In the World Cup Super Eights match between South Africa and New Zealand, Scott Styris played a valuable innings of 56, but hardly bowled.
Jacques Kallis had to bat with utmost caution and only bowled four average overs. Neither player's performance was good enough to unseat Sanath Jayasuriya from the top of the Super Eights most valuable player (MVP) list.
Recall that batsmen score high points if they score a lot of runs in the least possible balls, bowlers score high points if they take a lot of wickets with the best possible economy rate, and fielders are rewarded for catches, stumpings and run outs.
With this scheme, all-rounders are always more advantaged; but then they also bring greater "value" to ODI games.
Andre Nel moved to the fourth place, ahead of Kallis, with his figures of 9.2-0-33-2, although only a tiny fraction separates these two.
Jacob Oram (6th place) is ahead of his compatriot Shane Bond (8). Most would agree that Bond has been the much better bowler, but he hasn't scored a single run so far in the Super Eights.
AB de Villiers, a pure batsman, drops to no. 14 after his duck against New Zealand. Graeme Smith, who was the MVP in the early phase of the World Cup is now down to no. 36 after another batting failure and to make matters worse, he also conceded 56 runs in 5 overs against West Indies.
| Rank | Country | Player | Runs | Balls | Ct| St | Rc | Bb | W | Run Out | M | Total | AVG |
| 1 | SL | Sanath Jayasuriya | 339 | 321 | 1 | 149 | 230 | 4 | 1.0 | 5 | 581.20 | 116.24 |
| 2 | Aus | Matthew Hayden | 347 | 300 | 2 | 0.0 | 5 | 464.00 | 92.80 | |||
| 3 | NZ | Scott Styris | 344 | 459 | 3 | 163 | 240 | 7 | 0.5 | 6 | 544.80 | 90.80 |
| 4 | SA | Andre Nel | 1 | 5 | 2 | 132 | 176 | 8 | 0.0 | 3 | 208.80 | 69.60 |
| 5 | SA | Jacques Kallis | 335 | 435 | 3 | 190 | 216 | 4 | 0.0 | 6 | 415.80 | 69.30 |
| 6 | NZ | Jacob Oram | 124 | 194 | 4 | 147 | 243 | 9 | 1.0 | 6 | 400.20 | 66.70 |
| 7 | Eng | Andrew Flintoff | 72 | 110 | 3 | 168 | 265 | 9 | 0.0 | 5 | 331.00 | 66.20 |
| 8 | NZ | Shane Bond | 0 | 0 | 3 | 135 | 310 | 11 | 0.0 | 6 | 392.00 | 65.33 |
| 9 | SL | Lasith Malinga | 2 | 9 | 1 | 165 | 182 | 11 | 0.5 | 4 | 258.40 | 64.60 |
| 10 | Aus | Glenn McGrath | 0 | 0 | 0 | 177 | 219 | 13 | 0.0 | 5 | 310.20 | 62.04 |
| 11 | SL | Muttiah Muralitharan | 3 | 3 | 2 | 188 | 288 | 10 | 0.0 | 5 | 296.00 | 59.20 |
| 12 | Aus | Nathan Bracken | 0 | 0 | 1 | 118 | 192 | 8 | 0.0 | 4 | 232.60 | 58.15 |
| 13 | Eng | Kevin Pietersen | 280 | 366 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0.5 | 5 | 287.00 | 57.40 |
| 14 | SA | AB De Villiers | 253 | 253 | 4 | 0.0 | 6 | 323.60 | 53.93 | |||
| 15 | WI | Daren Powell | 55 | 50 | 0 | 232 | 294 | 8 | 0.0 | 5 | 265.20 | 53.04 |
| 16 | SL | Chaminda Vaas | 4 | 6 | 1 | 139 | 252 | 8 | 0.0 | 5 | 262.80 | 52.56 |
| 17 | Aus | Ricky Ponting | 212 | 233 | 5 | 0.0 | 5 | 262.60 | 52.52 | |||
| 18 | Aus | Shaun Tait | 0 | 0 | 1 | 212 | 225 | 11 | 1.0 | 5 | 261.00 | 52.20 |
| 19 | Aus | Adam Gilchrist | 169 | 157 | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 5 | 252.40 | 50.48 | |||
| 20 | SA | Herschelle Gibbs | 231 | 284 | 7 | 1.0 | 6 | 293.80 | 48.97 | |||
