It has been noticed that a bowler (spinner or speedster) gets his wickets, almost always, when he concedes less runs in an over, be it in any format and at any level played. This eventually leads to winning games.
Here is a look at the performance of bowlers in the recently concluded Pataudi Trophy
Of the 14 regular bowlers used (7 from each team), 6 of them (3 from each team) bowled more than 100 overs in the series.
Let us also look at the following statistics :
1- Overall bowling figures
2- Overs-measurement indicator, which indicates the consistency with regards to conceding less runs vis-a-vis taking wickets.
3- Bowling spells to check the wicket-taking effectiveness against (conceding of) less runs.
1- Overall bowling figures
| England | Overs | Runs | Wkts | India | Overs | Runs | Wkts |
| Anderson | 199.1 | 515 | 25 | B Kumar | 172.5 | 506 | 19 |
| Moeen | 123.4 | 437 | 19 | Ishant | 115 | 381 | 14 |
| Broad | 175.5 | 437 | 19 | Jadeja | 156 | 420 | 9 |
| Jordan | 61.2 | 223 | 10 | Aaron | 55 | 250 | 5 |
| Stokes | 87.5 | 232 | 7 | Shami | 96 | 366 | 5 |
| Plunkett | 94 | 289 | 7 | Ashwin | 35.3 | 101 | 3 |
| Woakes | 71 | 217 | 5 | Pankaj S | 75 | 292 | 2 |
2- Overs-Measurement Indicator
The benchmark for Test matches is as given below :
| Measurement indicator | Symbol | Calculation / criteria | Benchmark percentage |
| Consecutive Maiden Overs | C M | Inclusion of maiden overs | > 5.00 % |
| Maiden over | Mdn | Inclusion of byes and leg byes | >10.00 % |
| Less than 3 runs per over in consecutive overs | C 3 | Inclusion of Mdn & C M | > 20.00 % |
| Less than 3 runs per over | L 3 | Inclusion of Mdn, C M, & C 3 | > 35.00 % |
In the table given below, we look at the sum & percentages of maiden overs, consecutive maiden overs, and other such bowling measurement indicators.
The second last column*indicateswickets that were picked during these “types” of overs. Compare these with the last column, which shows the total wickets taken in the series.
For instance, Anderson’s 19 wickets (of the 25) came when he either conceded less than 3 runs in an over or bowled a maiden over.
Runs per over reflect the overall run rate. But these measurements talk about precision. And they work for all formats, depending on the customization of these measurements. As a thumb rule, to be considered as an economical bowler in Test cricket, 3 or less runs have to be conceded per over.
Only Chris Jordan and Moeen Ali conceded more than 3.50 runs per over for England in this series.
The percentage of Jordan’s CM & Mdn indicators were quite high, but C 3 & L 3 indicators were low. This is surprising for a fast bowler, clearly reflecting his ability to pick wickets (since 40 % of his wickets were taken when he conceded more runs).
Moeen Ali, on the other hand was the least economical English bowler of all, Yet 14 of the 19 wickets that he picked, came when he conceded less runs (C 3, L 3, CM & maiden overs). He only became effective after his second spell (refer to the Spells table)
| England | Over | C M | MDN | C 3 | L 3 | Wkts* | Total wkts |
| Anderson | 199.1 | 21(10.55%) | 65(32.65%) | 70(35.16%) | 126(63.28%) | 19 | 25 |
| Broad | 175.5 | 13(7.41%) | 56(31.91%) | 61(34.76%) | 114(64.96%) | 18 | 19 |
| Moeen | 123.4 | 4(3.24%) | 16(12.97%) | 32(25.93%) | 68(55.11%) | 14 | 19 |
| Jordan | 61.2 | 4(6.54%) | 16(26.14%) | 13(21.24%) | 32(52.29%) | 6 | 10 |
| Plunkett | 94 | 4(4.26%) | 20(21.28%) | 29(30.85%) | 57(60.64%) | 6 | 7 |
| Stokes | 87.5 | 4(4.57%) | 16(18.29%) | 27(30.86%) | 57(65.14%) | 5 | 7 |
| Woakes | 71 | 8(11.27%) | 21(29.58%) | 22(30.99%) | 45(63.38%) | 5 | 5 |
For India, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar was the only fast bowler to achieve the highest percentage of L 3. The rest could not even manage / sustain these indicators i.e. > 60.00 % of L 3. They all conceded more than 3.5 runs per over.
As far as spinners were concerned, only Jadeja did an excellent job of ‘not giving away’ runs. He even could have regularly picked wickets, if he had been constantly supported from the other side by another spinner (Ashwin, in this case) in this series. Spinners are generally more effective when there are more than two, playing regularly in the team. Jadeja accuracy could only fetch 50% of his total wickets.
Ashwin did play the last two tests, but was less effective with regards to these indicators. Of his 35, he could only bowl 3 maiden overs.
| India | Over | C M | MDN | C 3 | L 3 | Wkts | Total wkts |
| B Kumar | 172.5 | 11(6.38%) | 45(26.09%) | 52(30.14%) | 108(62.61%) | 10 | 19 |
| Jadeja | 156 | 3(1.94%) | 25(16.15%) | 76(49.10%) | 116(74.94%) | 7 | 14 |
| Ishant | 115 | 5(4.35%) | 22(19.13%) | 33(28.70%) | 67(58.26%) | 6 | 9 |
| Shami | 96 | 1(1.04%) | 15(15.63%) | 10(10.42%) | 37(38.54%) | 4 | 5 |
| Ashwin | 35.3 | 0(0 %) | 3*(8.50%) | 10(28.33%) | 25(70.82%) | 3 | 3 |
| Pankaj S | 75 | 2(2.67%) | 17(22.67%) | 9(12.00%) | 34(45.33%) | 2 | 2 |
| Aaron | 55 | 2(3.64%) | 5(9.09%) | 9(16.36%) | 25(45.45%) | 1 | 5 |
| Binny | 32 | 0(0 %) | 0(0 %) | 7(21.88%) | 15(46.88%) | 0 | 0 |
Overall India failed to live up to their excellent performance at Lord’s.
Here is a link to meaning of all indicators/formula –
http://allthatcricket.com/?p=1489
