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Three figures, two moods
Wisden CricInfo staff - December 17, 2001

One of Australia's greatest strengths in recent years has been an ability to command the mood of an innings. Justin Langer's 116 on Friday (as analysed in Wisden 20:20) was a masterclass in first-day batting. Today, with a lead of 66 and a day to set a target, Matthew Hayden demonstrated precisely how to bat for a declaration. Our graphs show the contrasting footwork used by both players. There are similarities – South Africa maintained a good length to both players that demanded, for the most part, a conventional stroke. But there are also striking differences, particularly in the use of the crease.

Hayden took a particular liking to Claude Henderson, the left-arm spinner, dancing down the track and smearing him for 39 runs in 32 deliveries. Langer proved he would have fared no worse in the same situation by lofting Henderson for 14 runs on the seven occasions he left his crease, but his job was to build the platform, rather than dive off it.

Inevitably, Langer's was the more measured innings. He offered no stroke to a fifth of the deliveries he faced (52 out of 246) and was in control of 86% of all his shots. By contrast, Hayden padded up to just 24 of his 207 deliveries, and almost 23% of his strokes were uncontrolled - that's edges, or play-and-misses, or any shot that is in some way false.

Their scoring areas contrasted as well. Langer, fed a constant diet of off-stump deliveries, scored exclusively through the off side, through cover drives and cuts. Hayden, who was giving the ball that extra bit of welly, was more leg-sided in his play. 103 of his runs came in the wide arc from fine leg to extra-cover, even though more than half of his deliveries were pitched outside off stump.

Andrew Miller is on the staff of Wisden.com

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