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...
Shane Warne has raised more than one million Australian dollars for the bushfire appeal, after auctioning his Baggy Green for charity.
The Commonwealth Bank made the successful bid of $1,007,500 (£530,140) for the cap - awarded for representing Australia in Tests - and plan on taking the piece of cricketing memorabilia on a tour to raise further funds in the battle against the fires which have ripped through the country in recent weeks.
Who says Jimmy Anderson only takes wickets on home turf? Fools, that’s who. At Newlands, Anderson claimed his 28th five-wicket haul in Test cricket. The 37-year-old picked up 5 for 40 in South Africa’s first innings and 2 for 23 in the second before succumbing to a rib injury which has subsequently ruled Anderson out of the remainder of the series.
Ben Stokes’ man-of-the-match performance in Cape Town included equalling the record for most catches by a non-wicketkeeper in a single Test innings. The allrounder became just the 12th man to claim five catches in one innings.
100 runs, 3 wickets & 6 catches in a Test:
— Andrew Samson (@AWSStats) January 7, 2020
FE Woolley 133* & 11, 2-1 & 1-36, 6 ct Eng v Aus Syd 1912
JH Kallis 224, dnb & 3-35, 6 ct SA v SL CT 2012
BA Stokes 47 & 72, 0-34 & 3-35, 6 ct, Eng v SA CT 2020
Zubayr Hamza, Faf du Plessis, Rassie van der Dussen. Dwaine Pretorius and Anrich Nortje all found the hands of Stokes as England bowled the hosts out for 223.
More sharp work from Ben Stokes 👏#SAvENGpic.twitter.com/GFrb8zUPTV
— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) January 4, 2020
England’s thrilling, series-levelling 189-run victory at Newlands was their first Test win in Cape Town since 1957.
That defeat meant that South Africa have now gone 26 Tests without a draw. If the third Test does not result in a draw, the Proteas will go beyond Zimbabwe’s own record of 26, set from 2005 - 2017.
26th draw-less Test in a row for South Africa - equalling Zimbabwe's world record set from 2005 to 2017
— Benedict Bermange (@Benedict_B) January 7, 2020
Nathan Lyon has become the 10th Australian to take a 10-wicket haul on three or more occasions in Test cricket. The spinner claimed five wickets in each innings as Australia beat New Zealand by 279 runs at Sydney.
Lyon’s 10 for 118 represent his third-best match figures, having taken 12 for 286 against India at Adelaide in 2014 and 13 for 154 against Bangladesh at Chattogram in 2017.
Australia’s 3-0 series sweep of the Blackcaps made it an unbeaten Test summer for the Baggy Greens. Having seen Pakistan off by an innings in two Tests, at Brisbane and Adelaide, Tim Paine’s team thrashed New Zealand in all three matches, recording victory margins of 296, 247 and 279 runs.
New Zealand have a new leading run-scorer in Test cricket. Ross Taylor’s second-innings 22 at the SCG took his overall tally to 7,174 Test runs, surpassing Stephen Fleming’s 7,172.
The 35-year-old’s runs have come at an average of 46.28 across 99 Test matches, with 19 centuries and 33 fifties to his name.
Lovely stuff from @RossLTaylor 👌pic.twitter.com/8toKPG5Gek
— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) January 7, 2020
The Big Bash League witnessed two hat-tricks, not just this week, but in a single day.
Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan took three wickets in three deliveries for Adelaide Strikers to claim his third hat-trick in T20 cricket.
Next it was the turn of Haris Rauf for Melbourne Stars who rattled through Sydney Thunder, removing Matthew Gilkes, Callum Ferguson and Daniel Sams with successive deliveries - the fifth hat-trick recorded in the competition’s history.