 Z Khan 18.6 7 49 3 16.3 PM Siddle 28.3 10 87 4 21.8 DW Steyn 25.4 7 78 3 26.0 LMP Simmons 37.1 6 83 3 27.7 Total for 10 batsmen 345 16 21.6

Nothing specific to say here.

15. Ordered by Batting Scoring rate (High) in JM ANDERSON-Batsman combination Batsman CareerScRt Inns Balls Runs Scoring Rate Dot Balls % of total 1/2/3 run balls % of total Boundary balls % of total V Sehwag 82.2 14 109 120 110.1 61 56.0% 26 23.9% 22 20.2% BB McCullum 60.4 12 132 136 103.0 78 59.1% 36 27.3% 19 14.4% LRPL Taylor 57.7 13 225 187 83.1 155 68.9% 41 18.2% 32 14.2% HH Gibbs 50.3 8 190 159 83.7 137 72.1% 25 13.2% 31 16.3% BJ Haddin 57.4 12 206 151 73.3 144 69.9% 41 19.9% 22 10.7% HD Rutherford 65.7 8 137 97 70.8 98 71.5% 22 16.1% 17 12.4% RT Ponting 58.7 19 347 233 67.1 245 70.6% 70 20.2% 33 9.5% G Kirsten 43.4 7 167 111 66.5 123 73.7% 26 15.6% 18 10.8% CH Gayle 59.8 11 160 101 63.1 119 74.4% 26 16.2% 16 10.0% JM How 50.4 10 140 86 61.4 107 76.4% 19 13.6% 15 10.7% Total for 10 batsmen 1813 1381 76.2

Sehwag and McCullum exceeded 100. Sehwag hit a boundary every 5 balls against Anderson but also lost his wicket every 20 balls. One scatter-brained batting strategy indeed. McCullum at least lost his wicket only 3 times. If anything, Anderson was more expensive than Steyn.

16. Ordered by Batting Scoring rate (Low) in JM ANDERSON-Batsman combination Batsman CarScrRt Inns Balls Runs Scoring Rate Dot Balls % of total 1/2/3 run balls % of total Boundary balls % of total D Ramdin 48.3 7 182 45 24.7 156 85.7% 22 12.1% 4 2.2% MJ North 48.1 8 195 50 25.6 173 88.7% 16 8.2% 7 3.6% PG Fulton 42.4 9 295 88 29.8 257 87.1% 26 8.8% 12 4.1% AN Petersen 50.9 5 172 52 30.2 147 85.5% 17 9.9% 8 4.7% Imran Farhat 48.3 8 152 49 32.2 131 86.2% 12 7.9% 9 5.9% Azhar Ali 39.1 10 241 81 33.6 203 84.2% 28 11.6% 11 4.6% Misbah-ul-Haq 40.7 4 107 36 33.6 86 80.4% 18 16.8% 3 2.8% HAPW Jayawardene 50.1 7 102 37 36.3 85 83.3% 13 12.7% 4 3.9% BP Nash 43.3 8 121 44 36.4 100 82.6% 16 13.2% 6 5.0% MN Samuels 48.5 4 158 60 38.0 128 81.0% 22 13.9% 8 5.1% Total for 10 batsmen 1725 542 31.4

These are the wicket-preservers by batting slowly. No real surprises. Even this scoring rate is not too bad, nearly 2 RpO.

Harbhajan Singh

Now let us see the tables for Harbhajan Singh. First a caveat. We have ball-by-ball data for just over 90% of balls bowled by Harbhajan. Unfortunately the first 11 Tests, in which he captured 53 wickets, including the fabulous 2001 series, are not included. So this is not a complete analysis. However I have plumped for Harbhajan for reasons already discussed.