| 21 | NZ | Daniel Vettori | 10 | 14 | 0 | 234 | 346 | 10 | 0.0 | 6 | 291.60 | 48.60 |
| 22 | Eng | Paul Collingwood | 160 | 235 | 5 | 166 | 192 | 3 | 1.0 | 5 | 240.60 | 48.12 |
| 23 | Ban | Syed Rasel | 14 | 21 | 1 | 146 | 222 | 6 | 0.0 | 4 | 191.80 | 47.95 |
| 24 | SL | Kumar Sangakkara | 177 | 240 | 5 | 4 | 0.5 | 5 | 239.00 | 47.80 | |||
| 25 | Eng | Sajid Mahmood | 2 | 4 | 0 | 171 | 208 | 7 | 1.0 | 4 | 188.20 | 47.05 |
| 26 | Aus | Michael Clarke | 188 | 185 | 2 | 27 | 24 | 0 | 0.0 | 5 | 230.20 | 46.04 |
| 27 | Eng | Liam Plunkett | 29 | 34 | 0 | 43 | 42 | 1 | 0.0 | 1 | 45.40 | 45.40 |
| 28 | Aus | Brad Hogg | 5 | 6 | 2 | 182 | 246 | 8 | 0.0 | 5 | 222.00 | 44.40 |
| 29 | WI | Devon Smith | 33 | 27 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 44.40 | 44.40 | |||
| 30 | SL | Tillakaratne Dilshan | 116 | 128 | 1 | 92 | 132 | 2 | 1.0 | 5 | 220.20 | 44.04 |
| 31 | SL | Mahela Jayawardene | 211 | 291 | 1 | 1.0 | 5 | 218.20 | 43.64 | |||
| 32 | SA | Charles Langeveldt | 10 | 47 | 1 | 219 | 222 | 9 | 0.5 | 4 | 174.00 | 43.50 |
| 33 | Aus | Stuart Clark | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 48 | 1 | 0.0 | 1 | 43.40 | 43.40 |
| 34 | WI | Ramnaresh Sarwan | 220 | 299 | 1 | 52 | 48 | 1 | 0.0 | 5 | 216.20 | 43.24 |
| 35 | Eng | Paul Nixon | 131 | 145 | 5 | 1 | 1.0 | 5 | 205.00 | 41.00 | |||
| 36 | SA | Graeme Smith | 194 | 237 | 3 | 107 | 84 | 3 | 0.0 | 6 | 245.60 | 40.93 |
| 37 | Aus | Shane Watson | 47 | 35 | 1 | 81 | 100 | 1 | 1.0 | 3 | 118.00 | 39.33 |
| 38 | SA | Shaun Pollock | 58 | 80 | 1 | 234 | 318 | 5 | 1.5 | 6 | 233.40 | 38.90 |
| 39 | Ire | Trent Johnston | 70 | 79 | 2 | 166 | 156 | 4 | 0.5 | 4 | 153.60 | 38.40 |
| 40 | WI | Brian Lara | 137 | 162 | 2 | 1.0 | 5 | 178.40 | 35.68 | |||
| 41 | NZ | Stephen Fleming | 214 | 268 | 0 | 0.0 | 6 | 213.60 | 35.60 | |||
| 42 | WI | Shivnarine Chanderpaul | 191 | 270 | 1 | 0.0 | 5 | 171.00 | 34.20 | |||
| 43 | NZ | Hamish Marshall | 81 | 98 | 1 | 0.5 | 3 | 100.60 | 33.53 | |||
| 44 | SL | Dilhara Fernando | 2 | 2 | 1 | 91 | 138 | 3 | 0.0 | 3 | 98.80 | 32.93 |
| 45 | Ban | Mohammad Rafique | 40 | 64 | 1 | 161 | 228 | 4 | 0.5 | 5 | 163.20 | 32.64 |
| 46 | Ban | Abdur Razzak | 17 | 23 | 0 | 194 | 244 | 6 | 0.0 | 5 | 160.80 | 32.16 |
| 47 | Eng | Monty Panesar | 1 | 2 | 0 | 196 | 264 | 6 | 0.0 | 5 | 159.60 | 31.92 |
| 48 | Ire | Andrew White | 92 | 118 | 2 | 74 | 91 | 2 | 0.5 | 5 | 158.40 | 31.68 |
| 49 | NZ | James Franklin | 59 | 49 | 1 | 191 | 246 | 4 | 0.0 | 6 | 185.60 | 30.93 |
| 50 | SA | Andre Hall | 25 | 30 | 2 | 211 | 261 | 5 | 0.0 | 5 | 153.80 | 30.76 |
| 51 | WI | Chris Gayle | 106 | 149 | 1 | 189 | 212 | 3 | 0.0 | 5 | 150.40 | 30.08 |
| 52 | Ire | Kyle McCallan | 33 | 62 | 0 | 140 | 216 | 4 | 0.0 | 5 | 145.20 | 29.04 |
| 53 | Ban | Mohammad Ashraful | 142 | 168 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 5 | 144.20 | 28.84 |
| 54 | NZ | Craig McMillan | 121 | 182 | 0 | 29 | 39 | 3 | 0.0 | 6 | 170.60 | 28.43 |
| 55 | SA | Mark Boucher | 102 | 97 | 6 | 0 | 0.5 | 6 | 168.40 | 28.07 | |||
| 56 | Aus | Andrew Symonds | 74 | 40 | 1 | 114 | 104 | 2 | 0.0 | 5 | 138.20 | 27.64 |
| 57 | Eng | Ian Bell | 160 | 264 | 1 | 1.0 | 5 | 137.80 | 27.56 | |||
