Last week we looked at how some of England’s leading batsmen get out. While researching a similar article on Australia’s top order, we noticed something else interesting: Ellyse Perry – the word’s number 12 ranked ODI batsman – doesn’t get out… or not very often anyway! A staggering 40% of her (limited overs) innings end Not Out.

Intrigued, we ran the numbers for the rest of the Top 20 ranked ODI batsmen, plus threw in some other leading names for good measure. Across the group, the Not Out average is 18%. Meg Lanning (admittedly coming in earlier in the order) ends just 9% of her innings Not Out; and even for more comparable players, the numbers max out in the high 20s. Dane van Niekerk, often batting at a similar spot in the order, is 2nd in the list, and her N.O. is 29% – way, way behind Perry.

This raises the question of whether Perry’s cross-format limited overs average of 30 is distorted by this? To an extent it is. If her N.O. was the same as van Niekerk’s (29%) Perry’s average would fall to a somewhat less impressive 25. So if we are using the average as an indication of how many runs Perry might score, it is distorted. But that doesn’t mean to say it isn’t a fair indication of her value to the Southern Stars – after all, you only have one wicket, and giving it away as little as Perry does is clearly a big part of what makes her one of the world’s most extraordinary players.

The Not Out List