NFL Nation reporters assess the biggest injuries across the league for Week 14.AFC East | AFC North| AFC South | AFC West NFC East | NFC North | NFC South | NFC WestAFC EASTBuffalo BillsWR Sammy Watkins sat out Wednesdays practice because of his foot injury. Rex Ryan said he is hopeful Watkins can play Sunday against the Steelers, but that the Bills will take it day-to-day with Watkins. Ryan said Watkins felt better with his foot coming out of last Sundays game against the Raiders than the week before.?-- Mike RodakMiami DolphinsMiddle linebacker and leading tackler Kiko Alonsos status is up in the air because of a broken thumb. He had surgery Monday, then had a cast on during Wednesdays practice. If Alonso cannot play, backup Mike Hull will get the start against the Cardinals.?-- James WalkerNew England PatriotsTE Martellus Bennett, who is being relied upon as the primary player to help replace Rob Gronkowski, hasnt consistently looked like the same player since spraining his ankle in a Week 5 matchup against the Browns. He is coming off arguably his worst game of the season, recording two catches for 4 yards and two holding penalties last Sunday against the Rams. While the Patriots naturally appreciate his toughness, Bennetts injury status and ability to effectively do the job bears monitoring.?-- Mike ReissNew York JetsC Nick Mangold, who aggravated an old ankle injury, is in a walking boot and is not expected to play Sunday against the 49ers. It would be his fifth missed game, and theres a chance he could be shut down for the remainder of the season. Wes Johnson would again start in his place. The Jets could also be without NT Steve McLendon (hamstring) for the second straight week. Hed be replaced by Deon Simon. -- Rich CiminiAFC NORTHBaltimore RavensThe Ravens are close to full strength. The only starter who is expected to miss Monday nights game in New England is backup TE Crockett Gillmore (hamstring). Cornerbacks Jimmy Smith (back) and Tavon Young (shoulder) got banged up last Sunday, but both were on the field for Wednesdays walkthrough. --?Jamison HensleyCincinnati BengalsWR A.J. Green was working on the rehab field to begin Wednesdays practice. He has missed almost three full games with a hamstring tear and is considered week-to-week.?-- Katherine TerrellCleveland BrownsRobert Griffin III took part in practice Wednesday. ESPNs Dan Graziano reported through a source that, barring any setbacks, Griffin will start Sunday against Cincinnati. Coach Hue Jackson has not made that official, but Griffin should be on the field for the first time since the season opener in Philadelphia.?-- Pat McManamonPittsburgh SteelersStarting DT Javon Hargrave missed Wednesdays practice while under concussion protocol. This is significant. Hargrave has probably been the teams most reliable rookie. He recorded a sack in back-to-back games before leaving Sundays win over the Giants. The Steelers are thin on the interior. Veteran DE Ricardo Mathews can play an enhanced role, and Dan McCullers and L.T. Walton havent graduated from spot duty. The Steelers will hope Hargrave becomes symptom-free before facing Buffalos league-best rushing attack.?-- Jeremy FowlerAFC SOUTHHouston TexansThe Texans are pretty banged up and head to Indianapolis for a crucial divisional game with 16 players on their injury report. The starters listed who did not practice are DE?Jadeveon Clowney (wrist/elbow) and CB?Johnathan Joseph. Texans head coach Bill OBrien said both players are day-to-day and that hed know more about their statuses later in the week. While the front seven had a solid performance in Green Bay without Clowney, the secondary struggled after Joseph left the game. -- Sarah BarshopIndianapolis ColtsLB Robert Mathis has not practiced or played since injuring his biceps against Pittsburgh on Thanksgiving Day. The Colts got by without Mathis in their 41-10 victory over the Jets on Monday, but now theyll also be without fellow veteran linebacker DQwell Jackson, who was suspended four games for violating the NFLs policy on performance-enhancing substances. The Colts need as many veterans on the field as possible as they try to remain in first place in the AFC South.?-- Mike WellsJacksonville JaguarsTE Julius Thomas might have played his last snap of the season. The Jaguars say they arent sure when, or if, hell come back from a back injury. Well evaluate it day-by-day, coach Gus Bradley said. Also, RB Chris Ivory (hamstring) will be a game-time decision, Bradley said.?