Cricket World Cup 2015: Reviewing Best Averages and More Batting, Bowling Stats
The 2015 Cricket World Cup continues to enthrall, as we were treated to a pair of thoroughly entertaining fixtures in the latest round of Pool B fixtures.
In the first game of the day, South Africa suffered a shock defeat to a resurgent Pakistan side. The Proteas failed to chase down a modest target of 232 in the match, eventually losing by 29 runs despite a battling knock of 77 from captain AB de Villiers.
A tough game to follow, no doubt, but Ireland’s five-run win over Zimbabwe arguably topped it for drama. A century from Ed Joyce helped the men in green to an ominous score of 331/8 first up. While a magnificent 121 from Brendan Taylor got his side close, they came up just short despite taking the match into the final over.
With some big scores smashed and some exemplary bowling on display, here’s how the overall standings in various individual classifications are shaping up after an absorbing day of action.
Top 10 Gross Run-Scorers
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| Player | Team | Runs |
| AB de Villiers | South Africa | 318 |
| Hashim Amla | South Africa | 295 |
| Brendan Taylor | Zimbabwe | 295 |
| Sean Williams | Zimbabwe | 289 |
| Chris Gayle | West Indies | 279 |
| Faf du Plessis | South Africa | 277 |
| Misbah-ul-Haq | Pakistan | 277 |
| Shaiman Anwar | United Arab Emirates | 270 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 268 |
| Lahiru Thirimanne | Sri Lanka | 256 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
Top 10 Batting Averages
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| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 134.0 |
| Lahiru Thirimanne | Sri Lanka | 85.33 |
| Shakib Al Hasan | Bangladesh | 80.50 |
| AB de Villiers | South Africa | 79.50 |
| David Warner | Australia | 78.00 |
| Tillakaratne Dilshan | Sri Lanka | 76.33 |
| David Miller | South Africa | 75.33 |
| Kane Williamson | New Zealand | 74.50 |
| Virat Kohli | India | 73.00 |
| Sean Williams | Zimbabwe | 72.25 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
Top 10 Strike Rates
3 of 7
| Player | Team | Runs | SR |
| Andre Russell | West Indies | 77 | 208.10 |
| Tawanda Mupariwa | Zimbabwe | 18 | 200.00 |
| Farhaan Behardien | South Africa | 10 | 200.00 |
| Glenn Maxwell | Australia | 155 | 189.02 |
| Brendon McCullum | New Zealand | 207 | 188.18 |
| Thisara Perera | Sri Lanka | 47 | 180.76 |
| Rilee Rossouw | South Africa | 128 | 164.10 |
| AB de Villiers | South Africa | 318 | 153.62 |
| Brad Haddin | Australia | 94 | 146.87 |
| Jos Buttler | England | 76 | 146.15 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
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Top 10 Wicket-Takers
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| Player | Team | Wickets |
| Tim Southee | New Zealand | 13 |
| Josh Davey | Scotland | 11 |
| Jerome Taylor | West Indies | 11 |
| Morne Morkel | South Africa | 11 |
| Wahab Riaz | Pakistan | 11 |
| Mitchell Starc | Australia | 10 |
| Trent Boult | New Zealand | 10 |
| Imran Tahir | South Africa | 10 |
| Tendai Chatara | Zimbabwe | 10 |
| Mohammed Shami | India | 9 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
Top 10 Bowling Figures
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| Tim Southee | New Zealand | 33 | 7 |
| Mitchell Starc | Australia | 28 | 6 |
| Trent Boult | New Zealand | 27 | 5 |
| Mitchell Marsh | Australia | 33 | 5 |
| Imran Tahir | South Africa | 45 | 5 |
| Sohail Khan | Pakistan | 55 | 5 |
| Steven Finn | England | 71 | 5 |
| Kyle Abbott | South Africa | 21 | 4 |
| Mitchell Johnson | Australia | 22 | 4 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | India | 25 | 4 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
Top 10 Economy Rates
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| James Faulkner | Australia | 8 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Michael Clarke | Australia | 14 | 1 | 2.80 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 118 | 8 | 3.33 |
| Jeevan Mendis | Sri Lanka | 18 | 2 | 3.60 |
| Mirwais Ashraf | Afghanistan | 63 | 2 | 3.66 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | India | 19 | 1 | 3.80 |
| Rahat Ali | Pakistan | 107 | 5 | 3.82 |
| Mitchell Starc | Australia | 93 | 10 | 3.87 |
| Mohit Sharma | India | 117 | 6 | 3.90 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | India | 145 | 9 | 3.91 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
Standout Performances
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De Villiers Shines in South Africa Loss to Pakistan
After losing four top-order wickets for 10 runs earlier in the innings, the onus was on the in-form AB de Villiers to get this South Africa team out of trouble in their chase against Pakistan.
The captain was left to bat with the tailenders for the majority of the innings, and although he played magnificently for his 77 from 58 balls, it wasn’t enough to secure a vital win for the Proteas.
As noted by the ICC account, De Villiers was pretty close to single-handedly hauling this team to victory:
"It could be a case of AB De Villiers v Pakistan now! 17 runs off that Wahab Riaz over http://t.co/1JhPdHxVag #SAvPAK pic.twitter.com/Wh2rOOiwcP
— ICC (@ICC) March 7, 2015"
But it wasn’t to be for the Proteas skipper as he lost his wicket and South Africa eventually went on to be bowled out for 202, 29 runs short of their revised target.
Aside from De Villiers’ exploits, there were very few positives for the Proteas to take from this performance. But his exceptional form with the bat is definitely one of them.
If South Africa can find some consistency in their play to complement their inspirational captain, then there’s still a chance they can sample glory come the end of this competition.
Joyce and Taylor Sparkle in Ireland’s win over Zimbabwe
Ireland and Zimbabwe played out a classic contest in Hobart, with the former eventually edging to victory with a five-run win.
The Irish managed to rack up an imposing total of 331/8 in their innings after being put in to bat and that was thanks to the exceptional efforts of No. 3 Ed Joyce.
The former England international played with a swagger during his time at the crease, helping to push up his team’s run-rate and providing a fitting foil for the aggressive hitting of Andy Balbirnie.
As noted by the team’s official Twitter account, Joyce was named man of the match for his wonderful knock:
"Here he is...man of the match @edjoyce24 http://t.co/tM9eaxOk4V #BackingGreen pic.twitter.com/T2zxVG3f6Z
— Cricket Ireland (@Irelandcricket) March 7, 2015"
But had Zimbabwe been able to eke out those last few runs at the end of the innings, you suspect that accolade may well have gone to Brendan Taylor instead.
With the Africans four wickets down and toiling, Taylor and Sean Williams came together to put on an immaculate 149-run partnership.
They dragged the run-rate up for their team by accelerating with distinction throughout their respective innings, but it was Taylor who was the most impressive of the duo.
His knock of 121 came from just 91 balls, as he mixed astute, intelligent shots with some brutish strikes to the boundary.
As noted by Cricket Record, it was a landmark score for various reasons:
"Brendan Taylor's 121 is the 150th century of World Cup history - he is also the first Zimbabwe captain to hit 100 in WC. #ZIMvIRE #CWC15
— Cricket Record (@cricinfo_record) March 7, 2015"
Taylor will feel annoyed that he didn’t get his team a little bit closer to the finishing line, but his innings made this match a spectacular one to watch.
Zimbabwe have won just one of their five games in this tournament, but in their stand-in skipper and Williams, they definitely boast two players who are of the very highest quality.
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