Ashes 2013: battles within the war

This is the first attempt at a new type of analysis. I have done an analysis of the head-to-head confrontations during a specific series: the 2013 Ashes, to start with. Since this is a venture into uncharted seas, we will improve as we go along. I will make this a regular practice before important series, the ones coming to my mind now are the Ashes series in Australia later this year and the South Africa - India series around the same time.

There are no preambles to this analysis. There are no cut-offs and every single ball bowled is covered. The uploaded Excel sheet covers every single combination. In the main article I have selected four bowlers and six batsmen from each team and developed the tables. Otherwise the article will become too long.

The players selected are given below. The reasons are obvious. The best bowlers and the top-order batsmen, barring a minor variation make the cut.

Australia
Bowlers: Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc
 and Nathan Lyon.
Batsmen: Chris Rogers, David Warner, Shane Watson, 
Michael Clarke, Steven Smith and Brad Haddin
 (for want of a suitable batsman).

England
Bowlers: Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Stuart Broad
 and Tim Bresnan.
Batsman: Alastair Cook, Joe Root, Jonathan Trott, 
Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell and Jonny Bairstow.

Kindly note that there are no exclusions. If you are going to lose sleep if you did not know how Bairstow faced up to Ashton Agar or Simon Kerrigan bowled to Watson, please refer to the Excel chart.

Let us move on to the tables now.

1. The best Australian bowler has to be Harris, with no one else coming close. Even leaving aside 24 wickets at sub-20 average in four Tests, look at how Harris has performed against the English top order. He has done very well against Cook (three wkts at 24), dominated Root (four wkts at 9.5) and Trott (four wkts at 12) and performed very competently against Pietersen, Bell and Bairstow (five wickets at below-30). Sixteen of his 24 wickets are those of top-order batsmen. For once we can say with certainty, based on these macro-level figures that Harris was the bowler of the series.

1. Despite Swann's 26 wickets, this was a mixed series for him. He totally dominated Rogers (6 wkts at 13) and Haddin (four wickets at 20). However, Clarke had the total measure of Swann. Somewhat similar to Bell's handling of Siddle. No wicket in 251 balls at an excellent scoring rate. Whatever one can say, it must be agreed that Clarke has enhanced his reputation as the best player of spin in the world. Swann dismissed 15 top-order batsmen.

1. Rogers was a revelation. Sheer guts and commitment and a burning desire not to fritter away the last chance provided motivated him. He had a horrid time against Swann but handled all other bowlers very competently. Scoring 367 runs at an average of 40+ in a comeback series is not something to be ignored. He should do equally well on familiar pitches back home a few months hence.

1. Cook did not really have a satisfactory series. Not just the scarcity of runs but also the fact that he did not really master any bowler. He handled Starc and Lyon slightly better than the others.

Some of the contrasting and absorbing contests of the series. Readers might come in with more.

1. Phillip Hughes against Swann (76 balls/9 runs/2 wkts/4.5 avge) and Hughes against Anderson (45 balls/40 runs/0 wkt). What a contrast?

Now for the readers to locate such gems.

Let me conclude. The bowler of the series was Ryan Harris. Not just for the wickets but the way he dominated the top-order English batsmen. If Harris had played at Trent Bridge, Australia might have won or drawn the series. But I hear the cynic's whisper: "Okay, then he might not have finished the series". Swann follows Harris. The batsman of the series was Ian Bell. Again not just for the 562 runs but the way he played all bowlers with ease. Pietersen is next. The allrounder of the series was Brad Haddin. In addition to a world-record 29 dismissals, he also scored 206 runs. Broad follows close behind for his 22 wickets and 179 runs. My Man-of-the-Series award goes to Ian Bell.

I have created an Excel sheet with complete head-to-head details for all combinations. To download/view the document, please CLICK HERE.