2006 in statistics

Australia dominated the year as the best team in Test cricket but Pakistan's Mohammad Yousuf and Sri Lankan spinner Muttian Muralitharan finished as the sport's leading batsman and bowler.

Read on for the best statistics of 2006 in seven categories.
TEAM RECORDS
Australia won all 10 Tests they played in the year, including the first four matches against England to retain the Ashes.
Bangladesh and the West Indies were the only countries not to win a single Test in 2006.

Australia P 10 W 10 L 0 D 0
Sri Lanka P 11 W 6 L 3 D 2
Pakistan P 12 W 4 L 3 D 5
New Zealand P 8 W 3 L 3 D 2
India P 12 W 3 L 3 D 6
England P 14 W 5 L 6 D 3
South Africa P 11 W 3 L 7 D 1
Bangladesh P 4 W 0 L 4 D 0
West Indies P 10 W 0 L 5 D 5




MOST TEST RUNS

Mohammad Yousuf broke Viv Richards' 30-year-old world record for the most runs in a year when he scored 1,788, including nine centuries, at an average of 99.33.

M Yousuf (Pak) M 11 Runs 1,788 HS 202 Ave 99.33
Kevin Pietersen (Eng) 14 1,343 158 53.72
Ricky Ponting (Aus) 10 1,333 196 88.86
Kumar Sangakkara (SL) 11 1,242 287 69.00
Younis Khan (Pak) 11 1,179 199 65.50

MOST WICKETS

Muralitharan fell just short of Shane Warne's world record of 96 Test wickets in a year, set in 2005, when he finished with 90 at 16.90.

Warne was fifth with 49 to take his career tally to a record 706 heading into his last match before retirement.

M Muralitharan (SL) M 11 Runs 1,521 W 90 Ave 16.90 Best 8-70
Makhaya Ntini (SA) 10 1,253 58 21.60 6-100
Anil Kumble (Ind) 12 1,910 57 33.50 6-78
Matthew Hoggard (Eng) 14 1,560 51 30.58 7-109
Shane Warne (Aus) 10 1,480 49 30.20 6-86

HIGHEST BATTING AVERAGES
Discarded Australian paceman Jason Gillespie topped the batting averages at 231 after making an unbeaten double-hundred in his last Test appearance against Bangladesh, with four out of the top five coming from Australia.

Jason Gillespie (Aus) M 2 Runs 231 HS 201* Ave 231.00
Mohammad Yousuf (Pak) 11 1,788 202 99.33
Ricky Ponting (Aus) 10 1,333 196 88.86
Mike Hussey (Aus) 10 965 182 80.41
Michael Clarke (Aust) 6 429 135* 71.50

HIGHEST INDIVIDUAL SCORES

Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene's 374 against South Africa in Colombo was the highest score of the year, while Kumar Sangakkara, who scored 287 during a world record partnership of 624 with his skipper, had the second best.

374 - Mahela Jayawardene (SL) v South Africa, Colombo
287 - Kumar Sangakkara (SL) v South Africa, Colombo
262 - Stephen Fleming (NZ) v South Africa, Cape Town
254 - Virender Sehwag (Ind) v Pakistan, Lahore
216 - Brian Lara (WI) v Pakistan, Multan

BEST BOWLING AVERAGES
Gillespie also finished second in the bowling averages behind South African part-time bowler Ashwell Prince, whose lone victim came at an average cost of just nine.

Ashwell Prince (SA) M 11 Runs 9 W 1 Ave 9.00 Best 1-2
Jason Gillespie (Aus) 2 90 8 11.25 3-11
Shaun Udal (Eng) 1 67 5 13.40 4-14
Muttiah Muralitharan (SL) 11 1,521 90 16.90 8-70
Stuart Clark (Aus) 8 746 42 17.76 5-55

BEST FIGURES IN AN INNINGS
Muralitharan's 8-70 against England at Trent Bridge were the best figures by a bowler in 2006.

8/70 - Muttiah Muralitharan (SL) v England, Nottingham
8/108 - Stuart MacGill (Aus) v Bangladesh, Fatullah
7/97 - Muttiah Muralitharan (SL) v South Africa, Colombo
7/109 - Matthew Hoggard (Eng) v Australia, Adelaide
7/130 - Daniel Vettori (NZ) v Sri Lanka, Wellington

BBC sports



I hope you would have enjoyed reading it.Do comment:)