-- Mike DiRoccoTennessee TitansDisruptive DL Jurrell Casey didnt practice Wednesday and was the only Titans player on the injury report. He said even if he doesnt work the rest of the week, he feels confident he can walk out there and be effective Sunday at Nissan Stadium. Ill definitely be good to go, he said. Casey has only three sacks, but hes a disruptor who trails only outside linebackers Brian Orakpo and Derrick Morgan with 24 quarterback pressures for the Titans this season.?-- Paul KuharskyAFC WESTDenver BroncosQB Trevor Siemian?is on track to play Sunday in Tennessee after taking part in the walk-through on Wednesday and is scheduled to practice on Thursday, but LB Brandon Marshalls status is still in question after he injured?his left hamstring in the 20-10 win over the Jaguars. Marshall missed one game earlier this season because of a hamstring injury, against San Diego on Oct. 30. The latest injury could put Corey Nelson into the lineup at inside linebacker against a Titans team that has among the leagues best at running the football. Theyve rushed for at least 149 yards in five games this season and have topped 200 yards twice.?-- Jeff LegwoldKansas City ChiefsWR Jeremy Maclin will be available to play for the Chiefs for the first time in five games Thursday night against the Raiders. Maclin has been out because of a groin injury. He might not play his normal full role in his first game back, but the Chiefs are still better off having him for whatever number of snaps he is in their lineup. Hes their most accomplished and experienced wide receiver. Its foolish to believe the Chiefs are a better team when hes not playing. -- Adam TeicherOakland RaidersDerek Carr?is still Oaklands biggest injury question,?despite his insistence that his right pinkie isnt causing any limitations. Carr played the entire game last weekend in the shotgun or pistol to keep him from going under center and, thus, to keep his finger out of harms way. Sub-freezing temperatures are expected in Kansas City on Thursday night, and with the ball expected to be hard as a rock and his finger still sore and taped, its almost a given that Carr will again set up 4 or 7 yards behind the center. After not running a single play out of the pistol before Sunday, the Raiders ran 19 plays out of the formation against Buffalo. Expect more of the same at Arrowhead Stadium.?-- Paul GutierrezSan Diego ChargersAfter a knee injury forced him to miss four games, rookie inside linebacker Jatavis Brown returned to practice as a limited participant Wednesday. Korey Toomer took over for Brown while he was out and has done a good job, leading the team in tackles with 61. However, the Chargers would like to get Brown back on the field. It felt good, Brown said. Its always good to be out there having fun with the guys.?-- Eric D. WilliamsNFC EASTDallas CowboysLB Justin Durant was limited in Wednesdays practice as he returns from a hamstring strain that kept him out of the Cowboys last game. Anthony Hitchens was able to take the bulk of the sub-package snaps against Minnesota, but with the Giants running almost exclusively a three-wide receiver set, Durants return would help the Cowboys keep their middle linebackers fresh throughout the game. J.J. Wilcox, who is battling a thigh bruise, did not practice Wednesday and could miss his second straight game.?-- Todd ArcherNew York GiantsDE Jason Pierre-Paul is out, but starting left guard Justin Pugh (knee) and RB Shane Vereen (triceps) both have a chance to return. Pugh is taking reps this week, and Vereen is hopeful to receive the green light from the medical staff after returning to practice last week. -- Jordan RaananPhiladelphia EaglesWR Jordan Matthews (ankle, limited) and RB Ryan Mathews (knee) both returned to practice Wednesday after missing last weekends game against the Bengals. Assuming they make it through the week, QB Carson Wentz should be better equipped Sunday when the Eagles welcome the Redskins.?-- Tim McManusWashington RedskinsTE Jordan Reed caught passes during individual drills Wednesday, but theres a ways to go before the Redskins are ready to declare him ready for Sundays game against Philadelphia. Reed is still suffering from the Grade 3 separation of the AC joint in his left shoulder. Meanwhile, the offensive line was suffering: Center Spencer Long (concussion) and guard Shawn Lauvao (groin) both missed practice as did Ty Nsekhe (ankle). But Nsekhe was going back to the bench anyway with Trent Williams?returning?from his four-game suspension. Long would be replaced by veteran John Sullivan, and Lauvao would be replaced by Arie Kouandjio.?