Run Rate Analysis: Batsmen on top

It’s often said that cricket is increasingly a batsman’s game – not least by frustrated bowlers – and the group stage of ICC Champions Trophy 2017 has provided further evidence of that trend.

A comparison of the average run rate in the group stage of the ongoing tournament with the two previous editions of the ICC Champions Trophy shows a rise from 5.09 in 2009 to 5.17 in 2013, and then up to 5.52 in 2017. That equates to a rise of more than 8 per cent in eight years.

The increase in the number of sixes is even more marked. In 2009, when the tournament was played in South Africa, batsmen cleared the ropes on 69 occasions. Four years later in England that figure dropped to 55, but this time around it has risen sharply to 90 – an increase of more than 63 per cent since 2013.

The tally of centuries is also on the up, with eight in the group stages of CT17, compared to three in each of the last two competitions.

The batsmen haven’t had things all their own way though. Since the start of 2016 there have been 24 totals of 330 or above in ODI cricket as run-rates continue to soar, but the highest score so far in this tournament is Sri Lanka’s 322 in its successful chase again India.

Considering most pundits in the lead up to the competition expected 300 to be no more than a par score, the fact that only six innings have surpassed that mark indicates the bowlers can be relatively happy with their work, and perhaps also that the pitches haven’t been quite as batsmen-friendly as had been anticipated.

The table below shows the areas that have proved most successful for bowlers as they try to keep run-hungry batsmen in check.