tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31367175304941814362024-03-05T03:09:38.031-08:00Balanced SportsEven handed. Or at least we try.matthew_woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06997294649154263799noreply@blogger.comBlogger799125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136717530494181436.post-19275073140147095062015-07-28T13:27:00.000-07:002015-07-28T13:27:37.325-07:00Wicketkeeper batsmanship by debut year
The following two charts detail the batting average of any Test wicketkeeper with over 50 dismissals. The trend line designates where Test batting averages have come from and are leading towards.
The second chart details removes the five players - AB de Villiers, Brendon McCullum, Kumar Sangakkara, Andy Flower and Alec Stewart - who played considerable amounts of Test cricket as a matthew_woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06997294649154263799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136717530494181436.post-89287268907703865782015-07-27T13:02:00.000-07:002015-07-27T13:55:30.347-07:002014-15 Goal Difference by minute
Comparing when within a game that EPL teams score or concede most might provide some information as to their fitness, concentration and tactics. You can find each team's performance broken down per minute here, or in the Room of Informational Illusions.matthew_woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06997294649154263799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136717530494181436.post-78752199729174917122015-07-08T16:29:00.000-07:002015-07-08T16:29:14.080-07:00Australian spinners - graphicalized!
Man, Nathan Lyon can get hit. But comparisons to Tim May don't do him any justice, as the chart above demonstrates.
You know who Nathan Lyon does compare to? His near-immediate predecessor in the Australian team, Nathan Hauritz. In fact, it's so similar, it's disconcerting...
matthew_woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06997294649154263799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136717530494181436.post-58110321821002257932015-05-04T13:59:00.003-07:002015-05-04T13:59:53.527-07:00Relative merits, great South African Test bowlers
Dale Steyn's pretty damn good. And for a guy who I remember as really fast but didn't trouble Australia as much as his counterparts, Allan Donald fares especially well. As usual, qualifier is 200 Test wickets.matthew_woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06997294649154263799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136717530494181436.post-83745900009498810882015-04-27T15:39:00.001-07:002015-04-27T15:39:31.506-07:00Updated 2014-15 individual plus/minus stats now availableExpanded statistics for every Premier League player can be found here, or in the Room of Informational Illusions.matthew_woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06997294649154263799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136717530494181436.post-48268649939698432382015-04-26T22:19:00.003-07:002015-04-26T22:19:45.690-07:00Relative merits, great Indian Test bowlers
As per the last three posts, this chart plots the relative effectiveness of the Indian bowlers to take 200 Test wickets. The size of the circle is their comparative wickets-per-innings (i.e. the larger the circle, the more average wickets the bowlers claims per innings).
The comparison between legspinners Chandrasekhar and Kumble is striking, while when choosing one of Bishen Bedi and matthew_woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06997294649154263799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136717530494181436.post-90981145578421281182015-04-22T20:32:00.001-07:002015-04-22T20:32:04.530-07:00Relative merits, great West Indian Test bowlers
Best West Indian fast bowler? Take your pick - and there have been some good ones. This chart tallies up the Calypso Kings' bowlers to have taken 200 Test wickets and shows that the 1970s and 1980s truly were an exceptional period for West Indian cricket.
Circle size represents the player's wickets-per-innings, which as you can make out is remarkably close (Walsh 2.14, Holding 2.20, Roberts matthew_woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06997294649154263799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136717530494181436.post-19980417184116459882015-04-20T19:53:00.003-07:002015-05-11T14:04:55.617-07:00Relative merits, great Australian Test bowlers
Following on from our chart yesterday, here's one about Australia. It effectively demonstrates the quality of Dennis Lillee and Glenn McGrath as world-beaters while also establishing Mitchell Johnson as the wicket-taking phenom he has been over the past two years.
