Something for the weekend

There was an array of season statistics in the Wisden Cricketer this month, but nothing, to my disappointment, on the performance of overseas players who were brought in specifically for the T20.


While some of the names below were engaged as season-long overseas players, the figures make interesting reading. Please note that I’ve omitted some players who played the odd match. The pick of these was Andrew MacDonald at Leicestershire, who averaged 86 but only played in three matches.

Derbyshire - Loots Bosman 368 runs @ 29 / Charl Langeveldt 13 wickets @ 23

Durham - Ross Taylor 315 runs @ 39 / Albie Morkel 272 runs @ 34 and 7 wickets at 42

Essex - Scott Styris 392 runs @ 36 and 13 wickets @ 31 / Danish Kaneria 17 wickets at 17

Glamorgan - Mark Cosgrove 562 runs @ 35 / Shaun Tait 7 wickets @ 41

Gloucestershire - James Franklin 470 runs @ 39 and 8 wickets @ 40

Hampshire - Abdul Razzaq 183 runs @ 20 and 7 wickets @ 35 / Daniel Christian 33 runs @ 8 and 9 wickets at 31

Kent – Malinga Bandara 17 wickets @ 22

Lancashire – Simon Katich 185 runs at 26 / Nathan McCullum 155 runs @ 17 and 11 wickets @ 30

Leicestershire – Brad Hodge 431 runs at 28 and 10 wickets at 18

Middlesex – Adam Gilchrist 212 runs @ 30: Dave Warner 260 @ 20

Northamptonshire - Chaminda Vaas 412 runs @ 25 and 23 wickets @ 15: Elton Chigumbura 160 runs @ 22 and 10 wickets @ 21

Nottinghamshire - David Hussey 524 runs @ 44: Dirk Nannes 17 wickets @ 28

Somerset - Keiron Pollard 354 runs @ 32 and 29 wickets at 15: Murali Kartik 13 wickets @ 30

Surrey - Andrew Symonds 263 runs @ 20 and 12 wickets @ 25: Younis Khan 154 runs @ 15

Sussex – Brendon McCullum 200 runs @ 33: Yasir Arafat 13 wickets @ 30

Warwickshire - Imran Tahir 20 wickets @ 20

Worcestershire - Sanath Jayasuriya 267 runs @ 26 Phil Jaques 330 runs @ 33

Yorkshire - Herschelle Gibbs 443 runs @ 37

While I accept that batting averages for T20 will not compare with those in other forms of the game, some of those above didn’t get a great deal of value from their imports. Lancashire, Middlesex and Surrey all have reason to feel short-changed by their players, while Hampshire seem to have won the competition despite, rather than because of their imports.

Keiron Pollard’s statistics suggest that he was probably worth the sizeable outlay, while Northamptonshire did better than most with their signings. I highlighted the value of Chaminda Vaas last winter having watched the IPL and he didn’t disappoint, nor did Elton Chigumbura, who ripped us apart in that decisive nightmare game at the County Ground.

Essex and Nottinghamshire also did well with their players, though Surrey must get the booby prize for their two high profile (and presumably cost) players. I just wonder if Ashley Giles saw these statistics before taking Younis on a two-year deal…

Derbyshire? Loots Bosman pretty much lived up to his career average, but struggled with a knee injury, while Charl Langeveldt still bowled with control but looked noticeably slower than two years ago. You couldn’t say they let anyone down, but they didn’t quite produce as often as we’d have liked. Mind you, Bosman’s assault on Yorkshire at Headingley will live long in the memory and there’s a lot of people would love to play just one innings like that.

For what its worth, my benchmark for ‘circus cricket’ is an average of 35 for a batsman and a bowling average of twenty and/or impressive parsimony from a bowler. If you’re bringing someone from the other side of the world that has to be a consideration.

On that basis, there’s not too many successes in that list.