Vettori - the good stats and the bad stats

On the first day of the Hamilton Test, with his team tottering at 60 for 6, Daniel Vettori strode out and promptly scored his third Test century, once again raising the issue of New Zealand's brittle top order and the need for the captain to bat higher up. Vettori's form with the bat has been patchy recently - in his last six innings before this knock his scores read 2, 10, 18 not out, 13, 30 and 29: 102 runs at an average of a shade over 20. Just before that, though, he had shown up the specialist batsmen and saved New Zealand the blushes against Bangladesh, promoting himself to No. 4 and justifying the move with a determined 76 in a difficult fourth-innings run-chase of 317.

Vettori began his career as a specialist bowler, but over the last few years has steadily transformed himself into a more-than-handy performer with bat in hand. He scored his first Test hundred in his 49th Test - also in Hamilton - and has since grown in stature: in the second half of his career, his batting average is more than double that in the first half. (Click here for his cumulative batting averages.)

His overall average in the last six years is impressive enough, but when batting at No. 8 it's even better - a staggering 45.91, with two centuries and 11 fifties in 44 innings. Comparing his numbers with others in that position, it's clear that he is well ahead of the pack: among those who've played in at least 15 Tests at No. 8, only Kamran Akmal comes somewhat close, with an average of 39.

Vettori with the bat, before and since 2003

Period	Tests	Runs	Average	100s/ 50s
Before Jan 1, 2003	44	878	16.25	0/ 4
Since Jan 1, 2003	46*	2240	39.29	3/ 14
Career	90	3118	28.09	3/ 18

* Includes the Super Test for World XI against Australia.

During this six-year period, not many New Zealand batsmen have done better than Vettori. Among those who've played at least 15 Tests during this time, only two have a higher average, and neither of them is in the current line-up. In fact, it's a damning indictment of New Zealand's batting talent that only two have played more than 15 matches and averaged more than 40 (and another reason why Jesse Ryder is such a precious asset and must be managed with care).

The other interesting aside is the preponderance of left-handers in the list. Since 2003, the combined average of New Zealand's lefties is an impressive 40.72; during this period, the right-handers only average 24.49.

Coming back to Vettori, while he has notched up reasonable scores against most teams, he has clearly favoured Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, averaging more than 68 in eight Tests. Not all those runs were easy pickings against poor attacks, though: his 127 against Zimbabwe in Harare came after minimal contributions from the top order, while his two half-centuries against Bangladesh in Chittagong were priceless, match-winning efforts. Also, for a No. 8 batsman, he has a more-than-acceptable average against the other teams as well.

"Vettori hasn't bowled New Zealand to victory over a top side for a long time," Mark Richardson said in his audio analysis on this website after the second day's play in Hamilton, and the numbers bear this out. In eight Tests against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, his returns have been spectacular: 51 wickets at an average of 13, and a wicket every six overs. Against other teams, the average balloons to 43, with only six five-wicket hauls in 38 Tests. Against Australia, South Africa and India, the top three teams today, the stats are even worse: an average closing in on 60, and a wicket every 21 overs.

When talking about bowlers who have cashed in against the minnows, plenty of names come up, most notably that of Muttiah Muralitharan, but Vettori has - quite luckily, it turns out - slipped under the radar. His average against those two teams is among the best for bowlers who have bowled at least 750 deliveries. It's even better than Murali's, who concedes 14.45 runs per wicket against them.

On the other hand, Vettori has been among the least effective bowlers against Australia, South Africa and India since 2003, with only Mohammad Sami and Daren Powell leaking more runs per wicket. And for all those who question Murali, check his numbers against these three teams during this period: 101 wickets in 15 Tests, at an average of 27.05, and a strike-rate of 55 deliveries - that's a touch more than nine overs - per wicket.

Impressive as his variations are, Vettori needs to convert those tricks into wickets against the top teams to go down as one of the top spinners of his generation in Test cricket. The ongoing series against India is as good a time as any to start off on that mission.