Sanjit asked about the performance of batting pairs based on position in the innings. That is, how well does the opening partnership do compared to the pair who bat second, and third, and fourth.
As a side note: While doing this, I noticed something that I hadn't spotted before. The Popped Collars last game at Lyneham was actually their 150th match! Well done lads... onwards to 200!!
Also note: all the numbers in this post only use stats from 8-a-side games. There's not much use comparing 8-a-side and 6-a-side in this particular stat.
Let's start with the overall averages. The table below shows the basic stats for and against the Popped Collars, separated by pair number. Clearly, we score far more runs that our opposition (our lowest average is more than their highest!), but the pattern for both teams is the same:
POPPED COLLARS
| Pair # | Innings | Runs | Average |
| First | 150 | 6588 | 43.92 |
| Second | 150 | 5429 | 36.19 |
| Third | 150 | 5034 | 33.56 |
| Fourth | 150 | 5473 | 36.49 |
OPPONENTS
| Pair # | Innings | Runs | Average |
| First | 150 | 5019 | 33.46 |
| Second | 150 | 4263 | 28.42 |
| Third | 150 | 3837 | 25.58 |
| Fourth | 150 | 4175 | 27.83 |
In both case, the opening pair is clearly the highest, and the third pair clearly the lowest - second and fourth are in between, and are quite close to each other.
It seems that teams like to get off to a good start! Perhaps they put their good batting pairs in first? Let's investigate....
The first thing you might think regarding the Popped Collars opening partnerships is "Julian and Xavier". They batted together for a long time at the top of the order and have one of the highest averages of all the regular batting pairs. But while they do keep the first-pair average from dropping, they are not the stars of the #1 position.
In fact, if you look at all the partnerships that have opened the innings regularly (at least 10 times), Jules and X actually have pretty much the LOWEST average! Check it out...
OPENING PAIR
| Batters | Innings | Runs | Average |
| Julian Xavier | 60 | 2699 | 44.98 |
| Brad Sanjit | 26 | 1181 | 45.42 |
| Brad Xavier | 17 | 853 | 50.18 |
| Daniel Xavier | 14 | 629 | 44.93 |
| Gareth Rian | 12 | 557 | 46.42 |
| All Others | 21 | 669 | 31.86 |
Batting at the top of the order seems to give batters some kind of advantage!
A cynical reader may be tempted to accuse Julian and Xavier of having high averages only because they bat at the start of the innings - not because they have any actual skill!
Here's similar tables for the second, third and fourth pairs. If you want some evidence of "batting first improves your average", have a look at Brad and Sanjit's averages, 10 to 15 runs lower than compared to when they open!
SECOND PAIR
| Batters | Innings | Runs | Average |
| Brad Sanjit | 44 | 1595 | 36.25 |
| Gareth Rian | 27 | 1150 | 42.59 |
| Andy Matt | 6 | 137 | 22.83 |
| Julian Xavier | 6 | 319 | 53.17 |
| All Others | 67 | 2228 | 33.25 |
THIRD PAIR
| Batters | Innings | Runs | Average |
| Gareth Rian | 32 | 1170 | 36.56 |
| Andy Jake | 22 | 862 | 39.18 |
| Brad Sanjit | 5 | 160 | 32.00 |
| All Others | 91 | 3281 | 36.05 |
FOURTH PAIR
| Batters | Innings | Runs | Average |
| Andy Jake | 37 | 1252 | 33.84 |
| Julian Xavier | 9 | 365 | 40.56 |
| Gareth Rian | 9 | 308 | 34.22 |
| Brad Sanjit | 8 | 246 | 30.75 |
| All Others | 87 | 3302 | 37.95 |
Another explanation for the overall batting position averages could be consistency. Popped Collars have used only 23 different opening combinations over their 150 games, while the others are all up around (or above) 50 different combinations of batter. The less combinations, the higher the average.
| Pair # | Average | Combinations used |
| First | 43.92 | 23 |
| Second | 36.19 | 52 |
| Third | 33.56 | 59 |
| Fourth | 36.49 | 49 |
Lessons learned this week - if you want to improve your batting stats, bat first, and bat with the same partner. Or just play in the Kaleen 6-a-side competition...
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