Runs Per Innings vs Average in ODIs

[stephen]

There has been some talk of Runs Per Innings being a better measure than Average for measuring a batsman's ability in ODI cricket.

So what I would like to do is take a look at the RPI vs Average of the top ten run scorers in each position without drawing any conclusions.

Not included in the below stats is the not out statistics. However, they correlate extremely well with the average difference.

As expected, openers had the smallest differential between their average and RPI - a shade under 3 runs per over. Here is the average differential of the top 10 (20 openers) in each batting position:

Openers   - Average batting average - 41.2, average RPI - 38.2, average difference - 2.97
Number 3s - Average batting average - 45.0, average RPI - 40.1, average difference - 4.89
Number 4s - Average batting average - 43.7, average RPI - 37.2, average difference - 6.51
Number 5s - Average batting average - 41.8, average RPI - 33.0, average difference - 8.78
Number 6s - Average batting average - 38.0, average RPI - 29.0, average difference - 8.96

Batsmen with the highest differentials:

MG Bevan (6) 22.2
AD Matthews (5) 16.0
MS Dhoni (6) 15.0
MS Dhoni (5) 12.1
V Kohli (3) 10.9
JN Rhodes (5) 10.4

Highest lowest difference in each category:

Openers               - RG Sharma, ave diff 6.51
Openers (top 10 only) - DL Haynes, ave diff 4.88
Number 3s             - V Kohli, ave diff 10.86
Number 4s             - LRPL Taylor, ave diff 8.92
Number 5s             - AD Matthews, ave diff 16.06
Number 6s             - MG Bevan, ave diff 22.16

The top average in each batting position correlated with the top RPI with the exception of the number 5 position, where Matthews RPI was only the second highest amongst the top 10, despite averaging the most.

The bottom average in each batting position correlated with the bottom RPI with the exception of the number 5 position where Rhodes had the lowest RPI despite averaging more than five other batsmen.

Here are the full stats:

Openers (I grabbed the top 20 since they occupy two slots in the batting lineup):

Player                 Innings       Runs     Ave     RPI   Diff
SR Tendulkar*(INDIA)       340      15310   48.29   45.02   3.26
ST Jayasuriya*(Asia/SL)    383      12740   34.61   33.26   1.34
CH Gayle*(ICC/WI)          274      10179   39.45   37.14   2.30
AC Gilchrist*(AUS/ICC)     259       9200   36.5    35.52   0.97
SC Ganguly*(INDIA)         236       9146   41.57   38.75   2.81
DL Haynes*(WI)             237       8648   41.37   36.48   4.88
Saeed Anwar*(PAK)          220       8156   39.98   37.07   2.90
HM Amla*(SA)               175       8083   49.89   46.18   3.70
V Sehwag*(Asia/ICC/INDIA)  212       7518   36.49   35.46   1.02
TM Dilshan*(SL)            176       7367   46.04   41.85   4.18
GC Smith*(Afr/SA)          193       6974   38.1    36.13   1.96
Tamim Iqbal*(BDESH)        202       6892   35.52   34.11   1.40
RG Sharma*(INDIA)          132       6719   57.42   50.90   6.51
G Kirsten*(SA)             175       6647   41.8    37.98   3.81
NJ Astle*(NZ)              186       6176   34.89   33.20   1.68
HH Gibbs*(SA)              182       6103   35.69   33.53   2.15
WU Tharanga*(SL)           189       6077   33.94   32.15   1.78
MJ Guptill*(NZ)            155       6001   43.8    38.71   5.08
ML Hayden*(AUS)            147       5892   44.3    40.08   4.21
ME Waugh*(AUS)             141       5729   44.06   40.63   3.42

Number 3s:

Player                     Inns      Runs    Ave    RPI     Diff
RT Ponting*(AUS/ICC)        330     12662  42.48  38.36    4.11
KC Sangakkara*(Asia/ICC/SL) 238      9747  44.71  40.95    3.75
V Kohli*(INDIA)             177      9420  64.08  53.22   10.89
JH Kallis*(Afr/ICC/SA)      200      7774  45.72  38.87    6.85
KS Williamson*(NZ)          115      5380  51.23  46.78    4.44
DM Jones*(AUS)              131      5100  43.58  38.93    4.64
BC Lara*(WI)                106      4447  45.84  41.95    3.88
MS Atapattu*(SL)            120      4142  38.35  34.51    3.83
R Dravid*(INDIA)            109      4000  38.83  36.69    2.13
RB Richardson*(WI)          129      3984  35.25  30.88    4.36

