The Stats

There was an end of season meeting held a few weeks ago in Haverfordwest Cricket Club where a few issues were discussed ahead of more winter tinkering.

Discipline was one issue and one that resulted in the biggest debate of the night. Without going into too much detail the thought is that discipline on our cricket fields is getting worse.

Every season we hear of someone getting banned, this year two players from the same club were given an enforced break after separate incidences led to them getting hauled in front of the county’s disciplinary panel.

Having been there myself last year (in a supporting role I hasten to add not as a suspect) it’s not that nice an experience. One Saturday you are sat talking merrily about the game with members of the said panel and the next their eyes are fixed upon you looking for chinks in your armour in order to spot if you are telling the truth or not. It’s a waste of a Sunday afternoon too in my eyes and all for a silly spat on the pitch playing what is usually classed as the gentleman’s game.

Anyway, the upshot of it is this. During the winter the umpires and other senior officials are going to devise a set of scores in which to rank offences and bowlers giving batsmen the send-off may be one of them.

In fact, it’s believed the send-off is one of the leading instigators of ill-discipline.

You know what it’s like, you’re at the crease batting away when all of a sudden the death rattle rings behind you, you feel like crap having lost your wicket and the bowler laughs in your face, maybe points to the changing rooms or tells you where to go in hushed or stronger tones.

This leads the batsman to lash out with his bat, tell the bowler his mother is a minger and proceeds to smack him around the buttocks with his prized blade before all hell breaks loose.

Of course, that’s an exaggeration but it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that it could happen.

Let’s hope it doesn’t, you have been warned.

Speaking of bowlers, who took the most wickets in division one last season and who scored the most runs? At the meeting Paul Webb handed out the top twenty in each discipline and the usual suspects where there for all to see, some even made both lists, so here they are.

Top Batsmen

Name	Runs	Innings	Best Score	Not out	Completed Innings	Aver	50	100
Simon Holliday	661	17	67 n.o.	6	11	60.09	7	0
Peter Bradshaw	539	17	97	1	16	33.68	5	0
Phil Williams	512	15	122n.o.	1	14	36.57	1	1
Nick Scourfield	491	14	74	3	11	44.63	5	0
Gareth Davies	457	12	108	0	12	38.08	3	1
Jon Thomas	448	11	111	4	7	64	1	2
Ashley Sutton	434	14	107.n.o	3	11	39.45	1	1
Simon Cole	431	14	66	2	12	35.91	2	0
Jack Jones	420	16	85	5	11	38.18	1	0
Dan Howells	418	18	93	2	16	26.12	2	0
Marc Hughes	398	15	70	0	15	26.53	2	0
Brad Jenkins	396	13	90	4	9	44	5	0
Andrew Cole	395	16	70	0	16	24.68	1	0
Matthew Morgan	382	16	75	2	14	27.28	3	0
Steve Lewis	380	15	80	1	14	27.14	4	0
Paul Davies	375	14	100 n.o.	1	13	28.84	0	1
Phil Cockburn	353	15	64 n.o.	4	11	32.09	2	0
Ian Sefton	334	8	94	2	6	55.66	3	0
Simon Wood	333	11	70n.o.	2	9	37	2	0

So Simon Holliday wins, or does he?

He may have scored the most runs but is his average the best? Nope, that accolade goes to Jonathan Thomas from Whitland with Holliday in second and Ian Sefton in third.

Name	Runs	Innings	Best Score	Not out	Completed Innings	Aver	50	100
Jon Thomas	448	11	111	4	7	64	1	2
Simon Holliday	661	17	67 n.o.	6	11	60.09	7	0
Ian Sefton	334	8	94	2	6	55.66	3	0
Nick Scourfield	491	14	74	3	11	44.63	5	0
Brad Jenkins	396	13	90	4	9	44	5	0
Ashley Sutton	434	14	107.n.o	3	11	39.45	1	1
Jack Jones	420	16	85	5	11	38.18	1	0
Gareth Davies	457	12	108	0	12	38.08	3	1
Simon Wood	333	11	70n.o.	2	9	37	2	0
Phil Williams	512	15	122n.o.	1	14	36.57	1	1
Simon Cole	431	14	66	2	12	35.91	2	0
Peter Bradshaw	539	17	97	1	16	33.68	5	0
Phil Cockburn	353	15	64 n.o.	4	11	32.09	2	0
Paul Davies	375	14	100 n.o.	1	13	28.84	0	1
Matthew Morgan	382	16	75	2	14	27.28	3	0
Steve Lewis	380	15	80	1	14	27.14	4	0
Marc Hughes	398	15	70	0	15	26.53	2	0
Dan Howells	418	18	93	2	16	26.12	2	0
Andrew Cole	395	16	70	0	16	24.68	1	0

We all know that averages are calculated by the amount of runs you score divided by the number of times you are out but are they really a true reflection of your worth as a batsman? If they were calculated by dividing by every time you bat, would we then have a better idea of who is the county’s finest?

Food for thought maybe but Ian Sefton could be classed as the county’s best with this method as the table below shows.

