Numbers Game

Gayle's glorious run in ODIs

After a relatively slow start to his ODI career, Chris Gayle has blossomed into a terrific asset for West Indies at the top of the order

S Rajesh
S Rajesh
10-Nov-2006


Chris Gayle: next only to Sachin Tendulkar in ODIs averages over the last five years © AFP
With three magnificent centuries in the Champions Trophy, Chris Gayle stole the show quite splendidly and showed that there is much more to the West Indian batting line-up than Brian Lara. Once considered an erratic hit-or-miss player capable in equal measure of an utterly captivating century or a miserable run of low scores, Gayle has slowly transformed into a far more responsible and dependable batsman, but without losing that aggressive streak that makes him such a terror for opposition bowlers.
When he started off in one-day internationals in 1999, Gayle did little immediately to suggest he would achieve such tremendous success - in his first eight matches he totalled 62 runs for an average of 7.75, and a highest of 22. The table below divides his career into 30-match periods, and in the first lot, the numbers were distinctly lacklustre. His first hundred came against lowly Kenya in his 32nd match, but since then the transformation has been remarkable. He suffered a slight blip between matches 91 and 120, when his career average dropped almost two runs, but since then he has rediscovered his form, with a conversion rate of half-centuries to hundreds which suggests a much greater appetite for runs than before. (Click here for Gayle's cumulative career average.)
Gayle's progression to 151 ODIs
Matches Runs Average 100s/ 50s
1-30 604 21.57 0/ 4
31-60 1452 50.07 4/ 9
61-90 1289 47.74 4/ 7
91-120 893 33.07 2/ 3
121-151 1338 47.79 5/ 5
Ask anyone to name the top three ODI batsmen over the last five years, and it's unlikely that Gayle's name will figure in the list. The numbers, though, tell a different story: among players who've played at least 75 ODIs during this period, only Sachin Tendulkar averages more than Gayle's 44.79. In this duration, Lara has only achieved an average of 37.03 in 93 games, lower even than what Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul managed.
Highest average in ODIs since July 7, 2001 (Qual: at least 75 matches)
Batsman ODIs Runs Average Strike rate 100s/ 50s
Sachin Tendulkar 98 3983 46.31 83.43 11/ 20
Chris Gayle 121 4972 44.79 82.44 15/ 24
Ramnaresh Sarwan 113 3692 44.48 76.88 3/ 24
Michael Clarke 91 2625 43.75 83.17 2/ 19
Boeta Dippenaar 83 2809 43.21 68.57 4/ 20
Rahul Dravid 152 4994 42.68 72.61 5/ 41
Jacques Kallis 112 3780 42.47 72.69 6/ 27
Mohammad Yousuf 142 4947 42.28 77.90 8/ 34
Andrew Symonds 110 3170 42.26 89.27 5/ 18
Matthew Hayden 94 3446 42.02 77.07 4/ 20
Ricky Ponting 138 4865 41.22 83.24 12/ 29
Damien Martyn 129 3667 41.20 75.71 3/ 28
Shivnarine Chanderpaul 101 3154 39.42 74.28 1/ 25
Inzamam-ul-Haq 119 3521 39.12 80.99 3/ 23
Graeme Smith 95 3460 38.87 78.85 6/ 19
The problem for Gayle, though, has been his less-than-impressive numbers against the top teams. He only averages 30.89 (combined) against Australia, Sri Lanka and South Africa, but manages 55.91 against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. At 27, though, Gayle is entering what is usually the most productive phase for batsmen. If he continues in a similar vein over the next five years, he could well wipe out those blips from his career stats by the time he is done. (Click here for Gayle's match-by-match cumulative record.)
Unbeatable Australians
Despite Gayle's best effort, the Australian juggernaut continues to roll on - their Champions Trophy triumph ensured that they have lost only two of their last 25 final matches. The last time they were beaten in a one-off final was in August 1999, when Sri Lanka got past them to lift the Aiwa Cup in Colombo.
Not only have the Australians made it a habit to nail the big games, they also do it in sickeningly convincing fashion. A Numbers Game column last year had made that point, and the table below has the updated numbers, which clearly show that the bigger the occasion, the higher the Australians rise.
Australia in ODIs since 1999
Matches W/ L/ NR/ Tie Ave win margin - wkts Ave win margin - runs
In all ODIs 229 168/ 49/ 7/ 5 6.57 72.08
In finals 25 21/ 2/ 1/ 1 8.14 82
When losing the toss is a boon
The Champions Trophy was unusual for the low scores and the manner in which ball dominated bat, but it was also a strange tournament for the number of times the captain got his decision at the toss completely wrong. Teams which chose to field first fearing the dew later in the evening often found the pitch being more juicy and responsive to fast bowling under the lights, while the decision to bat first went awry as teams got bundled out cheaply and reduced the game into a no-contest. In the 21 games played in the tournament, only six went in favour of the team winning the toss - that's an appalling 28.57%. Among all multi-team tournaments (involving more than three teams) which comprised at least 15 games, this was easily the worst one for the team winning the toss.
Highest percentage of ODIs lost by teams winning toss in tournaments with more than three teams and at least 15 matches
Tournament Total matches Matches lost by
side winning toss
Percentage
Champions Trophy 2006 21 15 71.43
World Cup 1996 36 22 61.11
World Cup 1999 42 25 59.52
World Cup 1987 27 16 59.26
World Cup 2003 52 29 55.77
World Cup 1975 15 8 53.33
Nehru Cup 1989 18 9 50.00
Champions Trophy 2002 16 8 50.00
World Cup 1983 27 13 48.15
Champions Trophy 2004 15 7 46.67
World Cup 1992 39 16 41.03

S Rajesh is stats editor of Cricinfo. For some of the stats, he was helped by Arun Gopalakrishnan.