A Method to Measure Choking in Cricket

Abstract

Choking in cricket occurs when a team that had been strongly favoured to win loses or a team squanders a large lead late in the match. The objective of this study is to develop a measure that can be used to quantify the phenomenon of choking. By using the required run rate and the resources used (according to the Duckworth/Lewis system) at the end of each over, a measure is defined as the product of these two quantities. This product is plotted against the number of overs bowled. When choking starts, the curve bends upward with slope according to the severity of choking. A measure of choking is then based on the ratio of the slope of the right hand part of the curve to that of its initial part. It is shown that the measure serves its purpose very well. This type of choking is described as ‘typical’ choking. If the slope of the curve remains more or less constant or if the curve bends downwards and the team loses, other terms like ‘panic’ choking and ‘strangling’ are used.