Super 4s: Player Ratings
[ Will's Christmas Ratings |
Coopers & Hi-Bran Analyses |
Coopers & Hi-Bran Overall Ratings |
Coopers & Hi-Bran Match Ratings ]
Will's Christmas Ratings
Introduction
This system uses letters and bonuses to rate each player in a large number of cricketing
abilities. Each 'class' of player in each category is divided using these grades.
Players seen as significantly different from others in the same class but undeserving
of promotion or demotion through classes are given bonuses involving up to three
'+' or '-' symbols, although typically just one will be used. All ratings are
(obviously) relative to other Super 4s players. Accordingly, classes range from
A+++ to E---. This ratings system was devised and thus, is completely run and updated
by W Y-J Lin. All ratings given are made without reservations and hopefully are sufficiently
objectively constructed as to form a suitably creditable ratings system.
Categories and their Criteria
Although many categories are given, each one is clearly not of equal importance and
certain different qualities will be useful in different situations in the Super 4s field.
Major cricketing abilities; batting, bowling and fielding, are given in terms of several
sub-categories. These are the abilities for which ratings are given, with the abbreviation
used in square brackets and the category type in round brackets:
- Overall [Ovrl] (S) - the overall Super 4s cricketing rating for a player.
This is based on all of the following categories in addition to intangibles such as
cricketing knowledge and intelligence, enthusiasm, temperament and leadership.
- Batting
- [O]verall Batting (I) - the fundamental batting rating in this ratings system.
- [S]trokeplay (I) - fluency, execution, confidence, placement and timing of strokes.
- [V]ersatility (I) - how many, how easily and how well different shots are made. Any player
in the 'E' class in strokeplay is automatically exempt.
- [D]efence (I) - defending at the crease and not getting out, irrespective of runs made.
- [C]onsistency (III) - reliability of scoring near the average- unless the average is
particularly low, then a nominal exemption (X) is given.
- [A]ggression (III) - The offensive mindset and attitude of the batsman.
- [R]unning (III) - judgment and execution of running between wickets.
- Bowling
- [O]verall Bowling (I) - the fundamental bowling rating in this ratings system.
- [W]icket-taking (I) - the wicket-taking potential of the bowler.
- [V]ariety (I) - the degree to which the bowler can successfully vary his deliveries. Any
player with a 'C' in consistency is automatically exempt.
- [E]conomy (I) - the nominal economy rate of the bowler.
- [C]onsistency (III) - how good the bowler is at not bowling extras or poor deliveries.
- [U]nderlying Economy (III) - how economical the bowler would be against an in-form slogger.
- [A]ction (III) - the fluency and style of the bowling action.
- Fielding
- [A]wareness (II) - fielding awareness involving positioning, movement and coverage.
- [T]hrowing (II) - throwing accuracy only, arm power is not relevant in Super 4s.
- [B]all Handling (III) - how well the player stops and gathers a travelling ball.
- [C]lutch/Choke (III) - how well the player fields in a high-pressure environment. Only
the most senior Super 4s players have been given this rating.
- Other - general physical attributes for each player. Many of these particularly influence
overall fielding effectiveness.
- [P]ower, Strength (II)
- [S]peed (II)
- [F]itness, Endurance (III)
- [R]eactions, Quickness (III)
- [A]thleticism (III) - how easy it is for the player to leap, dive, slide, etc. Dependent
somewhat on flexibility.
Category Types
- I
- First class type in which the full range from A+++ to E--- can be given.
- II
- Second class type where A+ to C- can be given.
- III
- Third class type that contains only A, B and C. No +/- signs are used.
- S
- Special assignment. The rating is out of 10, with 0.5 increments allowed. A default
minimum of 5.0 is typically used.
