Statistical comparison between Michael Clarke and Kevin Pietersen

Kevin Pietersen and Michael Clarke - Two contrasting careers

Cricket is hardly a game of blacks and whites. There were players who were born for greatness, players who came back strongly after a poor start, players who sparkled only for a small amount of time and players who faded into obscurity.

It is the cricketer who grits his teeth and works every step of the way that will reach the top. While some prefer to become media darlings and soak in their fame, others prefer to make the headlines for all the wrong reasons and wear their criticisms like armor on the field.

With respect to the last couple of years, it would not be far off to say that no two cricketers have made waves in the cricketing world as Kevin Pietersen and Michael Clarke. While Pietersen was in the eye of the storm over fallouts between him and the team management, Clarke was being lauded for his positive captaincy and his repossession of the Ashes. Fast forward to the present, Pietersen is now a respected Cricket pundit who constantly gives his views on the game while Clarke’s career has officially come to an end with a humbling Ashes loss in England.

Two players, who ruled the cricket world in their prime, now sit away from the action, never to play international cricket again. A quick look at their styles would prove that the two batsmen never resembled each other when they were on the crease.

Pietersen loved to swipe at balls outside the off stump and drag them over to the leg side often overbalancing in the process. He was known for his booming off drives and incredible power-hitting, showing his ability to clear even the biggest of grounds. Clarke, on the other hand, oozed ease and grace whenever he met the ball with his bat. A steady head, watchful eyes, and careful wrists were what made Clarke special, completely in contrast to the brash, almost barbaric Pietersen.

Overall career - Very similar numbers

Clarke’s and Pietersen’s initial Test career could not have been more different. Clarke - the typical rich kid from New South Wales - dazzled on debut with a 151 against India in Bangalore, and then a 6-9 later in the series, combined with his movie-star good looks and impressive technique. On the other hand was Pietersen, who had moved from South Africa to England due to lack of opportunity, and had angered the ICC with talks of South Africa’s alleged racial-quota. He had to live in a single room above a squash court and work at a club to make ends meet.

When he finally made his Test debut in the 2005 Ashes, the focus was mainly on his unorthodox style of play and his two-tone hair, instead of the steady 57 he made in the first Test. Pietersen was marked down as a firebrand, and this would mark the start of his love-hate relationship with the media. Here’s a look at their overall stats:

In Tests

Player	Matches	Innings	Runs	Average	100/50s	Highest
Michael Clarke	115	198	8643	49.10	28/27	329*
Kevin Pietersen	104	181	8181	47.28	23/35	227

In Test cricket, while both Clarke and Pietersen have similar numbers, Clarke’s are a shade better. He has a slightly better average than Pietersen and has scored almost 5000 more runs than him. True to Clarke’s sedate run-accumulating mentality, he has scored a triple century in addition to his three double centuries, while Pietersen has never attained the triple-century mark. Clarke also leads the hundreds category, while Pietersen has more fifties.

Home Tests

Player	Matches	Runs	Average	100s	Highest
Michael Clarke	53	4654	62.05	17	329*
Kevin Pietersen	53	4537	52.75	15	226

Away Tests

Player	Matches	Runs	Average	100s	Highest
Michael Clarke	58	3793	40.78	11	187
Kevin Pietersen	51	3644	41.88	8	227

At home, Clarke’s average is miles ahead of Pietersen’s, with more than ten runs separating the two. But it should be remembered that Clarke started his career batting at number 8, and then gradually moved up to number 5 while Pietersen has spent most of his career playing at number 4. This means that Clarke’s early innings saw a lot of not-outs which would have led to his average being increased.

In away Tests, Clarke’s average decreases drastically as it falls almost 22 runs behind his average at home. Pietersen’s average also shows a decrease, but it is not as steep as Clarke’s, which leads to their average away from home being more or less similar. It is interesting to note that Clarke does not have a double-century away from home while Pietersen has made one outside England.

