This is the article, the third of a series, using ball-by-ball data, which the readers have repeatedly asked for during the past three years. For an introduction to that work please refer to the first article on contemporary bowlers. I had followed this with another article on contemporary batsmen.

First, let me present a paradox while determining a bowler-batsman confrontation metrics. This relates to the grey area in handling no-balls. The no-ball related runs are charged to the bowlers but not to the batsmen. The ball itself is added to the batsman but not to the bowler. This leads to the following anomaly.

Let us take an over by Mitchell Starc to Alastair Cook, which is the first over of the match.

Ball 1: Dot ball.

Ball 2: 2 runs scored by Cook. 2 runs for team and against Starc.

Ball 3: Wide. 1 run to team and 1 run against Starc.

Ball 3: 2 leg byes. 2 runs to team.

Ball 4: No ball. 1 run scored. 2 runs to team, 2 runs against Starc and 1 run to Cook.

Ball 4: 4 byes. 4 runs to team.

Ball 5: Dot ball.

Ball 6: No ball. 1 run to team, 1 run against Starc.

Ball 6: Dot ball.

At the end of the over the team score is 12 for 0 (9 extras). Starc's analysis reads 1.0-0-6-0 (6 balls and 6 runs (3 to Cook and 3 wide/no-balls)). Cook's score reads 7 balls and 3 runs (2 & 1). No problem about the runs. But the head-to-head confrontation between Starc and Cook has a problem. Do we take six balls or seven balls? I have taken the no ball as a ball for the combination. That is common-sense.

The present article covers the batsmen and bowlers, some who rank amongst the best whoever wielded a bat or held a ball, who have fewer than 75% of ball-by-ball data available. I have changed the format of this article as compared to the previous two. In those I had covered bowlers and batsmen separately and featured four bowlers and batsmen and created a number of tables for each of those. I had also created a downloadable Excel sheet which contained the complete data for the selected batsmen and bowlers.

In this analysis, I have gone about it differently. Since 100% data is not available for these players nothing is gained by doing an elaborate analysis. There would always be that feeling of incomplete data around these tables. Hence I have selected six batsmen and 6 bowlers each from the collection of players who have between 40% and 75% ball-by-ball data available and presented a single table for each player. The comments are thus specific to these players.

I have also uploaded an Excel sheet containing all instances of bowler-batsman combinations with 100 balls or more, extracted from the entire ball-by-ball data. There are 2844 such instances. In addition I have included 110 instances where three or more wickets were captured and fewer than 100 balls bowled. Thus, the data would almost be complete if one downloads all three Excel sheets. A hundred-balls represents a good cut-off. It is of very little relevance to know that Shane Warne bowled ten balls to Dinesh Karthik and 16 runs were scored or that VVS Laxman bowled ten balls to AB de Villiers and 3 runs were scored.

The players selected are given below. The percentage value on the left shows the extent of ball-by-ball data available. Sachin Tendulkar's ball-by-ball percentage is slightly higher since he is still active and each new Test adds to this component. If, as expected, he retires at the end of the South African tour, he is likely to finish at around 60%.

Batsmen:45.1%Brian Lara58.2%Sachin Tendulkar71.3%Rahul Dravid71.9%Jacques Kallis67.4%Mohammad Yousuf72.5%Shivnarine ChanderpaulBowlers:54.1%Muttiah Muralitharan40.2%Shane Warne43.0%Glenn McGrath50.2%Shaun Pollock66.7%Shoaib Akhtar53.7%Anil Kumble

Justification of these players' selections would be akin to gilding the lily. Most of them select themselves. I selected Mohammad Yousuf instead of Inzamam-ul-Haq since there is a lot more data available for him. Shoaib Akhtar is a late selection. Daniel Vettori was an alternative. Similarly, Stephen Fleming for Shivnarine Chanderpaul was another possibility.

I would like to emphasise that the ball-by-ball data availability for these players is around 50%. This has to be remembered when deriving insights. It is also a fact that the 50% mark pertains to the latter half of the concerned player's career. My suggestion is not to extrapolate. Just take the figures at their face value.