Current Ratings
By Player
Player Ovrl Batting Bowling Fielding Other
O S V D C A R O W V E C U A A T B C P S F R A
Ding 5.5 E E X D X B B C B X D C C B C-C C-* C-B+A B B
Koh 8.0 B B C A A B A B+ A C B A B A B+A A * B+B A A A
Korb 9.0 A+ A A A C A A A B+B A+A A A A A A A B B+B A A
Lau D - A) A)B+A)* B B C) * D)* * * A A)* * * * A * A *
Lau E - A) A)A)B)* B)B) A) A)B)A)A)A)A) A)* * * B B A A A
Lin 7.0 D D D C X C C A- B+B+A+B A B A+B+A B A B A B A
Liu 7.0 C C C D A B B B B B+C+B C A A A A * A A A B A
Ng 6.5 B C+D D B A B C D C+D B C B B B C * B B B B-B
Nvkc 5.0 E+ E X E X C C E E X E C C C C C C * A+C B C C
Qdri 8.0 A A B A B B B A- A+C C B B A A A B B B C+C B C
Shta 7.5 B+ B C+C B A B B D A A B B B A-A A * B A+A A A
Sqrs 5.5 D+ E+X D X C C D+ D C E B C C B C C * A+C C C C
Tan 8.5 A A B+B C A A A A A+A A A A A B+B C B A+A A A
* rating not given; insufficient playing time so far
X rating not given; categorically exempt
) provisional rating; no +/- considered
Updates and their Criteria
Virtually all ratings are based on overall Super 4s form. Current form is still taken into account
and may alter a rating by even a class or two, but in general the overall picture of each player is
seen as the basis for this system. Only a consistent change in a category will be enough to dramatically
change its corresponding rating. 'Consistent' involves at least three different days' play and around
ten innings minimum.
Coopers & Hi-Bran Analyses
Introduction
These analyses are short descriptive articles concerning Super 4s cricket itself, its
evolution and impact on the Super 4s players.
Super 4s Evolution
Super 4s has evolved from a pacy, yet casual unprofessional backyard cricket game into
a less pacy, yet less casual unprofessional backyard cricket game. The major greatness of
Super 4s is its playability. Thanks to many various and significant rule changes, all sorts
of cricketers can contribute to a Super 4s game and the quintessential role of luck inherent
in cricket remains. The greatest changes to Super 4s and their effects are summarised below:
- Introduction of scoring - the foundation of Super 4s cricket, the statistics kept in each
match generated not only enormous interest in the match but allowed evidence based comparisons and
conclusions to be drawn from each game. The competitive instincts of all players were certainly
boosted with this addition.
- Introduction of Super 4s equipment - the chairs used as stumps and tennis balls in particular
would not allow any significantly realistic cricketing competition to be played. The introduction
of correctly sized stumps and the curator's excellent ball-taping system created a much sounder
cricketing environment for the players.
- Removal of 'hit-and-run' and 'hit-out' - originally hit-and-run was seen as compulsory for any
sort of reasonably quick and convenient backyard-style cricket game. But experimentation by the
curator found that the revoking this rule of tradition should be tried. This was, importantly, done
in conjunction with the removal of previous hit-out rules; where any ball hit over any fence was
given a score and called a boundary instead are being simply 'out'. The results were excellent,
with similar scores being recorded but without the hectic running between wickets and the associated
excess of run outs. Singles became less favoured compared to boundaries and the additional placements
of shots that was allowed introduced, for the first time, a real reward for versatile batsmen who
could hook successfully, lessening the 'straight-drive bias' of the Super 4s ground. It also encouraged
patience at the crease, something completely void from the original batting format.
- Introduction of Teams - a somewhat overlooked improvement, the teams and their loyalties made
when test matches are played distinguish them significantly from the first-class matches. Match play,
tactics and strategies all come into play and team captains become meaningful. Such essential cricketing
components such as batting order, bowler choice and fielding arrangements became a necessary part
of any team competing in a test match. No one can dispute the different status of test matches
as compared to first-class matches.
- Adjustment of Run Allocations - this was a development over several matches that was aimed at
fine tuning automatic run amounts given for non-straight hits. Recently this has grown to include
newer 'on-the-full' interior run allocations, such as the 'late-cut' shot.
Super 4s Player Types
The nature of Super 4s means that player types and their performances can be systematically analysed
to a reasonably degree of accuracy. In particular many cricketing abilities that would be useful
on a normal cricket pitch are of little use in Super 4s. In fact, the specialisation of Super 4s
is at a point where players can almost be grouped in just a small number of groups. It is difficult
for any player, regardless of their class, to be classed in another division. Only extreme improvement
or its contrary could really lead to such a case. These player types are summarised here:
Batsmen - these can be easily categorised into three types, the equivalent of top-order,
middle-order and lower order batsmen without any of the more distinct types that exist in real
cricket such as openers and stubborn tail enders.
- Class A - these players typically average 7 and upwards and are able to execute particularly
the straight drive and hook well. They are rarely clean bowled and they accumulate not outs as
often as low scores from mishit shots. These players also have amongst the best defensive strokes
at the crease.
Typical examples: A M Korbel, S M Qadri, T-T Tan, D Lau, E M-T Lau.
