We have now reached the end of our forced march through the quagmire of (some) cricket statistics. For your sanity, we would strongly advise you to read parts One, Two, Three, and Four. We were inspired, if that is the word, to write these blogs by our friend Ron Kaplan, who is keen to watch a cricket game on television without scratching his head in mystification at the digits appearing at the bottom of the screen (as if he were in The Matrix). As ever, we want to assure you, gentle reader, that you can enjoy both baseball and cricket without having to know the intricacies of the figures you see displayed on the screen (or board, if you’re at the game). But, since we’ve made it this far, let’s move onto the final slide.

Australia are now coming toward the end of their innings. The Second Powerplay was the last powerplay taken, and that’s over. During this over (the 42nd), the Australians have scored a run, lost a wicket, and not scored: the first three balls. Their run-rate (the average number of runs they’re scoring per over) is anemic. Zaheer Khan is bowling and David Hussey is the batsman who’s facing (“on strike” doesn’t mean he’s taking industrial action!). Judging by the screen shot, Hussey has just guided the ball behind him and the batsmen have crossed for a run. But the ball has sped away to the edge of the playing area (called the “boundary), which means that David Hussey will automatically be assigned four runs.

You’ll notice that, as with baseball, the edge of the ground is festooned with advertising. You’ll also see that, unlike baseball, cricket has no problem “decorating” the actual hallowed turf with advertisements, especially ones that are elongated so that perspectively they’ll “pop” for the television viewers.  If you look closely enough, you’ll see little white dots on the playing area. This is the “circle” within which some of the fielders have to stand during the powerplays. Given its location, however, the circle looks  as though it’s from an earlier game, because it doesn’t encompass the pitch (the brown turfed area).