Number 8 bowling all-rounders for IPL auction
Since the auction price attached to Chris Morris in the last IPL auction, which seems like an age ago, there was obviously a lot of eyes on him to see what numbers he produces. With a mega auction set to take place, we had a look at some under 24 players who could feature in a similar role.
In this calendar year in T20’s, Morris has grabbed 14 wickets, nine of which have come in the death overs, with a death economy of 10.7, higher than his career average of 8.34. In comparison to the best death bowlers, Tymal Mills economy at this stage of the game is 7.73. The big South African has a dot ball percentage of 43.3, similar to Mills of 43.4, with Morris obviously conceding more boundaries. Another facet to Morris’ game is his batting. He’s scored 67 runs this year with a strike rate of 143. His boundary percentage is 14.9, below his career one of 18.4. So here are two youngsters with similarities.
Dominic Drakes
Drakes performance in the CPL final will live long in the memory of those at St Kitts. He blasted an unbeaten 48 from 24 balls to seal the title from the final ball of the tournament. His strike rate of 180 and boundary percentage of 27.2 makes of some high quality lower order hitting. With the ball, Drakes numbers are almost identical to Morris. 10 of his 14 wickets have come in overs 17-20, where his economy rate is 10.53. But there is room for improvement as he boasts a dot ball percentage of 53.6%. So, if he can cut out those loose boundary deliveries, he has the makings of a very useful death bowler. Albeit these numbers come from one tournament, they still make for good reading.
George Garton
The left hander who hails from Sussex is another option as a quick bowler that can provide extra depth at number eight. With the ball though, he tends to operate more in the powerplay than at the death, which is also how RCB have used him since he’s broke into the side. Although, when he has bowled at the death in T20 cricket, his economy rate is extremely good, 7.56. Perhaps this is an area of his game we will see him get more opportunities at. With the bat, he is steadily improving. Currently has a boundary percentage of 20.1 and an average 0f 20.7 which shows how useful he can be.
Gurbaz Update
This could be quite a regular feature of the newsletter over the coming weeks and months. The Afghan keeper bat is currently plying his trade in the Nepal Everest Premier League for Kathmandu Kings XI. He started the comp with a blistering 59(36), following up with scores of 5,28 and 12. Again showing glimpses of what he’s capable of, taking four catches and a stumping as well. That big knock to announce himself either now or during the World Cup is hopefully just around the corner.
We profiled Gurbaz in Issue 1 of the Scouting Cricket Magazine, which you can buy here: scoutingcricket.com/magazine/
Ahead of the T20 World Cup, it’s a good time to learn more about the nations involved. You can find out about the best Dutch youngsters from when we spoke to Netherlands Head Coach Ryan Campbell here: Best-Dutch-youngsters-with-Netherlands-Head-Coach-Ryan-Campbell
We have more content planned, including a big data preview of the Scotland team ahead of the World Cup, and hope to get the podcast returning in the near future too.
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