"Leftism" Wins! (11 June 1999)

11 June 1999

"Leftism" Wins!

Karthik Ramamurthy & Sripriya Narayanasamy

e-mail: ramamurthyk@usa.net

Homepage: www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Stands/5247/

The Leftists may have been all but trounced almost the world over, but there is one field where their flag still seems fluttering proudly! And that is the cricket field!

An in-depth analysis of the performance of Left-Handers in World Cup '99 reveals that the southpaws have clearly knocked out their right-handed counterparts. Sounds unbelievable? Read on?

Left-handed batsmen may be clearly in the minority, but no knowledgeable cricket-lover would dare dispute the fact that when it comes to the most elegant display of strokeplay, few right-handers come close. Just imagine the silken off-drives of Saurav Ganguly, the lazily elegant pulls by David Gower, or the lovely on-drives of Stephen Fleming. Granted, there have been inelegant (but very effective!) left-handers like Kepler Wessels and Larry Gomes, but the majority of left-handers are certainly considered very elegant batsmen. Why, even the brutal violence of Lance Klusener's shots somehow appear elegant because he is a left-hander!

On the subject of brutality, it can be safely said that no number of words can be as convincing or coldly logical as numbers! Let's now see how Mr. Mathematics proves the overwhelming superiority of the marauding southpaws:

1. Batting Average

Table 1 provides details of runs scored and batting average of Left-Handers versus Right-Handers.

Of the 180 Players from 12 countries selected for the World Cup, 139 (77.22%) bat right-handed, and 42 (22.78%) bat left-handed. Of the 792 appearances by players in the 36 matches held until 10th June '99, right-handers had the lion's share of appearances with 622 (78.54%), compared to only 170 (21.46%) by the southpaw batsmen.

Obviously then, as reflected in the following table, the bulk of the runs have been made by right-handers. However, if we compute the average runs per innings, the superiority of the left-handers is clearly borne out! Left Handers scored, on average, 9.28 runs more per innings, a whopping 41.37% over right-handers' average!

It is not a surprise then, that the top 10 batsmen contain 5 left-handers -- Lance Klusener, Ridley Jacobs, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Saurav Ganguly and Michael Bevan! Considering the number of players in the tournament, on average, there can only be between 2 & 3 left-handers!

Table 1: Batting Average

Batsman Total Total Total Batting Type Runs Innings Not Average Outs Right 8972 487 87 22.43 Handers Left 3583 147 34 31.71 Handers

2. Strike Rate

What use, one may ask, is scoring more runs, if they are scored slowly. Quickness in scoring runs is obviously very important in the One-Day game. How did the Lefties fare in this important criterion?

Table 2 reveals the strike-rate figures of left-handers versus their right-handed brethren.

Here too, the "leftists" rule! With a strike rate of a very healthy 69.83%, they score, on average, at a rate which is 12.45% quicker than right-handers.

It is no wonder then, that, among the 5 quickest scorers in the tournament so far (minimum for qualification, 50 runs), there are 3 southpaws -- Lance Klusener, Brian Lara, and Wasim Akram.

Table 2: Strike Rate

Batsman Total Total Strike Type Runs Deliveries Rate (in per cent) Right 8972 14443 62.10 Handers Left 3583 5131 69.83 Handers

3. Half-Centuries & Centuries

The experts say that a batsman who gets a start in his innings must go on to make a big score. This way, say the pundits, the well-set batsman ensures that the team does not suffer a drop in the scoring rate with a newcomer having to waste time settling down?

Have the Left-Handers scored more 50s and Hundreds?

Yes, according to Table 3. The southpaws, on average score 12.93 fifties and 1.32 centuries per 100 innings. This works out to a superiority of 39.94% and 26.92% respectively over Right-Handers!

That's now one more important point to the "Lefties"! The score now? 3-0!

Table 3: Half-centuries & Centuries

Batsman Total No. of No. of No. of No. of Type Innings Fifties 50s per Centuries 100s (50s) 100 (100s) per 100 innings innings Right 487 45 9.24 5 1.04 Handers Left 147 19 12.93 2 1.32 Handers

4. Boundary Hits

Entertainment is the name of the one-day game. And what is more thrilling than the sight of a batsman sending even good deliveries skidding past fielders, or, using the aerial route, flying over the boundary ropes for six?

Ever heard of the phrase "Lazy Elegance" attributed to Left-Handers. Must be many times. Left-Handers, it is generally said, prefer to score their runs in fours and sixes, rather than huff and puff and earn their runs in singles and twos (There certainly are notable exceptions like the extremely effective Michael Bevan and Neil Fairbrother, but they are, by and large, in the minority!)

Is there any truth in this theory that Left-Handers score more of their runs through boundaries? Judging by the performance in this tournament (634 innings is definitely a large sample!), by a small margin of around 5%, YES! Table 4 provides the details.

Close to half of Left-Handers' runs have come from boundaries in the first 36 matches of World Cup '99 -- and that, without Brian Lara firing on all cylinders!

It's 4-0 for the Lefties, and is definitely looking like a no-contest!

Table 4: Boundary Hits

Batsman Total No. No. Total Percentage Type Runs of of Runs From of Total Fours Sixes Boundary Runs in Hits Boundary Hits Right 8972 819 87 3798 42.33 Handers Left 3583 337 41 1594 44.49 Handers

5. Not Outs

Lastly, we ask the question, "Can the southpaws last the distance?"

Table 5 says, "YES", by a significant , margin of 34.31%". Left handers remained not-out, on average, at least one-third more times than right-handers.

5-0 for the Left-handers, and this match can now be officially declared a "Southpaw Wash"

And Leftism triumphs!

Table 5: Not Outs

Batsman Total Total Percentage Type Innings Not of Not Outs Outs Right 487 87 17.63 Handers Left 147 34 23.68 Handers

Conclusion

Left-handers, from Saurav Ganguly to Lance Klusener, from Michael Bevan to Shivnarine Chanderpaul, left-handers have certainly performed extremely well in the World Cup.

As fine feathers in the cap, Saurav Ganguly has the highest score so far in the tournament (183 against Sri Lanka), and Lance Klusener has the amazing average of 214!

Could there be some mistake in the sampling? Cannot be, because 36 matches played on different grounds in England, 792 appearances by players from 12 countries, 634 innings, 12555 runs and , is a very large, reliable sample.

Are there, then, some solid reasons to this overwhelming superiority of Left handers?

Maybe, it is the fact that, with roughly only one-fifth of batsmen being left-handers, bowlers aren't used to bowling to the southpaws. With bowlers finding it difficult to adjust their line to the left-handers, these batsmen have some easy pickings. Maybe that's why they score more on average, at a quicker pace, put up big scores more often, and score a larger percentage of runs in boundaries!

That brings us to the question, "Do Left-Arm Bowlers do far better since Right-Handed batsmen are not used to their line of attack?"

That, unfortunately, will have to be a question answered another day, in another article.

Till then, "Keep Thinking", and enjoy the game!

Source :: Karthik Ramamurthy