Most of the existing methods for ranking Cricket players are based on the aggregated statistics of players: total runs/total wickets, batting/bowling average, strike rate/economy rate etc. All of these methods suffer from one big flaw, which is that any player can have inflated statistics by playing against “weaker” teams, and therefore achiever a higher ranking which may not reflect the true standing of the player. We present a new ranking method which automatically takes care of the “strong” and the “weak” opponents, and is therefore more reflective of the true rank of the player in relation to his peers.
The new ranking method is based on the approach that we had presented earlier for ranking teams, in which we consider the outcomes of pairwise interactions between the teams. Instead of teams, we consider the pairwise interactions between batsmen and a bowlers, convert the pairwise interactions into “wins” and “losses” for each player and then use the above mentioned method for ranking the players. The conversion of pairwise interactions into wins and losses is based on the calculations of our RAA statistic (see the detailed article). This is purely a comparison based ranking of Cricket players, in the sense that it based on the relative performance of a player with respect to his peers, and not on the aggregated statistics of the player.
Let us first describe the method used to convert the pairwise interactions between batsmen and bowlers into wins and losses. For our illustration, we will consider one-day matches played in year 2012. A total of 283 players appeared in the one-day format in that year. The overall batting average was 32 (this excludes run-outs), and the overall strike rate of the batsmen was 76 runs per 100 balls. Consider the match-up between MS Dhoni and Lasith Malinga in 2012. The outcomes of this match-up are listed in the table given below.
Outcome | Frequency |
---|---|
Dot ball | 16 |
Single | 25 |
Double | 3 |
Triple | 1 |
Four | 7 |
Six | 1 |
Out | 2 |
Let us now convert this interaction into “wins” and “losses” for Dhoni and Malinga.
- There were 16 dot balls, which are considered as “wins” for the bowler. Since the average runs per ball is 0.76, so Malinga gets credited with 16 * 0.76 wins, which is equal to 12.16.
- Singles, Doubles, Triples and Fours are all considered as wins for Dhoni, since the runs per ball in each of these outcomes is greater than 0.76. For each of these outcomes, Dhoni gets credited with (r – 0.76) wins, where r is the number of runs scored. This comes out to be a total of 39.88 wins for Dhoni.
- Malinga got Dhoni out 2 times out of a total of 55 times he bowled to him. The overall batting average is 32, so the value of the two wickets is 2 * 32 = 64. Malinga is assigned total wins of 64 – 0.76 * 55 = 22.20 for getting Dhoni out 2 times out of 55.
Thus, the interaction between Dhoni and Malinga corresponds to a total of 39.88 wins for Dhoni and 12.16 + 22.20 = 34.36 wins for Malinga, i.e. a 39.88 – 34.36 overall score for the Dhoni-Malinga pair. Similarly, we compute the win and loss scores for each pairwise interactions between batsmen and bowlers. We then construct a Markov Chain model similar to what we did for ranking teams, and compute the steady-state probability of this Markov Chain. The ranks of the players are obtained by sorting the players in the decreasing order of their steady state probabilities. We call the ranks so obtained EVrank, and the corresponding scaled steady state probability EVscore. For 2012, the ranks of the players obtained using this method are shown in the table below.