Selected 6 Batsmen

1. Summary table for BRIAN LARA Bowler Type Bowling Avge Inns Balls Runs Wickets Batsman Scoring Rate HtH Average Bowler Strike Rate M Muralitharan rob 22.73 9 709 373 3 52.6 124.33 236.3 Chaminda Vaas LFM 29.58 9 372 233 1 62.6 233.00 372.0 Andre Nel RFM 31.86 11 341 185 8 54.3 23.12 42.6 Makhaya Ntini RF 28.83 11 312 225 1 72.1 225.00 312.0 Steve Harmison RFM 31.82 13 303 146 4 48.2 36.50 75.8 Danish Kaneria rlb 34.80 8 298 260 3 87.2 86.67 99.3 Andrew Flintoff RF 32.79 10 263 109 4 41.4 27.25 65.8 Jacques Kallis RFM 32.43 8 251 148 0 59.0 148.00 251.0 Brett Lee RF 30.82 14 243 172 2 70.8 86.00 121.5 Stuart MacGill rlb 29.03 7 236 174 2 73.7 87.00 118.0 Glenn McGrath RFM 21.64 12 233 90 2 38.6 45.00 116.5 Jason Gillespie RF 26.14 8 214 82 0 38.3 82.00 214.0 Shaun Pollock RFM 23.12 6 192 63 1 32.8 63.00 192.0 Shahid Nazir RFM 35.33 4 181 88 0 48.6 88.00 181.0 Andy Bichel RFM 32.24 8 171 112 4 65.5 28.00 42.8 Shane Warne rlb 25.42 7 168 105 3 62.5 35.00 56.0 Abdul Razzaq RFM 36.93 6 168 110 0 65.5 110.00 168.0 Thilan Samaraweera rob 45.93 7 161 80 1 49.7 80.00 161.0 Gareth Batty rob 66.64 1 161 130 0 80.7 130.00 161.0 Matthew Hoggard RFM 30.50 10 159 137 1 86.2 137.00 159.0

1. Muttiah Muralitharan bowled millions of balls to Brian Lara, 709 to be precise (for whatever part of the ball-by-data available career of two). But it is safe to say that Lara mastered Muralitharan: and how? Strike rate over 50, average of 124 and a wicket every 40 overs. Not forgetting that most of these balls were bowled in Sri Lanka.

2. On the flip side, a fairly ordinary bowler like Andre Nel had the complete measure of Lara. Eight wickets at a strike rate of 42. Andy Bichel was also quite successful: four wickets, striking every 43 balls. This is difficult to explain considering that he handled much better fast bowlers better.

3. Lara took Danish Kaneria to the cleaners. A scoring rate of more than 87 over nearly 300 balls. He had a scoring rate of over 70 against six bowlers out of these 20.

4. Glenn McGrath, Shaun Pollock and Jason Gillespie kept Lara in check, but with very little success. In fact, Kallis and Gillespie bowled a lot at Lara but did not dismiss him even once. Lara attacked Warne but also lost his wicket often.

2. Summary table for SACHIN TENDULKAR Bowler Type Bowling Avge Inns Balls Runs Wickets Batsman Scoring Rate HtH Average Bowler Strike Rate Mitchell Johnson LF 30.93 18 502 250 3 49.8 83.33 167.3 Paul Harris lsp 37.87 7 441 154 3 34.9 51.33 147.0 Brett Lee RF 30.82 19 432 242 5 56.0 48.40 86.4 M Muralitharan rob 22.73 14 366 196 6 53.6 32.67 61.0 James Anderson RFM 29.67 23 350 208 9 59.4 23.11 38.9 Ashley Giles lsp 40.60 5 348 125 1 35.9 125.00 348.0 Andrew Flintoff RF 32.79 17 342 133 2 38.9 66.50 171.0 Daniel Vettori lsp 34.42 12 314 95 3 30.3 31.67 104.7 Dale Steyn RF 22.66 11 310 149 3 48.1 49.67 103.3 Monty Panesar lsp 33.78 13 304 149 4 49.0 37.25 76.0 Matthew Hoggard RFM 30.50 13 292 182 3 62.3 60.67 97.3 Mohammad Sami RF 52.74 9 287 127 1 44.3 127.00 287.0 Mohammad Rafique lsp 40.76 5 283 140 1 49.5 140.00 283.0 Graeme Swann rob 28.14 14 279 150 4 53.8 37.50 69.8 Danish Kaneria rlb 34.80 8 269 151 1 56.1 151.00 269.0 Mervyn Dillon RFM 33.63 10 267 163 2 61.0 81.50 133.5 Ben Hilfenhaus RFM 28.51 10 250 161 0 64.4 161.00 250.0 Nathan Hauritz rob 34.98 5 236 179 1 75.8 179.00 236.0 Shakib Al Hasan lsp 32.75 5 234 119 1 50.9 119.00 234.0 Cameron Cuffy RF 33.67 8 233 107 2 45.9 53.50 116.5