Pietersen didn’t get the many chances in the latter period of his one-day career

In one-day internationals

Due to a consistent back injury, Clarke did not play as many ODIs as he would have liked to. With Pietersen’s problems with the team and a dip in form, he was dropped many times in his career, which meant that he too did not play a lot of matches in the shorter format of the game. Clarke made his debut against England in 2003 where he did not make much of a mark. Pietersen’s one-day debut came in Zimbabwe in 2004 where he scored a 77* and finished the series with an average of 104.00. These are their stats for home and away matches:

ODIs at Home

Player	Matches	Runs	Average	100s	Highest
Michael Clarke	107	3358	38.59	2	117
Kevin Pietersen	52	1201	30.79	1	110*

ODIs Away

Player	Matches	Runs	Average	100s	Highest
Michael Clarke	138	4623	50.25	6	130
Kevin Pietersen	84	3239	46.27	8	130

Overall, Clarke is the better one-day batsman by some margin, having a higher average than Pietersen in both home and away games. Of course, Clarke has played more matches than Pietersen at the ODI level, but he has proven to be the more consistent batsman. Clarke has a 24% success rate of winning matches when he scores above his average, whereas Pietersen has a 14% success rate. Clarke preferred to use quick feet and traditional batting techniques while Pietersen welcomed the modern-day innovations and experimented with reverse-sweeps and switch-hits freely.

Clarke had back problem and that hampered his career

Away from home, Pietersen has scored heavily in India and South Africa, averaging 46.66 and 84.33 respectively. Clarke only has an average of 26.16 in South Africa, but boasts an average of 54.84 in India - but, the problem is that he has played 3 lesser matches and scored almost 400 runs lesser than Pietersen. Pietersen has 1120 runs in 26 matches in India while Clarke only has 713 runs in 23 matches.

On the other hand, Pietersen has struggled to score in Australia, making only 285 runs in 9 matches without a single century, while Clarke has thrived in England, scoring 1049 runs at an average of almost 50. Similarly in West Indies and New Zealand, Pietersen has an average of 43.66 and 33 while Clarke has excelled with averages of 65.72 and 47 respectively.

The Test of the Subcontinent

Both Clarke and Pietersen are known to be good players of spin. While Clarke usually steps out of the crease to smother the spin, Pietersen waits for the ball to arrive before playing his shots. Both batsmen have also shown major weakness against spin – Pietersen against the left arm spinners and Clark against leg-spinners.

For batsmen in the subcontinent, their biggest Test is to play well in Australia and the swinging conditions of England. Similarly, for players in England and Australia, the mettle of most batsmen is proven during a series in the subcontinent and playing quality spin-bowling. Here is what the statistics say:

In Tests: Playing in the Subcontinent

Player	Matches	Runs	Average	100s	Highest
Michael Clarke	20	1294	36.97	4	151
Kevin Pietersen	22	1573	40.33	4	186

A quick look proves that Pietersen has the upper hand over Clarke in the subcontinent. He has a higher average than Clarke and has scored almost 300 more runs than him in only 2 more matches. Pietersen has also had more success against all the subcontinent oppositions – averaging more than Michael Clarke in the case of each team. Here are the averages against each subcontinent team:

Player	Bangladesh	India	Pakistan	Sri Lanka
Michael Clarke	25.50	40.50	14.25	42.80
Kevin Pietersen	83.33	43.93	22.33	44.00

While it’s evident that both players have struggled against Pakistan, Pietersen has had the upper hand over Clarke against all the teams. Pietersen has especially scored more in Sri Lanka where the pitches are known to practically crumble over time and become very difficult to play on. With an unorthodox technique like Pietersen’s, it is remarkable that he has good numbers against a country that is tough to beat at home.

Pietersen has also contributed more in matches that his team have won, scoring 729 runs in 6 matches at an average of 81.00 compared to Clarke’s 466 in 5 matches at an average of 58.25. While Clarke is at his best when his team bats first, scoring 915 runs at an average of 43.57, Pietersen prefers to bat second, scoring 1059 runs at an average of 48.13. Interestingly, both Pietersen and Clarke have failed to perform in the second innings, with averages of 27 and 30 respectively.