-- John KeimNFC NORTHChicago BearsWR Marquess Wilson suffered a groin injury in last weeks 26-6 victory over San Francisco. Wilson is not a household name, but hes now one of Chicagos top receivers with Alshon Jeffery suspended and Eddie Royal (toe) ailing. Wilson, who did not catch a ball against the 49ers, led the club with eight receptions for 125 yards and one touchdown in Week 12. He also dropped a sure touchdown pass that hit him squarely in the hands. Veteran guard Josh Sitton is also pushing through an ankle injury, but the Bears are probably better off with reserve guards Ted Larsen and Eric Kush.?-- Jeff DickersonDetroit LionsThe wait continues for the Lions with linebacker?DeAndre Levy. He has practiced for three weeks and is entering his fourth week of practice coming off his knee injury. Is this the week he plays? And does his fellow linebacker, Tahir Whitehead, also come back after a one-week absence because of a knee injury? Both players have practiced on a limited basis.?-- Michael RothsteinGreen Bay PackersThe Packers could have a significant shortage of linebackers. Theyll be without Nick Perry, who underwent hand surgery this week. Clay Matthews left shoulder is still ailing, and he was largely ineffective because of it last week. Jake Ryans ankle remains problematic, and Blake Martinez hasnt played in two weeks. Its not an ideal situation with the Seahawks coming to town Sunday.?-- Rob DemovskyMinnesota VikingsSafety Harrison Smith did not practice Wednesday because of a sprained ankle, and his status for Sunday appears to be the Vikings biggest concern as they try to win for just the second time in eight games in Jacksonville. Coach Mike Zimmer wouldnt rule out the possibility of Smith returning from an ankle injury that had him on crutches and in a walking boot last Thursday, pointing out how often Smith plays through injuries. But given that Smith hasnt practiced during the Vikings first two sessions of the week, his ability to play Sunday appears to be in doubt.?-- Ben GoesslingNFC SOUTHAtlanta FalconsThe status of top receiver Julio Jones remains in doubt as he battles a turf toe injury. Jones didnt practice Wednesday, but coach Dan Quinn maintained a positive outlook, saying Jones could return to practice Thursday. Turf toe, however, is an injury that requires some rest, so it seems logical to hold Jones out of Sundays game against the Rams. Then again, Quinn views Jones as a fast healer, so well see how this all unfolds.?-- Vaughn McClureCarolina PanthersMiddle linebacker Luke Kuechly was one of three Carolina players limited in practice because of a concussion. The other two were S Kurt Coleman and CB Daryl Worley. But the primary interest was on Kuechly, who hadnt practiced since suffering the concussion in a Nov. 17 game against New Orleans. Coach Ron Rivera said Kuechly brought energy to the field and said how Kuechly responds Thursday will be the next step in determining whether he plays Sunday against San Diego.?-- David NewtonNew Orleans SaintsSaints top receiver Michael Thomas missed practice Wednesday with a foot injury. The extent of the injury is unclear, and he didnt appear to suffer an injury in Sundays loss to the Lions. Thomas would be missed if he cant play or is limited this weekend at Tampa Bay. He is leading the team in every receiving category, with 69 catches, 831 yards and seven touchdowns. But the Saints have a deep receiving corps that includes Brandin Cooks, Willie Snead and Brandon Coleman. Middle linebacker Craig Robertson also missed practice with a shoulder injury. Hed be hard to replace as an every-down player and the teams leading tackler.?-- Mike TriplettTampa Bay BuccaneersSlot receiver and punt returner Adam Humphries didnt practice Wednesday and is still in the concussion protocol. The Bucs are already without Cecil Shorts III, who suffered a season-ending knee injury Sunday, making him the third Bucs receiver (including Louis Murphy) this year to have his season end because of an injury. The Bucs brought up Josh Huff from the practice squad to fill Shorts spot. Theyll also rely on Freddie Martino.?-- Jenna LaineNFC WESTArizona CardinalsThe status of safety Tyrann Mathieu for Sundays game at Miami is in the air after he missed Wednesdays practice because of a lingering shoulder injury. Coach Bruce Arians didnt seem optimistic that Mathieu will be returning anytime soon, saying he was surprised Mathieu is still dealing with the issue. The Cardinals appear to have found a routine that works for WR John Brown, who has been dealing with symptoms related to carrying the sickle-cell trait. He didnt practice Wednesday but will have his reps increased Thursday and again Friday so he can be ready to play Sunday. Arians expects the other injured players -- LB Markus Golden and CB Tharold Simon -- to return to practice Thursday.?