1. James Anderson had the complete measure of Tendulkar. He got his wickets nine times at a strike rate of 39 balls.

2. In view of the contest at year-end, it is significant to note that Tendulkar has handled Dale Steyn quite comfortably.

3. Tendulkar has been circumspect against most bowlers. There is only one bowler, Nathan Hauritz, against whom Tendulkar had a scoring rate exceeding 70.

4. Possibly because this pertained to Tendulkar's second half of his career, there seems to be a cautious handling of the bowlers. Most spinners have kept Tendulkar quiet.

3. Summary table for RAHUL DRAVID Bowler Type Bowling Avge Inns Balls Runs Wickets Batsman Scoring Rate HtH Average Bowler Strike Rate M Muralitharan rob 22.73 16 688 326 5 47.4 65.20 137.6 Daniel Vettori lsp 34.42 12 609 275 2 45.2 137.50 304.5 Danish Kaneria rlb 34.80 13 583 305 5 52.3 61.00 116.6 Matthew Hoggard RFM 30.50 16 531 218 5 41.1 43.60 106.2 Andrew Flintoff RF 32.79 17 470 154 3 32.8 51.33 156.7 Mohammad Sami RF 52.74 14 454 205 2 45.2 102.50 227.0 James Anderson RFM 29.67 18 432 197 5 45.6 39.40 86.4 Brett Lee RF 30.82 16 389 153 5 39.3 30.60 77.8 Stuart MacGill rlb 29.03 8 357 225 0 63.0 225.00 357.0 Makhaya Ntini RF 28.83 13 345 149 3 43.2 49.67 115.0 Monty Panesar lsp 33.78 11 343 145 2 42.3 72.50 171.5 Pedro Collins LFM 34.62 11 341 178 0 52.2 178.00 341.0 Stuart Broad RFM 31.19 10 340 136 2 40.0 68.00 170.0 Devendra Bishoo rlb 39.55 9 339 165 2 48.7 82.50 169.5 Mitchell Johnson LF 30.93 13 324 113 4 34.9 28.25 81.0 Graeme Swann rob 28.14 9 318 163 3 51.3 54.33 106.0 Ashley Giles lsp 40.60 7 313 112 2 35.8 56.00 156.5 Jason Gillespie RF 26.14 12 300 84 4 28.0 21.00 75.0 Paul Harris lsp 37.87 8 300 107 1 35.7 107.00 300.0 Chris Martin RFM 33.81 10 297 89 3 30.0 29.67 99.0

1. Rahul Dravid has been quite careful against almost all bowlers. There is only one scoring rate in excess of 60: against Stuart MacGill.

