Category: Cricket

Which cricketer has the worst Test match bowling average?

According to ESPNcricinfo, the cricketer with the worst Test match bowling average is the splendidly-named Sri Lankan Ellawalakankanamge Asoka Ranjit de Silva, thankfully listed on cricket scorecards as E.A.R. De Silva and referred to hereafter as ‘Asoka de Silva’. A right-arm, leg-spin/googly bowler by trade, Asoka de Silva had a relatively short playing career, featuring in ten Test matches between 1985 and 1991.

He made his Test debut against India at the Singhalese Sports Club (SSC) Cricket Ground in August, 1985 and, although wicketless, bowled entirely respectably for match figures of 27-11-38-0. It was a similar story on his final Test appearance, against New Zealand at Eden Park, Auckland in March, 1991, when he finished with match figures of 54-12-128-2, although his did manage to record his career-best bowling figures of 2/67 in the first innings.

All told, Asoka de Silva bowled 2,328 deliveries in Test cricket, conceding 1,032 runs and taking eight wickets at an average of 129.0. That is not to say that he was an altogether poor or wildly inaccurate bowler; in fact, his Test match economy rate of 2.66 is positively miserly compared with many bowlers. However, he evidently had difficulties making a breakthrough, judged by his strike rate of 291.0, or the equivalent of one wicket every 48.6 overs, or over half a day’s play in a typical Test match.

Who holds the record for the fastest century in Twenty20 cricket?

Twenty20 cricket, in its current form, has only been part of the cricketing landscape since 2003, but has quickly become the most popular form of the game. Twenty20 cricket effectively removes the fear of dismissal, allowing batsmen to make brave, albeit risky, decisions. The end result is an average run rate of 7, 8 or more runs per over, compared with, say, 3 or 4 runs per over in Test cricket, so the appeal of the short form to a younger audience is not hard to see.

When it comes to the centuries in the 20-over format, the fastest ever was that recorded by former West Indian Test captain Chris Gayle for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors India in the Indian Premier League in Bengaluru, or Bangalore, on April 23, 2013. Gayle reached his hundred off just 30 balls, on his way to an unbeaten 175 off 66 balls, which included 17 sixes and 13 fours. It’s quite some record, comparable to an unlikely yet very welcome online casinos win!

In international Twenty20 cricket, the record for the fastest century is held, jointly, by South African David Miller, who took 35 balls for his hundred against Bangladesh in Potchefstroom on October 29, 2017 and Indian Rohit Sharma, who achieved the same feat against Sri Lanka at Indore on December 22 the same year. Interestingly, Miller was dropped by Bangladeshi wicket keeper Niroshan Dickwella off the second ball of his innings, without scoring.

South Africa have waited a long time for a left-arm superstar, now they can conquer the world

South Africa have waited a long time for a left-arm superstar, now they can conquer the world There would have been a few South Africans who rubbed their eyes repeatedly on the morning of the 26th of December 2021 as Marco Jansen ran in to bowl against India, just to make sure they were really seeing what was on the TV. The 21-year-old had, of course, flown under the radar before his international Test call up, which meant that most Proteas fans hadn’t yet had a glimpse of the lanky left-arm quick.

But there he was on Boxing Day morning, cruising up to the wicket effortlessly to bowl left-arm seam. Indeed, there would have been many double-takes from supporters in the Rainbow Nation, followed by excited messages sent to WhatsApp groups up and down the country to see if everyone else was witnessing the same thing. Perhaps there would have even been a tear or two rolling down the faces of the more ardent fans, given the significance of what this could mean for the Proteas in the future.

 

Conversely, in living rooms around London, Lahore, New Delhi, and Melbourne, there would have been those shifting nervously in their seats as Jansen bowled, also aware of what this could mean for South Africa’s opposition. So, why has the world reacted this way and why have South Africa’s chances of winning the World Cup in 2023 come down in the latest cricket betting odds for the showpiece in India, where they’re now priced at odds of 9/1 to clinch the title, since Jansen arrived on the scene?

To put it plainly, left-arm quicks are like hen’s teeth in Test cricket, but when they do come along, they tend to enjoy a long and illustrious career in the game. You only need to think about Chaminda Vaas, Wasim Akram, Mitchell Johnson, and even Zaheer Khan to get a better understanding of how destructive a left-arm quick can be.

 

Perhaps you can say this X-factor is generated by the angles they create at the crease upon delivery and how much they play havoc with the decision-making of batsmen as they are always kept in two minds. Often, they typically work in tandem with a right-arm fast bowler, which means that batsmen have to keep adjusting their stances to allow for the revolving risk of LBW, bowled or caught behind.

 

Now the majority of these bowlers are well over six feet, with Vaas being the exception to the rule. In Jansen’s case, however, he is considerably taller than all of them at 6-feet and 8-inches, which is bound to help him get an even steeper bounce than his predecessors from the left arm quicks club.

In essence, it’s going to be a nightmare facing him on most pitches around the world and even on the more docile decks of the subcontinent that typically favour spin, Jansen will be the bowler with the skills in his armoury to extract the most joy. In other words, the South African will make the ball sing on most pitches around the world when he sends through his skilled seam that invariably beats the batsmen after kissing the surface.

In fact, we saw that against India as the South African took 19 wickets at an average of 16.5 to help the Proteas win the Test series 2-1.

Having enjoyed such a successful debut against the world’s finest Test team, one can say with a degree of certainty that Jansen will help South Africa conquer the world over the next 15 years.

Who played the slowest innings in Test cricket?

The cricketer with the dubious distinction of playing the slowest innings in the history of Test cricket is former New Zealand fast bowler Geoffery Allot. On March 2, 1999, which was the fourth day of the first Test of the South Africa tour of New Zealand, played at Eden Park, Auckland, Allot came to the crease, at No. 11, with New Zealand on 320-9, in response to South Africa’s impressive first innings total of 621-5 declared. With his side still needing 102 runs to avoid the follow-on, Allot was involved in a 32-run last-wicket stand with Chris Harris, who had come in a No. 5 and went on to score a respectable 68 not out.

Who played the slowest innings in Test cricket? However, despite batting for 101 minutes and facing 77 deliveries, Allot was eventually caught by Shaun Pollock off the bowling of Jacques Kallis without troubling the scorer. In so doing, he broke the uwanted record, previously held by former England wicketkeeper Godfrey Evans, for the slowest innings in Test history. Although his strike rate was 0.00, Allot did, at least, occupy the crease for over an hour-and-a-half. New Zealand followed on, reaching 244-3 at close of play on the fifth and final day and the match was drawn. For the record, the second Test at Lancaster Park, Christchurch was also drawn and South Africa won the third Test at basin Reserve, Wellington by eight wickets, thereby winning the Test series 1-0.

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When you really think about it, a knowledge of the curious (such as who played the slowest innings in test cricket) can be parlayed into a bet if you know how it will, or is likely to, impact the game. The same applies to other cricketing facts or a players form. For instance, Ishant Sharma has the three highest scores made by a batsman against India this century. Therefore keeping that fact in mind when he’s playing India may well impact your choice of bets. The same can be true of any curious facts and info really. It’s all about how you use it to your advantage, by weighing up its relevance and so on.

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