We should look at the "percentage of team runs scored" more seriously

[Asad T]

Percentage of Team Runs Scored in Test cricket

When analyzing player contributions in Test cricket, averages can sometimes be misleading because they don't always reflect the player's relative impact on the team. A fascinating metric I saw on HowStat is the "Percentage of Team Runs Scored in Test cricket". This stat highlights a player's contribution relative to their teammates, offering a better sense of who is genuinely carrying the batting load.

Here’s how the current crop of Pakistan Test batters rank based on this metric, sorted from highest to lowest contribution:

Saud Shakeel: 16.04% (Test average 53.79)
Babar Azam: 13.95% (Test average 43.66)
Abdullah Shafique: 12.26% Test average 38.56)
Imam ul Haq: 12.27% (Test Average 37.33)
Mohammad Rizwan: 11.18% (Test Average 41.55)
Shan Masood: 10.61% (Test Average 29.49)
Saim Ayub: 10.37% (Test Average 26.00)
Sarfaraz Ahmed: 10.19% (Test Average 37.42)
Salman Agha: 10.06% (Test Average 40.94)

Saud is head and shoulders, the head of the pack. Funnily enough, a player like Salman, who has a fairly high average, is only at 10%, which suggests that his runs are not as valuable compared to someone like Shan Masood, who has a significantly worse average.

And for reference sake, below is a list of the highest contributors to their team.

Abid Ali, funnily enough, is the highest of Pakistan (min 30 innings) at 16.19%, just above Saud.
The highest for India is Jaiswal at almost 20% which is ridiculous. Funnily enough, Sachin is at 14.82%, I thought it would be higher.

How about other Pak legends:

- Javed Miandad: 15.71%
- Younis Khan: 15.64%
- MoYo: 15.42%
- Saeed Anwar: 15.10%
- Inzi: 14.29%
- Imran Khan: 9.10%

 

[FearlessRoar]

These percentages can be useful for personal milestones but at the end of the day the win matters

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Salman bats in the lower order so him having a low percentage of team runs isn't really an indication of their value.

Also I think that this stat doesn't really show much because some players play in very poor teams will naturally contribute more than others.

 

[Asad T]

These percentages can be useful for personal milestones but at the end of the day the win matters

You can only win if you choose the right people and by prioritising players who create more impact.

 

[Asad T]

Salman bats in the lower order so him having a low percentage of team runs isn't really an indication of their value.

Also I think that this stat doesn't really show much because some players play in very poor teams will naturally contribute more than others.

On Salman: That is right to a point, but what’s interesting to me is that Salman averages about 45, yet has a slightly lower contribution rate vs Shan who averages under 30. This is not to say that Shan is better than Salman, but it just suggests that Salman isn’t such an impactful player relative to his team mates.

On poorer teams: that could be true, but if you look at the exhaustive list, there are mainly legends in it.

This metric just shows you who has the biggest TEAM IMPACT relative to team mates. And that’s the point and I think it’s a cool metric to look at alongside sr and averages

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Percentage of Team Runs Scored in Test cricket

When analyzing player contributions in Test cricket, averages can sometimes be misleading because they don't always reflect the player's relative impact on the team. A fascinating metric I saw on HowStat is the "Percentage of Team Runs Scored in Test cricket". This stat highlights a player's contribution relative to their teammates, offering a better sense of who is genuinely carrying the batting load.

Here’s how the current crop of Pakistan Test batters rank based on this metric, sorted from highest to lowest contribution:

Saud Shakeel: 16.04% (Test average 53.79)
Babar Azam: 13.95% (Test average 43.66)
Abdullah Shafique: 12.26% Test average 38.56)
Imam ul Haq: 12.27% (Test Average 37.33)
Mohammad Rizwan: 11.18% (Test Average 41.55)
Shan Masood: 10.61% (Test Average 29.49)
Saim Ayub: 10.37% (Test Average 26.00)
Sarfaraz Ahmed: 10.19% (Test Average 37.42)
Salman Agha: 10.06% (Test Average 40.94)

Saud is head and shoulders, the head of the pack. Funnily enough, a player like Salman, who has a fairly high average, is only at 10%, which suggests that his runs are not as valuable compared to someone like Shan Masood, who has a significantly worse average.

