The appeal is one of crickets most familiar and time-honoured rituals. It can be a solo or chorus; captains encourage the latter in the hope of tipping the balance of an umpires judgement. Although in theory an umpire must always make the final decision on every dismissal, and can only do so after an appeal, in practice the great majority of appeals are restricted to certain modes of dismissal.This article is a short study of the statistics of appeals. This is not an area that has been studied in the past, but it is easier now with detailed ball-by-ball records available, such as texts in ESPNcricinfos archive. The study is limited to Test matches this century.The method used involved searching all Test-match texts for mention of appeals, and filtering them into a separate file. The search went beyond the word appeal, including terms like shout and any mentions of umpires decisions. All lbw, caught-behind and caught-at-short-leg decisions were included, as were stumpings and run-outs, and appeals for other types of dismissals where they could be found. More than 25,000 appeals were catalogued from almost 700 Tests.On average, about 44 appeals were found per Test. About 13 of these were successful. This works out to about 2.3* unsuccessful appeals for every successful appeal, or a success rate close to 30%.About 77% of all appeals were for lbw, and 13% for caught behind. The rest were a mix of other dismissal types and catches taken elsewhere. It was a little surprising to find that only 3% of appeals were for catches at short leg, as these can be some of the most contentious. There were some appeals for multiple modes of dismissal, and occasionally one encountered an appeal that baffled the commentators. There were a couple of appeals for obstructing the field, unsuccessful of course, since no one has been dismissed in this fashion since 1951. The bowlers were Ricky Ponting and Virat Kohli, oddly enough.Success rates for appeals varied according to the mode of dismissal. Only 19% of lbw appeals got the nod, but 61% of caught-behind appeals were successful, with many of the unsuccessful appeals for caught behind described as half-hearted. About 60% of stumping appeals were given out. The low success of lbw appeals can be put down to optimistic bowlers and the complexity of the law: even when bowling teams are confident enough to review under the DRS system, only 20% of not out lbws were overturned.I should mention one puzzle in the data: the number of appeals logged has dropped 10 to 20% since the start of 2010. It seems unlikely that the searches are missing mentions of appeals in recent years, since the detail in the texts is greater than ever. There has also been no decline in the proportion of wickets falling to spinners versus pace. Perhaps DRS has curtailed appealing to a certain extent; however, India, without the DRS, has seen a similar decline in the number of appeals.It may be that the DRS has made players more aware of what constitutes a likely dismissal, but I can only speculate.If you have the impression that spin bowlers are more prone to making appeals than pace bowlers, then this is supported by the data. The following table lists the breakdown according to bowling type. Spin bowlers get the umpires nod from only 17% of lbw appeals, whereas medium and pace bowlers get 21%. The success of lbw appeals is much the same for left-hand and right-hand batsmen (18.8% and 19.4 % respectively). There is similarly little difference for left- and right-arm bowlers (19.6% and 18.6% respectively).The success rate of teams ranges from 24% (Bangladesh) to 35% (Australia). The important factors here tend to be the number of matches a team wins and the mix of spin- and pace-bowling wickets. India has an emphasis on spin, and as a result has a rather low return on appeals. When it comes to individual bowlers, the most appealing are almost always spinners. The bowlers with the most appeals are listed in the table below. Note that for some bowlers, the assessment period does not cover the complete careers, since matches before 2000 are not included. Also worth noting: bowlers do not always take part in appeals, although they usually do. Minimum 100 appeals since 2000. Appeals/wkt takes into account all wickets taken, including those not requiring appeals. The most unsuccessful appeals by one bowler in a match: 29 by Murali against Pakistan in the final of the Asian Test Championship in Lahore in 2002. Murali took eight wickets in the match. He also made 29 failed appeals in Christchurch in 2006, where he took seven wickets. In fact, out of the six cases of more than 25 appeals in a match, five are by Murali. Undoubtedly his high strike rate is a factor; it could be argued that Murali made more appeals than other spinners because he had reason to.I found it interesting that Shane Warne had a higher success rate than many other spinners. I always thought Warne was a very canny appealer. He had the ability to sense which decisions might be difficult for an umpire, or where an umpire might be prone to errors, and he saved his most intense appeals for these occasions. His appeals when the outcome was obvious, or his frivolous appeals, were rather less vocal.At the higher end of success rates, we see only pace bowlers. It is striking that the bowlers with the highest success rates - also among the most selective appealers on the list - are two of the greatest: Glenn McGrath and Dale Steyn, with 46%. The spin bowlers with the highest success rates are Pragyan Ojha on 35%, and R Ashwin on 34%. At the low end of the scale of successful appealers, spinners dominate. All of the bowlers in the table above are spinners, and those with lower strike rates tend to have lower success with appeals. That is, they appeal just as often but dont get the wickets. Those who have watched Giles and Panesar in action wont