2. No bowler has quite mastered Dravid. The lowest strike rate in this collection is 75, that of Gillespie.

3. Dravid faced Vettori very comfortably: 609 balls and only 2 wickets.

4. Summary table for JACQUES KALLIS Bowler Type Bowling Avge Inns Balls Runs Wickets Batsman Scoring Rate HtH Average Bowler Strike Rate Harbhajan Singh rob 32.38 18 676 382 6 56.5 63.67 112.7 Danish Kaneria rlb 34.80 13 621 258 4 41.5 64.50 155.2 Shane Warne rlb 25.42 22 550 280 5 50.9 56.00 110.0 Brett Lee RF 30.82 21 528 199 3 37.7 66.33 176.0 Anil Kumble rlb 29.65 14 494 191 1 38.7 191.00 494.0 Daniel Vettori lsp 34.42 10 475 208 0 43.8 208.00 475.0 Abdur Rehman lsp 28.41 8 434 222 0 51.2 222.00 434.0 James Anderson RFM 29.67 22 419 177 7 42.2 25.29 59.9 Zaheer Khan LFM 32.36 14 382 157 2 41.1 78.50 191.0 Glenn McGrath RFM 21.64 16 378 133 3 35.2 44.33 126.0 Andrew Flintoff RF 32.79 15 372 139 4 37.4 34.75 93.0 Steve Harmison RFM 31.82 13 346 146 4 42.2 36.50 86.5 S Sreesanth RFM 37.61 12 328 150 4 45.7 37.50 82.0 Chris Martin RFM 33.81 15 319 158 4 49.5 39.50 79.8 Umar Gul RFM 34.07 10 303 165 1 54.5 165.00 303.0 Peter Siddle RFM 28.58 15 294 170 2 57.8 85.00 147.0 Graeme Swann rob 28.14 8 288 147 1 51.0 147.00 288.0 Ray Price lsp 36.06 3 277 143 0 51.6 143.00 277.0 Mitchell Johnson LF 30.93 12 269 88 5 32.7 17.60 53.8 Dwayne Bravo RM 39.70 9 267 132 2 49.4 66.00 133.5

1. Anderson has been very successful against Jacques Kallis: 7 wickets at a strike rate of 60. Mitchell Johnson has also been quite successful.

2. Barring a few pace bowlers, Kallis has been quite successful against most bowlers.

3. Kallis vs Anil Kumble is simply amazing. 500 balls and a single dismissal. Similarly Graeme Swann has not been successful against Kallis. A single wicket in the 288 balls bowled.

4. Kallis has handled all bowlers quite well but at relatively low scoring rates: all, barring Steve Harmison, below 60.

5. Summary table for MOHAMMAD YOUSUF Bowler Type Bowling Avge Inns Balls Runs Wickets Batsman Scoring Rate HtH Average Bowler Strike Rate Anil Kumble rlb 29.65 17 504 287 5 56.9 57.40 100.8 Matthew Hoggard RFM 30.50 11 376 196 1 52.1 196.00 376.0 Steve Harmison RFM 31.82 7 355 235 2 66.2 117.50 177.5 Daniel Vettori lsp 34.42 8 315 110 2 34.9 55.00 157.5 Irfan Pathan LM 32.26 16 295 141 5 47.8 28.20 59.0 Monty Panesar lsp 33.78 7 291 145 3 49.8 48.33 97.0 Harbhajan Singh rob 32.38 11 263 155 3 58.9 51.67 87.7 Rangana Herath lsp 29.52 9 244 112 6 45.9 18.67 40.7 L Balaji RM 37.19 9 233 134 2 57.5 67.00 116.5 Dave Mohammed lws 51.38 3 228 132 1 57.9 132.00 228.0 Corey Collymore RFM 32.30 5 191 89 1 46.6 89.00 191.0 Zaheer Khan LFM 32.36 8 174 100 1 57.5 100.00 174.0 Andrew Flintoff RF 32.79 5 171 64 3 37.4 21.33 57.0 Jerome Taylor RF 35.65 5 169 121 0 71.6 121.00 169.0 Ray Price lsp 36.06 2 158 80 2 50.6 40.00 79.0 Chris Gayle rob 42.01 6 154 64 2 41.6 32.00 77.0 Dwayne Bravo RM 39.70 5 148 95 0 64.2 95.00 148.0 Iain O'Brien RFM 33.27 5 145 73 2 50.3 36.50 72.5 Daren Powell RFM 47.99 4 144 82 0 56.9 82.00 144.0 Enamul Haque lsp 57.11 3 140 89 0 63.6 89.00 140.0

