What is the best age to bat in India? You score runs in India
because you belong to some particular age or is it the other way around? Do
some performances make an age particular and up it beyond being just a number? How
about the record of your fellow age batsmen? Is it synchronised with yours, or
is it just a co-incidence? But this isn’t one, or is it?
There is always a lot of talk about overseas batsmen batting
and battling hard in India, the recent examples being Steve Smith, Matt Renshaw,
Peter Handscomb and Shaun Marsh in the ongoing Ind vs Aus Tests. When Australia
first arrived in India, the series’ outcomes were supposed to be a catwalk for
India, given the way they had dominated their home season so far, especially
beating England twice after conceding 400 runs in the first innings in successive
games.
I have always wondered about the thought whether age plays a
factor when you get to play in away conditions. Talking mainly about India, we’ve
always had Michael Clarkes and Alastair Cooks, and most recently Haseeb Hameeds
and Matt Renshaws, who showed extremely great temperament in their very first
tour to India and showed where they belonged.
This idea of age having an impact on your overall batting
character and how you approach and manage your batting in the subcontinent had
been intriguing me for quite a while and I thought of facilitating this idea by
helping my way around and through the statistics associated with it.
I have assembled all the data of overseas batsmen in India,
starting of course from 1933, when India hosted a Test for the very first time
in history. Apart from going all the way back to 1933, we will also discuss the
same statistics starting from 2000 to have a look at somewhat modern numbers.
Let it be known that only the top order (batting position 1-7) has been
considered to get an honest review. Plus, I so wanted to exclude Zimbabwe and
Bangladesh from the analysis (no disrespect intended), but couldn’t do so after
having a glance at their respective numbers. They both have combined to play
just six games in India (Ban just played their first Test in India last month),
but their numbers aren’t among the worst at all from any of the perspectives.
Zim notably have a higher batting average than Australia – albeit in only 5
games to Australia’s 50 – and it would be injustice to disqualify them. Ban too
showed some fine pieces of resistance in their maiden Test in India this year,
and thus are included in the analysis. The ongoing Test between Ind and Aus has
not been included to avoid variance in the numbers and keep them fluctuation-free.
Analysis from 1933 till today has been done without the mention of Strike Rate
because of incomplete data available, while it is considered for post 2000
numbers.
Since 1933, 502 batsmen have stridden out to the middle in
India and accumulated more than 100k runs (104098 runs in 260 matches and 3140
innings at an average of 35.92 with 202 centuries). Since 2000, 181 batsmen
have combined for 37786 runs in 85 games and 1091 innings averaging 36.75 with
83 centuries. Since 2010, this average has considerably dropped to 32.86, and
15873 runs have come from the bat of 91 players in 38 games and 503 innings
with 32 centuries.
The youngest age of any batsman to have batted in India is
18 (and that too last came in 1961), while the oldest is 41 which also last
came when India hadn’t even won the World Cup 1983, which is also won of the
reasons which prompted me to have a look at post 2000 numbers too.
 |
All time away batsmen record in India
(age-wise)
|
You look at those
numbers and you won’t be judging it wrong when you conclude the best age to bat
in India is 27. Of course a few come close, but a look at all the factors
including the number of games (or sample size), centuries and fifties will certainly list 27 at
the highest rank. Later on, we will discuss the number 27 too and the reason it enjoys being the climax number for overseas batsmen in India.
Similarly, a look at the Age versus Average graph will also
reveal 27 lies above the rest, with a few close calls. 32 is a very close
second, where comparably more not-outs make up for the lesser half centuries.
Now, if we move towards the numbers ranging in between 2000
and 2017, 27 again is seen taking the lead, now with quite a margin and all the
competitions seem self-proclaimed and needless. While most of the age-groups
have downgraded in average, 27-year olds have amassed a high 48.48, and even
though the 29-year olds are the only one with more than 10,000 runs and have a
better conversion ratio, their average is heavily dipped by the presence of ten
ducks.
 |
| Age-wise record of away batsmen in India since Jan 2000 |
Since we have ball-by-ball data of all the matches played in
this period, we can have a look at the Strike Rates and tell if it has
something to do with age too. You can see that the Strike Rates are increasing
and varying gradually throughout, and the blokes of top four age-groups have
the least of the Strike Rates. Now, it is a great revelation showing how the
young guns usually impress the most and showcase fine fragments of temperament,
resistance, and somewhat exuberance. A few recent examples include Haseeb
Hameed and Matt Renshaw, who are 19 and 20 respectively.
You are 27. You are special. Are you?
Now that we have all agreed 27 is the best age to bat in
India, we dissect the particular number and try to find out what makes it one
of a kind.
In all, 65 27-year olds have batted in India since 1933, and
18 since the last century ended. Among those 65, 35 have a batting average in
excess of 35 in India while they were 27. Among those 18, 12 have a batting
average beyond 35. A few elite batsmen feature in this list of 27-year olds who
make the number 27 a special one. Since 2000, as mentioned earlier, 18 27-year
olds have walked the path between the middle and pavilion including Alastair
Cook, Younis Khan, Steve Smith, Michael Clarke, Graeme Smith and Shane Watson.
While Shane Watson only averages 24, in his defence, Aus never seemed to know
and define his Test role.
Now what remains is the question that whether 27 has
something to do with it? Is it because you’re 27 you are bound to score more
than others in India? Or is it just because of some prolific performances from
some batsmen, 27 has risen to the top? These questions may not have an answer,
but numbers don’t lie, do they?
The most amazing batsman in the list is Steve Smith, who
never seems to lose form these days, and has amassed 3 centuries so far in the
Tests against India (3rd century isn’t mentioned in the table
because it was scored in the ongoing game). To think he had no century in his
first 11 Tests and has never looked back since, is what a perfect script
demands for. Another inclusion is Johnny Bairstow who had a fantastic 2016, and
scored more runs (1470) than any Englishman has in a calendar year, after Joe
Root (1477; who also scored these in 2016) and Michael Vaughan (1481; year
2002), who incidentally also features in the below list of 27-year olds.
Lastly,
this number might not say much, but it doesn’t seem one to be crossed off.
Among all the major batting performances in India, a bulk have come from the
woods of 27-year olds, which sure doesn’t seem like a fluke, or a coincidence,
does it?
Comments
Post a Comment