Bowling performances in England during the World Cup
Mohandas Menon
In the previous article we had looked at the batting performances in World Cup competitions on English soil, between 1975 to 1983.
This time, we look at the bowling performances, at the same venue, during the same period.
Just for the record, a total of 141 bowlers from 10 countries have in all
bowled 35, 898 balls (5983 overs) in the World Cup in England. These
bowlers have conceded 21, 596 runs and have captured 748 wickets (which
obviously excludes dismissals by the way of run-outs). The bowlers thus
average 28.87 runs per wicket; they capture a wicket every 47.99 balls and
concede 3.61 runs every over.
Table A provides the summary of the wickets
lost by various teams in the World Cup in England.
To Andy Roberts, the West Indian paceman, goes the distinction of capturing
the maximum wickets in the three World Cups in England. Interestingly, from
the list provided in table B, spinners Vic Marks of England and Abdul Qadir of Pakistan have been the most successful bowlers in terms of wickets, with
13 and 12 respectively. However they occupy the 14th and 17th positions in the overall table -- which seems to indicate that spin is not a potent weapon on English soil.
Table B in fact examines the success, or lack of it, of the slower bowlers in England. Since the World Cup matches are played in the first half of the summer, when it is usually wet and cold, slow bowlers find it difficult to grip the ball, and thereby are rendered ineffective. Table C underlines this point.
Just for the record, Indian slow bowlers have never fared well in England. Table D lists the performance of Indian spin bowlers in England in all one-day matches from 1974 to 1996.
This is an aspect our selectors need to think about, while picking the team for England. It would seem that even a bowler of the caliber of Anil Kumble could
be rendered ineffective in English conditions.
TABLE A : SUMMARY OF WICKETS LOST BY VARIOUS TEAMS
Country |
M |
WKTS |
B |
CF |
CK |
C&B |
HW |
LBW |
RO |
St |
O |
RH |
NO |
Australia |
14 |
108 |
28 |
39 |
14 |
4 |
- |
11 |
12 |
- |
- |
1 |
23 |
Canada |
3 |
29 |
11 |
6 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
- |
1 |
- |
- |
3 |
East Africa |
3 |
28 |
15 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
- |
5 |
3 |
1 |
- |
- |
4 |
England |
16 |
99 |
34 |
23 |
16 |
2 |
- |
16 |
8 |
- |
- |
- |
26 |
India |
14 |
107 |
18 |
44 |
21 |
4 |
- |
11 |
9 |
- |
- |
1 |
20 |
New Zealand |
14 |
104 |
26 |
36 |
12 |
2 |
- |
17 |
10 |
1 |
- |
- |
23 |
Pakistan |
14 |
101 |
16 |
41 |
19 |
5 |
- |
11 |
9 |
- |
- |
- |
24 |
Sri Lanka |
11 |
95 |
22 |
37 |
12 |
7 |
- |
7 |
6 |
4 |
- |
2 |
15 |
West Indies |
17 |
94 |
20 |
31 |
17 |
4 |
1 |
13 |
6 |
2 |
- |
- |
31 |
Zimbabwe |
6 |
53 |
10 |
11 |
14 |
2 |
- |
8 |
7 |
1 |
- |
- |
8 |
|
56 |
818 |
200 |
270 |
129 |
34 |
2 |
103 |
70 |
10 |
- |
4 |
177 |