Name	Runs	Innings	Ave per innings
Ian Sefton	334	8	41.75
Jon Thomas	448	11	40.72
Simon Holliday	661	17	38.88
Gareth Davies	457	12	38.08
Nick Scourfield	491	14	35.07
Phil Williams	512	15	34.13
Peter Bradshaw	539	17	31.70
Ashley Sutton	434	14	31
Simon Cole	431	14	30.78
Brad Jenkins	396	13	30.46
Simon Wood	333	11	30.27
Paul Davies	375	14	26.78
Marc Hughes	398	15	26.53
Jack Jones	420	16	26.25
Steve Lewis	380	15	25.33
Andrew Cole	395	16	24.68
Matthew Morgan	382	16	23.875
Phil Cockburn	353	15	23.53
Dan Howells	418	18	23.22

Top Bowlers

Take a bow Adam James of Haverfordwest , 45 wickets with Neyland’s Nathan Banner in second.

Name	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets	Average
Adam James	156.3	30	587	47	12.48
Nathan Banner	149.2	41	394	35	11.25
Andrew Pawlett	138.3	18	433	31	13.96
Dan James	150	23	544	28	19.42
Tom Murphy	123.5	18	438	28	15.64
Henry Durrant	125.1	31	355	27	13.14
Clive Tucker	132.4	25	508	27	18.81
Stefan Jenkins	119	13	554	26	21.3
Andrew Williams	93	6	316	25	12.64
Luke Jones	161.3	27	602	25	24.08
Simon Holliday	73.1	6	304	24	12.66
Rob Williams	151.1	26	478	24	19.91
Gareth Davies	113.1	18	378	24	15.75
Ian Hughes	142.4	38	462	23	20.18
Mark Lee	142.1	35	425	23	18.47
Rhys Davies	143.5	21	521	22	23.68
Matthew Bennett	162.3	31	603	22	27.4
Nick Kooman	84.5	20	285	22	12.95
Tom Davies	91.5	15	399	20	19.95

But Banner can lay a claim to having the best average with a wicket costing a shade over 11 runs apiece.

Name	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets	Average
Nathan Banner	149.2	41	394	35	11.25
Adam James	156.3	30	587	47	12.48
Andrew Williams	93	6	316	25	12.64
Simon Holliday	73.1	6	304	24	12.66
Nick Kooman	84.5	20	285	22	12.95
Henry Durrant	125.1	31	355	27	13.14
Andrew Pawlett	138.3	18	433	31	13.96
Tom Murphy	123.5	18	438	28	15.64
Gareth Davies	113.1	18	378	24	15.75
Mark Lee	142.1	35	425	23	18.47
Clive Tucker	132.4	25	508	27	18.81
Dan James	150	23	544	28	19.42
Rob Williams	151.1	26	478	24	19.91
Tom Davies	91.5	15	399	20	19.95
Ian Hughes	142.4	38	462	23	20.18
Stefan Jenkins	119	13	554	26	21.3
Rhys Davies	143.5	21	521	22	23.68
Luke Jones	161.3	27	602	25	24.08
Matthew Bennett	162.3	31	603	22	27.4

But is his strike rate the best. Does he snare victims quicker than anyone else or does James win that one instead?

Well, neither do as Doc Holliday sneaks in with his left arm loopers  with Town team mate James in second and Banner moving down to fifth behind his team mate Nick Koomen.

Name	Overs	Balls bowled	wkts	strike rate
Simon Holliday	73.1	439	24	18.29
Adam James	156.3	939	47	19.98
Andrew Williams	93	558	25	22.32
Nick Kooman	84.5	507	22	23.05
Nathan Banner	149.2	896	35	25.60
Tom Murphy	123.5	743	28	26.54
Andrew Pawlett	138.3	831	31	26.81
Stefan Jenkins	119	714	26	27.46
Tom Davies	91.5	551	20	27.55
Henry Durrant	125.1	751	27	27.81
Gareth Davies	113.1	679	24	28.29
Clive Tucker	132.4	796	27	29.48
Dan James	150	900	28	32.14
Mark Lee	142.1	853	23	37.09
Ian Hughes	142.4	856	23	37.22
Rob Williams	151.1	907	24	37.79
Luke Jones	161.3	969	25	38.76
Rhys Davies	143.5	863	22	39.23
Matthew Bennett	162.3	975	22	44.32

So the strike rate is impressive but how many overs on average does it take for the top twenty to take a pole?

Name	Overs	Wickets	Overs per wicket
Simon Holliday	73.1	24	3.0
Adam James	156.3	47	3.3
Andrew Williams	93	25	3.7
Nick Kooman	84.5	22	3.8
Nathan Banner	149.2	35	4.3
Tom Murphy	123.5	28	4.4
Andrew Pawlett	138.3	31	4.5
Tom Davies	91.5	20	4.6
Stefan Jenkins	119	26	4.6
Henry Durrant	125.1	27	4.6
Gareth Davies	113.1	24	4.7
Clive Tucker	132.4	27	4.9
Dan James	150	28	5.4
Mark Lee	142.1	23	6.2
Ian Hughes	142.4	23	6.2
Rob Williams	151.1	24	6.3
Luke Jones	161.3	25	6.5
Rhys Davies	143.5	22	6.5
Matthew Bennett	162.3	22	7.4

Name not on the list? Want it to be? Then get in the nets this winter or play indoor cricket as even if your club doesn’t enter there was talk in the meeting of allowing teams to field guest players in order to get the fixtures played.

No decision on that just yet but they may be in due course.

Stay tuned for any updates.