There was a spectacular deluge of sponsored awards handed out within the aftermath of one other fascinating Take a look at between India and England.
Following India’s 106-run win in Visakhapatnam, we had Participant of the Match (Jasprit Bumrah), Recreation Changer of the Match (Yashasvi Jaiswal), Good Saver of the Match (Ben Foakes) and Striker of the Match (Jaiswal).
There was additionally Award Whose Title I Did not Fairly Catch of the Match (Shubman Gill), Conventional Norms of Quadragenarianism Defier of the Match (James Anderson), Fewest Stumps Remaining After an Unplayable Yorker of the Match (Ollie Pope), Uncharacteristic Dawdle of the Match (Ben Stokes) and Taking part in Floor of the Match (the pitch – effectively deserved).
Impressed by these, I current the Zaltzman Gratuitous Statistical Awards for the collection up to now.
Queen Victoria award for Nineteenth century bowling stats – James Anderson
Anderson’s match figures of 5-76 imply that, in his 13 Assessments away from England this decade, starting with a series-turning seven-wicket match haul in Cape City in January 2020, he has taken 52 wickets at a median of 15.6, and conceded 2.01 runs per over.
Seven of these matches have been in Asia (one in Sri Lanka, 4 in India, two in Pakistan), during which he has taken 27 wickets at a median of 14.7, with an economic system fee of 1.99.
Of all visiting bowlers in Asia, solely two – Australia’s Glenn McGrath and New Zealand’s Richard Hadlee – have ever had a greater common over a seven-Take a look at sequence.
Scrooge memorial award for parsimonious bowling towards Bazballian England – Jasprit Bumrah
Bumrah’s economic system fee won’t be essentially the most startling side of his bowling this collection, with match figures of 6-69 and 9-91 containing an array of relocated stumps and befuddled edges, but it surely highlights how his distinctive cocktail of abilities has introduced Stokes’ England with the hardest particular person problem they’ve but confronted.
His opening spell within the second innings in Visakhapatnam – 0-9 off 5 overs – was essentially the most economical new-ball spell by a bowler towards England within the 20 Assessments since Stokes and McCullum took over.
In England’s earlier 20 Assessments, it could have been solely the joint-Nineteenth most economical.
The magic-wristed seamer’s general match economic system fee of two.74 was the bottom towards England by a bowler who has bowled at the very least 15 overs since New Zealand’s Trent Boult went at 2.48 per over within the first Stokes-McCullum Take a look at at Lord’s in June 2022. Bumrah’s economic system fee of two.79 within the first Take a look at in Hyderabad sits third on that record.
The corned beef award for astonishing consistency – Zak Crawley
The retention of Crawley initially of final summer time has proved to be some of the productive of the various excellent selectorial choices underneath Stokes.
Crawley had reached 20 in solely 16 of his earlier 49 Take a look at innings. Since then, he has carried out so in 12 out of 14 (excluding his 12 not out in a 12-run fourth-innings chase towards Eire) and has now carried out so in 9 consecutive innings because the third Ashes Take a look at.
In Visakhapatnam, he additionally grew to become the primary visiting participant to achieve 70 in each innings of a Take a look at in India since Australia nice Ricky Ponting in October 2010.
The record of earlier England gamers with 9 or extra consecutive 20-plus scores when opening in Assessments accommodates a lot of the most interesting openers within the crew’s historical past – Jack Hobbs, Herbert Sutcliffe, Len Hutton, Bob Barber, John Edrich, Geoff Boycott, Graham Gooch, Mike Atherton and Marcus Trescothick, amongst whom solely Barber didn’t have a significant Take a look at profession, with at the very least 50 caps, 12 centuries and 4,500 runs.
The Swann-Panesar award for doing higher than India’s spinners in India – England
England’s spinners have, between them, taken 33 wickets at a median of 33.9. India’s spinners collectively have taken 23 wickets at 38.3 – their highest common after the primary two matches of a house collection since Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha and numerous part-timers averaged 47.2 within the first two Assessments towards New Zealand in November 2010 (the final collection India performed at house earlier than Ravichandran Ashwin made his debut).
It is just the fourth time of their final 37 house collection, since November 2000, that India’s spinners have had the next collective common than their opponents after two Assessments.
One of many others was England’s profitable tour underneath Alastair Prepare dinner in 2012-13, after Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar led England to victory within the second Take a look at in Mumbai.
On condition that Tom Hartley, Rehan Ahmed and Shoaib Bashir had as many wickets of their whole home red-ball careers earlier than this collection as Ashwin had taken in his earlier 11 house Assessments (74), this award-worthy stat is astonishing, even by the alchemic requirements of the Bazball regime.