Evrank | Player | Wins | Losses | Net wins | Evscore |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | V Kohli | 1164 | 614 | 550 | 0.193 |
2 | SP Narine | 1242 | 877 | 365 | 0.192 |
3 | AB de Villiers | 760 | 271 | 489 | 0.177 |
4 | SL Malinga | 1444 | 1625 | -181 | 0.175 |
5 | KC Sangakkara | 1277 | 878 | 399 | 0.171 |
6 | AD Mathews | 1297 | 1346 | -49 | 0.163 |
7 | HM Amla | 752 | 322 | 429 | 0.163 |
8 | TM Dilshan | 1438 | 1493 | -54 | 0.162 |
9 | KMDN Kulasekara | 1353 | 1810 | -457 | 0.156 |
10 | Saeed Ajmal | 1050 | 885 | 166 | 0.155 |
11 | SR Watson | 1004 | 824 | 180 | 0.154 |
12 | NLTC Perera | 1169 | 1108 | 61 | 0.153 |
13 | ST Finn | 861 | 545 | 316 | 0.144 |
14 | Mohammad Hafeez | 1130 | 1356 | -226 | 0.141 |
15 | B Lee | 1045 | 995 | 50 | 0.140 |
16 | MJ Clarke | 934 | 645 | 289 | 0.138 |
17 | CJ McKay | 948 | 961 | -13 | 0.131 |
18 | DJG Sammy | 910 | 941 | -31 | 0.126 |
19 | MN Samuels | 998 | 1038 | -40 | 0.125 |
20 | RJ Peterson | 734 | 567 | 167 | 0.121 |
21 | IR Bell | 673 | 431 | 242 | 0.120 |
22 | AN Cook | 788 | 559 | 229 | 0.118 |
23 | LD Chandimal | 907 | 777 | 130 | 0.115 |
24 | DA Warner | 847 | 733 | 115 | 0.110 |
25 | DJ Hussey | 909 | 857 | 52 | 0.109 |
26 | G Gambhir | 746 | 467 | 279 | 0.107 |
27 | KAJ Roach | 620 | 413 | 207 | 0.106 |
28 | MS Dhoni | 626 | 352 | 274 | 0.105 |
29 | AD Russell | 827 | 797 | 30 | 0.104 |
30 | RS Bopara | 655 | 520 | 135 | 0.102 |
31 | Nasir Jamshed | 565 | 291 | 275 | 0.101 |
32 | JM Anderson | 685 | 617 | 68 | 0.100 |
33 | M Morkel | 646 | 453 | 192 | 0.100 |
34 | DT Christian | 861 | 910 | -49 | 0.099 |
35 | IK Pathan | 753 | 634 | 119 | 0.099 |
36 | RJ Nicol | 834 | 739 | 95 | 0.097 |
37 | MA Starc | 672 | 460 | 212 | 0.094 |
38 | WU Tharanga | 838 | 871 | -33 | 0.093 |
39 | HDRL Thirimanne | 710 | 600 | 110 | 0.093 |
40 | XJ Doherty | 820 | 950 | -129 | 0.093 |
41 | BJ Watling | 420 | 175 | 245 | 0.093 |
42 | DPMD Jayawardene | 726 | 626 | 100 | 0.090 |
43 | Mahmudullah | 574 | 404 | 170 | 0.089 |
44 | Misbah-ul-Haq | 624 | 475 | 149 | 0.087 |
45 | TG Southee | 684 | 633 | 52 | 0.086 |
46 | JP Duminy | 609 | 553 | 57 | 0.084 |
47 | IJL Trott | 539 | 441 | 98 | 0.083 |
48 | Azhar Ali | 558 | 468 | 90 | 0.081 |
49 | LL Tsotsobe | 545 | 464 | 81 | 0.081 |
50 | EJG Morgan | 442 | 265 | 177 | 0.079 |
51 | HMRKB Herath | 674 | 993 | -319 | 0.079 |
52 | MEK Hussey | 619 | 544 | 75 | 0.079 |
53 | R Ashwin | 648 | 747 | -99 | 0.079 |
54 | Shahid Afridi | 728 | 1081 | -353 | 0.075 |
55 | Abdur Razzak | 574 | 535 | 40 | 0.075 |
56 | GJ Bailey | 459 | 360 | 98 | 0.074 |
57 | DJ Bravo | 613 | 738 | -125 | 0.073 |