M = Matches; WKTS = Wickets; B = Bowled; CF = Caught by Fielder; CK =
Caught by Keeper; C&B = Caught and Bowled; HW = Hit-Wicket; LBW = Leg
Before Wicket; RO = Run-Out; St = Stumped; 0 = Others; RH = Retired Hurt;
NO = Not Out |
TABLE B : HIGHEST WICKET AGGREGATES FOR BOWLERS IN THE WORLD CUP IN ENGLAND (Qualification: 10 or more wickets)
No |
Bowlers |
Country |
M |
Balls |
Md |
Runs |
Wkts |
Ave |
Best |
5 |
4 |
SR |
R/o |
01 |
AME Roberts |
WI |
16 |
1021 |
29 |
552 |
26 |
21.23 |
3/32 |
- |
- |
39.27 |
3.24 |
02 |
RJ Hadlee |
NZ |
13 |
877 |
38 |
421 |
22 |
19.14 |
5/25 |
1 |
- |
39.86 |
2.88 |
03 |
Madan Lal |
Ind |
11 |
698 |
12 |
426 |
22 |
19.36 |
4/20 |
- |
1 |
31.73 |
3.66 |
04 |
MA Holding |
WI |
11 |
695 |
16 |
341 |
20 |
17.05 |
4/33 |
- |
1 |
34.75 |
2.94 |
05 |
RMH Binny |
Ind |
8 |
528 |
9 |
336 |
18 |
18.67 |
4/29 |
- |
1 |
29.33 |
3.01 |
06 |
RGD Willis |
Eng |
11 |
709 |
27 |
315 |
18 |
17.50 |
4/11 |
- |
2 |
39.39 |
2.66 |
07 |
ALF de Mel |
SL |
6 |
396 |
13 |
265 |
17 |
15.59 |
5/32 |
2 |
- |
23.29 |
4.01 |
08 |
CM Old |
Eng |
9 |
543 |
18 |
243 |
16 |
15.19 |
4/8 |
- |
1 |
33.94 |
2.68 |
09 |
M Amarnath |
Ind |
14 |
663 |
9 |
431 |
16 |
26.94 |
3/12 |
- |
- |
41.44 |
3.90 |
10 |
Sarfraz Nawaz |
Pak |
11 |
714 |
15 |
435 |
16 |
27.19 |
4/44 |
- |
1 |
44.63 |
3.65 |
11 |
BL Cairns |
NZ |
11 |
692 |
16 |
436 |
14 |
31.14 |
3/36 |
- |
- |
49.43 |
3.78 |
12 |
Kapil Dev |
Ind |
11 |
702 |
19 |
382 |
14 |
27.29 |
5/43 |
1 |
- |
50.14 |
3.26 |
13 |
IT Botham |
Eng |
12 |
798 |
26 |
456 |
14 |
32.57 |
2/12 |
- |
- |
57.00 |
3.42 |
14 |
+VJ Marks |
Eng |
7 |
468 |
9 |
246 |
13 |
18.92 |
5/39 |
1 |
- |
36.00 |
3.15 |
15 |
BJ McKechnie |
NZ |
8 |
539 |
9 |
304 |
13 |
23.38 |
3/24 |
- |
- |
41.46 |
3.38 |
16 |
J Garner |
WI |
8 |
540 |
12 |
289 |
13 |
22.23 |
5/38 |
1 |
- |
41.54 |
3.21 |
17 |
+Abdul Qadir |
Pak |
6 |
406 |
6 |
264 |
12 |
22.00 |
5/44 |
1 |
1 |
33.83 |
3.90 |
18 |
MD Marshall |
WI |
6 |
420 |
10 |
175 |
12 |
14.58 |
3/28 |
- |
- |
35.00 |
2.58 |
19 |
JV Coney |
NZ |
10 |
534 |
7 |
303 |
12 |
25.25 |
3/28 |
- |
- |
44.50 |
3.40 |
20 |
DK Lillee |
Aus |
9 |
588 |
8 |
400 |
12 |
33.33 |
5/34 |
1 |
- |
49.00 |
4.08 |
21 |
GJ Gilmour |
Aus |
2 |
144 |
8 |
62 |
11 |
5.64 |
6/14 |
2 |
- |
13.09 |
2.58 |
22 |
KD Boyce |
WI |
5 |
312 |
3 |
185 |
10 |
18.50 |
4/50 |
- |
1 |
31.20 |
3.55 |
23 |
M Hendrick |
Eng |
5 |
336 |
14 |
149 |
10 |
14.90 |
4/15 |
- |
1 |
33.60 |
2.66 |
24 |
Asif Iqbal |
Pak |
5 |
354 |
5 |
215 |
10 |
21.50 |
4/56 |
- |
1 |
35.40 |
3.64 |
25 |
Imran Khan |
Pak |
13 |
356 |
10 |
182 |
10 |
18.20 |
3/15 |
- |
- |
35.60 |
3.06 |
26 |
BD Julien |
WI |
5 |
360 |
11 |
177 |
10 |
17.70 |
4/20 |
- |
2 |
36.00 |
2.95 |
27 |
RM Hogg |
Aus |
8 |
468 |
9 |
271 |
10 |
27.10 |
3/40 |
- |
- |
46.80 |
3.47 |
28 |
+DS de Silva |
SL |
11 |
660 |
12 |
463 |
10 |
46.30 |
3/29 |
- |
- |
66.00 |
4.20 |
+ Spinners
TABLE C : Performance of slow bowlers in the World Cup in England from 1975 to 1983.