1. Mohammad Yousuf against Matthew Hoggard is something. A single wicket in 376 balls.

2. Rangana Herath had the measure of Yousuf. He dismissed him six times in 244 balls. Similarly, Irfan Pathan.

3. Kumble bowled the maximum balls and had only reasonable success. Many bowlers had fair strike rates against Yousuf.

4. Yousuf attacked Harmison and Jerome Taylor.

6. Summary table for S CHANDERPAUL Bowler Type Bowling Avge Inns Balls Runs Wickets Batsman Scoring Rate HtH Average Bowler Strike Rate Harbhajan Singh rob 32.38 18 790 260 2 32.9 130.00 395.0 Anil Kumble rlb 29.65 13 500 232 6 46.4 38.67 83.3 Steve Harmison RFM 31.82 18 464 239 1 51.5 239.00 464.0 Andre Nel RFM 31.86 12 428 185 3 43.2 61.67 142.7 Makhaya Ntini RF 28.83 16 413 197 5 47.7 39.40 82.6 Danish Kaneria rlb 34.80 11 403 207 6 51.4 34.50 67.2 Monty Panesar lsp 33.78 8 392 179 2 45.7 89.50 196.0 Javagal Srinath RFM 30.47 11 382 139 3 36.4 46.33 127.3 Paul Harris lsp 37.87 9 359 179 1 49.9 179.00 359.0 Zaheer Khan LFM 32.36 9 355 136 2 38.3 68.00 177.5 James Anderson RFM 29.67 14 339 151 2 44.5 75.50 169.5 Jacques Kallis RFM 32.43 17 334 113 2 33.8 56.50 167.0 Graeme Swann rob 28.14 10 330 122 5 37.0 24.40 66.0 Brett Lee RF 30.82 16 329 126 3 38.3 42.00 109.7 Ashley Giles lsp 40.60 9 310 138 3 44.5 46.00 103.3 Stuart MacGill rlb 29.03 9 283 210 3 74.2 70.00 94.3 Daniel Vettori lsp 34.42 8 277 116 3 41.9 38.67 92.3 Matthew Hoggard RFM 30.50 14 269 146 4 54.3 36.50 67.2 Stuart Broad RFM 31.19 10 268 89 5 33.2 17.80 53.6 Ashish Nehra LM 42.41 6 261 108 0 41.4 108.00 261.0

1. This has already been discussed when looking at Harbhajan Singh. Chanderpaul was dismissed only twice in 790 balls.

2. Still more dominant is Chanderpaul against Harmison. A single dismissal in 464 balls. On a normal day this represents nearly a day's bowling.

3. But look at Chanderpaul's scoring rates. Plenty of instances below 40. He attacked only one bowler: Stuart MacGill.

Selected 6 Bowlers

7. Summary table for M MURALITHARAN Batsman Type Batting Avge Inns Balls Runs Wickets Batsman Scoring Rate HtH Average Bowler Strike Rate Brian Lara LHB 52.89 9 709 373 3 52.6 124.33 236.3 Rahul Dravid rhb 52.31 16 688 326 5 47.4 65.20 137.6 Ramnaresh Sarwan rhb 40.01 13 597 222 7 37.2 31.71 85.3 Mohammad Ashraful rhb 24.01 17 563 276 7 49.0 39.43 80.4 VVS Laxman rhb 45.97 15 496 240 2 48.4 120.00 248.0 Stephen Fleming LHB 40.07 5 453 171 0 37.7 171.00 453.0 Alastair Cook LHB 48.45 8 450 152 2 33.8 76.00 225.0 Paul Collingwood rhb 40.57 15 393 136 7 34.6 19.43 56.1 Graham Thorpe LHB 44.66 8 387 110 5 28.4 22.00 77.4 Sachin Tendulkar rhb 53.87 14 366 196 6 53.6 32.67 61.0 Mark Butcher LHB 34.58 7 357 106 2 29.7 53.00 178.5 Sourav Ganguly LHB 42.18 13 323 141 8 43.7 17.62 40.4 Michael Vaughan rhb 41.44 12 320 97 6 30.3 16.17 53.3 Jacob Oram LHB 36.33 11 296 107 5 36.1 21.40 59.2 Damien Martyn rhb 46.38 6 291 122 3 41.9 40.67 97.0 Shoaib Malik rhb 33.46 4 288 62 0 21.5 62.00 288.0 Gautam Gambhir LHB 44.19 10 271 137 4 50.6 34.25 67.8 Ashwell Prince LHB 41.65 6 267 88 3 33.0 29.33 89.0 Marcus Trescothick LHB 43.76 11 266 110 8 41.4 13.75 33.2 Daniel Vettori LHB 30.11 10 263 127 3 48.3 42.33 87.7

1. We have already talked of the dominance Lara had over Muralitharan. VVS Laxman and Cook were equally effective. Dravid suffers only in comparison.

