Not long ago, it whipped some stimulating discussions when Australia chose to play two different formats in consecutive days in two different countries. It, consequently, fielded two entirely different squads for the two games – T20I against the Sri Lankans on 22 February this year in Adelaide and a Test match against India in Pune the next day. Incidentally, on both the occasions, Australia won convincingly with handsome margins.
Cricket boards across the world would not have thought much about the necessity to field different squads for different formats a decade or two back. It is, however, a reality now. There are several reasons – the rapid emergence of a third format, sheer number of games across all formats, pursuit to manage cricketers’ workload and more.
In the mix of it all, one becomes curious to analyse how difficult is it for an international player to play all three formats and to stay on top of his game? Is it the same for players across all roles in batting, bowling and all-rounders? How are the countries faring in the mix of it all?
We attempt to find answers by taking a reference to the players and teams standings in the latest ICC’s rankings in subsequent sections.
Only Few Batsmen Dominate Across All Formats
The latest ICC players rankings in batting across Tests, ODIs and T20Is indicate that there are only 3 batsmen (from a pool of 180 batsmen across all formats), who feature in the top 10 in all three formats.
The three musketeers are India’s run machine Virat Kohli, the prolific Kiwi batsman Kane Williamson and the classy English right-hander Joe Root. Albeit there are some other names in close reckoning such as David Warner, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis, who feature in top 20 across all formats.
Virat Kohli, Joe Root and Kane Williamson since 1st Jan 2016 across all formats:
Bowlers Mastering All Formats Are Rare
Bowlers’ rankings indicate even more disparity. As per ICC’s bowlers’ rankings across three formats, there are no bowlers (from a pool of 196 bowlers across all formats), who feature in the top 10 across all three formats. The number of bowlers in top 20 in all three formats is just 1 compared to 7 in batting – Bangladesh’s all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is the solo representative in the list.
Shakib Al Hasan since 1 January 2016 across all formats:
Stark Difference Between Batsmen and Bowlers
A further deep dive into the numbers throws up some interesting measures. Here are some notable aspects of the game that emerge out:
Bowlers Find It Hard to Keep Pace With Batsmen
The fact that bowling is physically more demanding and rigorous than batting does not need a compelling explanation to prove. To do well consistently across all formats, players need to cope up with the physical and mental fatigue across a sizeable number of matches in all formats. In this fast-paced world, managing such heavy workload becomes hard, especially for the bowlers.
An analysis suggests that while the top batters (7 in top 20 across all formats) have managed to play an average of 55 matches (approx.) across all formats in the last two years (from 1 January 2016 to 26 June 2017), top bowlers could manage to play significantly less number of matches than their batting counterparts (Shakib Al Hasan and Ravichandran Ashwin played 48 and 44 matches respectively across all formats) in the same period.
The analysis also suggests that the fast bowlers certainly struggle to keep themselves afloat in today’s busy scheme of things. Other than Mitchell Starc (Test: 10th, ODIs: 3rd, T20Is: 25th) and Trent Boult (Test: 12th, ODIs: 6th, T20Is: 31st), there are no pacers who perform consistently well to be on top across all formats. Being on top of their games requires players to be more than 100 per cent fit, the game is a bit harsh on bowlers than batters to that end.
T20 Is a Different Kettle of Fish
The stark differences of three formats perhaps cannot be captured better or made more obvious than these numbers. Statistics clearly indicate that the Tests and the T20s are north and south poles in their nature; more so for the bowlers than the batsmen.
While players do decently across two formats in combination – such as the ODIs and Tests as a combination or ODIs and T20s as another – bringing the longest and the shortest format in the combination skews the data abruptly.
The answer to this statistical anomaly lies in the different skill sets and characteristics required for the shortest format of the game – the acute batting flamboyance, the talent to execute the knuckleballs and the yorkers, the springy energy in the fielding et al. T20s for that matter demand diverse skills for one to master the game.
In fact, the ICC’s team rankings resonate well with these findings. Quality sides such as India, Australia and South Africa do consistently well in the ODIs and Tests but somewhat lags the others in the shortest format. A different T20 strategy is probably the way to go. That Australia picked two entirely different squads for Tests and T20s does not seem too much out of context considering this.
The Shortage of Quality All-Rounders
While the ICC’s bowlers and batsmen rankings list 100 players each (for each format), there are just 10 entries each for the all-rounders. The dearth of quality all-rounders is a realism.
Shakib Al Hasan is the lone all-rounder doing consistently well across all formats as an all-rounder. In Mohammad Nabi, Ben Stokes, Jason Holder, Ravindra Jadeja, there are just 4 others doing great simultaneously across two formats. The reason is simple. If bowling alone demands heavy workload, quality all-rounders’ in true sense find it even harder.
As it turns out, being on top across all formats is a tall order for the cricketers. Only a few are ruling the roost now. No wonder, the Virat Kohlis, the Kane Williamsons and the Joe Roots, for their excellent achievements across all formats are also entrusted with leadership charges for their respective sides.
One may argue, the concept of defining a top-class cricketer by just numbers may somewhat be flawed. Quality, after all, is relative. Numbers, however, do not mislead entirely, if we are to judge cricketers through the ICC rankings.
The robustly framed algorithm – which churns the numbers and positions the players – indicates that they are rational enough to go by, especially, for Tests and ODIs. ICC T20I ranking may not be the best measure of skills of the players in the shortest format of the game, as there are more franchise-based matches than internationals played in that format.
Note: All rankings and statistics are as on 26th June 2017.
Debnath Roychowdhury is an alumnus of SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai and works as a Management Consultant. Debnath is a cricket analyst and writer and can be reached @ImDebnath and at his blogspace.)
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