-- Josh WeinfussLos Angeles RamsWR?Tavon Austin did not practice last week and ultimately missed his first game because of a chest injury. Rams coach Jeff Fisher said Austin and the other two starters who missed Sundays game -- DE Robert Quinn, who was in concussion protocol, and LG Rodger Saffold, who is dealing with a hand injury -- have a decent chance of playing against the Falcons. Austins health will be key. He hasnt produced anywhere near the level the Rams would have hoped, but his presence is key to at least taking some of the attention away from Kenny Britt.?-- Alden GonzalezSan Francisco 49ersThe Niners are still waiting for OLB?Aaron Lynch to return from a sprained ankle he suffered before their bye week. Lynch has been practicing for the past few weeks but hasnt been healthy enough to actually return on Sundays. San Francisco is in desperate need of pass-rushing help, and thats what Lynch does best, but he wont be back on the field until he is 100 percent.?-- Nick WagonerSeattle SeahawksThe only starter whose status is in question for Sunday is outside linebacker Mike Morgan, who did not participate in Wednesdays practice because of a hip injury. Morgan came off of injured reserve last week after missing time with a sports hernia and played well. He starts in the Seahawks base defense, but comes off the field when they go to nickel. Other than safety Earl Thomas, who is out for the year with a fractured tibia, the Seahawks go into this weeks game with a healthy squad. -- Sheil Kapadia
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Womens Nike Air Max 1 . Calgary scored on the first shift, and Michael Cammalleri scored twice as the Flames cruised to a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday. Peak-33 By Andy ZaltzmanHow good was Ian Botham? Overall he averaged 28.40 with the ball, 33.54 with the bat. In the first 25 Tests of his 102-Test career, those figures are 18.52 and 40.48; in the final 25, 42.00 bowling, 23.45 batting. Overall-Botham was very good. Late-slump-Botham, scuttled by injury and time, did not merit selection. Peak-Botham was one of the greatest Test cricketers of all time. Peak-Waqar took 19 five-fors in his first 31 Tests; Increasing-Back-Trouble-Waqar took only three more in his final 56 games.Cricket needs a measure of how good a player was in his best years. There are, evidently, greater priorities on this often-malfunctioning planet, and in this often-malfunctioning sport, but the career average, at best, needs considerable prodding to reveal its truths, and, at worst, is wilfully misleading. I therefore unveil: Peak-33 - a players numbers in the best 33-Test phase of their careers.Peak-33 is based on the 33 matches in which batsmen scored most runs and bowlers took most wickets, rather than the 33 in which they returned the best average.I could have chosen another mathematically convenient number: Peak-50, for example, the length of the high plateau period of Donald Bradmans Test career; in other words, his entire career excluding his debut (18 and 1), and his final-Test duck. I could have chosen Peak-25, the number of Tests in which SF Barnes bowled a significant number of overs during his legendary 189-wickets-at-16 England career. While no one has come close to Barnes career average since then - an average itself skewed by a deluge of late-career wickets against a relatively underpowered South Africa - Imran Khans Peak-25 (from 1981 to 1986, excluding two Tests in Australia in which he did not bowl due to injury) produced 154 wickets at 14.85. Or I could have chosen Peak-200, to appeal to the Tendulkar fans.I chose Peak-33, however, for the following reasons:1. It is long enough to require prolonged consistency, even in the modern age of hyper-hectic golden-goose-squeezing schedules. 2. It is short enough to encompass the careers of far more of the pre-war titans of cricket than Peak-50. 3. It sounds better. 4. It could be the sequel to Catch-22. 5. It is the length of the Test career of naughty, naughty Salman Butt, who, with an average of 30.46, does not emerge well from the statistic. 6. It is the atomic number of arsenic. (Thank you, Wikipedia.) 7. It is the number of vertebrae in the normal human spine (coccyx included). (Ditto.) 8. It was the average number of different mystery balls announced by Shane Warne before an Ashes series. If I remember correctly. 