2. The top batsmen seem to have played Muralitharan quite well. Only the English trio of Paul Collingwood, Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick seem to have a fair time, at best, against Muralitharan.

3. However the best against Muralitharan is undoubtedly Fleming. Over 453 balls and no dismissal. Shoaib Malik has been equally good.

4. Tendulkar has attacked Muralitharan but also been dismissed frequently. Lara and Tendulkar have been quite aggressive against Muralitharan.

8. Summary table for SHANE WARNE Batsman Type Batting Avge Inns Balls Runs Wickets Batsman Scoring Rate HtH Average Bowler Strike Rate Jacques Kallis rhb 56.10 22 550 280 5 50.9 56.00 110.0 Kevin Pietersen rhb 48.31 18 521 308 5 59.1 61.60 104.2 Ashwell Prince LHB 41.65 18 466 164 11 35.2 14.91 42.4 Mark Boucher rhb 30.30 22 417 219 9 52.5 24.33 46.3 Andrew Flintoff rhb 31.78 19 407 225 7 55.3 32.14 58.1 Ian Bell rhb 46.58 13 396 177 5 44.7 35.40 79.2 Neil McKenzie rhb 37.39 11 366 153 4 41.8 38.25 91.5 Herschelle Gibbs rhb 41.95 14 347 166 6 47.8 27.67 57.8 Nathan Astle rhb 37.02 15 333 141 2 42.3 70.50 166.5 Paul Collingwood rhb 40.57 10 317 165 2 52.1 82.50 158.5 Alec Stewart rhb 39.56 12 294 160 5 54.4 32.00 58.8 Stephen Fleming LHB 40.07 8 294 125 2 42.5 62.50 147.0 Mark Butcher LHB 34.58 12 287 151 4 52.6 37.75 71.8 Michael Vaughan rhb 41.44 10 285 131 3 46.0 43.67 95.0 Nasser Hussain rhb 37.19 10 278 109 3 39.2 36.33 92.7 Jacques Rudolph LHB 35.43 10 260 114 4 43.8 28.50 65.0 Shaun Pollock rhb 32.32 13 252 172 2 68.3 86.00 126.0 Andrew Strauss LHB 40.91 12 241 141 8 58.5 17.62 30.1 Gary Kirsten LHB 45.27 5 238 128 1 53.8 128.00 238.0 Thilan Samaraweera rhb 48.77 7 226 78 0 34.5 78.00 226.0

1. What do we see with Ashwell Prince? In the earlier article we have already seen Prince's three dismissals by Swann in five balls. Now we see that Warne has dismissed Prince 11 times at a strike rate of 40 balls.

2. Mark Boucher was dismissed nine times at a strike rate of 46, Andrew Flintoff seven times at 58, Alec Stewart five times at 59 and finally Andrew Strauss eight times at 30. Warne seems to have had the measure of all.

3. Kevin Pietersen has attacked Warne and has a high strike rate. Look at the way Shaun Pollock has handled Warne very effectively.

4. Look at how effectively Thilan Samaraweera has handled Warne.

9. Summary table for GLENN MCGRATH Batsman Type Batting Avge Inns Balls Runs Wickets Batsman Scoring Rate HtH Average Bowler Strike Rate Herschelle Gibbs rhb 41.95 17 492 191 3 38.8 63.67 164.0 Marcus Trescothick LHB 43.76 24 438 184 6 42.0 30.67 73.0 Jacques Kallis rhb 56.10 16 378 133 3 35.2 44.33 126.0 Mark Butcher LHB 34.58 15 365 174 5 47.7 34.80 73.0 Michael Vaughan rhb 41.44 14 348 193 6 55.5 32.17 58.0 Andrew Strauss LHB 40.91 15 336 168 3 50.0 56.00 112.0 Nathan Astle rhb 37.02 10 297 189 3 63.6 63.00 99.0 Ian Bell rhb 46.58 13 293 108 5 36.9 21.60 58.6 Kevin Pietersen rhb 48.31 13 270 135 5 50.0 27.00 54.0 Brian Lara LHB 52.89 12 233 90 2 38.6 45.00 116.5 Ramnaresh Sarwan rhb 40.01 9 232 82 2 35.3 41.00 116.0 Graeme Smith LHB 48.63 12 224 81 5 36.2 16.20 44.8 Stephen Fleming LHB 40.07 13 222 63 7 28.4 9.00 31.7 Mike Atherton rhb 37.70 10 210 86 6 41.0 14.33 35.0 Paul Collingwood rhb 40.57 11 199 54 2 27.1 27.00 99.5 Gary Kirsten LHB 45.27 10 196 75 4 38.3 18.75 49.0 Mark Richardson LHB 44.77 9 193 58 1 30.1 58.00 193.0 Nasser Hussain rhb 37.19 12 192 41 4 21.4 10.25 48.0 Chris Gayle LHB 42.46 8 177 63 4 35.6 15.75 44.2 Neil McKenzie rhb 37.39 10 176 76 2 43.2 38.00 88.0

