Comparative Analysis of Top Test Batsmen Before and After 20 Century
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Joshi & Raizada (2020): Comparative analysis of top test batsmen Nov 2020 Vol. 23 Issue 17 Comparative analysis of top Test batsmen before and after 20th century Pushkar Joshi1 and Shiny Raizada2* 1Student, MBA, 2Assistant Professor,Symbiosis School of Sports Sciences, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune, Maharashtra, India *Corresponding author: [email protected] (Raizada) Abstract Background:This research paper derives that which generation of top batsmen (before 20th century and after 20th century) are best when compared on certain parameters.Methods: The authorcompared both generation top batsmen on parameters such as overall average, average away from home, number of not outs and outs during that particular batsman’s career (weighted batting average). Conclusion: This research concludes that the top batsmen after 20th century have an edge over top batsmen before 20th century. Keywords: Bowling Average, Cricket, Overall Batting Average, Weighted Batting Average, Wickets How to cite this article: Joshi P, Raizada S (2020): Comparative analysis of top test batsmen before and after 20th century, Ann Trop Med & Public Health; 23(S17): SP231738. DOI: http://doi.org/10.36295/ASRO.2020.231738 1. Introduction: Cricket as a game has evolved as an intense competition after its invention in early 17th century. Truth be told, a progression of Codes of Law has administered this game for more than 250 years. Much the same as baseball (which could be called cricket's cousin in light of their likenesses), cricket's fundamental element is the technique in question and that is the primary motivation behind why cricket fans love the game to such an extent. From an analyst's perspective, cricket is an extraordinary game since the finite number of results and balls makes it favourable for displaying (1). The game of cricket is considered as one of the significant universal games in which there is a lot of media involvement. Today, this game is played in three unique arrangements, i.e. Test, One-day (ODI) and Twenty-Twenty (T20) at the world level. But Test cricket is the most seasoned design among the three. It has additionally the longest structure in the realm of sports and is universally acclaimed because of its most elevated playing standard. In Test cricket, two groups comprising of 11 players in each play a four-innings coordinate, which may last as long as five days. The history of Test cricket started right back in 1877 when the Australian team played against the England cricket team. Then after, South African cricket team became the third ever Test-playing nation in 1888-89, when they played against the England side. After the evolution of these three sides, there has been an addition of 9 Test-playing nations in the cricketing world. The teams that are added are India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri – Lanka, West Indies, Zimbabwe, and Bangladesh. Moreover, in the year 2017 Afghanistan and Ireland also gained Test recognition(2). Annals of Tropical Medicine & Public Health http://doi.org/10.36295/ASRO.2020.231738 Joshi & Raizada (2020): Comparative analysis of top test batsmen Nov 2020 Vol. 23 Issue 17 In Test cricket format it is always important to consider parameters other than batting average while evaluating any batsman’s performance (3). There are many other parameters such as strike rate, number of times batsmen scored centuries, the number of not outs and many other factors through which a Test batsman can be assessed. Moreover, the evolution of technology has made the game of cricket clearer, as now the batsmen can use the DRS system, which eventually saves any batsmen from wrong decisions by the umpire (4). With these, batsmen averages improved after the evolution of the technology in the game of cricket. Moreover, bowlers also improved their bowling averages and their wicket-taking abilities, due to gigantic improvement in technology. Also, the performance of a batsman differs at home and away conditions on the particular matchday. Talking on the performance analysis perspective, the batsmen performance in different conditions matter a lot, and also mentality plays a huge role in a batsman’s performance (5). Batting average is something which also depends on unrealistic parametric assumption (6). Furthermore, batting performance of a batsman in Test cricket depends on parameters such as average of a particular batsman, batsmen performance at home or away and it also depends on physical parameters such as height and batting style of the batsmen (7). Also, batsmen scoring a century in match where his team score is 600 is less important than a batsman scoring a century when the team total is 200(8). Data envelopment analysis (DEA) and stochastic multicriteria acceptability analysis (SMAA) can also be used to assess the efficiency of