The Power of A Crime

I read the scholarly article in the British Medical Journal three years back. No, it had nothing to do with Medicine not even Sports Medicine. It was about cricket.

It was titled, ” India versus Pakistan and the power of a six : an analysis of cricket results.”

It went on to elaborate  in detail the results of cricket matches played between the two countries between 1952 and 2003. Emphasis was given to the last ball six hit by Miandad which won the game for Pakistan in Sharjah in 1986. And the ” pre-six ” and the ” post-six ” fortunes of both the teams were put under surgical scrutiny.

The conclusion ? The authors concluded that overall, Pakistan has achieved success in both the forms of the game. Their data suggested that in one-day matches Miandad’s six inspired an improvement in Pakistan’s performance or a decline in India’s, or both, but this effect was small in test cricket. Venue, weather conditions, winning the toss and batting first were not associated with the outcome. They also admitted that weather conditions, ground conditions, selection policies and match-fixing are too innumerable to measure or adjust for.

” We believe these data support our hypothesis that a single shot had an enduring influence, ” they added.

Of course, they had a point.

Twenty one years on, Pakistan cricket is in a bit of a mess. Bob Woolmer, their coach, found tragically murdered in the hotel room in Jamaica. During the World Cup.

Is this going to be another landmark event in Pakistan cricket ?

Let’s wait and see..