Rich man, poor man

In the build-up to the first Test against England, a lot of attention was given to Sachin Tendulkar's poor record at Lord's, and the fact that it would be his final opportunity to set it right. In five innings at cricket's headquarters, he had scored 96 runs with a highest score of 31. The stage was perfect for Tendulkar to impose himself in the second innings; India needed 380 to win, and one more chance to get on the honours board remained. It wasn't to be, though, as Tendulkar was trapped leg before by Monty Panesar for 16. In all probability, his record at Lord's will remain 149 runs in seven innings at an average of 21, which is significantly lower than his career figure of 55. This week we look at batsmen who have failed, and thrived, at particular venues.

Don Bradman's average at Lord's - 78.71 - also paled against his overall average of 99.94 but it was at Sydney that he had the least success. He played 12 innings at the Sydney Cricket Ground, scored 703 runs with one double-century, another hundred, and three fifties for an average of 58.58, a fall from his lofty numbers at other venues. It is the only ground where Bradman was dismissed for a duck twice, against West Indies in 1931 and England in 1936. Bradman also struggled at Old Trafford, where he scored 81 runs at an average of 27. However, he played only four innings there, one less than our qualification of five.

Biggest negative differences between average at a venue and career average - Tests (qualification: 5 innings)

Player	Span		Career inns	Runs	Ave	100		Venue inns	Runs	Ave	100		Diff
CS Dempster (NZ)	1930-1933		15	723	65.72	2		6	78	15.60	0		-50.127
Jade Stadium, Christchurch
E Paynter (Eng)	1931-1939		31	1540	59.23	4		5	52	10.40	0		-48.830
Old Trafford, Manchester
DCS Compton (Eng)	1946-1954		131	5807	50.06	17		6	37	7.40	0		-42.660
Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane
DG Bradman (Aus)	1931-1947		80	6996	99.94	29		12	703	58.58	2		-41.359
Sydney Cricket Ground
WR Hammond (Eng)	1930-1938		140	7249	58.45	22		6	107	17.83	0		-40.626
Trent Bridge, Nottingham
BC Lara (WI)	1992-2000		232	11953	52.88	34		6	76	12.66	0		-40.222
Melbourne Cricket Ground
Javed Miandad (Pak)	1978-1992		189	8832	52.57	23		6	63	12.60	0		-39.971
Lord's, London
SR Waugh (Aus)	1986-2000		260	10927	51.06	32		6	69	11.50	0		-39.560
Eden Park, Auckland
WR Hammond (Eng)	1933-1946		140	7249	58.45	22		6	114	19.00	0		-39.459
Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane
R Dravid (India)	1998-2005		185	9366	57.46	24		9	165	18.33	0		-39.126
M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore

Rahul Dravid belongs a rare breed of batsmen whose overseas performances exceed their exploits at home: he averages 61 away from home, and 51.52 in Tests in India. In fact, Dravid's worst venue is his home ground, the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, where he has played nine innings and scored 165 runs at an average of 18.33 with only one half-century.

Javed Miandad's average of 330.50 at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad (Pakistan) is seventh in the list of highest batting averages at a venue, and it rises to the top if we raise the qualification to at least five innings at that venue. In six innings there, Miandad remained unbeaten four times and reeled off 25, 88, 61, 280, 104 and 103, a total of 661 runs. The last two hundreds were in the same Test against New Zealand in 1984, which Pakistan won by seven wickets. It was also the last Test played at the Niaz Stadium.

Biggest positive difference between average at a venue and career average - Tests (qualification: 5 innings)

Player	Span		Career inns	Runs	Ave	100		Venue inns	Runs	Ave	100		Diff
Javed Miandad (Pak)	1976-1984		189	8832	52.57	23		6	661	330.50	3		277.928
Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad
SR Tendulkar (India)	1992-2004		220	10922	55.44	37		5	498	249.00	2		193.558
Sydney Cricket Ground
HR Adhikari (India)	1948-1959		36	872	31.14	1		6	365	182.50	1		151.357
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
M Azharuddin (India)	1985-1996		147	6215	45.03	22		5	543	181.00	3		135.963
Green Park, Kanpur
WR Hammond (Eng)	1928-1946		140	7249	58.45	22		7	808	161.60	4		103.140
Sydney Cricket Ground
DG Bradman (Aus)	1930-1948		80	6996	99.94	29		6	963	192.60	4		92.657
Headingley, Leeds
IVA Richards (WI)	1974-1987		182	8540	50.23	24		5	399	133.00	2		82.764
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
J Hardstaff jnr (Eng)	1936-1946		38	1636	46.74	4		5	388	129.33	2		82.590
Lord's, London
AL Hassett (Aus)	1947-1953		69	3073	46.56	10		5	513	128.25	2		81.689
Adelaide Oval
S Chanderpaul (WI)	1994-2005		178	7182	46.63	16		9	758	126.33	4		79.696
Bourda, Georgetown, Guyana

