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Z-scores are simply the number itself minus the average of all the all-rounders divided by the standard deviation. For example, for the 27 allrounders in your
data, the batting average is 34.8 and standard deviation is 7.9. Then Kallis, whose own batting average is 55.08, will have a z-score as follows:

Z-score = (batting score ʹ average of all players in sample) / standard deviation

= (55.08 ʹ 34.8)/7.9

= 2.55

Z-scores have some very useful properties. First note that your average score in this sample is 0.00. Thus, if you are an average all rounder good enough to get
on this list of 27, your z-scores will be 0 and 0. If you are better than average, then you will have a positive score, and worse than average, will be a negative
score. And +2 is better than +1. (Since bowling averages are better if lower, I multiplied them by -1, so that positive is still better for both batting and bowling).

It is especially useful when comparing different attributes that have different variances, such as, as stated in my first message, that batting averages are more
varied as bowling averages. But since we divide both by their own variance, we normalize them, m
 

 

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Thus, with Kapil Dev͛s batting and bowling z-scores of -0.48 and 0.06, we see that he was worse than average as a batsman (in this group), and almost (slightly
better) average bowler. He was clearly a bowling all rounder though! Comparing to Kallis, his batting z-score is 2.55 and bowling z-score is -0.26. He is clearly a
batting all rounder, but more importantly, his batting z-score is outstanding! Statistically you expect about 96% of all your z-scores to be between +2 and -2.

Below is the table of all the z-score and the raw data. I am also attaching a picture of the graph that I did which plots each player͛s z-scores. In the picture you
also see the 0-lines which represent the averages. You will see that Kallis and Sobers are outstanding batsmen, and almost average bowlers. In the bowling
department, we have some outstandingly bad bowlers, (at least in comparison to the average all rounder in this list), who still made this list of all rounders,
which are Hooper and Shastri, both of whom are probably batsmen who bowled a little rather than all rounders.

Please feel free to use any/all of this information.

Best,

Anirban (Arnie)

No Player Runs Batting Wkts Bowling ARIdx1 ð
 ð


Avge Avge 
  
 
1 Kallis J.H 11126 55.08 266 31.59 1.744  
2 Sobers G.St.A 8032 57.78 235 34.04 1.698  
3 Imran Khan 3807 37.69 362 22.81 1.652  
4 Miller K.R 2958 36.97 170 22.98 1.609  
5 Faulkner G.A 1754 40.79 82 26.59 1.534  
6 Pollock S.M 3781 32.32 421 23.12 1.398  
7 Mushtaq 3643 39.17 79 29.23 1.34  
Mohammad
8 Goddard T.L 2516 34.47 123 26.23 1.314  
9 Greig A.W 3599 40.44 141 32.21 1.256  
10 Hadlee R.J 3124 27.17 431 22.3 1.218  
11 Noble M.A 1997 30.26 121 25 1.21  
12 Botham I.T 5200 33.55 383 28.4 1.181  
13 McMillan B.M 1968 39.36 75 33.83 1.164  
14 Armstrong 2863 38.69 87 33.6 1.152  
W.W
15 Cairns C.L 3320 33.54 218 29.4 1.141  
16 Rhodes W 2325 30.19 127 26.97 1.12  
17 Woolley F.E 3283 36.08 83 33.92 1.064  
18 Kapil Dev N 5248 31.05 434 29.65 1.047  
19 Bailey T.E 2290 29.74 132 29.21 1.018  
20 Mankad M.H 2109 31.48 162 32.32 0.974  
21 Flintoff A 3845 31.78 226 32.79 0.969  
22 Wasim Akram 2898 22.64 414 23.62 0.959  
23 Vettori D.L 3962 30.71 325 33.87 0.907  
24 Benaud R 2201 24.46 248 27.03 0.905  
25 Shastri R.J 3830 35.79 151 40.96 0.874  
26 Vaas WPUJC 3087 24.31 355 29.58 0.822  
27 Hooper C.L 5762 36.47 114 49.43 0.738  
 
      
 
       
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