A statistical overview | Sports

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2024 was the year when men’s Test cricket overtook other formats for excitement, including franchise cricket. From the beginning of the year to the end, the five-day game unearthed gripping stories, unforgettable upsets, and exciting new heroes. While the ODIs in 2024 didn’t matter much, the T20 World Cup had its moments – India won its first World Cup since 2011, and New Zealand Women were unlikely, but hugely popular, champions. .

There were several reasons why the Tests in 2024 were so memorable. Numerically, the key factors were lack of draws, dominance of bowlers, and competition from foreign teams. Let’s examine each of these and other dominant themes of cricket in 2024.

More tests, quick tests, a few draws

To begin with, 53 men’s Tests were played in 2024, the third most in a calendar year – only 2001 (55) and 2002 (54) played more matches. Of those 53, only three were drawn, two of which were adversely affected by the weather: the West Indies-South Africa game in Port of Spain, and the Brisbane Test between Australia and India. Only 294.5 overs were possible at Port of Spain and 216.1 overs at the Gabba. The other drawn game was the final Test of the year, in Bulawayo, between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan. The draw percentage of 5.66 is the lowest in all years in which at least 20 Tests have been played.

Not only were there many results, but they came quickly: the average length of a Test with a win-loss result was 271.4 overs, the lowest ever in any year with at least 15 such results. . The average Test result in 2023 is 283 overs, which means a further four per cent drop this year. Twenty decisive Tests have lasted 250 overs or less, the most in a calendar year – the next highest being just 13 in 2018 (out of 43 Tests that ended in a draw). Thirteen Tests in 2024 ended in three days or less, and 40 in four. Both are records in any calendar year.

We should have seen it all coming, as the year opened with a stunning 107-over Test between South Africa and India in Cape Town, the lowest-scoring match in Test history. In fact, until the Melbourne Boxing Day Test, the longest complete match of the year lasted just 2149 deliveries (358.1 overs). The Melbourne Test lasted 405 overs (2430 deliveries), but this was not the norm in 2024.

Runs at a premium, the bowler at a flurry

2024 averaged 29.01 runs per wicket, the sixth lowest in the 56 years in which at least 20 Tests have been played, and significantly lower than 2023’s average of 32.50. Omit the final Test of the year, Zimbabwe-Afghanistan, the one where 59.46 runs were scored per wicket, and the average runs per wicket drops to 28.60, third on the all-time list, behind only 1959 and 2018 (with a 20 Test cut-off).

In terms of bowler strike rates, 2024 was easily the best ever: for the first time in a calendar year (where ten or more Tests were played), bowlers needed less than 50 deliveries to take a wicket.

Both spinners and fast bowlers had a bumper year, setting records. The fast bowlers have taken 1,096 wickets, surpassing the previous record of 1,075 in 2002 at an average of 26.52, the sixth most in the 56 years of hosting at least 20 Tests. Meanwhile, the spinners averaged 31.63, the eighth best for their 689 wickets, also a record for them in a calendar year.

In terms of bowlers’ strike rates, 2024 was the best for pace and spin: fast bowlers struck every 44.9 balls, well ahead of the next best figure, 50.7 in 2019, compared to 54.2 for spin. The strike rate was also much better than the previous one. 58.2 per year (both with 20 Test cut-offs).

Eighteen pacers took 25 or more wickets in each Test in the year, with 15 averaging less than 30. Two of the three averaged over 30. Mitchell Starc (30.54) and Mohammad Siraj (30.82). On the other hand, five pacers have taken 25 or more wickets in the Under-20s – Josh Hazlewood, Jasprit Bumrah, Matt Henry, Brayden Carus and Kagiso Rabada. In 2018, more bowlers have accomplished the feat only once in a calendar year.

Of the 15 spinners who took 20 or more wickets, nine averaged less than 30, although the leading wicket-taker also had a poor average: Shoaib Bashir’s 49 wickets at 40.16.