Bowlers |
Teams |
Type |
M |
Balls |
Mdns |
Runs |
Wkts |
Avge |
4wi |
Best |
S/r |
R/o |
Vic Marks |
Eng |
ROB |
7 |
468 |
9 |
246 |
13 |
18.92 |
1 |
5-39 |
36.00 |
3.15 |
Adbul Qadir |
Pak |
RLBG |
6 |
406 |
6 |
264 |
12 |
22.00 |
2 |
5-44 |
33.83 |
3.90 |
Somachandra deSilva |
SL |
RLBG |
11 |
660 |
12 |
463 |
10 |
46.30 |
- |
3-29 |
66.00 |
4.20 |
Larry Gomes |
WI |
ROB |
8 |
444 |
4 |
304 |
9 |
33.78 |
- |
2-46 |
49.33 |
4.10 |
Viv Richards |
WI |
ROB |
17 |
312 |
2 |
219 |
9 |
24.33 |
- |
3-41 |
34.67 |
4.21 |
Majid Khan |
Pak |
ROB |
7 |
282 |
8 |
117 |
7 |
16.71 |
- |
3-27 |
40.29 |
2.48 |
Tom Hogan |
Aust |
SLA |
4 |
282 |
2 |
172 |
6 |
28.67 |
- |
2-33 |
47.00 |
3.65 |
Hedley Howarth |
NZ |
SLA |
4 |
240 |
5 |
148 |
5 |
29.60 |
- |
3-29 |
48.00 |
3.70 |
Best for India : |
Ravi Shastri |
IND |
SLA |
5 |
121 |
1 |
87 |
4 |
21.75 |
- |
3-26 |
30.25 |
4.31 |
Type:
ROB = Right arm off-break bowler; RLBG = Right arm leg-break bowler; SLA =
Left arm slow bowler. |
TABLE D : Performance of INDIAN slow bowlers in all one-day
matches in England from 1974 to 1996.
Bowlers |
Type |
M |
Balls |
Mdns |
Runs |
Wkts |
Avge |
4wi |
Best |
S/r |
ER |
Ravi Shastri |
SLA |
11 |
499 |
1 |
331 |
8 |
41.38 |
- |
3-26 |
62.38 |
3.97 |
Anil Kumble |
RLB |
5 |
306 |
4 |
204 |
5 |
40.80 |
- |
2-29 |
61.20 |
4.00 |
Bishen Bedi |
SLA |
6 |
426 |
17 |
216 |
4 |
54.00 |
- |
2-68 |
106.50 |
3.04 |
Kirti Azad |
ROB |
3 |
102 |
1 |
42 |
1 |
42.00 |
- |
1-28 |
102.00 |
2.47 |
Gopal Bose |
ROB |
1 |
66 |
2 |
39 |
1 |
39.00 |
- |
1-39 |
66.00 |
3.54 |
Maninder Singh |
SLA |
2 |
132 |
1 |
86 |
1 |
86.00 |
- |
1-31 |
132.00 |
3.90 |
Ashok Mankad |
ROB |
1 |
35 |
0 |
47 |
1 |
47.00 |
- |
1-47 |
35.00 |
8.05 |
S Venkataraghavan |
ROB |
7 |
498 |
7 |
275 |
1 |
275.00 |
- |
1-58 |
498.00 |
3.31 |
Venkatapathy Raju |
SLA |
1 |
59 |
1 |
50 |
0 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
5.08 |
Type:
ROB = Right arm off-break bowler; RLBG = Right arm leg-break bowler; SLA =
Left arm slow bowler. |
Statistics
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