Is Swann the best spinner in the world? Ajmal doesn’t think so.
Graeme Swann |
On the other hand, Ajmal is a completely different bowler than Swann. He carries with him bag full of tricks – Top-spinner, flipper, ‘Doosra’, and now the ‘Teesra’. Unlike Swann, Ajmal doesn’t rely too much on spinning the ball. Instead, he uses the crease and angles intelligently to outsmart the batsmen. Ajmal didn’t have a fairy tale start to his Test career but since then has become smarter with his bowling. His latest achievement being against England in the recently concluded Test in Dubai where he baffled the English batsmen and picked up 10 wickets – his second 10 wicket match haul.
TABLE 1
- Swann v Ajmal Career Stats
|
||||||||
Mts
|
Wkts
|
Avg
|
5wi
|
10wm
|
SR
|
Mdns %
|
Wkts/Inngs
|
|
Swann
|
37
|
157
|
28.77
|
11
|
1
|
58.4
|
19.62%
|
2.34
|
Ajmal
|
18
|
93
|
27.96
|
5
|
2
|
63.6
|
19.60%
|
2.66
|
The normalized parameters we will use to compare Swann and
Ajmal are Average, Strike Rate and two new parameters: Maidens % (Maidens/Overs
* 100) and Wickets per innings (Wickets/Innings). So far Swann has played
almost twice the number of games as Ajmal and has 64 more Test wickets than
Ajmal at a slightly better strike rate. However, Ajmal has a better overall
average than Swann and takes slightly more wickets per innings than Swann. They
both bowl around the same percentage of maidens.
Lets take a look at these number more closely against all
Test playing nations (except Bangladesh and Zimbabwe):
TABLE 2
- Swann & Ajmal vs All Test Playing Nations (excluding Bangladesh)
|
||||||
Swann
|
Ajmal
|
Swann
|
Ajmal
|
Swann
|
Ajmal
|
|
Mdns/Inngs
|
Wkts/Inngs
|
Avg
|
||||
v Aus
|
4.05
|
2
|
1.61
|
1
|
40.1
|
111.5
|
v Ind
|
2.83
|
DNP
|
1.75
|
DNP
|
40.2
|
DNP
|
v Eng
|
n/a
|
4.29
|
n/a
|
3.15
|
n/a
|
20.45
|
v Nz
|
DNP
|
7.5
|
DNP
|
1
|
DNP
|
58.5
|
v Pak
|
5.85
|
n/a
|
3.71
|
n/a
|
14.5
|
n/a
|
v SAF
|
3.57
|
4
|
3
|
1.5
|
31.3
|
65.66
|
v SL
|
2.66
|
5.08
|
2
|
2.67
|
23.6
|
29.34
|
v WI
|
6.89
|
9.25
|
2.89
|
4.25
|
22.15
|
14.47
|
Swann on the other hand has enjoyed bowling against
Pakistan, taking 3.71 wickets per innings at an average of 14.5. He has done
fairly well against South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies, but would like to
improve his stats against Australia and India.
These numbers don’t do justice to Swann and Ajmal because
they fail to reflect the quality of the batsmen they have dismissed. Table 3 shows
the distribution of their wickets based on the batsmen dismissed. Swann is clearly better than Ajmal when it comes to
dismissing the top order batsmen.
TABLE 3
- Batsmen dismissed (norm)
|
|||
Top 5
(%)
|
No.6-7
(%)
|
No.
8-11(%)
|
|
Swann
|
48.4
|
19.74
|
31.86
|
Ajmal
|
40.9
|
18.2
|
40.9
|
But is this enough to conclude that Swann is a better bowler than Ajmal?
Swann v Ajmal – At
home and away Tests
TABLE 4
- Swann v Ajmal at Home
|
||||||||
Mts
|
Wkts
|
5wi
|
10mw
|
Avg
|
SR
|
Mdns %
|
Wkts/Inngs
|
|
Swann
|
20
|
74
|
4
|
0
|
26.71
|
50.9
|
20.2
|
2.05
|
Ajmal
|
5
|
31
|
2
|
1
|
26.19
|
59.5
|
18.2
|
3.1
|
TABLE 5
- Swann v Ajmal in Away Games
|
||||||||
Mts
|
Wkts
|
5wi
|
10mw
|
Avg
|
SR
|
Mdns %
|
Wkts/Inngs
|
|
Swann *
|
17
|
83
|
7
|
1
|
30.6
|
64.3
|
19.1
|
2.67
|
Ajmal
|
13
|
62
|
3
|
1
|
28.9
|
65.7
|
20.2
|
2.48
|
*Swann’s 1st
Test in the UAE is being counted as an Away game
In the away games, Ajmal has a better average and bowls a higher
percent of maidens. Swann beats Ajmal marginally when it comes to strike rate
and wickets per innings.