9. It is the number of tracer bullets fired by Ravi Shastri in his special commentary research laboratory, in order to ascertain the average speed of a tracer bullet, against which to compare the speed of cricket balls.I admit that Peak-33 is, at best, in the pre-alpha stage of its development as a statistical measure. It needs to take into account comparative contemporary scoring trends - early 21st-century batsmen predominate - as well as opposition and context. Some interesting candidates emerge, however, in particular Peak-Imran-Khan, whose best outdoes everyone by a considerable margin, and Peak-Jack-Hobbs, whose 1910-1925 average of 65.22 was 20 runs an innings ahead of any Peak-33 achieved at the time.Perhaps a peak measurement needs to involve some combination of time period, number of matches, and proportion of a players career, as well as factoring in the impact of a players performances, rather than the mere quantity of his runs and wickets.Here, nonetheless, to start the conversation - a conversation which I will in all likelihood be having only with myself - are the top ten Peak-33 players, based on their averages in the matches in which they scored most runs or took most wickets. Andy Zaltzman is a stand-up comedian, a regular on BBC Radio 4, and a writer ****Weighted Wicket Probability By Phil OliverCricket is a game of statistics. Every delivery is an event in itself, full of information that can be used to measure player performance - so many variables, so much data. It is for this reason that providing the best possible context and finding the most significant statistics is not easy. We look at scorecards, series averages and career records, wondering who has produced the best performances. Traditional measures can go some way in making these comparisons, but the application of analytics adds the necessary context.Cricket fans know that the top scorers and wicket-takers in a match have not necessarily performed the best. CricVizs analysis of ball-tracking data allows the quality of each delivery to be measured, enabling more precise evaluation and comparison. That enables the calculation of a Weighted Wicket Probability (WWP) for every ball.From live ball-tracking feeds, CricViz evaluates each delivery based on six criteria: line, length, bounce, speed, movement in the air and movement off the pitch. We conduct a nearest-neighbour analysis, examining the runs and wickets associated with the 1000 most similar balls in our database based on these criteria.If the 1000 near-identical deliveries in the database took ten wickets, then the ball in question would take a wicket 1% of the time. This allows the measurement of the most threatening bowlers, spells and sessions. For example, James Andersons superiority in Englands innings-and-88-run victory over Sri Lanka at Headingley this summer was highlighted by his WWP. Andersons mastery of seam and swing saw him take ten wickets in the match, with an average WWP of 2.13% per ball (meaning his average delivery would take a wicket 2.13% of the time he bowled it). For context, Sri Lankas bowlers had an average WWP of 1.38% per delivery.However, the significance of this statistic is that it can offer deeper insight than scorecards and other traditional measures can: the instances where bowlers go unrewarded, the wicketless spells that deserved more or built pressure for team-mates. Wahab Riazs second spell on day four of Pakistans win at Lords in July was one such passage of play.England were edging towards their target when Wahab returned for a five-over burst. It was a riveting 45 minutes. Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes battled hard to repel Wahabs pace and reverse swing. That they succeeded was testament to their skill and concentration, but it was also due to a healthy dose of luck. Wahabs spell read 5-1-8-0, but his repeated beating of the bat meant his WWP was 2.14% per ball in those five overs. In other words he was more threatening than Anderson was in his ten-wicket Headingley masterclass.In Englands second innings as a whole, Wahabs WWP was 1.88%, compared with Yasir Shahs 1.35%, Mohammad Amirs 1.22% and Rahat Alis 1.05%. He took just one wicket but that was not the significant statistic. WWP is made even more powerful when combined with weighted runs. If the 1000 near-identical balls in the analysis went for 400 runs and took ten wickets, the ball in question would average 40. This would be an easier ball to face than we would expect, based on the career averages of most