Close Games

[Goughy]

I was reading something talking about how inexperienced teams lose close games and it is close games where experience really counts.

I thought Id look at the close games played since 2000. Won by 3 or less wickets or by 60 or less runs.

What I was looking for-

- Australia would have a far worse record than their overall record as they have a reputation for underperforming in close games with small targets
- Test whether the SA chokers tag was justified
- The poorer teams would have a very poor record in close games.

I was suprised by the lack of close games. Far fewer than what I expected.

The Results

West Indies- Won 3 Lost 5
Australia- Won 4 Lost 5
India- Won 4 Lost 0
England- Won 5 Lost 1
NZ- Won 2 Lost 0
Pakistan- Won 2 Lost 2
SA- Won 2 Lost 2
Zim- Won 0 Lost 1
Bangladesh- Won 0 Lost 3
Sri Lanka- Won 1 Lost 4

Make of this what you will . Its debatable whether there is enough data to show anything

 

[GIMH]

Pretty conclusive that England are the best team in the world, on a basis of winning the highest number of close games

 

[boris_denominat]

not a good judge imo, i'd say england vs india last year (the chase of 380 odd) was a typcial example of england failing to win a close game, by your criterion that wouldn't be considered a close game but it was imo. Also, draws, england failing to bowl sri lanka out a few years ago, england failing twice to bowl the west indies out recently, rsa chasing down 280. Choking isn't about loosing by small margins, if is about failing to seal the deal and push for the win which could easily end in a non "close" (to your stats) loss/ draw.

also see england vs aus in adelaide , england vs india in 2007 failing to bowl them out

 

[silentstriker]

India - the anti-chokers?

 

[fredfertang]

Interested in the England record - Given what the equivalent figures in football would look like perhaps Capello should have KP, Fred, Colly etc on stand by for penalty shoot outs?

 

[Uppercut]

India - the anti-chokers?

Haha, but the sample missed the ultimate Saqlain-induced choke by one year.

You might get a better sample for one-day games- anyone want to have a look at that? Say, matches that either went to the last over or had margins of victories of less than 10 runs or 2/3 wickets.

 

[Xuhaib]

Haha, but the sample missed the ultimate Saqlain-induced choke by one year.

Funny enough Saqlain was the main factor along with umpires in Pakistan's cricket history biggest choke.

 

[G.I.Joe]

India - the anti-chokers?

 

[Uppercut]

Funny enough Saqlain was the main factor along with umpires in Pakistan's cricket history biggest choke.

Hmm, i feel like i should know what match you're talking about but it's not coming to mind?

There's been a few fairly bad ones, Misbah in the T20 WC final redefined the word.

 

[pskov]

Would have to include drawn games where the side batting last was either 30 runs or less from winning or 8 wickets down at the end of play. I would take a guess that England have been one of the worse sides at closing out games like that recently whilst Australia have very rarely been that close and not got a result.

 

[Goughy]

Would have to include drawn games where the side batting last was either 30 runs or less from winning or 8 wickets down at the end of play. I would take a guess that England have been one of the worse sides at closing out games like that recently whilst Australia have very rarely been that close and not got a result.

Yeah, failing to close out games should be added in.

 

[Johnners]

One problem imo, the results don't always accurately reflect on one teams dominance/imcompetance throughout a match. Eg. 2nd Test Ashes '05, could that really be classified as an Australian choke given they were well and truly out-played for the majority of the match? Same goes for Sri-Lanka v Australia in the 07/08 Summer. Australia dominated the 2nd test match for the most part, yet Sri-Lanka ended up coming within 60 runs of winning (IIRC, may have been a little higher? Point still stands though). In both cases, one could hardly accuse the losing teams of choking/crumbling under pressure etc. when in reality they should never have been that close to victory.

 

[Burgey]

Pretty conclusive that England are the best team in the world, on a basis of winning the highest number of close games

Interested in the England record - Given what the equivalent figures in football would look like perhaps Capello should have KP, Fred, Colly etc on stand by for penalty shoot outs?

But the stats don't take into account that the England close wins are games any other side would have won easily

India - the anti-chokers?

[cough/] Sydney [cough/]

Runs.....

 

[pskov]

Yeah, failing to close out games should be added in.

Just a quick check and I have found that England have had the opposition 8 or more wickets down in the 4th innings at close of play on 5 occasions in the 2000s:

vs SA, Durban 04/05
vs Aus, Old Trafford 05
vs India, Lord's 07
vs WI, St. Johns 08/09
vs WI, Port of Spain 08/09

Conversely Australia have done the same just once in the same period:

vs SL, Cairns 04

Backs up my initial suspicions, though I'd have to go through the other teams to be sure.

 

[Xuhaib]

Hmm, i feel like i should know what match you're talking about but it's not coming to mind?

There's been a few fairly bad ones, Misbah in the T20 WC final redefined the word.

Pak-WI 2001 Antigua.

Misbah choke was bad but still not saqi level shocking.

 

[Burpmybelly]

But the stats don't take into account that the England close wins are games any other side would have won easily

[cough/] Sydney [cough/]

Runs.....

Edgbastion.

 

[Jono]

Pak-WI 2001 Antigua.

Misbah choke was bad but still not saqi level shocking.

Just read about it now. Sounds God-awful. Would be even more irritating considering the umpire errors.

Amid scenes reminiscent of Brian Lara's heroics against Australia in Barbados a year earlier, Adams piloted his team to a nerve-jangling one-wicket victory and West Indies' fourth triumph in five unbeaten home series against Pakistan. Yet a reasoned appraisal of the events of that last afternoon left no doubt that West Indies were extremely fortunate to reach their target of 216. They benefited from two glaring umpiring errors and Saqlain Mushtaq's raw panic when the match was literally in his hands. Wasim Akram, in an inspired spell of fast bowling as devastating as his first-innings six for 61, had a confident appeal for a catch by Moin Khan off Adams turned down by umpire Doctrove, while an equally vehement claim for a bat-pad dismissal of last man Walsh, off Saqlain, was denied by umpire Cowie. Television replays confirmed that both should have been out. Yet Pakistani fury at the officiating was tempered by Saqlain's bungling of two run-out chances, the second opportunity producing one of the more amazing scenes in the history of Test cricket: both Adams and Walsh seemed hopelessly stranded at the striker's end, only for Saqlain to fail to gather the return cleanly. As the ball ran away from him, Walsh hared through for the leg-bye Adams intended.

 

[Burgey]

Edgbastion.

Adelaide

Sorry, that didn't end up real close at all.