Given the different era in which he played, Ray Lindwall fared very well while the dearly departed Richie Benaud's (a strike-rate matthew_woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06997294649154263799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136717530494181436.post-81219905605340501932015-04-20T08:11:00.000-07:002015-04-20T08:11:28.106-07:00Relative merits, great English bowlers
This chart details the relative details of some of England's finest Test match bowlers. The X-axis displays the player's Strike Rate, the Y-axis their Test average. The size of the circle represents the number of wickets per innings the player took (for reference, the lowest total listed here was Flintoff at 1.64 wickets per innings, while Sidney Barnes took 3.78 per).
The bowlers most likelymatthew_woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06997294649154263799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136717530494181436.post-11295405070539372772014-12-05T13:46:00.002-08:002014-12-05T13:47:42.450-08:00Introducing EPL Effect Size Index
Effect Size Index (ESI) tracks how well a team performs when a player is on the park, as opposed to their scoring/concession rates when he is not.
A player who plays every minute of every contest for his club - usually a goalkeeper or centre-back, will have an ESI of 0.000, as this statistic charts the difference between the team's performance when a player is on the pitch (in terms of matthew_woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06997294649154263799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136717530494181436.post-52096437242360671312014-11-26T21:12:00.000-08:002014-11-26T21:12:01.206-08:00In memoriamRest In Peace, Phillip Hughes.matthew_woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06997294649154263799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136717530494181436.post-22644617736606879672014-11-11T19:35:00.001-08:002014-11-11T19:35:26.254-08:00On the impact of Bobby Zamora, Eduardo Vargas and Richard Dunne at QPR
The thoroughly entertaining Iain Macintosh today compiled an article suggesting how well QPR have been performing recently. He credits much of this resurgence to Harry Redknapp's re-utilisation of two senior Rangers, Bobby Zamora and Richard Dunne.
While he is of course correct - especially in a poetic sense - a certain set of numbers emerging from my ever-expanding Player Plus/Minus dataset matthew_woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06997294649154263799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136717530494181436.post-10846222042075458032014-10-30T19:50:00.000-07:002014-10-30T19:50:59.485-07:00The Decline and Fall of the Caribbean Empire
Throughout recorded human history, there exists a circular nature to the rise and fall of the great or powerful civilisations. This can be thought of as a series of stages, listed below, that describes the path each major power takes in their rise to supremacy and eventual ruin.
From bondage to spiritual faith
From spiritual faith to great courage
From great courage to strength
matthew_woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06997294649154263799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136717530494181436.post-60482315035147633842014-10-09T19:35:00.002-07:002014-10-10T06:36:47.192-07:00On Pietersen, again.
"Relationships don't work the way they do on television and in the movies. Will they, won't they, and then they finally do and they're happy forever. Gimme a break. Nine out of ten of 'em end because they weren't right for each other to begin with and half the ones that get married get divorced anyway and I'm telling you right now through all this stuff I have not become a cynic - I haven't ... matthew_woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06997294649154263799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136717530494181436.post-34599734546281783842014-09-30T19:28:00.001-07:002014-09-30T19:28:32.909-07:00Six games in: Individual player Plus/MinusUpdated Individual Plus/Minus player stats are available by clicking here.
You can also find a link via the Room of Informational Illusions.matthew_woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06997294649154263799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136717530494181436.post-74222714689550568862014-09-18T19:52:00.000-07:002014-09-30T19:29:07.040-07:002014-15 EPL individual player plus/minusInterested in which player contributes the most - or the least - to your favourite club's wins or losses? You can find out by checking out the 2014-15 EPL individual plus/minus stat pages.
You can also access this information via the Room of Informational Illusions.
(Suggested reading: A Plus/Minus Glossary).matthew_woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06997294649154263799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136717530494181436.post-6029668580005771242014-08-11T12:45:00.001-07:002014-08-11T12:45:33.317-07:00EPL: Promoted clubs' survival rates to 2015
Click to enlarge
matthew_woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06997294649154263799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136717530494181436.post-33883015343422338242014-08-05T12:14:00.001-07:002014-08-05T12:14:25.899-07:00What the numbers said: Cardiff City 2013-14
The following analysis was
performed utilizing data from the Individual Plus/Minus series published on the
site throughout the year. You can find the
full data set in the Room of
Informational Illusions.
