Chase Into Record Books
The Age
Thursday February 16, 2006
AUSTRALIA'S score of 1-267 in the Brisbane final was the highest score by a team winning a one-day international by nine wickets. It is almost 20 years since both Australian openers have made centuries in the same one-day international. Before Gilchrist and Katich in Brisbane, the last pair to do so were Geoff Marsh (104) and David Boon (111), at Jaipur in 1986. The record total of 5-368 by Australia in the Sydney final ranks as the seventh-highest score in one-day internationals, on a list led by Sri Lanka's 398 against Kenya in the World Cup in 1996. Even more remarkable was Australia's total of 321 runs in the last 40 overs, the second-highest total after England's 332 against Bangladesh last year. Australia's defeat in the first final in Adelaide was the team's first loss in a final since 1999.
AUSTRALIA'S batsmen enjoyed a nice spell free of lbws during the tri-nations series, going eight consecutive matches without losing a batsman that way. Leg-befores are much less common in one-day internationals than in Tests, and Australia gets fewer lbws than any country, with 6 per cent out lbw in recent years, as against an international average of 9 per cent. THERE is a serious imbalance developing with the results of day-night games in Australia favouring the team that bats first, despite Australia's runaway victory in the third final in Brisbane. This season, teams batting first have won nine and lost five matches. This continues the trend of the past three seasons, where the team batting first has been favoured 26 matches to 11. The advantage of batting first is also reflected in the averages in day-night games in the past three years: 37.4 runs a wicket for teams batting first, and 26.9 for teams batting second. Compare this with daytime matches, which favour teams batting second - 36.3 to 32.4. THERE don't seem to be many defenders of the super-sub system: Ricky Ponting, for one, is no fan. The fact that super-subs must be named before the toss has led to specialist batsmen being virtually excluded from the role. While some batsmen were used when it was introduced, all of the super-subs used in the past 12 one-day internationals have been bowlers. In the past 55, involving 110 super-subs, there have been only 40 innings played by super-subs. Only 13 runs a match, on average, can be credited to super-subs, though they have made more difference through their bowling, with the overall average over 55 matches a creditable 26.9. On average, though, only 1.4 wickets fall to super-subs in each match.
© 2006 The Age