Cricket – opinions and facts

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@zxaar’s comments in a Cricinfo article prompted this post. He commented that – “He (Miandad) was not great outside of pakistan where he was helped by home umpires. Not a true great. Miadad’s case states lie due to favour from umpires.



I’m an Indian cricket fan and grew up seeing Miandad snatch victory from India in a number of cricket matches. I never doubted his greatness, so I decided to analyze cricket data to accept or reject @zxaar’s assertion. My analysis proves and bolsters Javed Miandad’s greatness.

So I replied to @zxaar in the Cricinfo article



@zxaar – I don’t agree with your comment re: Miandad. You said – “He (Miandad) was not great outside of pakistan where he was helped by home umpires. Not a true great. Miadad’s case states lie due to favour from umpires.”
I analyzed Miandad’s ODI performance and his record against all opponents, in all countries in the world indicate his greatness. My analysis is posted on http://www.rcasts.com/2010/09/cricket-opinions-and-facts.html

FYI, I’m an Indian cricket fan and vividly remember his last ball six against India, as well as his “Kiran More imitation”. I wanted him out every time he played against us but, he was a champion, although from another team.




In fact, Miandad scored more # runs/match in One Day Cricket when he played outside Pakistan (see Table 1).

There is close correlation between “% Matches” and “% Runs” in Table 1 and Table 2, which indicates that he played equally well where-ever he played and who-ever he played against. In other words, he did not really favor a ground or a team. He was brutal against all teams, in every country he played.

Table 1: Javed Miandad’s One Day Cricket record in various countries

Ground # Runs # Matches Runs per Match % Matches % Runs
Australia 1895 57 33.2 25% 26%
England 702 21 33.4 9% 10%
India 468 15 31.2 7% 6%
New Zealand 356 9 39.6 4% 5%
Pakistan 1974 65 30.4 29% 27%
South Africa 225 6 37.5 3% 3%
Sri Lanka 199 6 33.2 3% 3%
United Arab Emirates 1052 34 30.9 15% 14%
West Indies 338 9 37.6 4% 5%



Table 2: Javed Miandad’s One Day Cricket record against various countries

Opponent # Runs # Matches Runs per Match % Matches % Runs
Australia 1004 32 31.4 14% 14%
England 988 26 38.0 12% 13%
India 1173 33 35.5 15% 16%
New Zealand 693 23 30.1 10% 9%
South Africa 145 3 48.3 1% 2%
Sri Lanka 1111 34 32.7 15% 15%
West Indies 1928 63 30.6 28% 26%
Zimbabwe 263 6 43.8 3% 4%

Note: I’ve removed records for countries where or against whom he did not bat or played only 1 match.

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