batsmen, in which number of balls bowled and runs scored is an important factor (9). Usage of discretionary and non- discretionary variables is also crucial and it also helps to derive the final result of SMAA – DEA model. Performance analysis of cricket players which is always an important aspect because of the evolution of the game. It was analysed through principle component analysis and ranking methods. It was proven that through statistical science, ranking matrix is created and through these various results can be obtained (10). Adding onto this, the author’s research was conclusive as it covered batting average, batting average away from home, with primary focus on weighted batting average (WBA) for the comparative analysis of top batsmen from both the generations. Also, top fast bowlers from both the eras were included in the research which was inculcated in order to have The objective of the research was to analyse the top Test batsmen before and after 20th century. 2. Material & methods: Selection of subjects: The subject for the study was top 5 batsmen from both the eras according to WBA followed by top 5 bowlers from both the eras according to bowling averages and wickets taken. Also, to calculate WBA following formula was used: career overall score/ (no of innings in which he is dismissed) + (no of innings in which he remained not-out and has scored above his average score) + (sum of innings in which he has scored less than his average score/his total average score) Annals of Tropical Medicine & Public Health http://doi.org/10.36295/ASRO.2020.231738 Joshi & Raizada (2020): Comparative analysis of top test batsmen Nov 2020 Vol. 23 Issue 17 Batsmen selected according to WBA’s are as follows: Table 1: Top 5 batsmen from both the centuries Batsmen before 20th century Batsmen after 20th century Mark Waugh (WBA = 99) Alastair Cook (WBA = 111) Allan Border (WBA = 95) Ricky Ponting (WBA = 107) Alec Stewart (WBA = 93) Rahul Dravid (WBA = 103) Michael Atherton (WBA = 91), Jacques Kallis (WBA = 101) David Gower (WBA = 89) Matthew Hayden (WBA = 96) Top 5 bowlers selected on the basis of best bowling average followed by wickets taken from both the generations: Table 2: Top 5 bowlers from both the centuries Bowlers before 20th century Bowlers after 20th century Courtney Walsh James Anderson (West Indies) (England) Richard Hadlee Stuart Broad (New Zealand) (England) Curtley Ambrose MakhayaNtini (West Indies) (South Africa) Malcom Marshall Glen McGrath (West Indies) (Australia) WasimAkram Dale Steyn (Pakistan) (South Africa) Selection of variables: Variables: WBA (Weighted Batting Average), batsmen overall average and average away from home, an average of the ratio of bowling average to wickets. Data collection: The research was quantitative because it involved numerical data.The research was based on Correlational approach, where work was done on Secondary data.The data i.e. batting average, WBA, bowling averages and wickets have been taken from ESPN Cricinfo and ICC’s official website. 3. Results and Discussion: Table 3: Average of top batsmen before 20th century Batsmen before 20th Century Overall Batting average Batting Average away from home Mark Waugh (Australia) 41.81 40.5 Allan Border (Australia) 50.56 56.57 Alec Stewart (England) 39.34 38.93 Michael Atherton (England) 37.69 35.85 David Gower (England) 44.25 46.06 Annals of Tropical Medicine & Public Health http://doi.org/10.36295/ASRO.2020.231738 Joshi & Raizada (2020): Comparative analysis of top test batsmen Nov 2020 Vol. 23 Issue 17 Table 4: Average of top batsmen after 20th century Batsmen after 20th Century Overall Batting average Batting Average away from home Alastair Cook (England) 45.35 46.48 Ricky Ponting (Australia) 51.85 46.40 Rahul Dravid (India) 52.35 53.03 Jacques Kallis (South Africa) 55.37 53.91 Matthew Hayden (Australia) 50.73 42.68 Table 3&4 reflects overall average and batting average away from home of top 5 batsmen from both the eras. Average Average away from home Weighted batting average 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 MARK WAUGH ALLAN BORDER ALEC STEWART MICHAEL DAVID GOWER A T H E R T O N Figure 1: Graph of top batsmen before 20th century which depicts WBA, Overall average, Average away from home. Average Average away from home Weighted batting average 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 A COOK R PONTING R DRAVID KALLIS HAYDEN Figure 2: Graph of top batsmen after 20th century which depicts WBA, Overall average, Average away from home. Annals of Tropical Medicine & Public Health http://doi.org/10.36295/ASRO.2020.231738 Joshi & Raizada (2020): Comparative analysis of top test batsmen Nov 2020 Vol. 23 Issue 17 From figure 1 & 2 it is clear that batsmen after 20th century have an edge over batsmen before 20thcentury. Also, it can be clearly seen from figure 2 that batsmen after 20th century are much more accurate in terms of WBA, Overall average, and Overall average away from home.