An Investigation of Synergy between Batsmen in Opening Partnerships

In cricket, it has long been accepted that synergies in batting partnerships are an important aspect in batting performance. This paper investigates the importance of partnerships in Test and one-day cricket by comparing the performance of opening batsmen with their “synergistic” partners to the performance of these batsmen with alternative partners. In Test cricket, a bivariate performance statistic based on the strike rate and the batting average is assessed using a nonparametric binomial test procedure. In one-day cricket, a univariate performance statistic based on runs scored relative to resources consumed is assessed using a single sample t-test. Our statistical analyses conclude that synergies in opening partnerships may be considered a sporting myth.