front-line bowlers. This analysis of ball-tracking data allows for deeper analysis of batting. We can categorise how hard the bowling actually was to face, and not just make judgements based on career records and reputation. Significant statistics inform, prompt debate and contextualise performances. They are often used by fans to make a point, so next time you are discussing unlucky bowlers, perhaps reference to WWP can help.Phil Oliver is managing editor and co-founder of the cricket analytics app CricViz ****Batting/Bowling Score based on adjusted average and adjusted strike rate/economy rate By S RajeshWhen evaluating batting or bowling performances in limited-overs cricket, the rate of scoring or conceding runs plays as big a role as the number of runs scored or wickets taken. Conventional cricket stats measure the two separately, by way of averages and strike/economy rates. Ideally youd want the batsmen to have high averages and strike rates, and bowlers to have low averages and economy rates, but it becomes difficult to directly compare a Virender Sehwag (ODI average 35.dddddddddddd05, strike rate 104.33) with a Michael Bevan (average 53.58, strike rate 74.16).A relatively easy and intuitive way to combine the two factors is to multiply the average by the number of runs scored per ball (strike rate divided by 100). For bowlers, multiply the average by the runs conceded per ball (economy rate divided by six). The higher the product, the better for batsmen, while the opposite holds true for bowlers. Doing this for Sehwag and Bevan, we get 36.57 for Sehwag, and 39.73 for Bevan, which is probably a fair estimate of their abilities.However, there is also the small matter of the changing tempo of the ODI game, and of different scoring rates in different parts of the world. In the 1980s, the average strike rate was 66.52; in the 2010s it is 81.39: an increase of 22%. Since 2000, the average ODI strike rate in India has been 84.34, while in the West Indies it is 74.50. The runs-per-dismissal numbers have changed too, with an 11% increase in the 2010s from the 1980s. To compare batsmen and bowlers meaningfully across eras in limited-overs cricket, it is necessary to take as a benchmark the par performances of that era and, to eliminate the difference in conditions between, say, England and India within the same era, the par performances in the matches the player played.The Batting Score is the product of the average and strike-rate factors, both of which are adjusted to reflect how much better (or worse) the player is than the mean, in the matches he played in. Sachin Tendulkar, for example, had a career average and strike rate of 44.83 and 86.23 in ODIs, and in the matches he played, the overall batting average and strike rate were 29.93 and 76.45. This means Tendulkars average was better by a factor of 1.50, and his strike rate by a factor of 1.13. The product of the two, multiplied by 100, gives the Batting Score. (To make the method even more accurate, you could exclude the players stats when calculating the overall batting and bowling averages.)This adjustment allows us to compare batsmen and bowlers across eras. The table below shows just how far ahead of everyone else Viv Richards is: his Batting Score is 248.19, while AB de Villiers is the only other batsman with a 200-plus score. Richards greatness was that he produced numbers that are exceptional even by 2010s standards, despite playing in an era when the benchmarks were far lower: his average was 1.78 times the norm, and his strike rate 1.40 times better. The table also illustrates why Dean Jones was so highly rated as an ODI batsman. A similar exercise works for bowlers as well, replacing strike rate with economy rate. In the 98 ODIs that Joel Garner played, for instance, the overall bowling average was 29.66, and the overall economy rate 3.91, compared to his own average of 18.84 and economy rate of 3.09. His average was thus 1.57 times better, and his economy rate 1.27 times better than the overall mean. The product of those two factors, multiplied by 100, gives him a Bowling Score of 199.21. The table below has the corresponding numbers for some of the other leading ODI bowlers, and Garner is clearly the best of the lot, followed by Glenn McGrath, Shaun Pollock and Muttiah Muralitharan.An added advantage is the ability to compare batsmen with bowlers, through their overall Batting/Bowling Scores, which tells us how much better they were than the average performers in the matches they played in. S Rajesh is stats editor of ESPNcricinfo****Strike Rate Ratio