And for reference sake, below is a list of the highest contributors to their team.

Abid Ali, funnily enough, is the highest of Pakistan (min 30 innings) at 16.19%, just above Saud.
The highest for India is Jaiswal at almost 20% which is ridiculous. Funnily enough, Sachin is at 14.82%, I thought it would be higher.

How about other Pak legends:

- Javed Miandad: 15.71%
- Younis Khan: 15.64%
- MoYo: 15.42%
- Saeed Anwar: 15.10%
- Inzi: 14.29%
- Imran Khan: 9.10%


View attachment 149013

I am shocked to see these stats. Can't get over the fact that Abdullah Shafique stands at 3 among current lot.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Percentage of Team Runs Scored in Test cricket

When analyzing player contributions in Test cricket, averages can sometimes be misleading because they don't always reflect the player's relative impact on the team. A fascinating metric I saw on HowStat is the "Percentage of Team Runs Scored in Test cricket". This stat highlights a player's contribution relative to their teammates, offering a better sense of who is genuinely carrying the batting load.

Here’s how the current crop of Pakistan Test batters rank based on this metric, sorted from highest to lowest contribution:

Saud Shakeel: 16.04% (Test average 53.79)
Babar Azam: 13.95% (Test average 43.66)
Abdullah Shafique: 12.26% Test average 38.56)
Imam ul Haq: 12.27% (Test Average 37.33)
Mohammad Rizwan: 11.18% (Test Average 41.55)
Shan Masood: 10.61% (Test Average 29.49)
Saim Ayub: 10.37% (Test Average 26.00)
Sarfaraz Ahmed: 10.19% (Test Average 37.42)
Salman Agha: 10.06% (Test Average 40.94)

Saud is head and shoulders, the head of the pack. Funnily enough, a player like Salman, who has a fairly high average, is only at 10%, which suggests that his runs are not as valuable compared to someone like Shan Masood, who has a significantly worse average.

And for reference sake, below is a list of the highest contributors to their team.

Abid Ali, funnily enough, is the highest of Pakistan (min 30 innings) at 16.19%, just above Saud.
The highest for India is Jaiswal at almost 20% which is ridiculous. Funnily enough, Sachin is at 14.82%, I thought it would be higher.

How about other Pak legends:

- Javed Miandad: 15.71%
- Younis Khan: 15.64%
- MoYo: 15.42%
- Saeed Anwar: 15.10%
- Inzi: 14.29%
- Imran Khan: 9.10%


View attachment 149013

@Rajdeep @Devadwal, no trace of Indian king here in the list..time to turn to Jaiswal now. Even indian prince not here

 

[Farabi]

On Salman: That is right to a point, but what’s interesting to me is that Salman averages about 45, yet has a slightly lower contribution rate vs Shan who averages under 30. This is not to say that Shan is better than Salman, but it just suggests that Salman isn’t such an impactful player relative to his team mates.

On poorer teams: that could be true, but if you look at the exhaustive list, there are mainly legends in it.

This metric just shows you who has the biggest TEAM IMPACT relative to team mates. And that’s the point and I think it’s a cool metric to look at alongside sr and averages

You’re analyzing the data wrong. @DeadlyVenom is right.
Agha Salman's high average is partly because he bats low at No. 7, meaning he doesn’t get dismissed as often, which keeps the denominator of his average low. However, this position also limits his opportunities to score big runs due to insufficient time and partnerships with the tail. Lower-order batters generally contribute a smaller percentage to the team's total, so team contribution alone doesn't fully reflect their impact.

That said, the qualitative value he brings with the tail is significant. The runs he adds in those situations are often high-impact and can shift the momentum of the game.

@Caved12 As you can see, 1 bad match and knives are out. No7 is not a position for batters. People will reach the wrong conclusions as bad judgement and analysis is common currency in Pakisan.

 

[emranabbas]

This is a flawed way to evaluate a batsman’s value. It essentially boils down to saying that the more runs a player scores, the better they are, without taking into account the broader context of their performance. Factors like the quality of the opposition, match conditions, pitch behavior, pressure situations, or the impact of those runs on the game’s outcome are completely ignored.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

On Salman: That is right to a point, but what’s interesting to me is that Salman averages about 45, yet has a slightly lower contribution rate vs Shan who averages under 30. This is not to say that Shan is better than Salman, but it just suggests that Salman isn’t such an impactful player relative to his team mates.

