A statistical preview to the ICC World Twenty20

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan29-Apr-2010Going by past record alone, Pakistan are the firm favourites to lift the ICC World Twenty20 (if there can be anything called favourites in a format as fickle as this). They won the tournament last year, were the finalist in 2007, and have a much better overall record in 20-over cricket than any other side.South Africa come closest to them, and in fact have a better win-loss ratio in the World Twenty20, but they’ve lost out in crucial games – to India in 2007, and to Pakistan in the 2009 edition. Australia, on the other hand, have a good record overall but a very poor one in World Cups. India, after a closely fought win over Pakistan in the 2007 final, have not had a very good time in the Twenty20 format. They have won just five and lost seven of the 12 games played since their victory. Sri Lanka, the finalists in 2009, are the only other team with a win-loss ratio of more than two in World Cups.

In a tournament which has been dominated by teams from the subcontinent, it’s hardly surprising that players from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have been the most successful. Among the top eight run-scorers in World Twenty20s so far, only two are from non-subcontinent teams.Gautam Gambhir and Mahela Jayawardene are entering the tournament after fine performances in the IPL, while Yuvraj Singh needs to lift his game considerably to regain the form that made him a top batsman in this format. Chris Gayle didn’t do much in the IPL, but he has been extremely dangerous batsman in this format and home conditions lend him an even greater advantage. Yuvraj and Gayle are also the top two six-hitters in World Twenty20 matches: Yuvraj has struck 21 sixes, while Gayle has 18.

The bowlers from the subcontinent have been the most successful in this tournament so far. Shahid Afridi and Lasith Malinga are among the top wicket-takers, but the most successful bowler in the competition will be missed: Umar Gul has 26 wickets at a superb average of 12.03, but is out of the World Cup due to a shoulder injury.Spinners have proved to be far more effective at curtailing the scoring rate in Twenty20 internationals, and they’re likely to be even more in demand in the West Indies, where pitches are likely to be slow. The tables below summarises the performance of fast bowlers and spinners in the Twenty20 World Cup and in all Twenty20 internationals so far.

One of the key aspects in the tournament will be the ability of batsmen to limit the number of dot balls they play. In the Twenty20 World Cup matches so far Afridi leads the way while Kevin Pietersen and MS Dhoni also have extremely low dot ball percentages. On the other end of the table, though, are the big hitters like Gayle and Sanath Jayasuriya, who prefer the big shots to the singles. The fact that they’re openers, and hence bat when field restrictions are on, also increases the number of dots.

As you’d expect, the ones with the high dot balls are also the ones who score a majority of their runs in boundaries. Gayle and Jayasuriya top the table with close to 70% of their runs in boundaries. Dhoni, on the other hand, scores just 38% of his runs in boundaries, which, coupled with an extremely low dot-ball percentage of 32.05, gives ample illustration of his batting style.

The inaugural edition of the tournament witnessed plenty of high scores, but the totals came down when the competition shifted to England, with a significant drop in the number of 200 plus scores. The West Indies have hosted only four Twenty20 internationals so far, and if the scores in those games are anything to go by, the average score in his edition will be even lower. The average runs per over in these four games has been 6.44, which is far lower than the corresponding figures of 7.99 and 7.62 for the tournaments in 2007 and 2009.