- Class B - with an average from about 3 to 7, these players have a good defence but lack both
the strokeplay and batting versatility of Class A batsmen. As a result these players tend to score
exclusively via singles. They are often more consistent than Class A batsmen, but by the same token,
are unlikely to score any 15s or higher with regularity.
Typical examples: T C-E Koh, K H-K Ng, C Liu, N M Shehata.
- Class C - these batting bunnies average 3 and below and are surprisingly abundant in Super 4s.
Their time at the crease is chiefly determined by the bowler and any strokeplay a Class C player may
possess tends to undermined by their imperfect defense at the crease. Class C players are also
easily intimated by bowlers who display even just an adequate amount of any one of either accuracy,
pace or spin.
Typical examples: W Y-J Lin, M Novakovic, V Y-C Ding, E L Squires.
Bowlers - Super 4s bowlers are certainly more varied than the batsmen, with several effective
types of bowling in existence. Also, some players have the ability to deliver a versatile range of
balls. Super 4s balls are notorious for their inconsistency and this also helps bowlers significantly.
- Pacemen - the most common bowling style in Super 4s and the most arguably the most effective
overall for economy when delivered correctly. The use of the automatic wicketkeeper greatly aids
any pace bowler.
- Fast & Fast Medium - few bowlers can produce the pace to be really classified as 'fast', and those who do
are unlikely to exclusively bowl such deliveries consistently because of the fatigue involved.
Genuine fast deliveries are arguably the best that can be given in Super 4s because of the pitch
length and the lack of bounce of the ball, as well as the fact that most batsmen do no wear much
protection at the crease, thus allowing dangerous intimidation by a fast bowler.
Typical examples: G Karunakaran, E M-T Lau, T-T Tan.
- Medium Fast - an extremely effective economical bowling style that has excellent strike potential,
but can be tiring and can still be hit well by Class B and above batsmen. Even so, any consistently
well delivered medium fast bowling will likely yield maidens and, with some luck, wickets as well.
The problem with this action is that most dedicated medium fast bowlers will tend to tire and, if they
do not have an alternative delivery, will soon concede a generous number of runs, particularly off
Class A batsmen.
Typical examples: T C-E Koh, T-T Tan.
- Medium & Slow Medium - these slowest pace deliveries usually need a particular feature of the bowler to
perform well in Super 4s. Whether their deliveries are skidding, difficult to read, or particularly accurate,
a slower straight bowler will certainly be hit as viciously as noodle bowlers if they without any extra
attributes. These bowlers do not really have the strike potential of other elite bowlers but are
usually extremely economical.
Typical examples: A M Korbel, W Y-J Lin, K H-K Ng.
- Swing - a combination of medium pace deliveries and some tricky finger and/or wrist work can
enlarge a bowler's arsenal. Getting a delivery that is faster than any spinner's top speed to swing
on the bounce can fool the batsman and is inherently economical. When correctly delivered many wickets
can be taken, even against Class A batsmen. However, the nature of swing bowling means it is usually
only recreationally used as the range of variation is more limited than spin bowling and it is
difficult to dish out swing consistently in Super 4s cricket.
Typical examples: N M Shehata, T-T Tan.
- Spinners - only the best spinners dare bowl these slower deliveries in Super 4s and only the
bravest dedicate their bowling to spin. Certainly pace bowling is safest in Super 4s, and many chiefly
pace bowlers recreationally deliver spin bowls.
- Pure Spinners - the superior Super 4s spinning class, these spinners can turn the ball
consistently well and usually get the line and length of their deliveries on target. When they fail
to do this, both offspinners and particularly legspinners will most likely be hit for boundaries by
Class A batsmen, but even with inferior bowling, may capture lower and even middle order wickets.
Pure spinners are characterised by excellent strike rates, only average economy rates and nearly
all have their own distinct and fluent bowling actions.
Typical examples: S M Qadri, C Liu.
- Recreational Offspinners - the favoured style of many variety bowlers, this kind of spin can
surprise batsmen when mixed into an over of faster deliveries and probably have as much chance as
getting a Class A batsman out as a Class C one, because of the inferior consistency and lower overall
quality of recreational offspinners when compared to the pure breed. However, this style is definitely
an excellent relief-type delivery.
Typical examples: T-T Tan, W Y-J Lin.
- Recreational Legspinners - even the existence of this class is debatable. Leg spin in Super 4s
is harshly dealt with because of the hooking boundaries and tends to be ineffective and expensive against
all but the poorest batsman. Only a few players have even attempted legspin in practice sessions,
let alone any first-class match or above.
Possible examples: A M Korbel, T-T Tan, W Y-J Lin.