be too surprised to see them on top of this table. Saqlain Mushtaq (third on the list) was an inveterate appealer, and the leading appealer in the match with most appeals, New Zealand v Pakistan in Auckland in 2001 (108 appeals). The pace bowlers with the lowest success rates are Mohammad Sami and Ryan Sidebottom, on 22%, with Zaheer Khan on 25%. The other participants in appeals are, of course, the umpires. For more recent Tests, it is possible to calculate the likelihood of decisions for all long-serving umpires, as shown in the following table. Percentages of appeals given out since June 2011. Minimum 200 appealsThese figures could be affected by overturn decisions in the DRS system, which have not been included in calculations at this stage. However, overturns cut both ways, so the figures may not be affected substantially. Most appeals, of course, do not lead to challenges and reviews; but in those that are reviewed - the more contentious ones - about 28% of the decisions are overturned in Tests. The umpire with the lowest proportion of overturns is Bruce Oxenford, with 18%.There is more that could be said about the DRS, but perhaps that is a subject for another time.02:55:12 GMT, December 14, 2016: The values in the third column in the table Bowlers with the lowest rates of success in appeals were wrong and have been corrected*This figure was corrected from 2.9 in the original** A previous version of this article referenced a different Illingworth Cheap Soccer Jerseys China .J. -- Josh Cribbs was in the Pro Bowl in February and out of a job six months later. Cheap Soccer Jerseys Authentic . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. http://www.wholesalesoccerjerseys.info/ . -- Canadian Andrew Wiggins got the ball on the wing, made a nifty spin move and then let go with a soft floater from about 10 feet that swished through the net in Allen Fieldhouse. Cheap Soccer Jerseys . The phone hearing is scheduled for 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. Winchester, who was not penalized for the hit, appeared to make contact with Kellys head early in the first period of Thursdays game in Boston.Roberto Luongo enters the 2013-14 season as the Canucks number-one netminder. Its a position he did not enjoy entering the lockout-shortened 2013 season. Embroiled in a long battle for playing time with fellow netminder Cory Schneider that dates back to before the Canucks 2011 Stanley Cup Final run, Luongo spent the better part of the past 12 months addressing trade speculation. However, at last months NHL Draft, Canucks general manager Mike Gillis would make a shocking move - dealing Schneider instead of Luongo. The deal netted the Canucks the ninth overall pick - which they would use to select Bo Horvat - and handed the net firmly back over to Luongo for the foreseeable future. Speaking at the Vancouver Canucks Summer Summit - an event organized by the Canucks for its fans to update them on team business and news - Gillis was asked immediately about his decision to deal Schneider. “What happened could have been the result all the way through,” Gillis said of the decision to deal Schneider. “At the end of the day we had to make a choice and we made the choice to go to Roberto.” The choice was a surprise to many, so much so that Gillis travelled to Florida to have a face-to-face visit with Luongo at his home to discuss his role moving forward. Gillis recount of that conversation was one of a changed Luongo, the same player that has become a loose and candid person with the media and fans alike. “Its been a remarkable transformation,” Gillis said of Luongos shift from the end of 2011 to now. “He felt that after that [2011 Stanley Cup Final] series happened he was blamed more than others or that he was held accountable more than others.” However, Gillis would reiterate that hes comfortable with Luongo as his starter and also stated his belief that his goaltender would also be representing Canada at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.dddddddddddd "Roberto will be our starting goalie," Gillis added. "I feel very optimistic about it." Other issues addressed at the summit included the hopes that the roof will be open at B.C. Place Stadium when the Vancouver Canucks host the Ottawa Senators in the Heritage Classic in March. "If worse comes to worse and it needs to be a covered facility, itll be a covered facility," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said. "We hope thats not the case." Daly fielded questions ahead of Gillis and spoke of the Heritage Classic, amongst other league business like officiating, the health of the League and the possibility of an NHL franchise in Seattle. "I think theres a willingness to consider (expansion)," said Daly. Seattle was seen as a popular destination for the troubled Phoenix Coyotes, who faced a possibility of relocation ahead of a Glendale City Council vote last month. The vote, however, wound up a positive one for the Coyotes, with the City approving a lease deal that could pave the way for the sale of the team to the Renaissance Sports and Entertainment Group. New head coach John Tortorella gave Canucks fans some unexpected news, unveiling two new assistant coaches in the question and answer period. Tortorella revealed that the team has added Mike Sullivan - with whom he worked with the New York Rangers - as well as former Dallas Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan as assistant coaches. Gulutzan spent two years behind the bench in Dallas, posting a 64-57-9 record. The Stars would miss the playoffs both years under Gulutzan, who was replaced last month by former Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff. The team also announced at the summer summit that they would be honouring Canucks great Pavel Bure, by retiring his number 10 in a ceremony during this upcoming season. ' ' '