Number 4s:

Player                     Inns      Runs    Ave    RPI   Diff
LRPL Taylor*(NZ)            174      7459  51.79  42.86   8.92
DPMD Jayawardene*(Asia/SL)  219      6947  35.08  31.72   3.35
PA de Silva*(SL)            197      6870  39.25  34.87   4.37
AB de Villiers*(SA)         125      5736  53.11  45.88   7.22
Javed Miandad*(PAK)         160      5678  43.34  35.48   7.85
Inzamam-ul-Haq*(PAK)        147      5175  40.42  35.20   5.21
M Azharuddin*(INDIA)        137      4605  40.39  33.61   6.77
Mohammad Yousuf*(PAK)       121      4421  43.77  36.53   7.23
MJ Clarke*(AUS)             111      4223  46.4   38.04   8.35
Mushfiqur Rahim*(BDESH)      98      3709  43.63  37.84   5.78

Number 5s:

Player                     Inns     Runs    Ave     RPI  Diff
A Ranatunga*(SL)            153     4675   38.63  30.55  8.07
SR Waugh*(AUS)              135     4117   37.42  30.49  6.92
Shakib Al Hasan*(BDESH)     125     3852   35.33  30.81  4.51
Inzamam-ul-Haq*(Asia/PAK)   105     3473   41.84  33.07  8.76
A Symonds*(AUS)              96     3473   44.52  36.17  8.34
MS Dhoni*(INDIA)             83     3169   50.3   38.18  12.1
AD Mathews*(SL)              85     3099   52.52  36.45  16.0
Yuvraj Singh*(INDIA)         92     3040   39.48  33.04  6.43
EJG Morgan*(ENG)             97     3008   37.13  31.01  6.11
JN Rhodes*(SA)               90     2734   40.8   30.37  10.4

Number 6s:

Player                     Inns     Runs     Ave    RPI    Diff
MS Dhoni*(INDIA)            129     4164   47.31  32.27   15.03
MG Bevan*(AUS)               87     3006   56.71  34.55   22.15
MV Boucher*(Afr/SA)          98     2387   29.83  24.35    5.47
TM Dilshan*(SL)              87     2046   28.81  23.51    5.29
JC Buttler*(ENG)             64     1977   37.3   30.89    6.40
MEK Hussey*(AUS)             63     1942   40.45  30.82    9.62
Umar Akmal*(PAK)             62     1888   37.01  30.45    6.55
Yuvraj Singh*(Asia/INDIA)    59     1799   36.71  30.49    6.21
AD Mathews*(SL)              65     1736   33.38  26.70    6.67
JN Rhodes*(SA)               67     1728   32     25.79    6.20

 

[trundler]

Both are faulty.

/Thread.

 

[Jack1]

Different players have different roles depending on the team , coach and captain they play for. Averages are a good measure, strike rate compared to average is hugely significant and very underrated by a lot of people depending on player role obviously and which era they played in.

More what I'm getting at is that a certain player might be capable of playing well at 1,2,3,4,5 or 6 in ODIs and then where he bats would purely depend on which nationality he was, the coach and captains plans. It's unfair to hold where a player is made to bat for the sake of his team against him, averages are a just that - an average.

To then get into detail you'd have to analyse specific innings, their strike rate and effect etc, opponent , locations of the games etc.

The good thing about tests is it's not limited overs, runs and therefore average is all that matters for a batsman. Gets way more complicated to compare at the top end in ODIs.

 

[mr_mister]

I found this interesting Stephen

 

[mr_mister]

Seems you can't really punish Began for a low RPI if he's got the best RPI for a number 6 out of anyone

 

[stephen]

Seems you can't really punish Began for a low RPI if he's got the best RPI for a number 6 out of anyone

It could just be lack of competition. Other than Dhoni and Bevan, no other side really chose to bat one of their top 2 batsmen at 6. They usually get promoted up the order (which Bevan did for a time, by batting 4).

