By Gaurang - 16 April '03
April 17 2003

Are India's Ajit Agarkar and Australia's Glen McGrath birds of the same feather when it comes to ODI cricket? We think that facts are more reliable than perception, so let's go ahead and look at their one-day performances. Superficially there are not many similarities. One stands about 6 feet 6 inches tall and is known to practice mental disintegration. The other [1] is only about 5 feet 8 inches tall and the only thing he disintegrates with his mouth is his toast at tea time.

The statistics however certainly show much similarity! Here are the basic bowling statistics of these two.

Agarkar: 113 matches, 174 wickets @ 27.84 runs with strike rate of 32.8 balls and economy rate of 5.08 runs.

McGrath 179 matches, 277 wickets @ 22.23 runs with strike rate of 34.3 balls and economy rate of 3.89 runs.

Yet one, McGrath, is a respected, permanent member of his team, and handed the new ball in the most critical of matches, while the other, Agarkar, is a much-maligned in-and-out member of his team, rarely handed the new ball even in non-critical matches, often playing as the first change seamer.

But Agarkar in fact takes wickets at a slightly more rapid clip: with fewer balls per wicket than McGrath. McGrath however is less expensive. Much of this difference in economy rates and strike rates can be attributed to the line he bowls to batsmen, who understandably, early in their innings, prefer to leave the ball alone to eliminate risks. In addition, the featherbeds of the subcontinent (where Agarkar must bowl a lot more) are not at all healthy for a bowler's economy.

Generally, when Agarkar is handed the ball, the batsmen have already played several overs and are well set. The ball's shine and hardness are also rapidly vanishing. This difference is reflected in the average per wicket and economy rate of the two. Agarkar's economy rate is about 1 run per over more, but his average per wicket is only about 5.5 runs more per wicket.

However, the key fact is that both Agarkar and McGrath take an identical 1.54 wickets per match! This is a stunning figure when comparing a man who is considered a very good team's best bowler with a man who is often the third wheel in his team's attack.

Thus, in purely statistical terms, Agarkar gives an extra (27.84 - 22.23) runs per wicket x 1.54 wickets per match, or 8.68 more runs per match than McGrath.

This is partially accounted for by the number of matches Agarkar has played on batsmen-friendly, shirt front wickets that predominate in the subcontinent, especially for ODIs. In ODIs on the subcontinent, it often seems batsmen are pre-ordained to rule the roost, and scores of 275-290 are merely par scores on tracks where lateral movement and bounce, two of the most effective weapons of any fast bowler, are severely blunted.

The comparison of McGrath and Agarkar when India and Australia have played each other in the subcontinent are also revealing, where McGrath's economy rates skyrockets, and Agarkar's strike rate improves even more dramatically by comparison:

Agarkar: 7 matches, 12 wickets @ 27.5 runs with strike rate of 28.0 balls and economy rate of 5.89 runs.

McGrath 7 matches, 12 wickets @ 32.35 runs with strike rate of 36.8 balls and economy rate of 5.25 runs.

With the bowling comparisons settled, the rest of the aspects of a player's game come into focus for an ODI game. Of course all bowlers must bat when needed, and if they bat well they provide great additional value to their team. Their fielding is also a vital aspect of their contribution to the team.

On merciless batting tracks it is a huge bonus to have a fast bowler who can bat a bit, and employ the long handle when needed. Here Agarkar is far ahead of McGrath whose entire career total of runs 91 is less than that scored in a single innings of 95 by Agarkar.

OK, you say, at the bottom of the order, it is not the number of runs or average but the rate at which they are scored that's vital. Agarkar's batting strike rate of 88 runs per 100 balls faced is nearly twice that of McGrath's 49!

Finally, both Agarkar and McGrath are not close-in fielding specialists, but patrol the deep where safe catching is as important a skill as is the ability to sprint, make stops and save runs. Unfortunately no statistics are available on the run saving prowess of outfielders, but casual observation indicates that Agarkar is a superior outfielder than McGrath, who in typically Australian fashion makes up for his inherent lack of quickness with tenacity. The only fielding statistic to compare the two is the number of catches. Here again, Agarkar on pitches with much less bounce, and with a bowling line up that until recently has looked unlikely to hurry batsmen or make them smell the leather, has held nearly double the number of catches in over 60 fewer games than McGrath. This indicates not only a very safe pair of hands in the deep, but a better ability to get to the fewer balls mishit in the air.

To paraphrase Douglas Adams [2]: If it bowls like Ducky, and quacks wickets in half like Ducky [3], we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a small athletic cricketer of the family McGrathidae on our hands.

[1] Agarkar vs Flintoff

[2] If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family anatidae on our hands. - Douglas Adams

[3] Today, an Ajit Agarkar delivery broke the off-stump of the opening batsman in half during the 4th ODI of the Dhaka tri-series.