Test cricketers score quickly during the ‘nervous nineties’: Evidence from a regression discontinuity design

Abstract

The ‘nervous nineties’ is a well-known cricket colloquialism that implies that batting within reach of 100 runs is mentally demanding. Despite common acceptance of this phenomenon, no study has used a historical test cricket dataset to examine how batting behaviour and performance changes on approach to a century. Accordingly, we explored opensource ball-by-ball data from 712 test cricket matches played between 2004 and 2022 to model the regression discontinuity of batting performance metrics either side of 100 runs. Models were fit using multi-level regression, adjusted for the clustering of balls within players (and where possible, the clustering of matches and innings within players). The analysis revealed that runs per ball and the probability of scoring a boundary increased as batters approached 100 runs. This was followed by a decline of -0.18 runs per ball (95% CI -0.22 to -0.14) and a three-percentage point decline (95% CI 2.2 to 3.8) in the probability of a boundary once a batter reached 100. The modelling revealed no evidence of a change in the probability of a dismissal before and after 100. Our results suggest many batters cope effectively with the psychological demands of playing through the nineties, including by batting aggressively and/or opportunistically to swiftly reach the milestone.