Stats from last week's run-chase

Well, what a cracking game last week.
It doesn't matter that there's no stat-of-the-week suggestions, and that we've already been through all the email requests. Let's just reminisce about this most recent game, and see what interesting numbers come out of it...



At one stage on Tuesday morning, Popped Collars looked like they'd have only 3 players, and were ready to forfeit. Eventually, they scraped a team together, and took the field with 6 players. A number that has not brought any luck so far this season.

All looked to be on track for the expected result. Four Skins batted first, and did it easy. Popped Collars were lacking any kind of enthusiasm or motivation (i.e. Brad), and the batsmen just picked off the giant gaps. The runs flowed consistently, and they made 192.

Matt and Xavier opened the "chase" - although no one really had it in mind to go for the win. After a good start to the skin, a touch of motivation appeared as they realised they might get the skin. 51 runs was not quite enough to get there, but when Ragg and Ragg smashed 48 runs off the first two overs of the second skin, things suddenly got interesting.

Third pair Rian and Lachlan The Sub made the game very un-interesting again. They made 51 and 30 respectively, meaning that the Popped Collars had hit the lead with a whole partnership left to bat.

Jim and Lachlan batted again, with the only aim to win the game by as much as possible. The final score was 192-234.

A few stats from the game:
1. It's been a long time since we've seen a half-century scored. The last one was by Xavier on 13th March. That's 140 days ago - almost a record drought. The longest gap remains 147 days, which has happened twice:

• between the first and second half-centuries to be scored by us (although opposing players scored several during that break)
• straight after the flood of record-breaking scores a few years ago (see here, here and here), which ended with Rian's 77.

2. With 446 runs scored (not counting the -20 shirt penalties), this was easily the highest total score in a game. The next largest was 401, in a game against the old blokes at Weston, which we won 255-146.

3. It was the highest successful run chase.

4. It was the equal highest losing score. In the game it is equal with, we were chasing 193 - Xavier and Sanjit batting the final skin fell one run short. That game has some strange parallels to this one:

• The losing score was 192
• It was against the other team (at Weston) called 4Skins (or Four Skins)
• Popped Collars struggled to get a team for both games (in the other, we had two subs who clearly had been picked up at the cricket centre just before the game started)