Teams that had most number of run-outs since World Cup 2015

The ongoing ICC World Cup so far has so far seen only three run-outs (two from South Africa and one from Afghanistan) out of six games and that is quite good statistics. However, if teams are judged in terms of the run-outs they have seen in the past four years since the 2015 World Cup concluded, the story says something else. Top teams have played more cricket than the minnows but the number of run-outs they have seen are also quite high, raising questions.

Sri Lanka have the worst cases of runouts: 58 in 44 games since 2015 World Cup

Sri Lanka, champions of the 1996 World Cup, for instance, have the worst record in terms of run-outs since the last World Cup in which they lost to South Africa in the quarter-finals. The islanders have won very few games in the inter-World Cup period with around 20-something wins out of 80-something games.

And 44 of those games saw their batsmen getting run out and the total number of batters getting run-out in those 44 games is a staggering 58 which means 1.31 runouts per game. Former Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews has been particularly slammed for his poor running between the wickets for the man has been found involved in 64 runouts!

England takes second spot

The second in the list of teams with dubious distinction is England. Although Eoin Morgan’s side has done exceedingly well in the last four years since crashing out of the 2015 World Cup in the preliminary stage, their record has not been too good in terms of run-outs. England won the most number of matches in the last four years (over 50) but they also had seen 38 run-outs in 27 games that featured the terrible form of dismissal. The average is actually even higher than Sri Lanka with 1.40 runouts per game that saw runouts.

The next three teams in the list are the West Indies, Pakistan and Australia. The two-champions saw 38 batsmen getting run-out in 25 matches which means an average of 1.52 per game. Pakistan, champions of the 1992 edition, saw 37 runouts in 27 clashes which means 1.37 per game. Australian batsmen also did an ordinary job by getting themselves run-out 35 times in 31 games which gives an average of 1.12.

The two African nations Zimbabwe and South Africa are the next in with 35 runouts in 26 games (1.34) and 31 from 22 (1.40), respectively. For a team like South Africa that was once known for its agility on the field, both in terms of fielding or running between the wickets, this is quite a let-down.

India and Bangladesh do better among Test-playing nations

Among the Test-playing nations that feature in the list of the most number of run-outs since the 2015 World Cup, Bangladesh and India have done better than the rest with both witnessing 28 run-outs in 21 matches (1.33 on an average). This speaks about both the teams’ fitness standards and the significance they attach to the skill of running between the wickets.

Among the Test-playing nations, Ireland (have played only two Tests so far), do the best in this aspect with only 16 runouts from 12 matches (1.33).

Apart from the Test-playing nations, some non-Test-playing nations also feature in the list and they are: United Arab Emirates (16 run-outs from 12 games); Papua and New Guinea (13 in 11); Hong Kong (11 in 8); Scotland (11 in 7); Nepal (2 in 2) and Namibia and the Netherlands (1 in 1).