Ashes Stat Attack: England first team to have a NRR of over 4 in ten straight Tests | Cricket News – Times of India

The current Ashes series is well and truly alive, thanks to England’s comeback win in the third Test at Leeds. Australia currently lead the series 2-1, with 2 Tests still left to play.
TimesofIndia.com here takes a look at some of the most interesting statistics from the 3rd Test, which England won by 3 wickets:
# England registered run-rate of 5.08 while chasing in the fourth innings – their fifth highest run-rate while successfully chasing 250-plus – their all-time best being 5.98 while scoring 299 for five off 50 overs vs New Zealand at Trent Bridge, Nottingham in 2022.
# England have become the first team to record run-rate of over 4 in ten successive Tests between September 8, 2022 and July 9, 2023.
# Ben Stokes has created cricket history by becoming the first captain to successfully chase five totals of 250-plus in the fourth innings in Tests as under:

# Mahendra Singh Dhoni had accomplished the feat four times as captain while Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting three times each.
# Ben Stokes enjoys a success % of 70.58 as captain, winning twelve and losing five out of 17 Tests.

(AP photo)
# In five successive Tests, Travis Head has registered at least a 50-plus score – 32 & 90 at Ahmedabad vs India; 163 & 18 at The Oval – both vs India; 50 & 16 at Birmingham; 77 & 7 at Lord’s and 39 & 77 at Leeds – the last three vs England – all in 2023.
# Mitchell Starc has recorded four five-wicket hauls in the fourth innings in Tests – two each vs Sri Lanka and England.
# Starc, with 14 instances of five-wicket hauls and two ten-wicket hauls in a match, in 80 Tests, has emulated Alan Davidson’s tally. Both share a record for most such instances by a left-arm bowler for Australia in Tests.

(Getty Images)
# However, Starc’s tally of 323 wickets at 27.47 in 80 Tests is the most by an Australian left-arm bowler.
# Mitchell Marsh’s 118 is his first century in a losing cause in Tests. In eight Ashes Tests, he is averaging 50.45 – his tally being 555 in thirteen innings, including three centuries. All his Test hundreds were registered in Ashes Tests.
# Marsh’s first hundred away from home is his third in Tests – all vs England – the first two being 181 at Perth in December 2017 and 101 at Sydney in January 2018.
# Steve Smith has become the 15th Australian player to appear in 100 Tests – the 75th overall.

(Reuters photo)
# Smith’s Test average of 58.94 (9137 runs at 58.94, including 32 hundreds and 27 fifties) is the highest among the Australian players with 100-plus Tests – the next highest is Ricky Ponting (51.85).
# With Warner’s wicket in the first innings, Stuart Broad became the first bowler to take 50 wickets in Tests at Headingley, Leeds. His present tally is 54 wickets at 26.62 runs apiece, including three five-wicket hauls, in twelve Tests. Fred Trueman had taken 44 wickets at 18.06 in nine Tests.
# Mark Wood has set a world record with the highest strike rate in a Test match (minimum 15 balls). He has managed a SR of 250.00 while scoring and overall 40 off 16 balls – 24 off 8 balls & 16 not out off 8 balls.
# In the first three Tests, Ben Stokes hit fourteen sixes, setting a record for most sixes by a captain in a Test series, overtaking 13 in three Tests by New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum vs Pakistan in 2014-15 in UAE.
# Moeen Ali has become the 16th England bowler to achieve the distinction of completing 200 wickets. He is just the third England spinner to race to 200 wickets – the first two being Derek Underwood – 297 in 86 and Graeme Swann – 255 in 60.
# Ben Stokes has become the 16th England player to amass 6000-plus runs in Tests. His present run-aggregate is 6021 at an average of 36.49, including 13 hundreds and 29 fifties, in 95 Tests.
# Pat Cummins (6/91) has produced his best bowling performance as captain as well as in the Ashes – his fourth six-wicket haul. He has one each against South Africa, India, Sri Lanka and England. His career-best remains 6/23 vs Sri Lanka at Brisbane in January 2019.
# Cummins has become the second Australian captain to register a six-wicket haul vs England in England in Tests – the first being Richie Benaud – 6 for 70 at Manchester in 1961.
# Of Cummins’ nine five-wicket hauls in Tests, three resulted in Australian defeats – 6 for 27 vs Australia at Melbourne in December 2018; 6 for 91 vs England at Leeds in July 2023 and 5 for 83 vs South Africa at Johannesburg in March/April 2018.
# For the fourth time, Stuart Broad has captured Warner’s wicket in each innings of a Test match – the previous three instances being Brisbane in 2013; Birmingham and Manchester 2019.
# David Warner has recorded an average of 18.41 while aggregating 221 in twelve innings (seven Tests), including a fifty this year – his worst performance in any calendar year.
# Warner has been dismissed by Stuart Broad 17 times in 29 Tests – the most times a bowler has bagged his wicket. Warner remains the only batter dismissed by Broad more than eleven times.

(Getty Images)
# Steven Smith has become the first fielder to take five catches in a Test innings twice – vs South Africa at Cape Town in 2018 & vs England at Leeds in 2023.
# Mark Wood has received his third Man of the Match award for producing an all-round performance – 40 (24 & 16 not out) & 7 for 100 (5/34 + 2/66). His first two awards were vs West Indies at Gros Islet in 2019 and vs South Africa at Johannesburg in 2020.
# Harry Brook has recorded his highest score in the Ashes, outstripping the 50 at Lord’s in the second Test. Brook’s match-winning knock is his first fifty in the fourth innings.
# Brook is averaging 71.00 while accumulating 710 runs in wins in eleven innings, including three hundreds and four fifties.
# Joe Root has been dismissed by Pat Cummins eleven times in seventeen Tests – most times a bowler has captured his wicket. The tally includes three successive dismissals – second innings of the Lord’s Test and in each innings of the Leeds Test. For the first time, Root got out to him in both innings of a Test.
# Two other bowlers, apart from Cummins, have dismissed Root in three successive innings – West Indian Alzarri Joseph in 2018-19 and Australia’s Scott Boland in 2021-22.
# Harry Brook took 1058 balls to race to 1000 runs – the quickest by any batter in Tests, obliterating the 1140 taken by Colin de Grandhomme.
(Stats Courtesy: Rajesh Kumar)