| 58 | SL | Chamara Silva | 131 | 177 | 3 | 0.0 | 5 | 135.40 | 27.08 | |||
| 59 | Eng | James Anderson | 0 | 1 | 0 | 192 | 258 | 5 | 0.0 | 5 | 133.60 | 26.72 |
| 60 | Ban | Aftab Ahmed | 95 | 110 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 5 | 128.80 | 25.76 |
| 61 | SA | Makhaya Ntini | 15 | 20 | 1 | 268 | 324 | 6 | 0.0 | 6 | 154.20 | 25.70 |
| 62 | WI | Dwayne Bravo | 54 | 75 | 1 | 244 | 216 | 6 | 0.0 | 5 | 125.80 | 25.16 |
| 63 | WI | Denesh Ramdin | 73 | 79 | 8 | 0 | 0.0 | 5 | 122.80 | 24.56 | |||
| 64 | Ban | Saqibul Hasan | 120 | 219 | 1 | 164 | 179 | 3 | 0.0 | 5 | 121.00 | 24.20 |
| 65 | Eng | Ravinder Bopara | 83 | 98 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 0.0 | 4 | 96.20 | 24.05 |
| 66 | NZ | Brendon McCullum | 52 | 40 | 12 | 1 | 0.0 | 6 | 142.00 | 23.67 | |||
| 67 | Ire | Kevin O'Brien | 94 | 135 | 1 | 59 | 54 | 1 | 0.0 | 4 | 93.20 | 23.30 |
| 68 | SA | Ashwell Prince | 86 | 111 | 1 | 1.0 | 5 | 112.20 | 22.44 | |||
| 69 | NZ | Peter Fulton | 142 | 228 | 1 | 0.0 | 5 | 106.60 | 21.32 | |||
| 70 | NZ | Jeetan Patel | 0 | 0 | 1 | 110 | 150 | 2 | 0.0 | 3 | 63.00 | 21.00 |
| 71 | SL | Russel Arnold | 79 | 104 | 0 | 26 | 37 | 1 | 0.0 | 5 | 102.40 | 20.48 |
| 72 | Ire | Niall O'Brien | 129 | 220 | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 5 | 102.00 | 20.40 | |||
| 73 | Ire | Dave Langford-Smith | 28 | 30 | 0 | 170 | 204 | 3 | 0.0 | 5 | 97.20 | 19.44 |
| 74 | WI | Corey Collymore | 13 | 19 | 0 | 140 | 174 | 2 | 0.0 | 3 | 58.00 | 19.33 |
| 75 | WI | Marlon Samuels | 43 | 62 | 1 | 81 | 84 | 1 | 1.0 | 4 | 75.60 | 18.90 |
| 76 | Ban | Tamim Iqbal | 84 | 141 | 3 | 1.0 | 5 | 94.20 | 18.84 | |||
| 77 | Ire | Boyd Rankin | 8 | 28 | 0 | 171 | 188 | 5 | 0.0 | 5 | 93.00 | 18.60 |
| 78 | SA | Robin Petersen | 12 | 16 | 1 | 61 | 72 | 1 | 0.0 | 2 | 36.80 | 18.40 |
| 79 | SL | Upul Tharanga | 119 | 198 | 2 | 0.0 | 5 | 89.60 | 17.92 | |||
| 80 | Ire | Andre Botha | 60 | 115 | 0 | 109 | 132 | 1 | 0.0 | 3 | 48.60 | 16.20 |
| 81 | Eng | Andrew Strauss | 30 | 47 | 2 | 0.0 | 2 | 32.40 | 16.20 | |||
| 82 | Eng | Michael Vaughan | 67 | 135 | 0 | 48 | 72 | 1 | 0.5 | 5 | 71.60 | 14.32 |
| 83 | WI | Jerome Taylor | 23 | 27 | 0 | 136 | 156 | 1 | 0.0 | 3 | 37.20 | 12.40 |
| 84 | WI | Lendl Simmons | 14 | 26 | 1 | 0.0 | 1 | 12.20 | 12.20 | |||
| 85 | SL | Farveez Maharoof | 5 | 9 | 2 | 98 | 120 | 1 | 0.0 | 3 | 34.80 | 11.60 |
| 86 | Aus | Michael Hussey | 44 | 62 | 2 | 0.0 | 5 | 48.40 | 9.68 | |||
| 87 | Ban | Mashrafe Mortaza | 72 | 106 | 1 | 200 | 227 | 0 | 0.0 | 5 | 45.80 | 9.16 |
| 88 | NZ | Michael Mason | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 45 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 18.00 | 9.00 |
| 89 | WI | Ian Bradshaw | 26 | 62 | 0 | 167 | 174 | 2 | 0.0 | 3 | 22.60 | 7.53 |
| 90 | Aus | Brad Hodge | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.0 | 2 | 15.00 | 7.50 | |||
| 91 | Ire | Eoin Morgan | 63 | 137 | 4 | 0.0 | 5 | 36.40 | 7.28 | |||
| 92 | Eng | Ed Joyce | 11 | 28 | 3 | 0.0 | 3 | 14.60 | 4.87 | |||
| 93 | Ire | William Porterfield | 57 | 136 | 3 | 0.0 | 5 | 20.20 | 4.04 | |||