The one that really surprised me was Kohli. But then Dhoni, Kohli and Bevan are usually regarded as the best finishers in the history of the game. Is it any wonder that they're the ones with the highest percentage of not outs and the highest differentials between their averages and RPI? All three of these players average over 50 as well, meaning that even a high differential still means they're scoring a lot of RPI.

 

[srbhkshk]

Ignoring batting conditions and at equal SR, average is a perfect metric of a Batsmen's ability - anything else is just hogwash.

 

[GIMH]

Jos Buttler

 

[Jack1]

Jos Buttler

What a player

 

[Red]

Ignoring batting conditions and at equal SR, average is a perfect metric of a Batsmen's ability - anything else is just hogwash.

It's so far from being "perfect" in ODIs it's not funny. Tests, moreso, but ODIs, no.

 

[stephen]

Jos Buttler

If he keeps batting six it's likely he'll end up at the top four runs scored but it wouldn't surprise me if he gets promoted up the order at some point.

 

[Jack1]

If he keeps batting six it's likely he'll end up at the top four runs scored but it wouldn't surprise me if he gets promoted up the order at some point.

In ODI and T20I Buttler can be a gun from 1 to 7.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Ignoring batting conditions and at equal SR, average is a perfect metric of a Batsmen's ability - anything else is just hogwash.

This. Depends what you're measuring of course but if you're goal is to measure a batsman's ability average is close to a perfect measurement. As you say, assuming conditions and SR are stable.

meanwhile runs per innings is highly dependant on batting position, and hence very flawed

 

[CricAddict]

Ignoring batting conditions and at equal SR, average is a perfect metric of a Batsmen's ability - anything else is just hogwash.

Ignoring strike rate, yes. But in ODIs, that is an important component and cannot be ignored.

To me, strike rate*average is the perfect metric of a batsman's ability. For different eras, need to era adjust though.

 

[Spark]

They measure different things. Both valid and interesting to measure, but very much limited in scope.

IMO the best - but admittedly rubbery and kind of cumbersome to produce - measure of this kind is a "performance above replacement" metric. Basically how much better a batsman is in that batting spot than his direct contemporaries, so only comparing apples with apples.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Ignoring strike rate, yes. But in ODIs, that is an important component and cannot be ignored.

To me, strike rate*average is the perfect metric of a batsman's ability. For different eras, need to era adjust though.

You're missing the point. He's not saying that you should ignore strike rates when rating players. He's just saying that average is a better measurement than runs per innings, and that's it's more or less a perfect measurement when comparing players assuming strike rate and conditions stay the same

 

[stephen]

The thing I've harped on about on this forum a lot before is that building an ODI team is very different from building a test side. Roles are almost as important as stats.

Dhoni at his peak filled the role of keeper, misled order batsman and finisher.

Jayasuriya filled the role of 5th bowler and aggressive opener.

Klusener filled the role of 3rd bowler and finisher.

Symonds filled the role of middle order batsman, late overs slogger, impact fielder and 5th bowler.

Each of those guys were worth more than their stats might suggest because they filled multiple roles, allowing for more flexibility in the rest of the side.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Dhoni at his peak filled the role of keeper, misled order batsman

Unintentionally accurate.

Dhoni should've batted at 4 since around 2015

 

[stephen]

Unintentionally accurate.

Dhoni should've batted at 4 since around 2015

Ha whoops.

Dhoni at 4 would have been good. Basically the slowest batsman in the side should bat at 4 these days.

 

[TheJediBrah]

The thing I've harped on about on this forum a lot before is that building an ODI team is very different from building a test side. Roles are almost as important as stats.

Dhoni at his peak filled the role of keeper, misled order batsman and finisher.

Jayasuriya filled the role of 5th bowler and aggressive opener.

Klusener filled the role of 3rd bowler and finisher.

Symonds filled the role of middle order batsman, late overs slogger, impact fielder and 5th bowler.

Each of those guys were worth more than their stats might suggest because they filled multiple roles, allowing for more flexibility in the rest of the side.

Just popping in to say that calling Klusener a 3rd bowler in an ATG team is a bit generous. Even for SA he was usually 4th or 5th