17. Ordered by Wickets in HARBHAJAN SINGH-Batsman combination Batsman BatAvge Inns Balls Runs Wickets StrikeRate AvgeVsBowler ML Hayden 50.74 15 356 226 7 50.9 32.29 JH Kallis 56.10 18 676 382 6 112.7 63.67 DW Steyn 13.97 8 75 35 6 12.5 5.83 HM Amla 52.12 14 606 291 5 121.2 58.20 RT Ponting 51.87 16 340 227 5 68.0 45.40 SM Katich 45.03 14 432 177 5 86.4 35.40 LRPL Taylor 42.22 6 209 100 5 41.8 20.00 WW Hinds 33.01 6 195 99 5 39.0 19.80 Kamran Akmal 30.79 10 227 119 5 45.4 23.80 M Morkel 13.69 8 123 54 5 24.6 10.80 Total for 10 batsmen 3239 1710 54 60.0 31.67

Hayden has been dismissed by Harbhajan 7 times. Add to this the 2 dismissals during the 2001 series. Similarly Ponting was dismissed 5 times. This becomes 10 dismissals since he lost his wicket every time in 2001 to Harbhajan. However it is clear that Harbhajan has bought his wickets, at a price. There is very little difference Harbhajan's career strike rate and the strike rate against this collection.

18. Ordered by Balls bowled in HARBHAJAN SINGH-Batsman combination Batsman BatAvge Inns Balls Dot Balls % of total 1/2/3 run balls % of total Boundary balls % of total S Chanderpaul 51.82 18 790 632 80.0% 138 17.5% 20 2.5% KC Sangakkara 56.99 18 742 574 77.4% 144 19.4% 27 3.6% JH Kallis 56.10 18 676 412 60.9% 242 35.8% 22 3.3% DPMD Jayawardene 49.57 20 649 395 60.9% 217 33.4% 38 5.9% HM Amla 52.12 14 606 423 69.8% 159 26.2% 24 4.0% Younis Khan 50.74 10 541 368 68.0% 130 24.0% 43 7.9% MJ Clarke 52.34 23 527 372 70.6% 135 25.6% 20 3.8% MEK Hussey 51.53 14 482 356 73.9% 109 22.6% 17 3.5% SM Katich 45.03 14 432 336 77.8% 75 17.4% 21 4.9% AB de Villiers 50.51 12 394 267 67.8% 109 27.7% 18 4.6%

Did India and Sri Lanka play each other so many times in Tests also? Jayawardene and Sangakkara have together faced nearly 1400 balls of Harbhajan. Similarly Kallis and Amla have clocked over 1250 balls together.

19. Ordered by Runs scored in HARBHAJAN SINGH-Batsman combination Batsman BatAvge Inns Balls Runs Scoring Rate Dot Balls % of total 1/2/3 run balls % of total Boundary balls % of total DPMD Jayawardene 49.57 20 649 431 66.4 395 60.9% 217 33.4% 38 5.9% JH Kallis 56.10 18 676 382 56.5 412 60.9% 242 35.8% 22 3.3% Younis Khan 50.74 10 541 332 61.4 368 68.0% 130 24.0% 43 7.9% HM Amla 52.12 14 606 291 48.0 423 69.8% 159 26.2% 24 4.0% KC Sangakkara 56.99 18 742 287 38.7 574 77.4% 144 19.4% 27 3.6% S Chanderpaul 51.82 18 790 260 32.9 632 80.0% 138 17.5% 20 2.5% MJ Clarke 52.34 23 527 239 45.4 372 70.6% 135 25.6% 20 3.8% RT Ponting 51.87 16 340 227 66.8 207 60.9% 108 31.8% 25 7.4% ML Hayden 50.74 15 356 226 63.5 238 66.9% 91 25.6% 28 7.9% TM Dilshan 40.99 13 308 221 71.8 188 61.0% 97 31.5% 23 7.5%

Similar pattern like balls. The Sri Lankan duo and the South African duo have scored tons of runs. Jayawardene at a very good scoring rate. Look at Chanderpaul's scoring rate.

20. Ordered by Bowling SR (High), HARBHAJAN SINGH-Batsman combination Batsman Career Balls/Inns Inns Balls Wickets Strike rate S Chanderpaul 100.5 18 790 2 395.0 AN Cook 97.1 8 291 1 291.0 GW Flower 81.4 8 277 0 277.0 Younis Khan 89.4 10 541 2 270.5 MP Vaughan 76.1 6 264 0 264.0 BB McCullum 55.1 8 252 1 252.0 Misbah-ul-Haq 88.6 6 248 0 248.0 KC Sangakkara 97.1 18 742 3 247.3 AB de Villiers 82.0 12 394 2 197.0 IR Bell 79.7 9 181 1 181.0 Total for 10 batsmen 3980 12 331.7

Harbhajan to Chanderpaul must be the slowest running movie ever made. Nothing happening ever. 790 balls, a mere 258 runs and a wicket every 395 balls. And look at Cook, a wicket every 290 balls. And Flower, and Younis, and Vaughan: all clocking over 250 balls per wicket. Harbhajan surely had a lot of patience. 55 overs per wkt: we are going past a typically long spell by a bowler in an innings.