58 | KS Williamson | 572 | 539 | 33 | 0.073 |
59 | BW Hilfenhaus | 492 | 482 | 10 | 0.072 |
60 | Umar Gul | 642 | 845 | -203 | 0.072 |
61 | KA Pollard | 568 | 599 | -31 | 0.067 |
62 | SK Raina | 582 | 626 | -45 | 0.067 |
63 | MS Wade | 675 | 814 | -139 | 0.066 |
64 | SCJ Broad | 513 | 502 | 11 | 0.066 |
65 | KP Pietersen | 356 | 175 | 180 | 0.065 |
66 | BMAJ Mendis | 460 | 364 | 96 | 0.064 |
67 | BB McCullum | 465 | 418 | 47 | 0.062 |
68 | Shakib Al Hasan | 488 | 377 | 110 | 0.062 |
69 | KD Mills | 575 | 669 | -94 | 0.062 |
70 | TT Bresnan | 440 | 377 | 63 | 0.062 |
71 | JL Pattinson | 486 | 535 | -49 | 0.061 |
72 | DW Steyn | 451 | 496 | -45 | 0.060 |
73 | MJ Guptill | 484 | 418 | 66 | 0.059 |
74 | KTGD Prasad | 336 | 277 | 59 | 0.059 |
75 | Junaid Khan | 363 | 231 | 131 | 0.058 |
76 | GC Smith | 427 | 402 | 26 | 0.057 |
77 | R Rampaul | 439 | 491 | -52 | 0.056 |
78 | Umar Akmal | 445 | 409 | 36 | 0.055 |
79 | Aizaz Cheema | 396 | 406 | -10 | 0.054 |
80 | JC Tredwell | 263 | 206 | 57 | 0.054 |
81 | Tamim Iqbal | 412 | 346 | 66 | 0.053 |
82 | CH Gayle | 453 | 414 | 39 | 0.053 |
83 | AM Ellis | 487 | 612 | -125 | 0.053 |
84 | Sohag Gazi | 349 | 243 | 105 | 0.052 |
85 | Mashrafe Mortaza | 457 | 516 | -59 | 0.052 |
86 | JW Dernbach | 311 | 306 | 5 | 0.049 |
87 | Asad Shafiq | 373 | 355 | 18 | 0.048 |
88 | WD Parnell | 359 | 441 | -82 | 0.047 |
89 | GP Swann | 341 | 400 | -58 | 0.047 |
90 | NL McCullum | 488 | 657 | -169 | 0.046 |
91 | MF Maharoof | 425 | 574 | -149 | 0.046 |
92 | F du Plessis | 364 | 396 | -32 | 0.045 |
93 | R Vinay Kumar | 441 | 444 | -3 | 0.045 |
94 | SR Tendulkar | 354 | 330 | 24 | 0.045 |
95 | Mushfiqur Rahim | 295 | 250 | 45 | 0.044 |
96 | LRPL Taylor | 240 | 142 | 98 | 0.043 |
97 | PJ Forrest | 381 | 419 | -38 | 0.043 |
98 | C Kieswetter | 263 | 184 | 78 | 0.043 |
99 | SMSM Senanayake | 365 | 489 | -124 | 0.042 |
100 | JDP Oram | 453 | 526 | -73 | 0.042 |
101 | V Sehwag | 371 | 448 | -77 | 0.040 |
102 | SR Patel | 321 | 409 | -88 | 0.040 |
103 | Nasir Hossain | 300 | 280 | 19 | 0.037 |
104 | MK Tiwary | 239 | 160 | 79 | 0.037 |
105 | PW Borren | 222 | 83 | 138 | 0.037 |
106 | Mohammad Nabi | 377 | 424 | -47 | 0.037 |
107 | DR Smith | 308 | 405 | -97 | 0.036 |
108 | DM Bravo | 288 | 321 | -33 | 0.036 |
109 | P Kumar | 338 | 487 | -149 | 0.036 |
110 | Z Khan | 362 | 519 | -157 | 0.035 |
111 | TA Boult | 308 | 355 | -47 | 0.035 |
112 | MG Johnson | 274 | 299 | -25 | 0.035 |
113 | Imran Farhat | 263 | 213 | 49 | 0.034 |
114 | TL Best | 247 | 205 | 41 | 0.033 |
115 | Samiullah Shenwari | 273 | 325 | -52 | 0.033 |
116 | Karim Sadiq | 310 | 308 | 1 | 0.032 |
117 | Sohail Tanvir | 296 | 438 | -141 | 0.032 |