1. With whatever data available, it is clear that McGrath has dominated quite a few batsmen. Fleming has the lowest strike rate: seven wickets at 32. Mike Atherton, six at 35. Pietersen and Ian Bell have similar figures.

2. Only Herschelle Gibbs has really dominated McGrath. To a lesser extent, Kallis and Strauss.

3. The metronome that McGrath was, it is amazing to see Nathan Astle taking him quite comfortably at a very good strike rate. Nasser Hussain found it difficult to get McGrath away.

10. Summary table for SHAUN POLLOCK Batsman Type Batting Avge Inns Balls Runs Wickets Batsman Scoring Rate HtH Average Bowler Strike Rate Marcus Trescothick LHB 43.76 18 381 126 4 33.1 31.50 95.2 Michael Vaughan rhb 41.44 18 367 91 5 24.8 18.20 73.4 Matthew Hayden LHB 50.74 11 356 152 2 42.7 76.00 178.0 Justin Langer LHB 45.27 11 352 137 3 38.9 45.67 117.3 Andrew Strauss LHB 40.91 9 336 121 2 36.0 60.50 168.0 Michael Hussey LHB 51.53 8 312 122 1 39.1 122.00 312.0 Ricky Ponting rhb 51.87 14 291 151 3 51.9 50.33 97.0 Rahul Dravid rhb 52.31 11 277 69 5 24.9 13.80 55.4 Taufeeq Umar LHB 38.72 8 277 72 1 26.0 72.00 277.0 Ramnaresh Sarwan rhb 40.01 9 241 108 4 44.8 27.00 60.2 Mark Butcher LHB 34.58 10 233 66 1 28.3 66.00 233.0 Chris Gayle LHB 42.46 6 224 117 1 52.2 117.00 224.0 Damien Martyn rhb 46.38 8 223 72 2 32.3 36.00 111.5 Virender Sehwag rhb 49.34 8 206 120 3 58.3 40.00 68.7 Mahela Jayawardene rhb 49.57 8 195 58 2 29.7 29.00 97.5 Brian Lara LHB 52.89 6 192 63 1 32.8 63.00 192.0 Sachin Tendulkar rhb 53.87 10 186 85 3 45.7 28.33 62.0 Graham Thorpe LHB 44.66 10 185 69 2 37.3 34.50 92.5 Marvan Atapattu rhb 39.02 8 183 55 3 30.1 18.33 61.0 Andrew Flintoff rhb 31.78 10 177 88 4 49.7 22.00 44.2

1. Shaun Pollock has had the measure of Flintoff and to a lesser extent, Dravid.

2. Mike Hussey has handled Pollock very well. 312 balls and a single dismissal tells the story. A few Australian top order batsmen and Lara have also been quite effective.