It wouldn’t be wrong to conclude that Ajmal is a much better
bowler at home, whereas in the away games their performances are almost
identical.
Swann v Ajmal – On
Asian and Non-Asian Pitches in Tests
TABLE 6
- Swann v Ajmal on Asian Pitches
|
||||||||
Mts
|
Wkts
|
5wi
|
10mw
|
Avg
|
SR
|
Mdns %
|
Wkts/Inn
|
|
Swann
|
5
|
28
|
2
|
1
|
29.53
|
58.9
|
18.18
|
3.1
|
Ajmal
|
10
|
54
|
2
|
1
|
27.14
|
60.5
|
18.53
|
2.7
|
TABLE 7
- Swann v Ajmal on Non-Asian Pitches
|
||||||||
Mts
|
Wkts
|
5wi
|
10mw
|
Avg
|
SR
|
Mdns %
|
Wkts/Inn
|
|
Swann
|
32
|
129
|
9
|
0
|
28.6
|
57.62
|
19.9
|
2.22
|
Ajmal
|
8
|
39
|
3
|
1
|
29.1
|
67.9
|
20.8
|
2.6
|
Ajmal has played more games than Swann in Asia and thus has more wickets at a better average. However, Swann takes more wickets per innings in Asia.
On non-Asian pitches, Swann has a slightly better average
and strike rate than Ajmal, but Ajmal has a better maiden percentage and
wickets per innings ratio.
Lets jump deeper into the mystery of these numbers
TABLE 8
- Batsmen dismissed on Asian Pitches (norm)
|
|||
Top 5
(%)
|
No.6-7
(%)
|
No.
8-11(%)
|
|
Swann
|
64.2
|
14.2
|
21.6
|
Ajmal
|
38.9
|
20.4
|
40.7
|
TABLE 9
- Batsmen dismissed on Non- Asian Pitches (norm)
|
|||
Top 5
(%)
|
No.6-7
(%)
|
No.
8-11(%)
|
|
Swann
|
45
|
20.9
|
34.1
|
Ajmal
|
43.6
|
15.4
|
41
|
Swann beats Ajmal again when it comes to toppling the top
order on non-Asian pitches even though Ajmal has a higher wickets per innings
ratio. There is no doubt that on any pitch the lower order batsmen are clueless
against Ajmal’s wizardry. Once again we would leave it up to the readers to
decide who is a better bowler on non-Asian pitches based on these numbers.
Swann v Ajmal – in
games won and lost (Test)
TABLE 10
- Swann v Ajmal in Games won
|
||||||||
Mts
|
Wkts
|
5wi
|
10mw
|
Avg
|
SR
|
Mdns %
|
Wkts/Inngs
|
|
Swann
|
20
|
96
|
8
|
1
|
23.46
|
48
|
20.8
|
2.52
|
Ajmal
|
7
|
44
|
2
|
1
|
19.93
|
49.8
|
25.2
|
3.14
|
TABLE 11
- Swann v Ajmal in Games lost
|
||||||||
Mts
|
Wkts
|
5wi
|
10mw
|
Avg
|
SR
|
Mdns %
|
Wkts/Inngs
|
|
Swann
|
6
|
19
|
0
|
0
|
33.15
|
56.3
|
12.3
|
2.44
|
Ajmal
|
7
|
32
|
3
|
1
|
29.9
|
64.5
|
17.44
|
2.67
|
Ajmal has performed exceptionally well in the games won by
Pakistan. He averages below 20, bowls a high percentage of maidens (25.2%) and
takes more than 3 wickets per innings. In fact, his stats are decent even in
the games Pakistan lost. Note that so far in the games Ajmal has played at home
(UAE), Pakistan has not lost any. In the seven games Pakistan lost, Ajmal has
done well taking 5 wickets thrice and 10 wickets once (against West Indies). Whereas
Swann averages 23.46 in the games won and 33.15 in the games lost. There is not
much difference in his wickets per innings ratio for the games won and lost.
