Beware running between the wickets at Marvel
Are things really as bad as commentators make them out to be?
IMAGE: Perth Scorchers import Keaton Jennings in run out by Mackenzie Harvey after getting his bat caught in the ground (FOX Cricket)
Whenever the Melbourne Renegades play at Marvel Stadium, the commentators always mention the number of times batters get run out in the Docklands stadium – particularly if they don’t have a lot of experience playing at the ground.
The reason for these runouts, according to the commentators, is that the grass that runs alongside the two drop-in pitches is different (i.e., longer/thicker) compared to the rest of the turf. This means shots that are hit into the turf don’t carry on as fast as they would at other grounds.
(For a more in-depth explanation of how the pitches and practice wickets are prepared and installed at Marvel, check out this article from the Australia Turfgrass Management Journal.)
Image: cricket.com.au on X (Twitter)
But are there really that many more run outs at Marvel compared to other grounds, or are the commentators taking creative liberties?
Let’s find out.
If we look at the data from the start of BBL01 to the current stage of BBL14 (including the match between the Brisbane Heat and the Hobart Hurricanes on January 16), there have been 527 run outs. The ground with the highest number of run outs is the MCG (70), although Marvel is a close second (67).
However, looking purely at raw numbers can be a little misleading due to discrepancies in the number of games each venue has hosted. For example, the MCG has hosted 73 BBL matches while Cazaly’s Stadium in Cairns only hosted the one match.
If we look at the average number of run outs per game for grounds that have hosted at least 10 BBL matches, Marvel again sits second (0.99 run outs per game) – this time behind Homebush Stadium (which some people may know better as Stadium Australia or Accor Stadium), the former home ground for the Sydney Thunder, which saw 21 run outs in 14 games (1.5 run outs per game).
And if we consider the proportion of all wickets that are run outs across different venues, Marvel is again towards the pointy end of things (run outs account for 8.0% of all wickets lost), again behind Homebush Stadium, where run outs have accounted for 12.3% of all wickets lost.
So, the first part of the claim seems to hold up – run outs do seem to happen more frequently at Marvel compared to other BBL venues.
Now let’s look at the second part. While there is more than one way to look at experience (or how familiar an individual or a team is with playing at a particular venue), in this scenario I’m going to look at run outs at Marvel for the Renegades compared to their opposition.
There have been 68 BBL matches hosted at Marvel. The Renegades having appeared in 62 of these, with the six Marvel games that the Renegades have not featured in were played during the covid-affected 2020/21 and 2021/22 BBL seasons (BBL10 and BBL11) when the fixture was turned on it head due to border closures and travel restrictions.
On average, the Renegades have a run out once every two games at Marvel, which is more frequent than one every three games at the remaining venues. The ‘Gades are one of four teams that average more run outs at Marvel compared to other venues.
The biggest difference in run outs per game between Marvel and all other grounds belongs to the Thunder, where they average 0.86 run outs per game at Marvel and 0.41 run outs per game at all other venues.
I find this a little surprising, given the number of run outs we saw at their former home in Homebush Stadium. But I suppose this could be explained by the number of games they played at Homebush relative to all other stadiums, or the fact that during these games it was their opposition that was being run out, rather than the Thunder.
Turns out commentators know what they’re talking about, at least sometimes!
The timeframe of this article is limited based on what data are freely/easily available and/or accessible. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you spot any errors in what I have presented.