Spinners are successful in NZ
Rajneesh Gupta
New Zealand – a tough place for spinners? Not really!
It is always believed that pacers cannot find a better place than New Zealand. Is there some truth in this theory or it is a myth? Let us examine.
The following table gives a break-up of wickets taken by pace bowlers in each country since 2000. As you will see New Zealand is there right on the top. So it is a fact that pacers do enjoy bowling in New Zealand conditions.
Pacers in each country since 2000
|
|
Mts
|
Wkts
|
Avg
|
SR
|
5WI
|
10WM
|
|
in New Zealand
|
36
|
823
|
29.57
|
56.4
|
37
|
3
|
|
in Bangladesh
|
29
|
436
|
29.72
|
58.0
|
17
|
1
|
|
in South Africa
|
51
|
1295
|
29.95
|
56.0
|
43
|
6
|
|
in West Indies
|
49
|
1056
|
32.72
|
66.5
|
38
|
4
|
|
in Zimbabwe
|
22
|
434
|
32.88
|
64.4
|
13
|
2
|
|
in England
|
63
|
1506
|
33.28
|
59.8
|
48
|
3
|
|
in Sri Lanka
|
49
|
698
|
34.23
|
64.3
|
15
|
2
|
|
in Australia
|
55
|
1118
|
35.71
|
65.5
|
33
|
5
|
|
in Pakistan
|
32
|
562
|
36.61
|
66.9
|
14
|
1
|
|
in India
|
44
|
580
|
38.11
|
76.2
|
8
|
0
|
But, does this make New Zealand a hard place for the spinners? Not really as the following table suggests. Spinners have conceded nearly 36 runs for each wicket, which is not as bad as one would have thought. That spinners have performed better in New Zealand than in Pakistan should be an eye-opener.
Spinners in each country since 2000
|
|
Mts
|
Wkts
|
Avg
|
SR
|
5WI
|
10WM
|
|
in Sri Lanka
|
49
|
760
|
30.63
|
66.9
|
49
|
19
|
|
in Bangladesh
|
29
|
409
|
31.34
|
64.2
|
26
|
4
|
|
in India
|
44
|
717
|
34.48
|
71.6
|
42
|
9
|
|
in Zimbabwe
|
22
|
195
|
35.28
|
76.3
|
7
|
3
|
|
in New Zealand
|
36
|
248
|
35.96
|
77.0
|
10
|
3
|
|
in England
|
63
|
409
|
36.72
|
72.6
|
23
|
6
|
|
in Australia
|
55
|
544
|
38.38
|
70.3
|
28
|
4
|
|
in Pakistan
|
32
|
375
|
39.41
|
78.9
|
14
|
3
|
|
in West Indies
|
49
|
381
|
41.38
|
88.5
|
13
|
0
|
|
in South Africa
|
51
|
255
|
42.12
|
82.4
|
6
|
1
|
Delving further into above figures, we came-up with a break-up of spinners of touring countries, which gives a really interesting set of figures. The spinners from Australia, Sri Lanka and England have purchased their wickets at a perfectly acceptable rate. Indian spinners have the lowest average, but number of wickets is too less to draw a conclusion.
Overseas spinners in New Zealand since 2000
|
For
|
Mts
|
Wkts
|
Avg
|
SR
|
5WI
|
10WM
|
|
India
|
4
|
5
|
18.80
|
43.2
|
0
|
0
|
|
Australia
|
20
|
46
|
24.41
|
49.6
|
2
|
0
|
|
Sri Lanka
|
16
|
24
|
28.66
|
61.3
|
1
|
1
|
|
England
|
15
|
18
|
33.94
|
77.8
|
1
|
0
|
|
South Africa
|
10
|
12
|
37.25
|
70.8
|
0
|
0
|
|
West Indies
|
10
|
10
|
40.50
|
100.9
|
|
|