Shots and Edges - MICape Town
MICape Town took a while to announce their pre-signings. They were the last side to communicate any additions. Finally, they have ended their fans' wait with three pre-signings. Ben Stokes, Trent Boult and Azmatullah Omarzai. Stokes is big news, Boult is a known quantity and Omarzai is loved in his country. But, what do the numbers say about them?
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Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes and Brandon McCullum have transformed England’s Test side. It is now more attacking with the bat. He was an integral part of Eoin Morgan’s ultra-attacking white-ball sides. Add his much-touted BMT, this is a good addition to any team.
His stats back that up. With the bat, Stokes averages 26.9 at a strike rate of 138.9 in franchise cricket. He has also scored eight fifties and two tons on the circuit. His T20I numbers are a little lower. He averages 21.7 at a strike rate of 128. These numbers are not elite, but they are not bad at all. When you look below the surface, Stokes has good true stats - a true average of 0.31 and a true strike rate of 5.37.
This is a player you would want at number four or five, especially if they are an allrounder.
However, these stats are misleading. They are high because the Englishman was untouchable in his first decade as a T20 player. He averaged 29.9 at 141.9 in on the T20 circuit and averaged 18.8 at 134.1 in T20Is. This was before the format had entered its current stage of evolution. That strike rate was impressive.
That is not the version of T20 player Stokes has been since 2022. From then till today, the England Test captain has averaged 28.6 at a strike rate of 106.7 in T20Is, while averaging 4.8 at a rate of 82.6 on the circuit. His true average in that period is 1.51 with a true strike rate of -25.14.
According to those stats, MICape Town are a little late on signing Stokes. He has as many injuries as Andre Russell but lacks the big West Indian allrounder’s everlasting power. Also unlike Dre Russ, who is also a plus bowler, Stokes’ true bowling stats are in the negative. He has a true econ of -0.16 and his true wickets every 4 overs are -0.16. Put simply, his impact with the ball is also below par.
If this series was called Shots, Edges and Swings and Misses, there are guesses where I would classify this signing. But, staying true to the title, this is an edge. For MICape Town’s sake, I hope Stokes has a lot of lucky edges that sail over the boundary rope.
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Trent Boult
Last year I wrote an article for this other publication, and this was my opening paragraph: Trent Boult bowled New Zealand’s first over against England at the 2023 ODI World. He hadn’t played in the format for 11 months and it took him seven deliveries to take his first wicket. After 14 balls, Boult had conceded one run and accounted for the wickets of Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root and Ben Stokes. It took him eight balls to claim his debut wicket on his ODI debut.
Boult is one of the best new-ball bowlers in white-ball cricket. The New Zealand left-arm quick has a powerplay economy of 7.3 and an average of 29.9 at a strike rate of 24.6 in T20Is. On the T20 circuit, he has an economy of 7.13 and an average of 27.5 at a strike rate of 23.1.
Overall, Boult has taken 124 wickets with an economy of 7.17. His true stats in powerplay are a true economy of 0.23 and true wickets of 0.06 wickets per four overs. The first six overs are his best phase. The New Zealander has the second-highest tally of wickets in the IPL ever, behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
The IPL has entered the chat because of the 2024 season, the highest-scoring season ever. Opening batters were running amok. Boult delivered 38 overs (the second-most) at an economy of 7.03 and a strike rate of 19. Only Bumrah, who is eighth on the list, had a better economy. His true stats show how much of an impact he had. His true wickets are at an impressive 7.77.
Last year, MICT took 16 wickets in the powerplay. Kagiso Rabada bagged six of them. The other 10 were spread across four bowlers; Sam Curran, Nuwan Thushara, Beuran Hendricks and George Linde. They all took turns in sharing the new ball with Rabada. Unless conditions dictate otherwise, we will see a Rabada-Boult new ball partnership, and it might help MICT put teams under pressure early on.
Shot.
Azmatullah Omarzai
Azmatullah Omarzai is touted as an all-rounder. When he arrived on the scene, he brought balance to a spin-heavy Afghanistan bowling attack. His best knock with the bat so far was in January 2024 against Sri Lanka. He came in to bat when Afghanistan were 19 for 3 chasing 383, and they were soon reduced to 55 for 5. But Omarzai put on a 242-run stand with Mohammad Nabi, as he finished unbeaten on 149, taking Afghanistan close in an unlikely chase.
A few months later, he made his IPL debut. The Gujarat Titans brought him in as an all-rounder and asked him to slip into the role Hardik Pandya played after their former captain made the move to Mumbai Indians. He featured in seven games and scored 42 runs for an average of 10.5 at a strike rate of 127.3. With the ball, he sent down 126 deliveries and took four wickets at an economy of 8.86.
The role is a few ladder rungs too high for him. His true stats show that despite the praise he garners from his countrymen, he is slightly below par with both bat and ball. He boasts a true economy of -0.41 and a true wickets of -0.02 per four overs. He is a decent bowler, useful in the powerplay and middle overs.
His batting though, is more suited for the number nine to 11 region. Yes, he can swing the bat and hit a few sixes, but his true stats show that he is not quite reliable. He has a true average of -3.3 and a true strike rate of -2.16.
I am conflicted about this signing. As a bowler, he is an okay signing. MICT has announced him as an all-rounder, and on that score, I am not sure.
Edge.
True stats (true average and true strike rate) used in this article are provided by the good people at Good Areas, who have an outstanding algorithm that compares expected stats to achieved stats based on conditions.