Lets dig more into these numbers
TABLE 12
- Swann v Ajmal in Games won at Home
|
||||||||
Mts
|
Wkts
|
5wi
|
10mw
|
Avg
|
SR
|
Mdns %
|
Wkts/Inngs
|
|
Swann
|
14
|
60
|
4
|
0
|
22.53
|
42.82
|
28.3
|
2.3
|
Ajmal
|
4
|
27
|
1
|
1
|
14.37
|
42.07
|
26.4
|
3.38
|
TABLE 13
- Swann v Ajmal in Games won at Away
|
||||||||
Mts
|
Wkts
|
5wi
|
10mw
|
Avg
|
SR
|
Mdns %
|
Wkts/Inngs
|
|
Swann
|
6
|
36
|
4
|
1
|
25.02
|
57.3
|
21.8
|
3
|
Ajmal
|
5
|
26
|
0
|
0
|
25.65
|
61.6
|
23.6
|
2.6
|
TABLE 14
- Swann v Ajmal in Games lost Home
|
||||||||
Mts
|
Wkts
|
5wi
|
10mw
|
Avg
|
SR
|
Mdns %
|
Wkts/Inngs
|
|
Swann
|
2
|
7
|
0
|
0
|
26
|
53.1
|
27.4
|
2.33
|
Ajmal
|
Have not
lost at home (UAE) yet
|
|||||||
TABLE 15
- Swann v Ajmal in Games lost at Away
|
||||||||
Mts
|
Wkts
|
5wi
|
10mw
|
Avg
|
SR
|
Mdns %
|
Wkts/Inngs
|
|
Swann
|
4
|
12
|
0
|
0
|
37.33
|
58.67
|
4.2
|
2
|
Ajmal
|
7
|
32
|
3
|
1
|
29.9
|
64.5
|
17.44
|
2.67
|
However, in the games won away, Swann has done better – taking 3 wickets per innings along with four 5 wicket hauls and one 10 wicket haul. Ajmal has done a little better in the games lost away – taking 2.67 wickets per innings at an average of 29.9. Whereas Swann averages above 37 and his maidens percentage is extremely low.
Swann v Ajmal – Match
and Series Awards in Tests
So far Ajmal has won 2 Man of the Match awards against Sri Lanka and England in Dubai and 2 Man of the Series award against West Indies in West Indies and against Sri Lanka in UAE.
Swann has won 5 Man of the Match awards and 2 Man of the Series award South Africa and Bangladesh.
So who do you think is the better, the number 1 spinner in cricket at the moment? Let us know !
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14 comments:
I m impressed by the quality of stats (although a little more graphics and some colors would have helped spice up the content!) but it is enough to get me started. I m bookmarking this Qadri Sahab... I hope I can get a Sachin Tendular analysis like this. Need to see how good is he for real.
This is good stuff boys.
do you think ajmal is better than saqlain??
that will be very interesting actually. we haven't thought about it but i will get some numbers from Saqlain and see how they compare to Ajmal. But my instinct says Saqlain....what do u think?
I'd say Saqlain too, easy.
Still Swann for me, and I'll tell you why--his larger percentage of top-order wickets. Their stats are close enough that I need to look at the quality of wickets obtained, and any bowler would tell you they'd rather get Sachin Tendulkar out than Chris Martin.
Tony Grieg is a big fan of Ajmal--he called him the world's best spinner while commentating on the Ind-Aus Test yesterday. But I still need some convincing.
Another thing I'd say is that Swann generally turns the ball more, and on a good spinning pitch (like the one on which the 2nd Pak-Eng Test is being played), batsmen don't like to face up to a bowler than turns the ball square. They'd much rather face a fellow who pushes the ball through slightly quicker, like Ajmal.
That being said, I've always been a fan of Ajmal. I think he's a fine, fine bowler.
Brilliant, unbiased analysis though, I must say. I'd love to see more of it.
Oh and another point I just thought of. Forget for a second who's better, smarter (I think Ajmal is), or turns the ball more.
But when it comes to just plain bowling, Swann is easily the more attacking bowler. He looks for wickets every delivery. Ajmal tends to take his time to set up the batsman.
Ajmal has bowled Pakistan right back into this Test match.
Another thing Swann is known for is striking with his first over of a spell. I think he's done it something like 25 or 30 times, and he did it again today against Pakistan. As a captain, there's nothing better than having a bowler who can do that.
Amazing in-depth stats. I think Joshua has a point when he says that Swann is known for striking in his first over. Maybe thats one reason why Swann has a lot more meaningful wickets (say he gets a settled batsman out alot in his first over)..
But I also feel Ajmal's just emerging now.. since the start of last year, Ajmal's been tremendous..so maybe some sort of a comparison couldve been done on the basis of - performance in first 20 matches, 30 matches and so on..obviously there is a lot of parameters there too..but still..
Swann's not been as good as Ajmal on the turning tracks..why was he a success and still is? I think its because of the surprise element, his quicker ones and turn he extracts off these quicker balls..which works great against left handers..
Ajmal wasn't utilized well against Australia earlier in 2010 by Mohd Yousuf and so his avgs were not that great..but with the recent destruction of England, I think Ajmal's easily overtaken Swann
Who cares!!!!!!!??? You guys need a hobby lol!
Brilliant!
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