On poorer teams: that could be true, but if you look at the exhaustive list, there are mainly legends in it.

This metric just shows you who has the biggest TEAM IMPACT relative to team mates. And that’s the point and I think it’s a cool metric to look at alongside sr and averages

You are right but only to a certain extent.

But for example if you look at Agha - he is mainly a number 7. If he was scoring a high percentage of runs you it means the whole team strategy is wrong!

To get a broader appreciation of his value we should measure his % against all those who played in similar positions as he did. I have a gut feeling he will show as higher contribution compared to the number 6 and 7 of other countries.

 

[Major]

so sarfraz is still garbage

 

[topspin]

so sarfraz is still garbage

I'm no fan of Sarfraz but I would be interested to know how you came to this conclusion?

 

[Caved12]

You’re analyzing the data wrong. @DeadlyVenom is right.
Agha Salman's high average is partly because he bats low at No. 7, meaning he doesn’t get dismissed as often, which keeps the denominator of his average low. However, this position also limits his opportunities to score big runs due to insufficient time and partnerships with the tail. Lower-order batters generally contribute a smaller percentage to the team's total, so team contribution alone doesn't fully reflect their impact.

That said, the qualitative value he brings with the tail is significant. The runs he adds in those situations are often high-impact and can shift the momentum of the game.

@Caved12 As you can see, 1 bad match and knives are out. No7 is not a position for batters. People will reach the wrong conclusions as bad judgement and analysis is common currency in Pakisan.

I’ve already explained my perspective on this and made several attempts to conclude the discussion, but you keep shifting the narrative, going in different directions, and presenting stats that you can’t even explain properly or take responsibility for when they don’t make sense.

You emphasize stats so heavily when advocating for domestic players to get a fair run based on their domestic performances, but then dismiss the same stats when it comes to a player who has been consistently scoring runs from the lower order for over two years. Instead, you bring in a speculative and unnecessary narrative, claiming that he’ll eventually fail, be scapegoated, and dropped from the playing XI or squad. Honestly, this line of reasoning comes across as quite childish.

I’ve already covered this topic from all angles and have no interest in revisiting it repeatedly. Please stop tagging me. Thanks

 

[Farabi]

I’ve already explained my perspective on this and made several attempts to conclude the discussion, but you keep shifting the narrative, going in different directions, and presenting stats that you can’t even explain properly or take responsibility for when they don’t make sense.

You emphasize stats so heavily when advocating for domestic players to get a fair run based on their domestic performances, but then dismiss the same stats when it comes to a player who has been consistently scoring runs from the lower order for over two years. Instead, you bring in a speculative and unnecessary narrative, claiming that he’ll eventually fail, be scapegoated, and dropped from the playing XI or squad. Honestly, this line of reasoning comes across as quite childish.

I’ve already covered this topic from all angles and have no interest in revisiting it repeatedly. Please stop tagging me. Thanks

It seems this discussion has taken an overly defensive tone, which wasn’t the intent of a friendly thread.

First, to have the record clear here, you may be looking at last 2 years but I’ve followed his career since 7 years. He has always been a middle order batter, so there is nothing I am saying that goes domestic stats (see screens below).

Agha Salman batted at No. 5 during the his last domestic season in 2022 QEA series and at No. 4 in the 2021 series, and most of the seasons prior, so his domestic success didn’t come from batting at No. 7.

Second, my point wasn’t about predicting Agha Salman’s failures but about the broader historical context. Cricket history shows that specialist batters have never succeed at No. 7, and I also explained qualitatively why that’s the case. The history is stacked against him and he knows that.

Finally, since you seem keen to conclude and prefer not to be tagged further, I’ll leave you with this prediction: Agha Salman will likely be dropped from the Test side if he doesn’t move up the order. I accurately predicted that he will struggle more abroad so far. The tail will not stick around as much as they do at home, he will run out of partners and play rash shots, which is what we saw in first SA test and you will see more of that.


For reference, his domestic success came from: