THE WEEK IN NUMBERS: Coronavirus stops play, Firebirds break trophy drought and Ravi Rampaul stars in Bulawayo

It's a numbers game! Here The Cricketer takes a look back at some of the stats to come out of the world of cricket this week...

16

Wellington have been crowned Plunket Shield champions for the first time in 16 years, their longest ever gap between titles in New Zealand's first-class competition.

The Firebirds had a clear lead of 26 points at the top of the table when New Zealand Cricket announced on Monday that the final two rounds of this season's tournament would be scrapped as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

This is the 21st time the team has held the title since a round-robin format was introduced in 1921, but the side have finished runners up on three occasions since last taking the title in 2003/04.

Though Wellington's squad learned the news via WhatsApp, perhaps no player would be happier than Devon Conway, the only man in the tournament to finish above 500 runs after reaching a club record score of 327 not out against Canterbury earlier in the season.

17

Seventeen county sides have either cancelled or cut short overseas pre-season tours as of this week, with exception Nottinghamshire having been the only team not to initially include a warm-weather stint as part of their preparations for the 2020 campaign.

Middlesex, who had travelled to Oman, arrived back in the UK on Monday and became the final county to announce an alteration to their schedule, following Derbyshire (Zimbabwe), Leicestershire (Spain), Northamptonshire (Singapore) and Sussex (South Africa) earlier in the day.

The ECB has since announced that the earliest the county campaign may begin in response to the coronavirus outbreak is May 28, which was previously announced as the first day of the T20 Blast.

39

Leicestershire have appointed Colin Ackermann as their new captain across formats, making him the 39th player to earn the honour since the club earned first-class status in 1894.

The batsman joined the county on a two-year deal at the start of 2017 having just finished as the leading scorer in South Africa's first-class franchise tournament, and he first deputised as skipper at the end of the following season.

Ackermann then had a breakthrough campaign in 2019, recording seven half-centuries in County Championship action and finding great success with his part-time off-spin in the T20 format, claiming world record figures of 7-18 from four overs against Birmingham Bears at Grace Road in August.

The 28-year-old's exploits earned him a maiden international call-up for the Netherlands as the winter months began, where he went on to help the team secure the T20 World Cup Qualifier title in Dubai in November with an unbeaten 29 against Papua New Guinea in the final.

^{Colin Ackermann will succeed Paul Horton as Leicestershire captain if and when the county season gets under way}

48

The winning margin by which Derbyshire defeated a Zimbabwe Select XI in Bulawayo last Saturday in the only competitive county pre-season fixture actually completed as scheduled.

The Falcons, playing their first 20-over game since making their inaugural Finals Day appearance in September, posted 174 for 5 after winning the toss, led by a Leus du Plooy knock of 79 not out that included six sixes.

In response, the representative side lost eight-cap national player Tinashe Kamunhukamwe to the third ball of their reply, delivered by Mattie McKiernan, and rising young stars Tadiwanashe Marumani and Milton Shumba likewise departed without score.

Ravi Rampaul, the leading wicket-taker in last year's T20 Blast, was again the pick of Derbyshire's bowlers, bowling Marumani and conceding just 14 runs from his four-over quota before the team called short their stay in the southern African nation. 

Upon their arrival on March 9, Derbyshire had become the first county side to tour Zimbabwe since 2004.

6

The number of matches completed so far in the Dhaka Premier Division, the final top-tier tournament to see any cricket before COVID-19 postponements kicked in.

A full set of games took place in the opening round of the Bangladesh-based List A tournament, with Abahani Limited sitting top of the pile on net run rate after captain Mushfiqur Rahim struck his 12th ton in the format to guide the side to an 81-run win over Partex Sporting Club.

On Monday, half-centuries from Under-19 World Cup winners Tanzid Hasan Tamim and Towhid Hridoy saw Shinepukur home with three balls to spare against Abdur Razzak's Mohammedan Sporting Club, while Prime Bank squeezed out Gazi Group by nine runs in Mirupur thanks to former international allrounder Alok Kapali delivering figures of 2-32 alongside a catch and run-out.

There is no luck for fans planning to turn to the Legends of Rupganj for their cricket fix, however – the league's next three rounds have now been postponed as the coronavirus outbreak wreaks havoc with fixture lists.

145

All 145 players, staff members, and broadcasters tested for COVID-19 upon the sudden conclusion of the Pakistan Super League have been found to be clear of the disease.

The league was suspended indefinitely on Tuesday after batsman Alex Hales began to display possible symptoms of infection within 24 hours of arriving home in the UK from his stint with the Karachi Kings franchise.

Hales was among 18 overseas players to call time on their participation in the league at the end of last week as uncertainty grew surrounding travel restrictions, but as of Tuesday afternoon he had been unable to be tested for the coronavirus in the UK and remains in self-isolation.

^{Multan Sultans were leading the way before the PSL playoffs were postponed due to Alex Hales' cough and fever}

June 4

The next official scheduled fixture between any international men's or women's sides is now England's first Test against the West Indies at Lord's in early June.

All international matches until that date have now either been postponed or cancelled outright, including games that had been set to take place this week between Sri Lanka and England, Australia and New Zealand, and India and South Africa.

Australia's women were due to open their tour of South Africa this weekend with an ODI clash in Durban, with both teams set to wear black kits in order to raise awareness of campaigns to eliminate gender-based violence. However, this series too has now been pushed back.

132

The number of pages in the jam-packed new issue of The Cricketer, which is now available in newsagents as well as online for home delivery and in a digital edition.

Coronavirus may have brought the sporting world to a halt but there is plenty to tide you over in the new magazine, including a comprehensive insight into all 18 counties ahead of the new season, Melinda Farrell's reflections on the record-smashing Women's T20 World Cup, and a fascinating dossier compiled by international analyst Jarrod Kimber on how England could win in Sri Lanka.

Also, George Dobell introduces the ECB's new chairman Ian Watmore, Mike Brearley investigates whether our game has lost its soul, and James Coyne speaks to Kumar Sangakkara on his (and cricket's) return to Pakistan 11 years after his Sri Lankan side was shot at by terrorists in Lahore.