Jackpot Master (part 2)

Note: I've just realised I'm getting all the stats for this weeks posts from a version of my database that is a few games behind. But that's fine, we'll just pretend I wrote it a few weeks ago. I'll make sure I check which version I'm using in future...

...And now for a look at the performance of batsmen on jackpot balls.

Let's start at the bottom. James, the Jackpot God we proclaimed yesterday, just seems to attract the negative-tens. Yesterday we discovered he's bowled 3 jackpot balls for 3 wickets - today we discover he has faced 3 jackpot balls, for 2 wickets, and sits comfortably at the bottom of the batting list, 16 runs behind Pearson, the only other person with a negative total.

Of the regulars, Julian is the mixed bag - he is the equal leader in both sevens hit and in wickets lost... although admittedly neither number is very big. He joins Xavier and Jake as the players who have been out 3 times each, and our team has only hit a seven on 3 occasions - Julian, Rian and Andy having one each.

But the inconsistent approach seems to not be working so well for him - counting average runs per ball, Jules sits second-last out of the 8 standard players.

The players at the top of the list are all about consistency. Unsurprisingly, the first thing we see is that the top two players are also the two players who have never lost a jackpot-wicket. Sanjit, in second place, has probably been helped by the fact that he's only faced 8 jackpots, easily the least of the regular players. But Andy, who has faced 28 jackpots (second only to Brad's 33), has also never lost a wicket! This puts A.Ragg firmly on top of the batting jackpot list.

Name	Balls	Runs	Runs/Ball
Andy	28	78	2.79
Sanjit	8	20	2.50
Rian	19	46	2.42
Brad	33	74	2.24
Xavier	21	34	1.62
Gareth	20	30	1.50
Julian	20	24	1.20
Jake	17	12	0.71

But wait a minute... how can someone face 28 balls, all with double score, without losing a wicket, and only have an average of less than 3 runs per ball??

The answer is: by taking the test match approach. Plenty of leaving-outside-off, play-and-miss and padding-up (9 dot-balls, 5 wides) and poking around for 1s and 2s. Apart from his single seven (aka fourteen), and a single three (aka six), the A-Ragg has hit nothing more than a two (aka four) in 26 balls. Boring? Sure. Effective? Indeed...

...and combined with his bowling stats... All-Round Jackpot Master? Absolutely.