Cricket World Cup 2015: Top 10 Run-Scorers, Averages, More Ahead of Semi-Finals
The race for the 2015 Cricket World Cup will heat up again this week, with New Zealand, South Africa, India and Australia all on the march for glory.
After some engrossing pool-stage matches and four intriguing quarter-finals, the semi-finals of the competition should produce the highest drama, rawest emotion and the best quality cricket we’ve seen Down Under to date. But in these pressure situations, often a mercurial display from an individual can turn a game.
With that in mind, here’s how things stand in some of the individual classifications ahead of the Black Caps’ clash with the Proteas in the first semi-final on Tuesday, as well as a look at a couple of players primed to shine with the World Cup final edging ever closer into view.
Top 10 Gross Run-Scorers
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| Player | Team | Runs |
| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 541 |
| Martin Guptill | New Zealand | 498 |
| Brendan Taylor | Zimbabwe | 433 |
| AB de Villiers | South Africa | 417 |
| Tillakaratne Dilshan | Sri Lanka | 395 |
| Shikhar Dhawan | India | 367 |
| Mahmudullah | Bangladesh | 365 |
| Misbah-ul-Haq | Pakistan | 350 |
| Chris Gayle | West Indies | 340 |
| Sean Williams | Zimbabwe | 339 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
Top 10 Batting Averages
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| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 108.20 |
| AB de Villiers | South Africa | 83.40 |
| Martin Guptill | New Zealand | 83.00 |
| Sarfraz Ahmed | Pakistan | 80.00 |
| Glenn Maxwell | Australia | 75.25 |
| Mahmudullah | Bangladesh | 73.00 |
| Brendan Taylor | Zimbabwe | 72.16 |
| Suresh Raina | India | 69.25 |
| David Miller | South Africa | 68.75 |
| Sean Williams | Zimbabwe | 67.80 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
Top 10 Strike Rates
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| Player | Team | Runs | SR |
| Dinesh Chandimal | Sri Lanka | 52 | 216.66 |
| Farhaan Behardien | South Africa | 74 | 205.55 |
| Andre Russell | West Indies | 104 | 185.71 |
| Brendon McCullum | New Zealand | 257 | 185.51 |
| Glenn Maxwell | Australia | 301 | 183.53 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 34 | 178.94 |
| James Faulkner | Australia | 23 | 176.92 |
| Tawanda Mupariwa | Zimbabwe | 19 | 172.72 |
| Tim Southee | New Zealand | 12 | 171.42 |
| Brad Haddin | Australia | 119 | 163.01 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
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Top 10 Wicket-Takers
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| Player | Team | Wickets |
| Trent Boult | New Zealand | 19 |
| Mitchell Starc | Australia | 18 |
| Mohammed Shami | India | 17 |
| Jerome Taylor | West Indies | 17 |
| Wahab Riaz | Pakistan | 16 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 15 |
| Imran Tahir | South Africa | 15 |
| Josh Davey | Scotland | 15 |
| Tim Southee | New Zealand | 15 |
| Morne Morkel | South Africa | 14 |
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 |
| Mitchell Starc | Australia | 14 | 4 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 18 | 4 |
| Kyle Abbott | South Africa | 21 | 4 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
Top 10 Economy Rates
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| Michael Clarke | Australia | 14 | 1 | 2.80 |
| James Tredwell | England | 25 | 1 | 3.57 |
| Jeevan Mendis | Sri Lanka | 18 | 2 | 3.60 |
| Mirwais Ashraf | Afghanistan | 63 | 2 | 3.66 |
| Mitchell Starc | Australia | 176 | 18 | 3.74 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | India | 19 | 1 | 3.80 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 236 | 15 | 3.81 |
| Dwayne Smith | West Indies | 27 | 1 | 3.85 |
| Ravi Bopara | England | 31 | 2 | 3.87 |
| Sohaib Maqsood | Pakistan | 24 | 1 | 4.00 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
Players to Watch
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AB de Villiers
The South Africa captain became the first man to lead the Proteas to victory in the knockout stages of a World Cup, and a win over New Zealand at Eden Park would further cement his status as a legend of the game.
As we can see here courtesy of Freddie Wilde of ESPN Cricinfo, given the semi-final record of each of these two sides, we could be set for a tight, tense occasion:
"#NZ in World Cup semi-finals: L L L L L L #SA in World Cup semi-finals: L L L #CWC15 #NZvSA
— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) March 23, 2015"
With that in mind, South Africa will be looking to their skipper and talisman to step up again, just as he has done throughout the competition so far. Batting in the middle order, De Villiers has had to be adaptable to a host of different situations, but whether it’s finishing off the innings, bludgeoning some late runs or steadying the ship, he’s been superb.
His captaincy has been refreshing too, as has confidence in his teammates, per the tournament’s official Twitter account:
"Or will #SA captain AB De Villiers be leading his side out at the @MCG on Sunday March 29? http://t.co/Cz8mgMLC1A pic.twitter.com/QYIjveTYp0
— ICC (@ICC) March 23, 2015"
De Villiers has been as boisterous in his words off the field as he has been with his batting on it. But against New Zealand, the Proteas are going to face an extremely difficult test. The Black Caps have a formidable bowling attack, and De Villiers will need to be at his absolute sharpest to help his team post or chase a sizeable score.
South Africa will be going into the lion’s den at Eden Park, against a brilliant team who will have raucous, unrelenting support. It’s in games like this when the captain must lead by example, and the Proteas will be hoping De Villiers continues to relish that kind of responsibility.
Steve Smith
The ascension in Smith’s game over the past 18 months has been truly astonishing. He has gone from a decent all-rounder to a thoroughbred, top-quality batsman, and after a magnificent year in Test matches, he now looks beset on leading Australia to World Cup glory.
He’s notched three fifties in a row at this tournament and seems to be growing into his role as the No. 3 batsman in this team. Smith is a measured and almost immovable player for the Baggy Greens and has a versatile skill set that will have to be effectively utilised if Australia are to overcome India.
As noted by cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle, Smith was superb in the previous game against Pakistan as Wahab Riaz got stuck into Shane Watson at the other end:
"While the storm was raging, Steve Smith has provided the gentle breeze for Australia. Top innings. Most likely match winning innings.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) March 20, 2015"
Smith is a player who’s blossomed as a leader too, and of all the teams remaining in the tournament, Australia seem to boast the most in that department. Players such as Smith, Michael Clarke, David Warner and Brad Haddin all seem to relish shouldering responsibility, and that’s going to be crucial against a wily India outfit.
Smith’s role is arguably the most important, though. He needs to set the tempo at the top of the order, and if Australia do lose early wickets—as they did against Pakistan and as they easily could do against India's excellent bowling attack—he must stay composed in the heat of what will undeniably be a ferocious encounter at the SCG.
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