3. Chris Gayle has attacked Pollock's bowling with lot of success.

11. Summary table for ANIL KUMBLE Batsman Type Batting Avge Inns Balls Runs Wickets Batsman Scoring Rate HtH Average Bowler Strike Rate Younis Khan rhb 50.74 13 661 332 5 50.2 66.40 132.2 Ricky Ponting rhb 51.87 13 579 295 4 50.9 73.75 144.8 Mohammad Yousuf rhb 52.29 17 504 287 5 56.9 57.40 100.8 S Chanderpaul LHB 51.82 13 500 232 6 46.4 38.67 83.3 Jacques Kallis rhb 56.10 14 494 191 1 38.7 191.00 494.0 Michael Clarke rhb 51.59 14 469 276 6 58.8 46.00 78.2 Michael Vaughan rhb 41.44 11 459 272 2 59.3 136.00 229.5 Simon Katich LHB 45.03 15 439 265 6 60.4 44.17 73.2 Matthew Hayden LHB 50.74 15 399 256 5 64.2 51.20 79.8 Ramnaresh Sarwan rhb 40.01 12 394 151 3 38.3 50.33 131.3 Kamran Akmal rhb 30.79 15 379 201 5 53.0 40.20 75.8 Mahela Jayawardene rhb 49.57 8 370 161 3 43.5 53.67 123.3 Inzamam-ul-Haq rhb 49.61 10 352 234 5 66.5 46.80 70.4 Paul Collingwood rhb 40.57 10 324 146 3 45.1 48.67 108.0 Misbah-ul-Haq rhb 43.20 6 320 125 0 39.1 125.00 320.0 Damien Martyn rhb 46.38 12 317 178 5 56.2 35.60 63.4 Kevin Pietersen rhb 48.31 11 310 176 2 56.8 88.00 155.0 Nasser Hussain rhb 37.19 9 288 147 4 51.0 36.75 72.0 Michael Hussey LHB 51.53 7 276 170 1 61.6 170.00 276.0 Mohammad Sami rhb 11.60 13 272 67 5 24.6 13.40 54.4

1. Many of the batsmen who faced Kumble have played him quite well. We have already seen Kallis' 494 balls per wicket.

2. For all the accurate bowling Kumble was famous for, quite a few batsmen have very good scoring rates, led by Inzamam.

3. Look at how comfortably Hussey and Misbah-ul-Haq have handled Kumble.

4. Damien Martyn is the one Kumble had some measure of.

12. Summary table for SHOAIB AKHTAR Batsman Type Batting Avge Inns Balls Runs Wickets Batsman Scoring Rate HtH Average Bowler Strike Rate Rahul Dravid rhb 52.31 12 283 91 2 32.2 45.50 141.5 Virender Sehwag rhb 49.34 8 212 177 3 83.5 59.00 70.7 Justin Langer LHB 45.27 8 174 127 0 73.0 127.00 174.0 Marcus Trescothick LHB 43.76 7 165 73 2 44.2 36.50 82.5 Sourav Ganguly LHB 42.18 9 164 100 2 61.0 50.00 82.0 VVS Laxman rhb 45.97 10 154 80 1 51.9 80.00 154.0 Sachin Tendulkar rhb 53.87 8 140 79 2 56.4 39.50 70.0 Sanath Jayasuriya LHB 40.07 4 137 103 1 75.2 103.00 137.0 Ian Bell rhb 46.58 6 129 84 2 65.1 42.00 64.5 Matthew Hayden LHB 50.74 7 115 55 3 47.8 18.33 38.3 Ricky Ponting rhb 51.87 8 111 65 2 58.6 32.50 55.5 Wasim Jaffer rhb 34.11 6 109 47 2 43.1 23.50 54.5 Habibul Bashar rhb 30.88 5 102 95 1 93.1 95.00 102.0

1. Shoaib Akhtar has been quite effectively handled by the Indian batsmen, led by Dravid and Laxman. Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag have had mixed time against Akhtar.

2. Matthew Hayden is the batsmen against whom Akhtar has had some success.

One final reminder that we are looking at ball-by-ball data of around 50% for the players concerned. However, it should be noted that in certain cases, because one part of the concerned bowler-batsman pair could as well have complete data, the data presented is complete for this combination. Examples are Steyn vs Tendulkar and Warne vs Pietersen.

These are just samples of the type of insights which can be drawn. I have created an Excel sheet with 2954 instances of ball-by-ball data where the number of balls exceeds 100 or number of dismissals exceed 3. To download/view the document, a veritable treasure-trove of information, please CLICK HERE.

These three articles complete the first phase of analysis using the ball-by-ball data which has been extracted by Milind. After a break of an article or two I will look at some special analysis using this priceless data. Any suggestions from readers will be welcome. To start with, I may start with a single-Test based analysis.