Perhaps numbers never do reveal the full story, but they tell a large part of it. Every Friday, The Numbers Game will take a look at statistics from the present and the past, busting myths and revealing hidden truths:
For the last few years, critics the world over have bemoaned the lack of genuine swing bowlers in world cricket today. Chaminda Vaas has consistently been the flag-bearer of the swing-bowlers' club, but its membership has gradually declined. It was heartening, therefore, to see two practicioners of the art perform superbly and reach personal milestones over the last week. The matches themselves couldn't have been more different - the eyes of the entire cricket world were riveted on one, while the other was consigned to the scrapheap even before it began - but for the two concerned bowlers, the games provided crucial pointers for the future.
In the last two years, Simon Jones has been part of England's attack, but he has been the forgotten ingredient in the mix, coming on second or third change, bowling a few overs often only to relieve the more high-profile bowlers. That, though, should change after Jones's magnificent display of swing with the old ball at Manchester, where his 6 for 53 put England in a position to force a win. During the course of that haul, he also clinched his 50th Test wicket. It took him 17 matches to get there, but that is a highly misleading stat, and a direct consequence of the number of overs he puts in per match - just 26.3. Look at his strike rate, and it's one of England's best. Among bowlers who have played since the second World War, only four have had a better strike rate when they got to 50 wickets: three of them are legends, while Dominic Cork didn't do too badly either. Among all England bowlers who've sent down at least 2000 balls, Jones is in ninth place, ahead of Bob Willis and Ian Botham. (Click here for the entire list.)
(stats since 1945)
Unlike Jones, Shane Bond has hardly been the forgotten member of his team's bowling attack, which otherwise consists of friendly medium-pacers, but Bond's biggest challenge has been keeping those recurring stress fractures at bay. The Test at Harare was his first for 28 months, and a couple of days after Jones's six-for, Bond replied with 6 for 51 - admittedly against batsmen slightly inferior in class to the Australians - to get to his 50 Test scalps. If Jones is among England's best in terms of strike rate, then Bond compares well with the world's greatest since the War. In terms of matches, Bond has reached the 50-wicket mark faster than any other New Zealander - Chris Martin took 13 games, one more than Bond, while even Richard Hadlee required 14 matches to get to that landmark. The one stat he'd want to improve on is his record against the top teams: so far, 24 of his 56 wickets have come against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
(since 1946)
Fleming's 6000
While Bond was the fastest New Zealander to a landmark, another team-mate of his achieved a feat, but was slower than anyone else. Stephen Fleming became the first New Zealander to get to 6000 Test runs en route to his 65 at Bulawayo, but the 165 innings he needed to get there were three more than Graham Thorpe took.
Fleming's average of 39.03 would have been considered very respectable about 20 years back, but in the age of poor bowling attacks and flat pitches, the number is definitely below par. A big reason for that is Fleming's disappointing record at home - in 44 Tests in New Zealand, he only averages 32.36; 12 less than his overseas average. And for a batsman brought up on a regular diet of seam bowlers and seaming pitches, Fleming has an outstanding record against spin, as the table below shows (stats since September 2001). During this period, he has handled the world's two best spinners with aplomb - he averages 62.50 against Shane Warne, while Muttiah Muralitharan has toiled 329 deliveries, conceded 131 runs, and hasn't dismissed him once. Contrast that with his stats against the world's best fast bowler - Glenn McGrath has nailed him seven times for 63 runs for a McGrath-esque batting average of nine. (Click here for Fleming's career summary.)