ASHES BY NUMBERS: Broad vs Warner, Smith vs England and openers vs the new ball

Seven weeks, five Tests, 31 players, one Steve Smith. The numbers to come out of the 2019 Ashes series...

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54

The series was not one for memorable opening partnerships. It took until England’s final innings of the series to see either side post a first-wicket stand of 50 or more. Of the top 50 highest partnerships in the series, only one first-wicket stand (Rory Burns & Joe Denly - 54) features. 

There were two 10th-wicket stands that bettered it; Steve Smith and Nathan Lyon putting on 74 at Edgbaston and the big one, Ben Stokes and Jack Leach coming together for that thrilling 76-run partnership at Headingley.

8.5

Australia’s opening partnerships averaged just 8.5 through the series. Cameron Bancroft averaged 11 before being dropped after two Tests. Marcus Harris came in and fared no better, averaging 9.66 in three matches with a top score of 19. Across the series, Australia’s openers recorded 14 single-figure scores, beating the record of 13 set by England in South Africa, 1905-06.

9.5

It was David Warner who will be remembered as the standout failure in Australia’s ranks. Only Josh Hazlewood (9) averaged fewer runs with the bat for Australia.

136

Warner’s tally of 95 is the fewest by an opener playing in 10 or more innings in a single series. New Zealand’s John D’Arcy’s held the previous record, having scored 136 in 10 innings against England in 1958.

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Stuart Broad got the wicket of David Warner on seven occasions

8

Warner also became the first opener to get out for eight single-digit scores in a Test series. The Australian’s end stat sheet looked like this: 2, 8, 3, 5, 61, 0, 0, 0, 5, 11.

97 

Sorry, Dave, last one. Steve Smith struck more boundaries (97) across the series than Warner (95) managed runs.

16.6

England's opening stands, comparatively, don’t look quite so bad thanks to Australia’s struggles. Partnerships of 27 and 54 between Burns and Denly at The Oval dragging that number up.

896

In a series where opening batsmen were about as useful as a chocolate bath, Burns managed to absorb 896 balls across the five Tests. Only Smith (1,196) faced more. The Surrey man was the series’ third highest run-scorer with 390.

333

The gap between Smith (774) and the next highest run-scorer in the series. Ben Stokes with 441 runs at 55.12 was the Australian’s nearest competition.

110.57

On his return to the Test scene, Smith was sublime, hitting 774 runs at an average of 110.57.

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Steve Smith dominated

10

Smith’s ludicrous form against England extended to 10 consecutive 50+ Test scores, a run stretching back to December 2017 and beginning with 239 at Perth. The sequence included three hundreds and two doubles. His lowest score of the ten was a second-innings 76 at Perth. The former Test skipper’s 23 at The Oval finally saw a remarkable run ended. 

35-7

It was utter dominance by Stuart Broad when it came to his battle with Warner. The Englishman got his man seven out of 10 times in the series. The opener's overall effort vs the bowler finished with Warner taking just 35 runs off Broad in the series.

7

Broad’s hold over Warner equalled the record for most dismissals of one batsmen in a Test series. On only five other occasions has a bowler removed the same batsman seven times in one series - Nathan Lyon getting Moeen Ali seven times in 2017-18 the most recent example. Glenn McGrath removed Mike Atherton seven times in the 1997 Ashes series.

4

Broad’s wicket tally saw him become the first England bowler to take 20 or more in four separate Ashes series (2013, 2013/14, 2015, 2019). Ian Botham, Bob Willis, Tom Richardson, Bobby Peel took 20 or more in three separate Ashes campaigns.

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Pat Cummins was the series' leading wicket-taker

29

Pat Cummins bowled beautifully throughout the series and finished with 29 scalps to his name - the most by an Australian seamer in England since Glenn McGrath’s 32 in 2001.

Despite Cummins' constant threat he failed to pick up a five-for in any of the five Tests, making his series tally the highest by a bowler without taking a five-wicket haul.

He now has 123 Test wickets in his first 25 matches, the most by any Australian quick at that stage of their career, surpassing Jeff Thomson’s 119.

Marnus Labuschagne became the fourth man to reach fifty in his first four Ashes innings. The batsman struck 59 as a replacement for Steve Smith at Lord’s, 74 & 80 at Headingley before adding 67 to his series tally in the first innings at Old Trafford. The Batsman finished his series with 353 runs at 50.42.

2001

The Ashes may have already been retained by Australia but, for England, victory at The Oval at least meant Australia’s winless Ashes streak on English soil was extended to 18 years.

1972

The 2-2 draw represented the first drawn Ashes series since 1972, mirroring the same result on English soil 47 years ago.

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Posted by R on 20/09/2019 at 05:20

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