A Cricketing View: November 2011

Monday, November 28, 2011

Most Valuable Player - ODI Bowling

In this series of posts, I present a list of the Most Valuable ODI Bowler for each cricket year, based on the method explained here (you can also find the top 100 all time ODI bowlers here), using following qualifications:

1. The player must have played at least 20 ODIs.
2. The player must have played at least 1 ODI in the said cricket year.
3. The player is evaluated over his 20 most recent ODIs.
4. A cricket year begins of May 1 and ends on April 30. For example, the 2001-02 cricket year is from May 1 2001 to April 30 2002.

The most valuable ODI bowler (considering games involving Test playing teams only) is one who takes the most number of wickets and concedes the fewest number of runs more consistently.

Value = Performance / (Average*Economy)
Performance = (Wickets By Bowler)*(Cost of Wickets for Team) - (Conceded By Bowler)
Economy = (Runs Conceded) / (Balls Bowled)
Average = (Runs Conceded)/(Wickets taken)

This is a rating that rewards consistency, situational (Performance) and more broadly (Average), virtuosity (wicket taking ability), control (economy).

See the record by year here:

1991-92 | 1992-93 | 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 | 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-00 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 |

MVP - ODI Bowling - 1991-92

See records for other years here:
1991-92 | 1992-93 | 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 | 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-00 |2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09| 2009-10 | 2010-11 |

MVP - ODI Bowling - 1992-93

MVP - ODI Bowling - 1993-94

MVP - ODI Bowling - 1994-95

MVP - ODI Bowling - 1995-96

MVP - ODI Bowling - 1996-97

MVP - ODI Bowling - 1997-98

MVP - ODI Bowling - 1998-99

MVP - ODI Bowling - 1999-00

MVP - ODI Bowling - 2000-01

MVP - ODI Bowling - 2001-02

MVP - ODI Bowling - 2002-03

MVP - ODI Bowling - 2003-04

MVP - ODI Bowling - 2004-05

MVP - ODI Bowling - 2005-06

See records for other years here:

1991-92 | 1992-93 | 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 | 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-00 |2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09| 2009-10 | 2010-11 |

MVP - ODI Bowling - 2006-07

MVP - ODI Bowling - 2007-08

MVP - ODI Bowling - 2008-09

MVP - ODI Bowling - 2009-10

MVP - ODI Bowling - 2010-11

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Most Valuable Player - ODI Bowling - Career

Previously in this series, I posted lists of most valuable test bowlers (I tweaked this method a little bit later, here in my year wise ratings for Test bowlers), most valuable test batsmen (extended here with a year wise record), and most valuable ODI batsmen (extended here with a year wise record). The reason I haven't done the same for ODI bowlers, is that I wasn't able to work out a method to my satisfaction. I have now done so.

The most valuable ODI bowler (considering games involving Test playing teams only) is one who takes the most number of wickets and concedes the fewest number of runs more consistently.

Value = Performance / (Average*Economy)

Performance = (Wickets By Bowler)*(Cost of Wickets for Team) - (Conceded By Bowler)

Economy = (Runs Conceded) / (Balls Bowled)

Average = (Runs Conceded)/(Wickets taken)

This is a rating that rewards consistency, situational (Performance) and more broadly (Average), virtuosity (wicket taking ability), control (economy).

I include a list of the top 100 ODI bowlers who have taken at least 100 ODI wickets against Test playing teams (coincidentally there are currently 100 such bowlers) below the jump. Muralitharan leads a list dominated by fast men. He is followed by Wasim Akram, Glenn McGrath, Saqlain Mushtaq and Waqar Younis. Joel Garner ranks 11th while Shane Bond is 17th. Javagal Srinath is the highest ranked Indian bowler at 12, followed by Kapil Dev (16), Ajit Agarkar (22), Zaheer Khan (27) and Anil Kumble (37).

The Test Strikes Back

Test Cricket is a heartless game and a ruthless mistress. The 3rd Test at Bombay between West Indies and India will be recorded as a Draw in the score book. This means, in cricketing terms, not parity, but the lack of a conclusion.

For the first four days of this Test Match, a dead rubber, the main point of interest was Sachin Tendulkar's hundredth 100. We can argue as to whether this is an actual landmark. We didn't anticipate Tendulkar's 50th international hundred in 2000, or his 200th score of at least 50 for India in 2007, or his 250th score of at least 50 for India in 2011, in the same way. When he made his 250th score of at least fifty for India, the next best record was Ponting's with 205. When he reached his 200th fifty for India, the next best record was jointly held by Brian Lara and Inzamam Ul Haq - 164. Even if we take into account his current century "drought" - he hasn't made a Test hundred in his last 7 Tests, Tendulkar has still made Test centuries at a rate better than once every 6 Tests. Of the top 100 run getters in Test Cricket, from Sachin Tendulkar to Alvin Kallicharan, only three - Bradman, Everton Weekes and Herbert Sutcliffe have done better.

Most Valuable Player - ODI Batting

In this series of posts, I present a list of the Most Valuable ODI Batsmen for each cricket year, based on the method explained here, using following qualifications:

1. The player must have played at least 20 ODI.
2. The player must have played at least 1 ODI in the said cricket year.
3. The player is evaluated over his 20 most recent ODI.
4. A cricket year begins of May 1 and ends on April 30. For example, the 2001-02 cricket year is from May 1 2001 to April 30 2002.

The Value of a player as an ODI batsman is given as follows:

Value = (Run Share) x (Strike Rate Ratio) x (Batting Average)
Performance = (Run Share) x (Strike Rate Ratio)

Run Share = Player's Runs / All other players' runs in that innings*
Strike Rate Ratio = Player's Strike Rate / Cumulative Strike Rate of all other players
Batting Average = Number of Runs per Dismissal

*For the purpose of this calculation only runs off the bat are considered. Extras are ignored as these do not accrue to any particular batsman.

See the record by year here: