About these ads

The week in numbers: w/e 18/3/12

March 19, 2012 2 Comments

Tendulkar finally completed his century of centuries after waiting for more than a year

100 – Sachin Tendulkar finally ended a run of 33 innings – over the space of 370 days – without a hundred to become the first batsman ever to hit 100 international centuries, scoring 114 in a one-day international against Bangladesh in Dhaka. However, Bangladesh won the match by five wickets.

3 – Wales completed their Six Nations campaign with a third Grand Slam in eight years after their 16-9 victory over France.

5 – Italy’s 13-6 victory over Scotland left them bottom of the Six Nations table having lost all five games.

16 - Big Buck’s tied Sir Ken’s record of 16 consecutive jumps victories by winning the World Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival for a record fourth time.

23 - World number one Victoria Azarenka recorded her 23rd consecutive victory of 2012 as she defeated Maria Sharapova 6-2 6-3 to win the Indian Wells tournament.

Read more of this post

About these ads

Filed under Features, In numbers Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The week in numbers: w/e 26/2/12

February 27, 2012 Leave a comment

Pietersen bagged a brace of centuries in the one-dayers against Pakistan

4 – Kevin Pietersen hit 130 as England won the fourth one-day international against Pakistan by four wickets to complete a series whitewash. England batsmen scored centuries in each match, with Pietersen and captain Alastair Cook registering two each.

2 – Liverpool won the Carling Cup 3-2 on penalties after the game finished 2-2 in extra time (1-1 after 90 minutes). But it wasn’t a good day for the Gerrard family. Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard saw the opening spot-kick of the shootout saved, while cousin Anthony missed the target with the final penalty.

45 – Including extra time, Liverpool had 45 shots in the game, an average of one every 160 seconds.

20 – Wales secured their 20th Triple Crown with a dramatic 19-12 Six Nations win at Twickenham to follow their previous wins over Ireland and Scotland. Scott Williams scored the only try of the game with five minutes left, but England’s David Strettle had a last-gasp try controversially ruled out as officials decided he had not grounded the ball.

Read more of this post

Filed under Features, In numbers Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The week in numbers: w/e 9/1/11

January 10, 2011 Leave a comment

Gautam Gambhir - yours for a cool $2.4m

62,800,000 – Amount (in dollars) spent at auction on the 127 cricketers selected by Indian Premier League teams. Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir fetched $2.4m, a new record.

40 – South Africa‘s Jacques Kallis hit his 39th and 40th Test hundreds in the third Test against India in Cape Town, to move him ahead of Ricky Ponting into second place on the all-time list of century-makers. He trails only Sachin Tendulkar (51). The match ended in a draw, meaning the series finished level at 1-1.

67 – Roger Federer opened his 2011 campaign by winning the Qatar Open for the third time with a 6-3 6-4 win over Nikolay Davydenko. It is his 67th career title.

5 – Andy Murray has dropped to number five in the world ahead of the Australian Open after Robin Soderling‘s win in the Brisbane International.

Another hat-trick for Ronaldo (image courtesy of Wikipedia)

4 – Cristiano Ronaldo scored his fourth hat-trick of the 2010/11 season in Real Madrid‘s 4-2 win over Villarreal. He now has 63 goals in 62 games since joining Madrid at the start of the 2009/10 season.

9 – Adrian Lewis had a nine-dart finish en route to his first PDC darts world title, as he defeated Gary Anderson 7-5 in the final.

3 – Martin Adams won his third BDO darts world title – and his second in succession – with a  7-5 win over Dean Winstanley yesterday.

48 – Age of former British heavyweight boxing champion Gary Mason, who died after colliding with a van while cycling.

The Ashes in numbers

1 – England‘s first innings was the first time ever in a Test Match innings that the sixth, seventh and eighth wickets all produced century partnerships (154, 107 and 102 runs, respectively).

4 – England topped 500 for the fourth time this series, only the fourth time a team has achieved this – and the first time ever by England.

Ponting endured a miserable series as both captain and batsman

16.14 – Batting average of Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who scored just 113 runs in four Tests. Bowlers Peter Siddle and Mitchell Johnson both scored more runs and had a higher batting average than Ponting.

9 – Despite a poor series with the bat, Paul Collingwood had nine catches – one more than Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin.

0 – Stuart Broad’s first-ball duck in his only innings in Brisbane meant he was the only player not to score a run in the entire series.

3 – Australia lost by an innings three times during the series – the first time they have done so against any opponent.

For more facts and stats from the Ashes, read The Ashes in numbers.

The Premier League week in numbers

11 – Manchester United led Stoke 1-0 at half-time of their game on Tuesday night. They have been ahead at the interval in all 11 of their home league matches this season. United eventually ran out 2-1 winners.

3 – The United vs Stoke game featured only three shots on target – the three goals.

Leon Best became Newcastle's third hat-trick scorer this season

3 – Leon Best scored a hat-trick in Newcastle‘s 5-0 win over West Ham. He is the third Newcastle player to score three times in a Premier League game this season (also Andy Carroll and Kevin Nolan).

14 - Birmingham‘s last-minute 2-1 win at Blackpool ended a run of 14 successive away league games without a victory.

5 - Fulham‘s last five Premier League home wins have come against clubs whose names start with the letter W. They beat West Bromwich Albion 3-0 midweek.

0 – In their 0-0 draw at Arsenal, Manchester City failed to register a shot on target in a Premier League game for the first time since December 2007.

52 – Roy Hodgson became the first Liverpool manager to leave the club without winning a trophy since Phil Taylor in 1959 – a gap of 52 years.

The FA Cup third round in numbers

9 – Number of teams beaten by clubs from lower divisions in the third round to date (out of 30 matches played).

0 – There have been no goalless draws in the third round so far. (There wasn’t a single 0-0 draw in the second round either, including replays.)

Fàbregas saved Arsenal with a late penalty (image courtesy of arsenal.com)

29 – Cesc Fàbregas‘s last-minute equaliser for Arsenal against Leeds means they are now unbeaten in their last 28 home matches in the FA Cup. Only Sheffield Wednesday’s 32-match streak from 1923-1947 is longer.

13 – League Two’s Stevenage became only the 13th fourth tier/non-league side to knock out a top-flight team in the FA Cup since 1980, defeating Newcastle 3-1.

3 – All three North-East teams (Newcastle, Middlesbrough and Sunderland) were knocked out on Saturday by opposition from at least two divisions below them (Stevenage, Burton Albion and Notts County respectively).

1 – As a result of their 2-1 win over Middlesbrough, Burton Albion reached the fourth round for the first time in their history. It was also the first time they have beaten a club from the top two divisions.

99 – Number of league places between Bolton (of the Premier League) and York City (of the Conference National). Bolton eventually ran out 2-0 winners, but did not score until the 83rd minute.

10 – QPR‘s 1-0 defeat at Blackburn means it is now 10 years since they last won an FA Cup tie.

Steven Gerrard saw red at Old Trafford

6 – Steven Gerrard‘s red card in Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat at Manchester United was the sixth red card of his Liverpool career (but his first in nearly five years). He was the seventh player to be sent off in the last nine meetings between the two clubs.

4 – Referee Howard Webb has awarded penalties to United in four of the last six matches he has officiated at Old Trafford.

5 – Chelsea’s 7-0 win over managerless Ipswich is the fifth time in 12 months they have scored at least seven goals in a game.

The NFL wild card playoffs in numbers

1 – The Seattle Seahawks, who won the NFC West division with a 7-9 record, became the first team with a losing record in NFL history to win a playoff game, by defeating the reigning Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints in a wild 41-36 shootout.

1 – Former Seahawk Julius Jones scored on two touchdown runs, becoming the first player in NFL history to score a post-season touchdown against a team who released him in the same season.

4 – This is the fourth year in a row in which the defending Super Bowl champions have lost their first playoff game.

Manning's posteseason record is an unimpressive 9-10 (image courtesy of nfl.com)

47.4% – The postseason win-loss percentage of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning – more than 20% less than his regular season record. The Colts were knocked out of the playoffs 17-16 by the New York Jets when Nick Folk kicked a 32-yard field goal as time expired.

1 – Victory over the Colts meant the Jets have now won a playoff game in consecutive years for the first time in their history.

9 – Defeat for the Saints and Colts meant that neither of the previous year’s Super Bowl participants have made it past the first round of the playoffs for only the ninth time in NFL history.

5 – The Baltimore Ravens forced five turnovers as they eased past Kansas City 30-7.

12.2 – Points per postseason game allowed by the Ravens in their history – the lowest by any NFL team.

1 - The Ravens’ Joe Flacco became the first starting quarterback in NFL history to win a playoff game in each of his first three seasons.

123 – Green Bay rookie running back James Starks – who did not play his first game until December 5th – rushed for 123 yards as the Packers outlasted the Philadelphia Eagles 21-16. It was the highest ever single-game rushing total gained by a Green Bay rookie.

(Some statistics courtesy of Opta Sports, The Times, @InfostradaLive, @StatManJon, Cricinfo and NFL.com.)

Filed under Features, In numbers Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Green fumbles as England stumble in World Cup opener

June 12, 2010 1 Comment


Image courtesy of xannov

Such was the manner in which England conceded the equalising goal in tonight’s 1-1 draw with the USA that if this had been a boxing match, it would probably have been a narrow points victory, but one where England had somehow managed to land an upper cut to its own chin in the fifth round.

It was just 16 months ago when some ITV viewers watching an FA Cup replay between Everton and Liverpool missed the only goal of the game when the channel accidentally cut to a commercial. Tonight, viewers watching on ITV1′s HD service experienced the same problem, as a Hyundai car commercial suddenly replaced live coverage from Rustenburg just as Steven Gerrard scored the opening goal of England’s opening World Cup match. Sadly, it wasn’t the only goal-related cock-up of the night, as Robert Green‘s handling howler gifted the Americans the softest of equalisers just before half-time.

England have the oldest squad of any of the 32 nations at this World Cup, and it was two of their most experienced campaigners who gave them the best possible start in the fourth minute. Those not watching on HD would have seen captain Gerrard take a clever pass from Emile Heskey – England’s best player on the night – and lash it past Tim Howard. But England failed to capitalise on their early advantage, allowing a workmanlike US team to claw their way back into the match. They had already survived a couple of worrying moments when, in the 40th minute, Clint Dempsey sent a speculative, under-hit effort straight at Green, who somehow contrived to bundle the ball backwards – maybe he was distracted by an unexpected car advert? – and was unable to retrieve it before it had rolled, with agonising slowness, into the empty net.

England huffed and puffed throughout the second half, but other than a Frank Lampard shot which stung Howard’s hands and a Wayne Rooney effort which went narrowly wide, in truth they did little to threaten the American keeper’s goal. Indeed, had Green not partially redeemed himself midway through the second half, making a sharp reaction save to turn Jozy Altidore‘s shot onto his near post, England could easily have lost.

The goalkeeping position has been probably the biggest problem facing Capello in the build-up to the tournament, with most observers feeling that Green deserved first call, having had a more solid and injury-free season than David James and more experience than Joe Hart. However, his fumbling nightmare was not wholly unexpected; no Premier League keeper conceded more goals than Green (four) as a direct result of his own errors last season. For me, that tendency to have one too many aberrations has always been a black mark against any claim to be a goalkeeper of genuine class.

The big question for Capello is: what now? Does he keep faith with Green and give him his shot at redemption, or does he replace him for next Friday’s game, most likely with Hart?

England’s Italian coach faces other dilemmas. Gareth Barry will return to the midfield, probably at the expense of James Milner, who was taken off after half an hour having committed as many fouls (two) as he had had touches of the ball. Ledley King departed at half-time with a torn abductor muscle which will rule him out of the next game; his replacement Jamie Carragher‘s lack of pace was embarrassingly exposed by Altidore. Those two early changes restricted Capello’s tactical options later in the game, which certainly didn’t help his team’s cause as they ran short of ideas against a well-organised American defence.

With hindsight, the result itself is not a major problem for either team, although it does feel more like two points dropped by England and a point gained by the US. Neither Algeria nor Slovenia are particularly great teams, so both England and USA will remain confident of qualifying. And individual results and performances in the group phase mean little when it comes to the knockout rounds. After all, England drew their first game of the 1966 World Cup, a poor 0-0 effort against Uruguay. And Italy drew 1-1 with the USA in the group phase in 2006. Both did rather well subsequent to that. A misstep at this early stage is no more than that: a misstep.

The optimist in me says it is better to get the bad karma out of the way first and that there is plenty of time to get things right. The pessimist tells me England’s goalkeeping and defence are a mess of injuries and disasters waiting to happen. But this is a familiar refrain for fans of the national team. We have been here many, many times before. It is no surprise that we are here again. After Green’s error, the national mood will have been one of disbelief, then anger and finally resignation – oh God, not again – acceptance and quiet hope. It’s a bit like going through all seven stages of grief in the space of 90 minutes. Or, to put it another way, it’s the lot of the football fan the world over, whether you are English, German or North Korean.

After the game, Capello remained calm and upbeat:

Yes, we created a lot of chances to score goals. We pressed a lot, played a good game. They shot once and scored a goal. We are in a good moment as a team and the next game will be better. Only the result is not good.

And that is pretty much spot on. Over-reaction after a disappointing result like this is a common fault of media and fans alike. England, the eighth best team in the world according to FIFA, drew with the USA, ranked 14 – that hardly qualifies a shock result. To make wholesale changes now would disrupt carefully laid plans, confuse the players and undermine confidence. What’s more important is that Capello makes whatever tweaks are necessary to elicit a reaction from his team over the next two games. Fundamentally, England’s position remains sound. They avoided a damaging defeat tonight, and if they cannot achieve positive results against relative minnows like Algeria and Slovenia, in what is still one of the weakest groups overall in the competition, they do not deserve to go through anyway.

Barring further injuries, expect three changes for the Algeria game on Friday: a fit-again Barry for Milner (with Gerrard moving out to the left flank), Carragher replacing King if the latter is unfit, and Hart for Green. Any more would be change for the sake of change.

England can definitely do better than they did tonight. They will need to if they are to get anywhere near the final on July 11th. But right now that is no cause for panic – yet.

Filed under Football, World Cup Tagged with , , , , , ,

%d bloggers like this: