Sanath Jayasuriya didn't do badly against England yesterday: a quick 25 in 26 balls followed by a decent bowling spell of 8-0-31-0. Most people would say that this was a reasonable performance.
But when you set such high standards, even a "reasonable" performance can hurt you.
Jayasuriya has therefore dropped to the second place, just below Matthew Hayden, after Day 23 of the World Cup.
Andrew Flintoff (5), after a good bowling spell of 10-0-35-3, has edged ahead of Shane Bond (6). Flintoff is gaining points only because of his bowling. If he could bat even half as well as he is capable of he would soar to the top in the MVP rankings.
Lasith Malinga (9) continues to add immense value to Sri Lanka with his wicket-taking prowess. Sadly, Kumar Sangakkara (31) isn't playing as well as we expected him to. Other Sri Lankan players doing very well are Muttiah Muralitharan (21), Mahela Jayawardene (22) and Chaminda Vaas (30).
Two players who have done surprisingly well are Charles Langeveldt (11) of South Africa and Sajid Mahmood (12) of England. Langeveldt is currently South Africa's most successful bowler; not Pollock or Ntini!
| Rank | Country | Player | Runs | Balls | Ct | St | Rc | Bb | W | Run outs | M | Total | Average |
| 1 | Aus | Matthew Hayden | 306 | 250 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 417.00 | 139.00 | |||
| 2 | SL | Sanath Jayasuriya | 275 | 241 | 1 | 105 | 170 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 513.20 | 128.30 |
| 3 | NZ | Scott Styris | 167 | 203 | 2 | 103 | 162 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 376.20 | 125.40 |
| 4 | NZ | Jacob Oram | 63 | 83 | 1 | 78 | 141 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 291.40 | 97.13 |
| 5 | Eng | Andrew Flintoff | 45 | 70 | 2 | 95 | 157 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 242.60 | 80.87 |
| 6 | NZ | Shane Bond | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 172 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 240.60 | 80.20 |
| 7 | SA | Graeme Smith | 174 | 179 | 0 | 35 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 222.60 | 74.20 |
| 8 | SA | Jacques Kallis | 200 | 259 | 3 | 110 | 108 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 208.20 | 69.40 |
| 9 | SL | Lasith Malinga | 2 | 9 | 1 | 165 | 182 | 11 | 0.5 | 4 | 258.40 | 64.60 |
| 10 | Eng | Paul Collingwood | 135 | 156 | 2 | 102 | 114 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 192.40 | 64.13 |
| 11 | SA | Charles Langeveldt | 1 | 15 | 0 | 162 | 162 | 9 | 0.5 | 3 | 185.60 | 61.87 |
| 12 | Eng | Sajid Mahmood | 2 | 2 | 0 | 84 | 102 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 120.00 | 60.00 |
| 13 | Eng | Kevin Pietersen | 166 | 219 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0.5 | 3 | 176.60 | 58.87 |
| 14 | Aus | Michael Clarke | 133 | 122 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 173.40 | 57.80 | |||
| 15 | NZ | Stephen Fleming | 154 | 169 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 172.80 | 57.60 | |||
| 16 | WI | Daren Powell | 7 | 14 | 0 | 154 | 234 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 228.00 | 57.00 |
| 17 | Aus | Ricky Ponting | 126 | 127 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 170.40 | 56.80 | |||
| 18 | Aus | Adam Gilchrist | 108 | 95 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 165.00 | 55.00 | |||
| 19 | Aus | Glenn McGrath | 0 | 0 | 0 | 98 | 118 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 164.40 | 54.80 |
| 20 | Eng | Paul Nixon | 103 | 100 | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 3 | 163.00 | 54.33 | |||
| 21 | SL | Muttiah Muralitharan | 3 | 3 | 2 | 156 | 228 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 208.00 | 52.00 |
| 22 | SL | Mahela Jayawardene | 196 | 275 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 201.00 | 50.25 | |||
| 23 | Aus | Nathan Bracken | 0 | 0 | 1 | 85 | 132 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 145.60 | 48.53 |
| 24 | SL | Tillakaratne Dilshan | 102 | 104 | 1 | 48 | 84 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 193.00 | 48.25 |
| 25 | SL | Dilhara Fernando | 2 | 2 | 1 | 60 | 96 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 96.20 | 48.10 |
| 26 | Ire | Trent Johnston | 40 | 35 | 1 | 85 | 78 | 2 | 0.5 | 2 | 94.40 | 47.20 |
| 27 | Aus | Brad Hogg | 5 | 6 | 1 | 137 | 150 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 137.20 | 45.73 |
| 28 | SA | AB De Villiers | 92 | 78 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 136.60 | 45.53 | |||
| 29 | Eng | Liam Plunkett | 29 | 34 | 0 | 43 | 42 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 45.40 | 45.40 |
| 30 | SL | Chaminda Vaas | 4 | 6 | 1 | 106 | 198 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 180.60 | 45.15 |
| 31 | SL | Kumar Sangakkara | 108 | 136 | 4 | 4 | 0.5 | 4 | 179.20 | 44.80 | |||
| 32 | Eng | Ravinder Bopara | 62 | 58 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 82.60 | 41.30 | |||
| 33 | SA | Andrew Hall | 8 | 13 | 0 | 130 | 159 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 122.80 | 40.93 |
| 34 | WI | Shivnarine Chanderpaul | 187 | 263 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 163.60 | 40.90 | |||
| 35 | Aus | Shane Watson | 47 | 35 | 1 | 81 | 100 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 118.00 | 39.33 |
| 36 | WI | Brian Lara | 116 | 136 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 157.20 | 39.30 | |||
| 37 | Ire | Andrew White | 86 | 94 | 2 | 29 | 31 | 0 | 0.5 | 3 | 114.60 | 38.20 |
| 38 | NZ | Hamish Marshall | 65 | 77 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 68.40 | 34.20 | |||
| 39 | Ire | Boyd Rankin | 4 | 8 | 0 | 92 | 114 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 96.80 | 32.27 |
| 40 | WI | Dwayne Bravo | 48 | 64 | 0 | 175 | 174 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 129.00 | 32.25 |
| 41 | Ire | Kyle McCallan | 28 | 36 | 0 | 100 | 150 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 95.20 | 31.73 |
| 42 | SA | Ashwell Prince | 48 | 47 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 63.40 | 31.70 | |||
| 43 | Ire | Niall O'Brien | 99 | 144 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 92.80 | 30.93 | |||
| 44 | Aus | Shaun Tait | 0 | 0 | 0 | 132 | 129 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 91.20 | 30.40 |
| 45 | SA | Makhaya Ntini | 7 | 9 | 1 | 108 | 144 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 91.00 | 30.33 |
| 46 | SA | Herschelle Gibbs | 54 | 85 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 89.00 | 29.67 | |||
| 47 | WI | Denesh Ramdin | 69 | 70 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 117.00 | 29.25 | |||
| 48 | NZ | Daniel Vettori | 0 | 0 | 0 | 126 | 174 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 85.20 | 28.40 |
| 49 | Eng | Monty Panesar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 123 | 168 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 83.40 | 27.80 |
| 50 | Ban | Syed Rasel | 10 | 19 | 0 | 80 | 102 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 54.40 | 27.20 |
| 51 | Eng | James Anderson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 113 | 150 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 79.00 | 26.33 |
| 52 | WI | Chris Gayle | 74 | 114 | 1 | 147 | 176 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 103.60 | 25.90 |
| 53 | WI | Ramnaresh Sarwan | 128 | 224 | 1 | 22 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 103.00 | 25.75 |
| 54 | SL | Russel Arnold | 79 | 104 | 0 | 26 | 37 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 102.40 | 25.60 |
| 55 | SL | Chamara Silva | 108 | 143 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 101.60 | 25.40 | |||
| 56 | SA | Shaun Pollock | 20 | 31 | 0 | 146 | 150 | 2 | 1.5 | 3 | 73.20 | 24.40 |
| 57 | WI | Ian Bradshaw | 6 | 17 | 0 | 94 | 114 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 43.60 | 21.80 |
| 58 | Eng | Ian Bell | 83 | 164 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 63.80 | 21.27 | |||
| 59 | SL | Upul Tharanga | 108 | 177 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 84.40 | 21.10 | |||
| 60 | Ban | Aftab Ahmed | 50 | 62 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 60.20 | 20.07 |
| 61 | Ire | Langford-Smith | 26 | 19 | 0 | 102 | 126 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 59.60 | 19.87 |
| 62 | WI | Marlon Samuels | 43 | 62 | 1 | 81 | 84 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 75.60 | 18.90 |
| 63 | NZ | Brendon McCullum | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 55.00 | 18.33 | |||
| 64 | Ire | Andre Botha | 60 | 115 | 0 | 109 | 132 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 48.60 | 16.20 |
| 65 | NZ | Craig McMillan | 60 | 91 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 48.40 | 16.13 |
| 66 | SL | Farveez Maharoof | 5 | 9 | 1 | 67 | 84 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 32.00 | 16.00 |
| 67 | Ire | Kevin O'Brien | 29 | 65 | 1 | 39 | 42 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 29.60 | 14.80 |
| 68 | Eng | Michael Vaughan | 32 | 68 | 0 | 48 | 72 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 43.20 | 14.40 |
| 69 | SA | Mark Boucher | 22 | 27 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 42.40 | 14.13 | |||
| 70 | NZ | James Franklin | 0 | 0 | 1 | 99 | 108 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 40.40 | 13.47 |
| 71 | Ban | Mohammad Ashraful | 54 | 79 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 39.40 | 13.13 |
| 72 | Aus | Andrew Symonds | 31 | 31 | 1 | 67 | 50 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 39.20 | 13.07 |
| 73 | WI | Jerome Taylor | 23 | 27 | 0 | 136 | 156 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 37.20 | 12.40 |
| 74 | WI | Lendl Simmons | 14 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12.20 | 12.20 | |||
| 75 | Ban | Mohammad Rafique | 37 | 53 | 0 | 106 | 108 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 36.00 | 12.00 |
| 76 | Ire | Eoin Morgan | 48 | 91 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 28.20 | 9.40 | |||
| 77 | NZ | Michael Mason | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 18.00 | 9.00 |
| 78 | Ban | Tamim Iqbal | 38 | 75 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 26.00 | 8.67 | |||
| 79 | Ban | Saqibul Hasan | 54 | 97 | 0 | 96 | 83 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 24.80 | 8.27 |
| 80 | Ban | Habibul Bashar | 51 | 111 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 18.20 | 6.07 | |||
| 81 | Ire | William Porterfield | 45 | 103 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 17.60 | 5.87 | |||
| 82 | Ire | Jeremy Bray | 41 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 16.40 | 5.47 | |||
| 83 | Eng | Ed Joyce | 11 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 14.60 | 4.87 | |||
| 84 | Aus | Michael Hussey | 14 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11.20 | 3.73 | |||
| 85 | SA | Robin Petersen | 4 | 8 | 0 | 22 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3.60 | 3.60 |
| 86 | WI | Dwayne Smith | 17 | 15 | 0 | 47 | 48 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 13.40 | 3.35 |
| 87 | Ban | Javed Omar | 22 | 51 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3.20 | 3.20 | |||
| 88 | NZ | Peter Fulton | 15 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4.40 | 2.20 | |||
| 89 | SA | Justin Kemp | 6 | 22 | 2 | 14 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4.80 | 1.60 |
| 90 | Ban | Mashrafe Mortaza | 34 | 47 | 0 | 127 | 120 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -0.60 | -0.20 |
| 91 | NZ | Ross Taylor | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -0.80 | -0.80 | |||
| 92 | Ban | Shahriar Nafees | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -3.60 | -1.80 | |||
| 93 | Ire | John Mooney | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -3.60 | -3.60 |
| 94 | NZ | Jeetan Patel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 48 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -3.60 | -3.60 |
| 95 | NZ | Lou Vincent | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -4.80 | -4.80 | |||
| 96 | Ban | Mushfiqur Rahim | 8 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -16.80 | -5.60 | |||
| 97 | WI | Corey Collymore | 1 | 7 | 0 | 99 | 114 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -11.40 | -5.70 |
| 98 | Ban | Abdur Razzak | 0 | 4 | 0 | 139 | 126 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -17.40 | -5.80 |
| 99 | Eng | Jamie Dalrymple | 3 | 12 | 1 | 29 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -8.40 | -8.40 |
| 100 | Ban | Tapash Baisya | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -21.40 | -21.40 |
| 101 | Ire | Paul Mooney | 0 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -24.00 | -24.00 |
Ct: Catches taken | St: Stumpings | Rc: Runs conceded | Bb: Balls bowled | W: Wickets taken | M: Matches played. *Run outs are counted as 1 for a direct hit, and 0.5 if the fielder is an equal participant in a run out dismissal.
Here's the Chernoff gallery of the top nine Super Eight players after Day 23.
Recall that batsmen have round faces and a short and wide nose. They smile more when they score more runs (see "Hayden").
Bowlers have tapered faces, big ears and a tall and thin nose. Bowlers have bigger ears if they take more wickets (see "Malinga").
Fielders who take a lot of catches have wide eyebrows (see "McCullum" in the image below), and those that participate in run out dismissals have bigger eyes (see "Pollock").
All-rounders have both batsmen's and bowler's features. Batting all-rounders have more batsmen's features (see "Jayasuriya").
Here are the faces of the nine highest scoring batsmen in the Super Eight (total runs / scoring rate). If two players have scored the same number of runs, the player with the higher points appears first.
Here are the faces of the nine highest wicket-taking bowlers in the Super Eight (wickets / no. of runs conceded per over). If two players have scored the same number of wickets, the player with the higher points appears first.
And, finally, here are the faces of the nine most successful fielders in the Super Eight (fielding points | run outs / catches / stumpings.
We end off by looking at the names of players who have topped the MVP list from days 1-23. Jayasuriya is the only Sri Lankan on this list that is dominated by Australians and South Africans.
This list, the Chernoff faces and other charts have been prepared by my colleagues Debasish Ghosh and K Anil Kumar of Cranes Software International Limited using the SYSTAT software.