The Hasan Ali factor in Pakistan's bowling attack

Pakistan have always prided themselves on the quality of their pace attack, but recently that reputation has been under some threat, in ODIs at least. In the three years, between January 2014 and December 2016, Pakistan's fast bowlers collectively averaged 39.57 in ODIs. Among the 19 teams that played ODIs during that period, only four had poorer averages: Zimbabwe (41.29), UAE (42.14), Kenya (44.12), and Canada (45.12).

Then, along came Hasan Ali. Though he had made his ODI debut in 2016, he didn't do too much of note in the eight games he played that year, taking 11 wickets at 31.18, and an economy rate of 5.3 runs per over. They are pretty respectable numbers, but not a patch on what he has achieved this year.

In 2017, Hasan has been the stand-out bowler in ODIs: from just 18 games, he has picked up 45 wickets - easily the highest for the year - at an exceptional average of 17, and a strike rate of 20.3. Along the way, he has also become the joint fourth-fastest, in terms of matches played, to reach 50 ODI wickets, getting there in just 24 games. Only Ajantha Mendis, Ajit Agarkar and Mitchell McClenaghan have reached the landmark in fewer matches. Among Pakistan bowlers, Hasan got there faster than Waqar Younis (27 matches), Saqlain Mushtaq (29) and Shoaib Akhtar (29).

Those numbers have transformed the stats for Pakistan's quick bowlers in 2017. From languishing at the bottom of the table between 2014 and 2016, they have moved to the top in 2017: their average of 25.61 is the best among fast bowlers from the top nine teams this year, while their strike rate of 28.6 balls per wicket is their best in any calendar year.