118 | Anamul Haque | 210 | 170 | 40 | 0.032 |
119 | AB Dinda | 266 | 329 | -63 | 0.031 |
120 | RG Sharma | 310 | 558 | -248 | 0.030 |
121 | D Elgar | 183 | 218 | -35 | 0.030 |
122 | PR Stirling | 300 | 249 | 51 | 0.030 |
123 | Abdur Rehman | 212 | 286 | -74 | 0.030 |
124 | AN Kervezee | 147 | 50 | 97 | 0.029 |
125 | JEC Franklin | 223 | 251 | -28 | 0.029 |
126 | JH Kallis | 262 | 212 | 50 | 0.029 |
127 | EC Joyce | 235 | 174 | 61 | 0.029 |
128 | M de Lange | 133 | 47 | 86 | 0.028 |
129 | KM Jarvis | 237 | 262 | -25 | 0.028 |
130 | Dawlat Zadran | 261 | 367 | -106 | 0.026 |
131 | CS MacLeod | 157 | 64 | 93 | 0.026 |
132 | Younis Khan | 271 | 366 | -95 | 0.026 |
133 | SW Masakadza | 220 | 196 | 24 | 0.025 |
134 | Shafiul Islam | 173 | 182 | -8 | 0.025 |
135 | UT Yadav | 237 | 416 | -179 | 0.025 |
136 | RA Jadeja | 283 | 623 | -340 | 0.024 |
137 | Nazmul Hossain | 149 | 92 | 57 | 0.024 |
138 | AR Cusack | 206 | 179 | 26 | 0.023 |
139 | SO Ngoche | 193 | 128 | 65 | 0.023 |
140 | Shapoor Zadran | 209 | 207 | 2 | 0.022 |
141 | TLW Cooper | 167 | 88 | 78 | 0.022 |
142 | DT Johnston | 191 | 159 | 31 | 0.021 |
143 | GJ Maxwell | 185 | 259 | -75 | 0.021 |
144 | TS Nethula | 195 | 296 | -101 | 0.021 |
145 | RAS Lakmal | 169 | 217 | -48 | 0.021 |
146 | Mominul Haque | 167 | 180 | -13 | 0.020 |
147 | GH Dockrell | 210 | 159 | 51 | 0.020 |
148 | BRM Taylor | 183 | 145 | 38 | 0.020 |
149 | V Permaul | 153 | 161 | -7 | 0.020 |
150 | E Chigumbura | 223 | 329 | -106 | 0.020 |
151 | AB Barath | 119 | 98 | 21 | 0.019 |
152 | CO Obuya | 145 | 86 | 58 | 0.019 |
153 | P Utseya | 150 | 144 | 7 | 0.019 |
154 | MR Swart | 192 | 172 | 20 | 0.018 |
155 | Asghar Stanikzai | 145 | 141 | 4 | 0.018 |
156 | Izatullah Dawlatzai | 185 | 117 | 68 | 0.018 |
157 | Naeem Islam | 138 | 175 | -36 | 0.017 |
158 | B Kumar | 80 | 44 | 36 | 0.017 |
159 | DAJ Bracewell | 210 | 340 | -130 | 0.017 |
160 | JA Morkel | 176 | 269 | -92 | 0.016 |
161 | RM Haq | 82 | 37 | 44 | 0.016 |
162 | J Charles | 157 | 223 | -67 | 0.016 |
163 | Shoaib Malik | 114 | 163 | -49 | 0.016 |
164 | RW Price | 169 | 242 | -74 | 0.015 |
165 | RR Patel | 136 | 100 | 35 | 0.015 |
166 | Shahadat Hossain | 156 | 268 | -112 | 0.015 |
167 | T Taibu | 146 | 144 | 2 | 0.015 |
168 | KJ O'Brien | 128 | 111 | 17 | 0.014 |
169 | JO Ngoche | 117 | 71 | 46 | 0.014 |
170 | TWM Latham | 142 | 221 | -79 | 0.014 |
171 | RJ Harris | 143 | 242 | -100 | 0.014 |
172 | Sarfraz Ahmed | 112 | 89 | 23 | 0.014 |
173 | MD Bates | 114 | 125 | -12 | 0.014 |
174 | Javed Ahmadi | 168 | 236 | -67 | 0.014 |
175 | HA Varaiya | 124 | 116 | 8 | 0.013 |
