Analysing Slater, and Headingley's highs and lows

Slater's smashing starts
Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer ensured that his absence wasn't felt much in terms of sheer runs, but Michael Slater's 74-Test career had its fair share of highs. His combination with Mark Taylor isn't the most talked-about partnership, but the two were the second-most prolific opening pair in Test history, behind only Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes.

Despite a batting style that consisted of taking plenty of risks - often quite outrageous ones - Slater was, for much of his career, extremely consistent: only three times in his first 15 series did his average dip below 30 (excluding one-off matches). The final bit of his Test career was relatively less successful, but even then, it wasn't hopeless - his last 18 matches fetched him 1009 runs at an acceptable 33.63.

Slater's last series - against England in 2001 - began brightly, with a spanking 77 in the first Test, but then went gradually downhill, as his next six innings produced a sum total of 93. In fact, Slater's numbers in that series are a good example - though a slightly exaggerated one - of the way his performances generally went in a series. He was magnificent at snatching the early initiative, averaging more than 51.09 in the first Test of a series. Among all batsmen with at least 25 such innings, that average puts him at a highly respectable 14th position.

Ken Barrington tops that list with a phenomenal 72.59 runs per innings, but it is interesting to note the number of Australians in that line-up: there are four in the top eight, and two more - Ian Chappell (51.46) and Slater - in the top 15. Among those names is his partner in crime, Taylor. Not surprisingly, their average partnership is the opening Test of a series was 60.29, and with a powerful middle order to follow, the start usually ensured that the opposition was shut out of the match very early in the piece.

However, Slater tended to gradually lose form as the series went along. The table below indicates how he would transform from a high quality batsman to merely an ordinary one: his average in the third Test of a series was only 33, which dipped further to 27 in fourth Tests. The exception to this trend was his performances in fifth Tests, where his average shot up to more than 70.

Headingley's highs and lows
Over the past few years, the pitch at Headingley has attracted rather adverse comments. Geoff Boycott was the latest to lash out at the surface after the recently concluded second Test between England and New Zealand, pointing out that the English media toned down their reactions only because England won (which, incidentally, was the 20th decisive result in the last 22 Tests there). Do the numbers justify the criticism?

The innings-wise average runs per wicket, taken for matches since 1981, suggest that Headingley is a typically challenging Test-match pitch: teams score well in the first innings (average total 354), and then the runs dry up gradually, with the fourth innings total being 255.

That looks like the ideal Test wicket, but a match-by-match analysis reveals why the numbers average out: teams either amass huge scores, or crash in a heap. In the last 13 Tests, the team batting first has been bowled out for less than 200 five times, but have, on six occasions, scored in excess of 400. There are two 600-plus totals there as well - Australia's 653 for 4 in 1993, and India's 628 for 8 in 2002. However, as the Australian and Indian bowlers showed later, neither of those scores came on a docile pitch. Teams have admittedly struggled in their second innings, with only one 350-plus score in the last 13 years, but then, in a game where flat pitches and batsmen have been so dominant of late, surely the odd venue with bowler-friendly conditions should not be denigrated.

Flintoff finds his groove
For a long time, Andy Flintoff was a player with plenty of promise, but with little to show for it. After more than 20 Tests, he had a batting average of below 20, while his bowling average was an exorbitant 50. Over the last few matches, though, it seems that Fred has finally found his groove - in his last 14 Tests, Flintoff has averaged 46.2 with the bat, and 35.9 with the ball. Not only is he scoring hundreds - he has two of them in his last 13 Tests - he has also improved his consistency: it's been 11 innings since his last sub-ten score. The overall figures - especially his bowling stats - could still do with some improvement, but at least they are finally moving in the right direction.