21. Ordered by Bowling SR (Low - Top order batsmen), HARBHAJAN-Batsman combination Batsman Career Balls/Inns Inns Balls Wickets Strike rate JP Duminy 70.0 3 13 3 4.3 SCJ Broad 33.9 4 39 3 13.0 AN Petersen 72.7 5 75 4 18.8 JDP Oram 59.9 5 75 3 25.0 ADR Campbell 62.8 6 86 3 28.7 SB Styris 64.4 6 133 4 33.2 RD Jacobs 48.1 5 102 3 34.0 MJ North 69.5 3 107 3 35.7 WW Hinds 68.2 6 195 5 39.0 A Flower 95.0 6 125 3 41.7 Total for 10 batsmen 950 34 27.9

Harbhajan had to start his bowling run and Duminy would inform his colleagues in the pavilion to hold the calls. A top class batsman averaging a mere 4 balls per wicket. Later there is a reference to Swann vs Prince. What is with South African batsman against quality off-spinners? And Alviro clocking at below 20 BpW. These leaden-footed batsmen were at least dismissed at around once every five overs.

22. Ordered by Bowling Strike rate (Low - Late order batsmen) in HARBHAJAN-Batsman combination Batsman Career Balls/Inns Inns Balls Wickets Strike rate Danish Kaneria 8.8 4 14 3 4.7 MS Kasprowicz 17.9 4 17 3 5.7 GD McGrath 11.4 5 18 3 6.0 A Sanford 19.3 4 24 4 6.0 DW Steyn 25.4 8 75 6 12.5 M Muralitharan 10.9 10 51 4 12.8 PL Harris 28.3 9 54 4 13.5 M Dillon 20.3 9 54 4 13.5 PT Collins 14.9 8 76 5 15.2 MJ Hoggard 22.7 8 56 3 18.7 Total for 10 batsmen 439 39 11.3

It must be said that Danish Kaneria has done better than Duminy. And Steyn the batsman had no answer for Harbhajan the bowler. And let me add that Steyn dismissed Harbhajan 7 times in 59 balls. Each could call the other his bunny.

23. Ordered by Batting Scoring rate (High) in HARBHAJAN SINGH-Batsman combination Batsman CareerScRt Inns Balls Runs Scoring Rate Dot Balls % of total 1/2/3 run balls % of total Boundary balls % of total AC Gilchrist 82.0 9 139 112 80.6 77 55.4% 51 36.7% 11 7.9% JL Langer 54.2 5 170 128 75.3 107 62.9% 46 27.1% 17 10.0% TM Dilshan 65.5 13 308 221 71.8 188 61.0% 97 31.5% 23 7.5% MJ Prior 63.0 6 149 104 69.8 81 54.4% 60 40.3% 8 5.4% HAPW Jayawardene 50.1 10 236 156 66.1 150 63.6% 72 30.5% 14 5.9% RT Ponting 58.7 16 340 227 66.8 207 60.9% 108 31.8% 25 7.4% KP Pietersen 62.8 10 264 176 66.7 164 62.1% 82 31.1% 18 6.8% Inzamam-ul-Haq 54.0 4 109 72 66.1 68 62.4% 33 30.3% 8 7.3% DPMD Jayawardene 51.5 20 649 431 66.4 395 60.9% 217 33.4% 38 5.9% ML Hayden 60.1 15 356 226 63.5 238 66.9% 91 25.6% 28 7.9% Total for 10 batsmen 2720 1853 68.1

As expected Harbhajan was attacked by Gilchrist and Langer. Gilchrist gave his wicket away thrice while Langer was dismissed only once. Dilshan's attacking was over much higher number of balls. Harbhajan won 4 of these battles with Dilshan. Harbhajan was relatively more economical even against the free-scoring batsmen.