176 | R Gunasekera | 96 | 74 | 22 | 0.013 |
177 | T Mishra | 95 | 54 | 41 | 0.013 |
178 | Mohammad Sami | 98 | 94 | 4 | 0.013 |
179 | C de Grandhomme | 55 | 26 | 29 | 0.013 |
180 | Wahab Riaz | 131 | 188 | -58 | 0.012 |
181 | CK Kapugedera | 108 | 162 | -54 | 0.012 |
182 | Jahurul Islam | 130 | 198 | -68 | 0.012 |
183 | Mohammad Shahzad | 123 | 188 | -65 | 0.012 |
184 | DC Thomas | 135 | 202 | -67 | 0.012 |
185 | CR Woakes | 62 | 63 | -1 | 0.012 |
186 | DR Briggs | 74 | 49 | 24 | 0.012 |
187 | R McLaren | 78 | 123 | -45 | 0.012 |
188 | Gulbodin Naib | 128 | 218 | -89 | 0.012 |
189 | Hammad Azam | 91 | 125 | -33 | 0.011 |
190 | N Pradeep | 101 | 120 | -19 | 0.011 |
191 | KOA Powell | 111 | 194 | -83 | 0.011 |
192 | D Daesrath | 85 | 74 | 11 | 0.011 |
193 | PJ Cummins | 84 | 112 | -28 | 0.011 |
194 | Hamza Hotak | 94 | 99 | -6 | 0.011 |
195 | G Goudie | 109 | 100 | 9 | 0.010 |
196 | S Prasanna | 92 | 172 | -80 | 0.010 |
197 | AF Milne | 59 | 51 | 8 | 0.009 |
198 | JH Davey | 99 | 105 | -6 | 0.009 |
199 | JF Mooney | 110 | 136 | -25 | 0.009 |
200 | D Soraine | 92 | 110 | -18 | 0.009 |
201 | J Botha | 58 | 48 | 10 | 0.009 |
202 | Elias Sunny | 102 | 149 | -47 | 0.009 |
203 | AJ McKay | 56 | 138 | -82 | 0.008 |
204 | Nazimuddin | 88 | 156 | -68 | 0.008 |
205 | T van der Gugten | 88 | 65 | 23 | 0.008 |
206 | I Sharma | 52 | 59 | -7 | 0.008 |
207 | CKB Kulasekara | 67 | 122 | -55 | 0.008 |
208 | BAW Mendis | 51 | 70 | -19 | 0.008 |
209 | W Barresi | 81 | 61 | 20 | 0.007 |
210 | GD Drummond | 49 | 38 | 11 | 0.007 |
211 | NM Lyon | 77 | 149 | -72 | 0.007 |
212 | CS Baugh | 64 | 94 | -30 | 0.007 |
213 | PM Seelaar | 88 | 115 | -28 | 0.007 |
214 | KO Meth | 71 | 106 | -35 | 0.006 |
215 | JM Bairstow | 41 | 42 | -1 | 0.006 |
216 | Mirwais Ashraf | 69 | 156 | -87 | 0.006 |
217 | H Patel | 53 | 77 | -24 | 0.006 |
218 | Junaid Siddiqui | 45 | 59 | -14 | 0.006 |
219 | LMP Simmons | 67 | 203 | -135 | 0.006 |
220 | JL Ontong | 26 | 9 | 17 | 0.006 |
221 | AN Petersen | 65 | 98 | -34 | 0.006 |
222 | Nawroz Mangal | 79 | 128 | -49 | 0.006 |
223 | R Sharma | 64 | 119 | -55 | 0.006 |
224 | Zeeshan Siddiqi | 70 | 58 | 12 | 0.006 |
225 | AC Evans | 39 | 21 | 18 | 0.006 |
226 | VD Philander | 43 | 47 | -4 | 0.006 |
227 | DR Flynn | 63 | 145 | -83 | 0.006 |
228 | GC Wilson | 56 | 105 | -49 | 0.006 |
229 | S Weerakoon | 43 | 57 | -14 | 0.005 |
230 | JOA Gordon | 66 | 65 | 1 | 0.005 |
231 | NN Odhiambo | 91 | 152 | -61 | 0.005 |
232 | SPD Smith | 40 | 82 | -42 | 0.005 |
233 | Mohammad Irfan | 40 | 66 | -26 | 0.005 |
234 | H Masakadza | 67 | 102 | -35 | 0.005 |
235 | WB Rankin | 68 | 70 | -2 | 0.005 |
236 | RW Chakabva | 63 | 120 | -57 | 0.005 |