In ODIs: Playing in the Subcontinent

Player	Matches	Runs	Average	100s	Highest
Michael Clarke	54	1904	54.40	4	130
Kevin Pietersen	40	1638	45.50	3	130

While it would seem that Clarke has the better numbers, a closer look would give second doubts. Though Clarke has an average of almost 10 more runs than Pietersen, he has played 14 more matches than him, scoring only 266 more runs. Clarke also has 12 not outs, when compared to Pietersen’s 4. When it comes to averages in different countries, Clarke is ahead of Pietersen in all countries except the UAE. Here are their averages:

Player	In Bangladesh	In India	In UAE	In Sri Lanka
Michael Clarke	54.50	54.84	63.57	51.28
Kevin Pietersen	13.66	46.66	84.38	28.00

Clarke has an average of 50+ in all the subcontinent countries while Pietersen only has one 50+ average. While Pietersen has done well against Sri Lanka in Test matches, he fails to stand out in ODIs, with an average of only 28.00. True to his nature of being a good player of spin, Clarke has his highest average of 54.84 in India, where he made his debut in 2003. Pietersen has a dismal record in Bangladesh, scoring only 41 runs in 3 games with a paltry average of 13.66 while Clarke has 218 runs in 6 games with an average of 54.50.

Pietersen has similar records while batting first and chasing – 871 runs at 43.55 and 767 runs at 47.93 respectively. But in the case of Clarke, his average shoots up dramatically whenever Australia chases down a target. While he has scored 1091 runs at an average of 47.43 batting first, his average rises to 80.50 when batting second, with 644 runs in 23 matches.

The Ashes Numbers

For any player from Australia or England, the biggest Test is always the Ashes. Their careers are practically determined by how they play in an Ashes series. Even if they do not impress in other tours, a single good Ashes series means redemption. It is not so different in the case of Clarke or Pietersen, as a quick look at their Ashes stats will reveal:

Overall Ashes Statistics:

Player	Matches	Runs	Average	100/50s	Highest
Michael Clarke	35	2241	40.74	7/7	187
Kevin Pietersen	27	2158	44.95	4/13	227

Kevin Pietersen has undoubtedly excelled Clarke in the Ashes, playing 8 lesser matches but only scoring 83 runs lesser than him. His average is also more than 4 runs higher than Clarke. A quick look at the statistics home and away will also prove the same:

Ashes Statistics: Home

Player	Matches	Runs	Average	100/50s	Highest
Michael Clarke	15	945	41.08	4/2	148
Kevin Pietersen	12	1014	44.08	2/7	158

Ashes Statistics: Away

Player	Matches	Runs	Average	100/50s	Highest
Michael Clarke	20	1296	40.50	3/5	187
Kevin Pietersen	15	1144	45.76	2/6	227

Once more, the stats prove that Pietersen enjoyed a much better Ashes than Clarke, outscoring him completely at home. Away from home, Clarke has more runs than Pietersen, but only 152 runs in 5 matches. Pietersen has more fifties than Clarke both home and away, but Clarke has more number of hundreds. It is also interesting to note that Clarke does not have a double-century in the Ashes, while Pietersen’s highest Test score of 227 came in the Adelaide Oval in 2010.

But when the statistics for winning contributions are pulled, the honours are suddenly exchanged. While England have won 4 Ashes Tests with Pietersen making fifty runs or more, Australia have won no less than 7 Tests when Michael Clarke has done the same.

While Pietersen has scores of 71, 227, 51 and 64 at an average of 103.25, Clarke boasts much more consistent numbers of 91, 56, 124, 135*, 93, 113 and 148 at an average of 126.66. So it is clear that while Pietersen has better numbers than Clarke in the Ashes, Clarke has led Australia to more wins than Pietersen.

Final Say

It is apparent that there is no clear winner between Clarke and Pietersen when it comes to statistics alone. They are both very different batsmen - while one is watchful and meticulous, the other is dynamic and aggressive. While Clarke leads the way in Test matches played in countries like Australia, England, New Zealand and West Indies, Pietersen is arguably the better player in the subcontinent.

Contrastingly, Clarke has the better numbers in the subcontinent in the ODIs with a 50+ average against all subcontinent teams, but Pietersen is miles ahead of Clarke in South Africa, with an average of 84. While Pietersen has similar stats in both innings in ODIs, Clarke has extremely good numbers while chasing. But in Test matches, it is the direct opposite, as Clarke piles on the runs while batting first, but fails in the second innings.

Much like how the lives and careers of Clarke and Pietersen have no similarity between them, their statistics also show lots of contrasts and variations. The two will never play together again. Clarke has already hung up his boots. Pietersen waits forlornly for a call-back that might never come. If there is anything that can be agreed upon regarding the two cricketers, it is that the game of Cricket will be poorer without them.