Cricket writing, from our own data
Cricket records, rules explained and notes on the daily puzzles. Written from our own dataset, never rewritten from a news site.
The Big Bash League explained, and why it uses a draft
Eight city franchises, a draft rather than an auction, and a competition that runs while Australia's best players are busy playing Tests.
The Hundred explained, and why England invented another format
A hundred balls a side, sets of five, and ends changing every ten. What actually differs from a Twenty20 match, and the reason a new format was built at all.
The Sheffield Shield, and why it still picks the Test side
Six states, four-day cricket on pitches that behave like Test pitches, and the only reliable evidence Australian selectors have ever trusted.
The T20 World Cup format, and why it keeps changing
Super 8, Super 10, Super 12 and back again. The structure has changed almost every edition, and small groups are why it is the most winnable global trophy.
AB de Villiers by the numbers, and the 31-ball hundred
A Test average above fifty, the fastest fifty, hundred and 150 in one-day history, and a range of shots that made conventional field settings pointless.
Adam Gilchrist by the numbers, and the position he rewrote
A Test average of 47.60 at number seven, at a strike rate no keeper had approached, which changed what every side expected from the position.
Alastair Cook by the numbers, and 12,472 runs from an opener
The leading run-scorer in England's history, and the leading run-scorer among all Test openers, made in a career of almost no injuries and no dropped scores.
Allan Border by the numbers, and the side he had to rebuild
11,174 Test runs at 50.56, scored mostly for an Australian team that was the worst it has ever been, which he then captained back to the top.
Anil Kumble by the numbers, and the ten-wicket innings
619 Test wickets from a leg-spinner who barely spun the ball, took his wickets with bounce instead, and is one of two men ever to take all ten in an innings.
Bad light in cricket, and how it is actually measured
There is no published light level that stops a cricket match. The meter records what the umpires decided, so play can resume at the same reading later.
Ball tracking, and how confident it actually is
Half of a ball-tracking graphic is filmed and half is a prediction, and umpire's call is the system stating exactly where its confidence runs out.
Brian Lara by the numbers, and the innings nobody has matched
11,953 Test runs, a 400 not out that still stands, and a 153 not out in a chase that is regularly named the best innings ever played.