Miandad plundered runs at the Niaz Stadium in one-day internationals as well. In five ODI innings he averaged 111.66 with two centuries - one in the World Cup opener against Sri Lanka in 1987 - and a half-century.

Biggest positive difference between average at a venue and career average - ODIs (qualification: 5 innings)

Player	Span		Career inns	Runs	Ave	100		Venue inns	Runs	Ave	100		Diff
Mohammad Yousuf (Pak)	2000-2002		229	8081	41.02	12		5	407	203.50	2		162.479
Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka
Imran Khan (Pak)	1974-1987		151	3709	33.41	1		5	131	131.00	0		97.585
Trent Bridge, Nottingham
R Dravid (India)	1999-2007		295	10301	40.08	12		5	385	128.33	1		88.251
Vidarbha C.A. Ground, Nagpur
DJ Bravo (WI)	2004-2006		55	992	24.19	1		5	209	104.50	0		80.304
Queen's Park Oval, Trinidad
MG Bevan (Aus)	1996-2004		196	6912	53.58	6		8	263	131.50	0		77.918
Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane
R Dravid (India)	2000-2006		295	10301	40.08	12		5	342	114.00	2		73.918
Gujarat Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
NJ Astle (NZ)	1995-2002		217	7090	34.92	16		5	422	105.50	2		70.573
Carisbrook, Dunedin
Javed Miandad (Pak)	1982-1992		218	7381	41.70	8		5	335	111.66	2		69.966
Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad
DM Jones (Aus)	1984-1992		161	6068	44.61	7		12	563	112.60	0		67.982
Adelaide Oval
S Chanderpaul (WI)	1998-1999		208	6975	38.96	7		5	319	106.33	0		67.366
Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

Kevin Pietersen's 134 in the second innings against India was his third century in his last four Tests at Lord's, where he averages 80.87 in nine innings. Pietersen, however, has a poor ODI record at Lord's - 81 runs in five innings at 16.20 per match compared to his career average of 53.

Another batsman who has struggled to perform in front of his home crowd is Andrew Symonds. In six ODI innings at the Gabba in Brisbane he has been dismissed in single figures on five occasions, 20 against India in 2004 being his highest.

Michael Bevan's one-day form in Sri Lanka was poor compared to his overall record. In 20 games in Sri Lanka, he scored only 382 runs at an average of 27.28. He struggled particularly in Colombo, where he averaged 17.44 in nine innings at the Premadasa Stadium and 22.75 from five innings at the Sinhalese Sports Club.

Biggest negative differences between average at a venue and career average - ODIs (qualification: 5 innings)

Player	Span		Career inns	Runs	Ave	100		Venue inns	Runs	Ave	100		Diff
KP Pietersen (Eng)	2005-2007		48	2068	53.02	5		5	81	16.20	0		-36.825
Lord's, London
MG Bevan (Aus)	1994-2004		196	6912	53.58	6		9	157	17.44	0		-36.136
R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
A Symonds (Aus)	2000-2007		136	4226	39.49	5		6	36	6.00	0		-33.495
Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane
CH Gayle (WI)	1999-1999		170	6184	38.89	15		5	29	5.80	0		-33.093
Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club
MG Bevan (Aus)	1994-2004		196	6912	53.58	6		5	91	22.75	0		-30.831
Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo
JH Kallis (ICC/SA)	2000-2005		247	9144	45.49	15		6	88	14.66	0		-30.825
Docklands Stadium, Melbourne
Mohammad Yousuf (Asia/Pak)	2000-2005		229	8081	41.02	12		5	52	10.40	0		-30.620
Melbourne Cricket Ground
DS Lehmann (Aus)	1996-2002		101	3078	38.96	4		5	43	8.60	0		-30.362
R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
SR Tendulkar (India)	1991-2004		378	15051	44.13	41		7	100	14.28	0		-29.852
WACA Ground, Perth
Mohammad Yousuf (Pak)	2003-2003		229	8081	41.02	12		5	56	11.20	0		-29.820
Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium