Cricket needs better wicketkeeping data

By Paul Potter / Roar Guru

I see the scorecard. The scorecard tells me how many balls every batsman has faced in the match. Even from when it didn’t matter when the Perth Scorchers had already iced the Hobart Hurricanes.

The contest was finished before Ashton Turner arrived in the middle, but the scorecard still reveals that he faced seven balls.

During those seven balls, the keeper behind the stumps was Tim Paine. When Australia next play a T20, Paine will be the Australian wicketkeeper. When people wonder why, they’ll look at his runs, then they’ll look at his catches and stumpings. They won’t look at other keeping statistics.

And for a very good reason: there aren’t any.

If someone suggested that scorecards shouldn’t show the amount of balls faced by a batsman, there would be an outcry, and rightfully so.

Particularly in limited-overs cricket, counting the number of balls faced contextualises the worth of those runs. Steve Smith could score 100 not out in his next ODI match for Australia, but if he took 200 deliveries to do so, he would be criticised, not applauded.

Cricket values the time it takes to score runs, so it’s measured. Put even more simply, cricket values batting.

But fielding is another matter completely.

Cricket fans value fielding and wicketkeeping, but that hasn’t yet translated into any proper measurement of either. It should, because more and more money is coming into cricket.

As T20 grows, players are becoming used to specialist roles. The value of data is growing.

Even allowing for the danger of analysis by paralysis, it could be vital for a keeper to know they are likely to receive less balls against a certain opposition.

Training can be tailored for that purpose.

If less balls are likely to be received, training for the gap between opportunities increases in value. If more balls are likely to be received, training for the balls that reach your gloves increases in value.

Perhaps one reason why Matthew Wade attracts the criticism he does is because of the lack of relevant data. The argument becomes res ipsa loquiter for those who are convinced he should not be the Australian wicketkeeper, because they can’t hurl a number at his selection, other than perhaps how many catches he has dropped off Nathan Lyon in his first stint in the Australian team.

Statistics have their own problems, but at least better statistics would help answer the question of who the best wicketkeeper in Australia is, and whether that, along with his batting, should be enough to see him in the Test team.

Criticism of Wade may not be entirely out of order – it is his livelihood to catch balls.

But the problem is, if you are a statistician who has never seen Wade keep before, the amount of criticism is likely to seem excessive compared to the lack of criticism about fielding data.

While it often manifests itself at a personal level, the root cause is professional: the game doesn’t rate wicketkeeping enough to have measurable criteria for players to be judged against.

Wade is not the only player in this situation. Jonny Bairstow is another example of someone who, if they were a lesser batsman, probably would not have made it into their national team. As he was scoring the most runs in the team before the Indian tour, his wicketkeeping shortcomings were in just as sharp focus.

He was taking plenty of catches, but he was dropping too many as well.

He had his defenders, as Wade does, and those defenders mounted their defence on similar lines – he works hard. He has other attributes. Stop being so judgemental.

They would have been better served with issuing another challenge: stop being so lazy in judgement. Show the data that proves there is a better wicketkeeper somewhere else, and why that data is relevant.

Wade and Bairstow are not old cricketers. By the time they are, we should know much more about what makes a good wicketkeeper. Hopefully by then, wicket-keeping debates can be less about the person than the profession.

For it is not just in response to a bowler that a wicketkeeper works.

Which wicketkeeper in the world is best at cleanly gathering a crap throw from a fielder? Which wicketkeeper is best at positioning themselves for a run-out? Which wicketkeeper creates the most chances through their athleticism?

Other than through raw visual footage of matches, how do you answer those questions?

Bowlers deserve sympathy. For instance, their lack of a contribution with the bat is measured, while the lack of fielding data means a lack of contribution doesn’t pop out in the generic scorecard.

But hold the violins.

In Tests, when a bowler dishes up a ball the batsman cannot play a legitimate shot to and the keeper can’t reach, it is often not so wide that the umpire will call it as an actual wide. The resultant byes go down against the keeper’s name, not the bowler’s. Yet, in that instance, it is the bowler, not the keeper, who has made the mistake.

So, while bowlers may suffer from unsatisfactory fielding data, they also benefit from it. Like the rest of us, bowlers can toss around imaginary numbers about what a fielder is worth.

But when I click on a scorecard, I don’t see imaginary numbers. I just see numbers that are infuriatingly insufficient.

Maybe they never will be sufficient. Yet, my bet is that they will get better, because the money will dictate that it becomes better.

I’ve given my two cents worth here. For franchise owners, being able to accurately measure Tim Paine’s wicket-keeping is worth a lot more than two cents.

The Crowd Says:

AUTHOR

2017-02-17T00:59:24+00:00

Paul Potter

Roar Guru


Cheers.

2017-02-16T10:57:29+00:00

Rellum

Roar Guru


That vid is a second post of two. First is being moderated for some reason, that will bring more sense the the video post This is a better vid to show the Stats cast data in action. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2DsQstoGYw Or this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Bnnek1oaN4

AUTHOR

2017-02-16T09:54:54+00:00

Paul Potter

Roar Guru


Thanks Rellum.

2017-02-16T07:51:11+00:00

Rellum

Roar Guru


The speed gun for this throw is the tech in action https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkYrT5arGVw

2017-02-16T07:50:19+00:00

Rellum

Roar Guru


In house at least. Use it for every domestic and home international game. That way they have a great tool to show which fielders react the fastest, move the quickest and the furthest. Who takes the quickest path to intercept the ball and the like. They can use it to work out what the optimum path to field the ball actually is. If the tech is good enough to track nicks then you can start to work out who the best keepers and fielders are. Any of that can then be opened up to the public.

2017-02-15T21:43:26+00:00

qwetzen

Guest


Someone you don't want to share a box with.

AUTHOR

2017-02-15T13:48:04+00:00

Paul Potter

Roar Guru


An unforgettable memory.

AUTHOR

2017-02-15T13:47:47+00:00

Paul Potter

Roar Guru


Indeed. Though personally his work in the field would show the value of having a glove man in the team to allow him out from behind the stumps.

2017-02-15T13:34:59+00:00

Gordon Smith

Guest


Also says something about AB DeVilliers given he is a fill in keeper.

2017-02-15T13:34:11+00:00

Gordon Smith

Guest


And who can forget Dujon keeping to Larry Gomes "Good ball Larry"

AUTHOR

2017-02-15T13:08:27+00:00

Paul Potter

Roar Guru


You mean CA the online website? It certainly would provide them with a point of difference from other cricket websites, though I for one would continue to go to Cricinfo.

AUTHOR

2017-02-15T13:07:14+00:00

Paul Potter

Roar Guru


The long "I" is very important... but seriously, the point is that the selectors are not alone in that fault. Cricket has a developing relationship with data.

2017-02-15T13:03:04+00:00

A keeper

Guest


You missed the most important stat - the quantity and quality of the "nice Gary!!!" At the moment our selectors are more interested in the subjective rather than the stats.

2017-02-15T12:49:31+00:00

Rellum

Roar Guru


It is used in MLB now. CA could invest in it and it could be up an running in two seasons at least.

AUTHOR

2017-02-15T11:41:19+00:00

Paul Potter

Roar Guru


That was a fascinating read. Such research won't become mainstream for a long time but it is always worthwhile knowing who are among the first.

AUTHOR

2017-02-15T11:39:42+00:00

Paul Potter

Roar Guru


Right now, I wouldn't know, but very much wish that I did.

AUTHOR

2017-02-15T11:38:59+00:00

Paul Potter

Roar Guru


Good that you had the discipline to review your performance in such a way. Of course, one shouldn't forget Haddin's role in the Ashes Australia did win in 2013-14.

AUTHOR

2017-02-15T11:37:25+00:00

Paul Potter

Roar Guru


No one would deny that Haddin's miss was costly but our bowling attack was very loose that day. What happened on one ball of the day can't be used to mitigate the lack of control for the rest of it.

AUTHOR

2017-02-15T11:36:27+00:00

Paul Potter

Roar Guru


Can always move on easier from the all-but-impossible catch you went for and couldn't quite pluck than if you let it go and thought, "Oh what might have been."

AUTHOR

2017-02-15T11:35:18+00:00

Paul Potter

Roar Guru


Which is why "chances created" is an important area for statistics to move towards.

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