Should you wish for a glossary of
terms used in this article, it
can be found here.
Overview
Cardiff City didn’t have a great
2014. After an encouraging start, the Bluebirds tailed awaymatthew_woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06997294649154263799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136717530494181436.post-53375024252192182152014-07-30T07:00:00.000-07:002014-07-30T07:00:01.347-07:002014 Seattle Mariners name coolness chart
Required reading: Arbitration by Jeff Sullivan at USS Mariner.matthew_woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06997294649154263799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136717530494181436.post-3043003713650727222014-07-29T15:56:00.001-07:002014-07-29T15:57:19.105-07:00Teen millionaire comparison: Luke Shaw vs. Calum Chambers
The £12 million (rising to 16
million) paid for young Southampton right-back Calum Chambers might best
exhibit the premium placed on potential in the English Premier League. The
nineteen year-old joined the Gunners this week for a fee around half of that paid
by Manchester United for line-mate Luke Shaw, who travelled north for a sum thought to be around £30
million.
There are a few subtle
matthew_woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06997294649154263799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136717530494181436.post-90592836175186170362014-07-23T15:42:00.002-07:002014-07-23T15:44:01.728-07:00DUNGA DUNGA PARTY
Brazil have appointed a new
coach.
Or an old coach.
A new old coach.
At
any rate, it’s Dunga.
He will return to the position he
vacated after the 2010 World Cup saw his reign squashed flat against a Spectoresque
wall of Brazilian voices appealing for a more aesthetic brand of football than produced
by his first iteration of the Seleçao.
Dunga made the men in canary yellow
hard matthew_woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06997294649154263799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136717530494181436.post-9354673222558120492014-07-17T22:20:00.001-07:002014-07-17T22:20:31.410-07:00World Cup: Winners
Germany: They won the World Cup.
Oh, all right. It’s not so much that they won, so much as how. The manner in which they
dismembered Brazil was one of the all-time great World Cup events, a real
“Where were you when…” type of moment. The pace from the flanks was outstanding
– especially from super-sub Schurrle and future great Thomas Muller, while they
were along with France the most potent matthew_woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06997294649154263799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136717530494181436.post-36156399849376028052014-07-17T13:09:00.002-07:002014-07-17T13:19:09.081-07:00What the numbers said: Aston Villa 2013-14
The following analysis was
performed utilizing data from the Individual Plus/Minus series published on the
site throughout the year. You can find the
full data set in the Room of Informational
Illusions. Should you wish for a glossary of
terms used in this article, it
can be found here.
Overview
Villa finished the season in
fifteenth position on the EPL table, when, pre-season many matthew_woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06997294649154263799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136717530494181436.post-28938209084819998552014-07-16T06:00:00.000-07:002014-11-11T19:34:40.007-08:00A Plus/Minus GlossaryPlus/minus (+/-) = The amount of cumulative goals over the course of a season a club scores with a particular player on the field. For example, should Manchester United score 50 goals over a season with Ryan Giggs on the field while conceding 34, his Plus/minus score would be +16.
Scored/90 (S90) = The amount of goals scored per 90 minutes a player is on the field. This varies slightlymatthew_woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06997294649154263799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136717530494181436.post-33619060601188676772014-07-15T08:38:00.004-07:002014-07-15T09:04:33.234-07:00The curious case of world cricket, perspective and Sir Curtly Ambrose
Perspective is a funny thing. A respected
older friend once told me “Your perspective is your reality”; it’s an adage
I’ve often tried to fault without ever managing to do so.
While listening to Subash
Jayaraman’s excellent
interview with Sir Curtly Ambrose, I was struck by one of Sir Curtly’s
remarks about his series mirabilis, the 1992-93 five-Test stoush
away against the upstart matthew_woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06997294649154263799noreply@blogger.com0