Left-handed batsmen advantaged?

[zaremba]

Right-handers with more than 10 test innings above number 7 average 36.17.

Left-handers with more than 10 test innings above number 7 average 39.07.

Not fairly close (difference of 3 runs per wicket is huge when you consider this as data collected for over 130 years and over 25000 dismissals)...

Fact is that left-handed batsmen have a slight advantage

A really interesting and telling stat, that. I had no idea that there'd be such a marked difference.

 

[Goughy]

Right-handers with more than 10 test innings above number 7 average 36.17.

Left-handers with more than 10 test innings above number 7 average 39.07.

Not fairly close (difference of 3 runs per wicket is huge when you consider this as data collected for over 130 years and over 25000 dismissals)...

Did that take much work? What did you use to get the info?

 

[Chubb]

I was one of two or three lefties at the UEA cricket club, out of nearly 40 players, which would reflect the actual percentage of left-handed people better than at most clubs (and I'm not really left-handed). I used to come in for stick from my mates for having an advantage. The argument was that if the bowler is right-handed and slanting the ball across you, which he has to do, then you get far more balls to hit to off, because of the natural width given if the bowler only makes a slight mistake with his line. The same applies to the leg-side, with more balls being given to hit. This is true, but only up to a point. Personally I find it hard to face a right-arm outswing bowler (to me), who swings the ball from outside or on leg stump towards middle and off, because I see the line early and get ready to play into the leg side. I also think that off-spin is harder to play as a leftie, if the bowler is good enough to consistently pitch on the off-stump and move it away. But that may be my own flaws as a batsman.

The discussion would then move on to the LBW law, and I certainly think lefties have an advantage here. I think the solution is for bowlers to practise bowling around the wicket more, thus replicating as best they can the line they'd bowl to a right-hander. But few bowlers are willing to do this. The vast majority of the times a bowler decides to come around the wicket to me, his first ball will be going down leg, giving easy runs, though of course there are exceptions.

Listening to some right-handers talk you'd think there was a massive conspiracy by left-handed batsmen to take over the game of cricket! Of course, this is completely true.

 

[Spinksy]

Stems from some opponents' relative unfamiliarity with them.

Just because some bowlers struggle at LHBs, not all do. Some prefer it.

Some people like me. I bowl excellent against Left Hand Batsmen. Once I versed a team that was full of left handers and got figures of like 5 overs 2 maidens 4 wickets with only 6 runs scored against me.

 

[Jakester1288]

Right-handers with more than 10 test innings above number 7 average 36.17.

Left-handers with more than 10 test innings above number 7 average 39.07.

Not fairly close (difference of 3 runs per wicket is huge when you consider this as data collected for over 130 years and over 25000 dismissals)...

Fact is that left-handed batsmen have a slight advantage and that's mainly because there are many bowlers who bowl better line and length to right-handers. (There could be other reasons too.)

How did you work that out? Is it on a web site?

Some people like me. I bowl excellent against Left Hand Batsmen. Once I versed a team that was full of left handers and got figures of like 5 overs 2 maidens 4 wickets with only 6 runs scored against me.

Anyone can bowl accurate at your pace.

 

[Richard]

I was one of two or three lefties at the UEA cricket club, out of nearly 40 players, which would reflect the actual percentage of left-handed people better than at most clubs (and I'm not really left-handed). I used to come in for stick from my mates for having an advantage. The argument was that if the bowler is right-handed and slanting the ball across you, which he has to do, then you get far more balls to hit to off, because of the natural width given if the bowler only makes a slight mistake with his line. The same applies to the leg-side, with more balls being given to hit. This is true, but only up to a point. Personally I find it hard to face a right-arm outswing bowler (to me), who swings the ball from outside or on leg stump towards middle and off, because I see the line early and get ready to play into the leg side. I also think that off-spin is harder to play as a leftie, if the bowler is good enough to consistently pitch on the off-stump and move it away. But that may be my own flaws as a batsman.

The discussion would then move on to the LBW law, and I certainly think lefties have an advantage here. I think the solution is for bowlers to practise bowling around the wicket more, thus replicating as best they can the line they'd bowl to a right-hander. But few bowlers are willing to do this. The vast majority of the times a bowler decides to come around the wicket to me, his first ball will be going down leg, giving easy runs, though of course there are exceptions.

I almost never bowl around-the-wicket to LHBs, currently. If the ball is swinging, which is almost all the time as I only ever bowl with a new ball, I always bowl over and try to swing it back. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But I've bowled plenty of LHBs with the one that bends back.

Very occasionally if I'm using a crap cricket ball I bowl around-the-wicket at LHBs and bowl leg-cutters (what would be off-cutters to RHBs). And I'm now working on getting the inswinger perfected, and once I've got that right I'll probably bowl around more and aim to swing it away, Craig White \ Andrew Flintoff style.

 

[Migara]

I'm a left handed batsmen myself, and I think the main advantage is that bowlers generally aren't very good at bowling to left handed batsmen. If I had a nickel for every time my first ball was a wide down legside.....

Although the rough outside the off stump for left handers late in the longer version is clearly a disadvantage.

I love to bowl to left handers. BTW I am a leg break bowler. I know that lefties cannot leave me like right handers (yes, I give it quite a bit of tweak)

 

[Furball]

Stems from some opponents' relative unfamiliarity with them.

Just because some bowlers struggle at LHBs, not all do. Some prefer it.

Well, at the end of the day, you're going to bowl the majority of your deliveries at right handed batsmen, so regardless of how well you bowl at left handers, there will be a degree of unfamiliarity involved.

It might be worth pointing out that the top 3, and 4 of the top 6 Test Batsmen according to the ICC rankings, are left handed. (Sangakkara, Chanderpaul, Hussey, Hayden).

Bowling left arm must be an advantage as well, simply because the overwhelming majority of seam bowlers are right handed - a quick check at Bracken's ODI figures, Vaas' career figures and Sidebottoms test numbers to date would seem to back this up.

 

[Richard]

Well, at the end of the day, you're going to bowl the majority of your deliveries at right handed batsmen, so regardless of how well you bowl at left handers, there will be a degree of unfamiliarity involved.

True, but some will deliberately bowl at LHBs lots in the nets in order to improve their familiarity with it.

Bowling left arm must be an advantage as well, simply because the overwhelming majority of seam bowlers are right handed - a quick check at Bracken's ODI figures, Vaas' career figures and Sidebottoms test numbers to date would seem to back this up.

Not neccessarily. There are right-armers who've done as well and better.

 

[adharcric]

Stems from some opponents' relative unfamiliarity with them.

Just because some bowlers struggle at LHBs, not all do. Some prefer it.

Yeah. On the whole, it is an advantage.

 

[anoop4real]

Does this mean that LHB score better due to poor performanceby the bowlers to them ??
If the answer is "YES" that means Right handed batsmen are better than LHB since the score fairly well facing strong bowling.........


PS: Ignore the post if u feel this is stupid!!! I just put my view here

 

[aussie tragic]

Did that take much work? What did you use to get the info?

Takes about one minute on stats guru

http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/stats/index.html?class=1;filter=advanced;type=batting

Interesting that if all batting is considered, LH averages 34.06 and RH averages only 28.78, however that could be explained by there being more RH bowlers taking up the tail.....

btw, pace bowling shows LH average 30.46 vs RH average 30.10

while spin bowling shows LH average 34.33 vs RH average 34.04