| 94 | WI | Dwayne Smith | 17 | 15 | 0 | 47 | 48 | 0 | 0.0 | 4 | 13.40 | 3.35 |
| 95 | Ban | Habibul Bashar | 60 | 143 | 2 | 0.0 | 5 | 15.60 | 3.12 | |||
| 96 | Ire | Jeremy Bray | 43 | 89 | 0 | 0.0 | 5 | 14.80 | 2.96 | |||
| 97 | Ban | Javed Omar | 39 | 92 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 4.40 | 2.20 | |||
| 98 | NZ | Ross Taylor | 10 | 20 | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 4.00 | 1.33 | |||
| 99 | WI | Kieron Pollard | 10 | 17 | 0 | 20 | 18 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0.80 | 0.80 |
| 100 | Ban | Shahriar Nafees | 10 | 25 | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |||
| 101 | SA | Loots Bosman | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |||
| 102 | SA | Justin Kemp | 13 | 51 | 2 | 27 | 24 | 0 | 0.5 | 4 | -0.60 | -0.15 |
| 103 | Ire | John Mooney | 23 | 45 | 0 | 36 | 30 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | -2.00 | -1.00 |
| 104 | Ban | Mushfiqur Rahim | 21 | 65 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 5 | -10.00 | -2.00 | |||
| 105 | NZ | Mark Gillespie | 0 | 0 | 2 | 42 | 37 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | -2.40 | -2.40 |
| 106 | Ire | Peter Gillespie | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | -2.40 | -2.40 | |||
| 107 | NZ | Lou Vincent | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | -4.80 | -4.80 | |||
| 108 | Eng | Jamie Dalrymple | 3 | 12 | 1 | 29 | 24 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | -8.40 | -8.40 |
| 109 | Ban | Tapash Baisya | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 17 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | -21.40 | -21.40 |
| 110 | Ire | Paul Mooney | 0 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 21 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | -24.00 | -24.00 |
The Chernoff gallery of the top nine Super Eight players after Day 31 appears below.
Here are the faces of the nine highest scoring batsmen in the Super Eights (total runs / scoring rate). If two players have scored the same number of runs, the player with the higher points appears first.
Recall that batsmen have round faces and a short and wide nose. They smile more when they score more runs. "Scott Styris", "Sanath Jayasuriya" and "Jacques Kallis" have taller noses, and faces that aren't so round -- because they are really bowling all-rounders.
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.
Bowlers have tapered faces, a tall and thin nose, and bigger ears if they take more wickets.
And, finally, here are the faces of the nine most successful fielders in the Super Eight ( run outs / catches / stumpings).
Fielders who take a lot of catches have wide eyebrows (see "Brendon McCullum"), and those that participate in run out dismissals have bigger eyes.
The bar chart below shows the average "value" that every team player in the Super Eights stage contributes. An English player contributes marginally less value than his South African counterpart. This isn't particularly surprising: players like Michael Vaughan, Andrew Strauss and Ed Joyce have contributed practically nothing!
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