Dot ball %

[meemumbaikar]

The one big statistic in cricket especially ODI's that is consistently ignored is the dot ball percent in a given innings. Strike rates are heroes and rightly so, but strike rates are also very easily manipulatable because one good over or a few good overs can dramatically alter the landscape of strike rates. The impact of dot balls is not just on the immediate batsman but on the one at the non strikers end as well. A batsman that hogs all the strike and does not even rotate it by taking singles usually also ensures that the one at the other end is under desperate pressure to up the ante and score faster. The key aspect of batting like in life is a adequate balance of all things, in an innings it is imperative to have a good share of singles and twos in structuring an inning. Even in case of blasters like Gilly, Symonds etc one finds that their dot ball % is not too high unlike say a Ganguly now or SRT now. I think it is time that an analysis of batting include the % of dot balls played by the batsman as a key metric. If a bowler can be assessed on how many maidens he bowled then a batsman should also be assessed on how many balls he did not score off.

[The Outsider]

Excellent post, Mumbaikar and one I completely agree with. With the number of dot balls our top order batsmen play, it's not a surprise that we are an inconsistent one day side. What compounds the problem is that one slow coach at the wicket means two batsmen playing out a high percentage of dot balls. When Tendulkar bats with someone else he is pretty adept at taking singles and rotating the strike but with Ganguly as his partner, both of them end up playing an insane number of dot deliveries. In the 3rd ODI, at the time of Tendulkar's dismissal Ganguly had played 75% of the total deliveries. That in itself is an indication of poor strike rotation. Having quick runners like Yuvraj and Karthik defeats the purpose if they are going to be batting with the likes of Ganguly.

[yoda]

Yes, yes, and yes. But the bigger question is, even if such a metric is added, will our selectors use it wisely?