- Noodles - the equivalent of Class C batsmen, noodle-type bowlers concede many runs consistently
and usually get wickets only with the assistance of Lady Luck. Slow, loopy, wavering, inconsistent
and high are all words that typify noodle deliveries and as such, any Class B or higher batsman
can regularly slog these bowls. It is doubtful that in any non-Super 4s environment, these bowlers
would even be utilised.
Typical examples: M Novakovic, V Y-C Ding, E L Squires.
Coopers & Hi-Bran Overall Ratings
Introduction
Coopers & Hi-Bran have devised a system which ranks the top batsmen and bowlers in Super 4s.
There is NO minimum innings needed to be played or minimum overs to be bowled. Instead the
statistics will simply change as the players play more. The exceptions to this rule is that players
MUST have played more than one match to be eligible and must have played in at least match in which
the rules were not greatly different from current rules used. This is not a 'current form' type
rating, but is based on overall statistics. The exact formulas for the scores can be viewed
here. The statistics are relative through each category, that is
each player's rating in one category could and should be compared accurately to their rating in another
category, given these typical ranges:
- Batting 0-25
- Bowling 0-25
- Strike 0-10
- Economy 0-10
Players' ratings are not limited by the formulae, but should, with regular and proper Super 4s play,
stay within these ranges.
Top Coopers & Hi-Bran Rated Batsmen
Certain weightings are used in this system so that consistency is not rewarded as well as 15s, 20s
and large high scores, although the batting average is still important once such runs are made.
In fact, a good score is needed to really 'activate' a player's average, and so far only really
respectable batsmen (Qadri, Lau, Korbel, Tan, Shehata) have managed to activate their respective
averages. This method richly rewards good high scores and numerous 15s/20s coupled with any respectable
batting average.
| Rank | Top Batsmen | Score |
| 1 | A M Korbel | 28.7559 |
| 2 | T-T Tan | 14.1449 |
| 3 | N M Shehata | 9.4844 |
| 4 | S M Qadri | 7.9263 |
| Rank | Others | Score |
| DNQ | D Lau | 20.1000 |
| DNQ | E M-T Lau | 9.3000 |
| 5 | K H-K Ng | 6.1000 |
| 6 | T C-E Koh | 4.9500 |
| 7 | C Liu | 3.9143 |
| 8 | M Novakovic | 2.7167 |
| 9 | E L Squires | 2.6529 |
| 10 | W Y-J Lin | 2.2212 |
| DNQ | S Aly | 1.4667 |
| 11 | V Y-C Ding | 1.1714 |
Top Coopers & Hi-Bran Rated Bowlers
There are two scores for each bowler in this system, one based purely on wickets and one on
economy. These are totalled and added to a bonus factor and this sum is used for the overall rating.
There are generous bonuses for players with 2 wicket and 3 wicket hauls per over in the strike
section and maidens also in the economy section. The best bowling figures are used to calculate
the final bonus added to the strike and economy scores.
| Rank | Top Bowlers Overall | Total |
| 1 | A M Korbel | 17.3478 |
| 2 | C Liu | 16.6680 |
| 3 | T C-E Koh | 16.6314 |
| 4 | T-T Tan | 14.9775 |
| Rank | Others | Total |
| DNQ | E M-T Lau | 47.1568 |
| 5 | E L Squires | 14.3342 |
| 6 | V Y-C Ding | 12.3760 |
| 7 | S M Qadri | 11.7269 |
| 8 | W Y-J Lin | 10.5709 |
| 9 | N M Shehata | 6.7262 |
| 10 | M Novakovic | 2.9530 |
| 11 | K H-K Ng | 2.6547 |
| DNQ | D Lau | 1.8176 |
| DNQ | S Aly | 1.0130 |
| Top Strike Bowlers | Score |
| 1 | E L Squires | 12.5128 |
| 2 | C Liu | 12.2404 |
| 3 | V Y-C Ding | 11.4340 |
| 4 | T C-E Koh | 11.3863 |
| Rank | Others | Score |
| DNQ | E M-T Lau | 14.2500 |
| 5 | S M Qadri | 8.5152 |
| 6 | W Y-J Lin | 4.0558 |
| 7 | A M Korbel | 3.5480 |
| 8 | T-T Tan | 2.6650 |
| 9 | M Novakovic | 2.4221 |
| 10 | N M Shehata | 1.6533 |
| 11 | K H-K Ng | 1.2500 |
| DNQ | S Aly | 0.9231 |
| DNQ | D Lau | 0.8000 |
| Top Economy Bowlers | Score |
| 1 | A M Korbel | 12.9664 |
| 2 | T-T Tan | 11.4791 |
| 3 | W Y-J Lin | 5.2650 |
| 4 | N M Shehata | 4.2396 |
| Rank | Others | Score |
| DNQ | E M-T Lau | 32.0735 |
| 5 | C Liu | 3.1776 |
| 6 | T C-E Koh | 2.7451 |
| 7 | S M Qadri | 1.5450 |
| 8 | K H-K Ng | 1.1269 |
| 9 | E L Squires | 0.9880 |
| DNQ | D Lau | 0.8787 |
| 10 | V Y-C Ding | 0.3865 |
| 11 | M Novakovic | 0.1142 |
| DNQ | S Aly | 0.0344 |
Coopers & Hi-Bran Match Ratings
Formulae identical to the Coopers & Hi-Bran Overall Ratings are used here on each player's separate
match statistics for every Super 4s match except those in which complete statistics are not available.
