BoyBrumby
Englishman
Timely article from former England batsman Ed Smith on how the sublime in sport cannot be measured in statistics alone. Ironically from the home of statsguru cricinfo.
As good a summation of why we cricketing romantics will always cherish the lithe, quicksilver genius of a Brian Lara over the starchy functionalism of a Jacques Kallis.Ed Smith said:Mark Waugh's Test match average was "only" 41 (that still sounds pretty good to me, but it's undeniable that lots of players average 41 these days). But the numbers don't reflect the pleasure he gave. A sublime Waugh flick through midwicket was only worth four runs - the same as an ugly thick edge from a lesser batsman - but it was worth much more to those who paid money to watch.