237 | Zakiullah Zaki | 29 | 47 | -18 | 0.005 |
238 | PP Ojha | 48 | 93 | -45 | 0.005 |
239 | NJ O'Brien | 41 | 53 | -11 | 0.004 |
240 | AR White | 57 | 119 | -61 | 0.004 |
241 | DO Obuya | 56 | 86 | -30 | 0.004 |
242 | D Ramdin | 44 | 100 | -56 | 0.004 |
243 | MN Waller | 46 | 84 | -37 | 0.004 |
244 | TJ Murtagh | 52 | 105 | -53 | 0.003 |
245 | SJ Myburgh | 45 | 79 | -34 | 0.003 |
246 | I Udana | 30 | 105 | -75 | 0.003 |
247 | AS Hansra | 49 | 57 | -8 | 0.003 |
248 | DG Brownlie | 35 | 44 | -9 | 0.003 |
249 | Najibullah Zadran | 38 | 78 | -39 | 0.003 |
250 | BV Vitori | 46 | 148 | -102 | 0.003 |
251 | NR Kumar | 20 | 43 | -22 | 0.003 |
252 | CRD Fernando | 18 | 108 | -90 | 0.002 |
253 | TMK Mawoyo | 20 | 11 | 9 | 0.002 |
254 | AA Obanda | 26 | 43 | -17 | 0.002 |
255 | RD Berrington | 30 | 66 | -36 | 0.002 |
256 | RG Aga | 26 | 55 | -28 | 0.002 |
257 | DI Allan | 32 | 90 | -57 | 0.002 |
258 | RT Ponting | 31 | 169 | -138 | 0.002 |
259 | MAA Jamil | 27 | 62 | -35 | 0.002 |
260 | PL Mommsen | 29 | 73 | -43 | 0.002 |
261 | JH Stander | 22 | 45 | -23 | 0.002 |
262 | WTS Porterfield | 29 | 128 | -99 | 0.002 |
263 | Shabir Noori | 15 | 34 | -18 | 0.002 |
264 | Abul Hasan | 24 | 76 | -52 | 0.001 |
265 | Mudassar Bukhari | 25 | 111 | -86 | 0.001 |
266 | Adnan Akmal | 13 | 33 | -20 | 0.001 |
267 | Rubel Hossain | 15 | 55 | -40 | 0.001 |
268 | JD Ryder | 12 | 69 | -56 | 0.001 |
269 | Yuvraj Singh | 10 | 72 | -62 | 0.001 |
270 | AM Rahane | 11 | 34 | -22 | 0.001 |
271 | Kamran Akmal | 11 | 67 | -56 | 0.001 |
272 | Rahat Ali | 8 | 39 | -31 | 0.001 |
273 | DR Ramsammy | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0.001 |
274 | YK Pathan | 6 | 35 | -29 | 0.001 |
275 | CA Ingram | 10 | 59 | -48 | 0.001 |
276 | Noor Ali Zadran | 11 | 33 | -22 | 0.001 |
277 | S Matsikenyeri | 9 | 94 | -85 | 0.001 |
278 | TN de Grooth | 8 | 34 | -26 | 0.000 |
279 | PA Patel | 5 | 32 | -27 | 0.000 |
280 | KJ Coetzer | 5 | 32 | -27 | 0.000 |
281 | Usman Limbada | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0.000 |
282 | RMS Eranga | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.000 |
283 | JC Buttler | 0 | 31 | -31 | 0.000 |
One big advantage of our ranking is that it takes into account both the batting and the bowling performance of a player, and therefore requires no need for generating batting and bowling ranks separately. This is not the case with the existing ranking methods, where the two are always computed separately. In the coming days, we will upload the ranks of the EVranks of the players for each calendar year since 2002, and for Test, ODIs and T20 Internationals, on the website.