The designation given contains the game number in chronological order and then the player's two chief
initials. The game number correspondence and innings played are given below:
- SLG d. BB 23-8-97 Not Complete 6 Innings
- 1N d. HYB 4-10-97 Not Complete 10 Innings
- First-Class 27-11-97 Not Complete 4 Innings
- PTR d. YOB 30-11-97 3 Innings
- First-Class 7-12-97 3 Innings
- First-Class 18-12-97 2 Innings
- PTR d. YOB 28-12-97 4 Innings
- First-Class 31-12-97 2 Innings
- TL d. BB 12-4-98 3 Innings
- First-Class 10-5-98 2.4 Innings
Clearly those matches with less innings have more extreme ratings, but generally any match should yield
reasonable figures, usually between 1 to 50. If a player does not get out in a match his batting rating
defaults to 999.9999.
Designation Batting Strike Economy Bowling
1TK 5.2333 33.3907 2.6868 38.5775
2CL 4.1000 27.8565 0.1429 29.2493
2TT 5.1400 15.8036 1.1429 17.7798
3MS 15.3375 5.6667 6.4650 12.9650
4AK 6.7667 1.4286 50.8882 53.1501
4DL 20.1000 0.8000 0.8661 1.8050
4WL 0.4500 12.0000 4.5714 16.9048
4CL 3.0500 5.8929 1.8751 7.9194
4MQ 19.9556 16.0227 0.9460 17.8021
4MS 8.8375 0.2857 1.8751 2.2649
4TT 2.5333 1.0000 4.5714 5.8492
5VD 0.3667 12.3517 0.4188 12.9372
5WL 0.5333 0.5000 52.8865 54.2198
5KN 6.1000 1.5000 3.3015 5.0793
5MQ 6.9667 0.8276 20.1202 21.2256
5TT 3.8333 12.0000 9.1429 21.9762
6TK 2.1000 0.5000 2.1996 3.5329
6WL 0.0000 0.0000 24.5941 24.5941
6MN 0.4500 0.0000 0.1429 0.1429
6MQ 28.9000 12.0000 0.0601 12.6156
6TT 999.9999 1.3333 30.5823 32.7490
7VD 2.1000 0.0000 0.0900 0.0900
7AK 66.9500 1.1429 18.6190 20.5952
7WL 0.9000 0.5714 0.3901 1.0256
7KN 5.9000 1.0000 0.1699 1.2741
7MQ 1.2250 7.7500 0.4535 8.4416
7MS 10.1250 3.4167 11.1839 14.7395
7TT 5.4000 1.1429 7.8335 9.3931
8VD 0.4500 63.5000 18.2857 82.3413
8WL 4.2000 0.0000 36.5714 36.5714
8MQ 0.7000 2.0000 0.5714 2.6905
8ES 1.1500 2.0000 0.1429 2.2262
8TT 7.4000 2.0000 37.7381 40.5714
9TK 4.1500 0.0000 2.9216 2.9216
9AK 17.1000 0.3529 7.0440 7.3969
9EL 9.3000 14.2500 32.0735 47.1568
9WL 0.3667 1.1250 7.1523 8.5551
9MQ 3.6667 24.0000 0.4099 24.6182
9MS 0.5333 0.4000 3.3636 4.5970
10SA 1.4667 0.9231 0.0344 1.0130
10AK 123.3000 1.9200 28.1888 30.9421
10WL 3.6000 0.4444 1.1594 2.0205
10MQ 1.4667 0.4000 5.3377 6.1543
10TT 70.2000 1.2000 29.5176 31.1343
