"Real" averages updated

"Real" averages for the first two Test matches in New Zealand are now available here. By taking into account dropped catches and poor umpiring decisions, we're able to get a better understanding of how much luck a player has had. For England supporters, key things to note are that Collingwood is top, helped by the fact that his 66 in the 1st innings at Napier is considered a not out by real averages given that he was given LBW having hit the ball, but also hindered by the fact that his 59 in the 2nd innings at Wellington is considered a duck, given that he was dropped on 0.

Pietersen comes out as 7th in the England averages, whether looking at real averages or official averages - time for him to come good in the 3rd Test! And Strauss is 4th in the England real averages, aided by the decision to give him out LBW to Oram when the ball pitched outside leg stump, which gives him 44 not out in the 2nd innings at Wellington. According to real averages Cook, Vaughan and Pietersen have all performed worse than Strauss - interesting given that he is an opener and the two openers are both performing worse than him (not that I'd consider for a moment dropping Cook or Vaughan).

Having said that, this is only two games and you can't read too much into only two games. Real averages will be updated for the series on Saturday 29th March.