By Kartikeya Date Only three things are counted in cricket: deliveries, runs and wickets. The two most common measurements - batting average and bowling average - measure the runs scored per dismissal and the runs conceded per wicket. The limited-overs game has brought with it strike-rate and economy-rate measures - runs scored per 100 deliveries, and runs conceded per over. These measures have endured and even describe thresholds of greatness in some cases - a batting average above 50, or a bowling average below 25. The strike rate for bowlers is calculated as the number of balls bowled per wicket.All these conventional measures consider players individually. To consider players against specific opponents, one has to calculate these measures for games against those opponents. Here I propose a measure which considers a player relative to team-mates. For example, while Jason Gillespie and Andy Roberts ended their careers with near-identical bowling averages and strike rates (average 26, strike rate 55), what does this tell us about their roles in their respective sides?The Strike Rate Ratio (SRR) is a measure of the bowlers strike rate to that of all the other bowlers in the team. Over a career, this measure adds richness to a bowlers record by comparing it to an average team-mate in identical bowling conditions.A few intuitions about the SRR are possible. For specialist fast bowlers, the ratio should be well below 1. For specialist spinners, it is likely to be above 1. Fast bowlers get wickets more frequently than spinners. Further, for strong bowling attacks, the ratio for all bowlers should be close to 1 on either side.Of the 67 bowlers* who have taken at least 200 Test wickets, 49 are pace bowlers, 17 are spinners and one is Garry Sobers. Five out of the 17 spinners have an SRR below 1. Seven out of the 48 pacers have an SRR above 1. Morne Morkel, Ishant Sharma, Chaminda Vaas, Peter Siddle, Jason Gillespie, Andrew Flintoff and Jacques Kallis all have an SRR above 1. Gillespies SRR is 1.04, while Roberts has an SRR of 0.86 over his career. The bowlers at the other end for Australia in Tests that Gillespie played took their wickets at the rate of one every 53 balls. Over the course of his career, Roberts team-mates managed a wicket every 64 balls. This gives you an overall sense of the teams that Gillespie and Roberts played in. Seen alongside a bowlers individual strike rate, SRR presents a rich picture of what opponents were up against.Richard Hadlee ended his career with a strike rate ratio of 0.64. In other words, he bowled only 64% of the deliveries needed at the other end for each wicket. His superb career strike rate of a wicket every 51 balls came in a New Zealand side in which bowlers at the other end required 80 balls for each wicket. Hadlee, Dale Steyn, Fred Trueman, Allan Donald, Chris Cairns and Waqar Younis all have a career SRR under 0.75. In Cairns case it reflected the overall modesty of the bowling of the New Zealand teams he played in. The others were classical strike bowlers in relatively strong attacks.Unsurprisingly, Hadlee is followed in the all-time list by strike bowlers. Steyn, Trueman, Waqar all have a career SRR below 0.75. Kapil Dev took his wickets at the rate of one every 64 balls, but his career SRR is 0.79. Imran Khans career strike rate of 53.7 is accompanied by an SRR of 0.76.Among the spinners, Bhagwath Chandrasekhar, Clarrie Grimmett, Muttiah Muralitharan, Stuart MacGill and Anil Kumble, all have an SRR below 1. With the exception of MacGill, this should not be surprising, since the other four were the dominant wicket-takers in their teams and were not supported by a noted fast bowler for the most part. MacGill played 16 of his 44 Tests with Shane Warne. In these Tests, he took 82 wickets at the rate of one every 42 balls. In Tests where Warne was not present, MacGills strike rate is 62. Given Australias fast-bowling strength in this era, it is possible to conclude that MacGills career SRR is due to the fact that he played an unusually high percentage of his Tests in conditions that favoured spinners.At their best, statistics suggest explanations and improve judgement. They are not, as is often believed, the alternative to exercising judgement. With this in mind, statistics that measure players relative to their team would be significant additions to the current set of elementary cricket statistics.*This was written before R Ashwin got to his 200th Test wicketKartikeya Date writes at A Cricketing View and tweets here ' ' '
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