24. Ordered by Batting Scoring rate (Low) in HARBHAJAN SINGH-Batsman combination Batsman CarScrRt Inns Balls Runs Scoring Rate Dot Balls % of total 1/2/3 run balls % of total Boundary balls % of total Salman Butt 47.2 6 146 21 14.4 132 90.4% 13 8.9% 1 0.7% BJ Haddin 57.4 6 110 28 25.5 89 80.9% 20 18.2% 1 0.9% MH Richardson 37.7 4 162 44 27.2 130 80.2% 29 17.9% 3 1.9% MJ Guptill 43.4 4 114 33 28.9 93 81.6% 19 16.7% 2 1.8% GW Flower 34.5 8 277 83 30.0 224 80.9% 46 16.6% 7 2.5% TR Gripper 32.7 2 100 29 29.0 82 82.0% 15 15.0% 3 3.0% AJ Hall 46.1 3 133 41 30.8 111 83.5% 19 14.3% 3 2.3% AG Prince 43.7 11 229 69 30.1 187 81.7% 36 15.7% 6 2.6% JEC Franklin 37.4 4 126 38 30.2 108 85.7% 13 10.3% 5 4.0% MA Butcher 42.9 7 269 82 30.5 218 81.0% 44 16.4% 7 2.6% Total for 10 batsmen 1666 468 28.1

Nothing important here. Most of these batsmen were uncomfortable facing top quality spin and took the safer way out. They were bottled up for less than 1.8 RpO.

These are is just samples of the type of insights which can be drawn. I have created an Excel sheet with 15 contemporary bowlers who have ball-by-ball data exceeding 80% and uploaded this. To download/view the document, a veritable treasure-trove of information, please CLICK HERE.

I have given below a few exceptional situations from the tables of 15 bowlers. Let me also suggest that the interested readers can peruse the Excel sheet and come out with such interesting sidelights.

- Take the Swann-Prince combination. This is something weird. Prince played 5 balls from Swann, had 2 dot balls and lost his wickets 3 times. And this happened after he had played 94, 28 and 44 balls in the three innings. That was some magic that Swann wove, probably more than what Warne did to Cullinan.

- The maximum number of balls bowled has been by Ajmal to Sangakkara. He bowled 906 balls, nearly two days of bowling.

- Harmison's single wicket of Chanderpaul cost 239 runs while Ntini's single dismissal of Lara cost 225 runs.

- Anderson-Tendulkar, Ntini-Trescothick and Ntini-Hayden combinations have ended in 9 dismissals. Let us not forget the 10 dismissals of Ponting by Harbhajan.

- Harmison bowled 464 balls to Chanderpaul and got 1 wicket. Harbhajan-Chanderpaul was 790 (2 wkts-395), Hoggard-Yousuf was 378, Johnson-de Villiers was 383, Ntini-Lara was 312, Anderson-Sarwan was 312 and Ajmal-Sangakkara was 906 (3 wkts-302).

- Anderson was hit 57 times for a boundary by Graeme Smith. Ntini was carted to the fence 53 times by Ponting and Trescothick. Lee was also despatched 50 times by Trescothick. But the most awesome performance was when Harmison bowled to Gayle. 48 boundaries were hit but at 15.8%, nearly one every over.

The 15 bowlers covered in this table are given below. The figures at the beginning indicate the quantum of ball-by-ball data available for this bowler.

BBB %Bowler selected100.0 - Steyn100.0 - Anderson90.2 - Harbhajan Singh100.0 - Swann100.0 - Harmison99.4 - Hoggard88.0 - Ntini95.9 - Zaheer Khan91.7 - Lee100.0 - Johnson90.5 - Martin95.1 - Herath96.9 - Danish Kaneria100.0 - Saeed Ajmal100.0 - FH Edwards

The last two players have been exempted from the 200-wicket limit since there is no West Indian bowler who has crossed 200 wickets recently and Ajmal is an intriguing bowler. Kaneria has captured 261 Test wickets and I am not going to sit in moral judgement on subsequent happenings, on and off the field. On field, as a Test player, he performed very well and that is enough for me.

Readers can, if they care, write on the types of analyses which could be done using these data. Please do not, however, ask for details of how RA Austin bowled to Raqibul Haasan or about MM Patel's performance against McIntosh. Let it be of interest to all the readers. I would intersperse these articles with the other articles so that I can handle these myself. These articles take a lot off me in view of the number of tables and writing.