More on pace, less on runs

Although scoring was difficult, the batsmen were unwilling to score runs: the average run rate was 3.65, the highest ever in a calendar year. This follows 2023’s run rate of 3.52, which has now been pushed to second place. This means that the last two years have seen two of the highest annual run-rates in Tests.

Of the nine teams playing more than five Tests in 2024, six scored more than 3.5 runs per over. Bowling England is well ahead of the other teams at 4.38, but five other teams – India, Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Pakistan – score above 3.50. Also in 2023, England topped the list with 4.87, but Bangladesh and New Zealand were the only teams to exceed 3.5 (with a four-Test cut-off). Clearly, despite (or perhaps because of) the difficult batting conditions, more teams are trying to go aggressive.

A legend called Bumrah.

Seventy-one wickets at 14.92, and a strike rate of 30.1. Jasprit Bumrah was an unstoppable force for much of 2024 – in four of the five series he played in the year (including a Test in South Africa in January), he averaged under 17. The only blip was the home series against New Zealand, when he took just three wickets at an average of 42.33 in the two Tests.

Bumrah’s year is one of the greatest ever for a bowler in Tests. With a cut-off of 50 wickets, only Waqar Younis has a better strike rate (and the difference is marginal), while his average of 14.92 is bettered only by Imran Khan and Sydney Barnes.

While Bumrah was firing on all cylinders for most of 2024, the other Indian fast bowlers took just 63 wickets in total at an average of 33.67. In terms of percentage, Bumrah took 52.99% of India’s total pace wickets; In all of Test history, there have been only five instances of a fast bowler taking a higher percentage of his team’s quick wickets in a calendar year, including two by Kapil Dev: 1983 and 1979.

No hiding place for openers.

Batting in Test cricket, on the whole, was a tough ask in 2024, and it was the toughest for the openers. His overall average for the year was 28.60; In the 56 years in which at least 20 matches have been played, only once have openers fared worse, and that was only marginally poorer: in 2000, they averaged 28.15.

The numbers were equally alarming for the opening partnership. The average of 27.78 was the second lowest in 54 years with at least 75 opening stands. The only instance of low participation was in 2018 (26.98).

There have been only four opening-wicket century partnerships in 207 innings, an average of one every 51.75 innings. This is easily the poorest in those 54 years – the next worst is 31.3 in 1985; Even in 2018, openers managed to score seven runs in 182 innings, an average of one every 26 innings. Two of the four century opening stands in 2024 included Yashvi Jaiswal, whose 201-run partnership with KL Rahul in Perth was more than 106 runs for the first wicket all year.

Of the 18 openers who batted at least ten times in Tests in 2024, 14 averaged less than 30. Only one Jaiswal averaged more than 50 (54.74). Others to average over 30 were Tony De Zorzi, Ben Duckett and Aidan Markram. Fourteen is easily the record for most openers with an average under 30 in a calendar year (with a ten innings cutoff); There are two examples of ten openers averaging this low – 2011 and 2018.

Even among the four who averaged more than 30, there is an unwelcome record: Duckett averaged 37.06 for 1,149 runs scored last year (including an innings at No. 3), which is 1,000 runs. The lowest ever for a batsman to make. Pulse runs over one calendar year. He is one of only four batsmen to average less than 40 when scoring more than 1000 runs in a year, out of 171 instances of batsmen scoring 1000 or more runs in a year. Two of the other three also belong to England.

Overseas teams raise their game.

New Zealand’s 3-0 win in India was undoubtedly the biggest upset of the year, but also Bangladesh’s 2-0 win in Pakistan, West Indies’ Test win in Brisbane, and England’s win in Bangladesh. Series wins over New Zealand and South Africa were also included. . Collectively, these results were instrumental in ensuring that away teams won 21 Tests in 2024, the most ever in a calendar year. (This does not include tests at neutral locations.)

In terms of win-loss ratio, away teams manage 0.750 (21 wins, 28 losses), a significant improvement of 40% over the last seven years, when they averaged just 0.537 (79 wins, 147 losses). Can manage. In the past 20 years, there have been only four instances when the win-loss ratio was better than in 2024. -cricinfo