The most valuable player (MVP) has the largest average total of batting, bowling and fielding points among all players. An allrounder who can gain both batting and bowling points is therefore much more likely to emerge as the MVP.
It would require an incredibly powerful performance to become the MVP based on batting points alone; that's why what Australia's Matthew Hayden has achieved so far in the Super Eight matches is truly amazing.
New Zealand's Scott Styris is however the chhupa rustam (dark horse) in this World Cup so far; he has been consistently in the top five of the MVP rankings so far. Even yesterday he had a great game against the West Indies.
It's disappointing to see South Africa's Shaun Pollock at the 74th position.
| Rank | Country | Player | Runs | Balls | Ct| St | Rc | Bb | W | RunOut | M | Total | AVG |
| 1 | Aus | Matthew Hayden | 259 | 211 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 354.2 | 177.1 | |||
| 2 | NZ | Scott Styris | 167 | 203 | 2 | 60 | 102 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 275.2 | 137.6 |
| 3 | SL | Sanath Jayasuriya | 135 | 114 | 1 | 36 | 71 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 228.6 | 114.3 |
| 4 | NZ | Jacob Oram | 63 | 83 | 1 | 48 | 84 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 179.8 | 89.9 |
| 5 | Aus | Michael Clarke | 133 | 122 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 173.4 | 86.7 | |||
| 6 | Aus | Ricky Ponting | 126 | 127 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 160.4 | 80.2 | |||
| 7 | NZ | Shane Bond | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 112 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 159.6 | 79.8 |
| 8 | SL | Lasith Malinga | 0 | 2 | 0 | 81 | 92 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 159 | 79.5 |
| 9 | SA | Graeme Smith | 133 | 134 | 0 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 152.8 | 76.4 |
| 10 | SA | Jacques Kallis | 134 | 173 | 2 | 90 | 90 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 145.6 | 72.8 |
| 11 | SL | Muttiah Muralitharan | 1 | 1 | 1 | 49 | 114 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 144.4 | 72.2 |
| 12 | SA | AB De Villiers | 92 | 75 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 134 | 67.0 | |||
| 13 | SL | Kumar Sangakkara (wk) | 84 | 93 | 3| 2 | 0 | 2 | 128.6 | 64.3 | |||
| 14 | Aus | Brad Hogg | 5 | 6 | 0 | 117 | 120 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 128.2 | 64.1 |
| 15 | SA | Charles Langeveldt | 1 | 15 | 0 | 121 | 120 | 6 | 0.5 | 2 | 121 | 60.5 |
| 16 | Ire | Kyle McCallan | 20 | 24 | 0 | 35 | 60 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 57.8 | 57.8 |
| 17 | Aus | Shane Watson | 47 | 35 | 1 | 77 | 90 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 114 | 57.0 |
| 18 | WI | Daren Powell | 5 | 10 | 0 | 116 | 174 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 169.2 | 56.4 |
| 19 | Eng | Paul Nixon (wk) | 42 | 41 | 1| 0 | 0 | 1 | 56.2 | 56.2 | |||
| 20 | SL | Tillakaratne Dilshan | 58 | 76 | 1 | 21 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 111.2 | 55.6 |
| 21 | WI | Brian Lara | 114 | 132 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 151.4 | 50.5 | |||
| 22 | Eng | Kevin Pietersen | 60 | 92 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 49.2 | 49.2 |
| 23 | Eng | James Anderson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 48 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 47.4 | 47.4 |
| 24 | Aus | Nathan Bracken | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 108 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 93.4 | 46.7 |
| 25 | Eng | Liam Plunkett | 29 | 34 | 0 | 43 | 42 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 45.4 | 45.4 |
| 26 | Ire | Dave Langford-Smith | 8 | 7 | 0 | 33 | 54 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 44.6 | 44.6 |
| 27 | SL | Chaminda Vaas | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 102 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 86.8 | 43.4 |
| 28 | Aus | Glenn McGrath | 0 | 0 | 0 | 93 | 102 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 84.6 | 42.3 |
| 29 | WI | Ian Bradshaw | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 54 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 40.2 | 40.2 |
| 30 | Ban | Mohammad Ashraful | 45 | 63 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 39.6 | 39.6 | |||
| 31 | SA | Herschelle Gibbs | 48 | 70 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 79 | 39.5 | |||
| 32 | SA | Andre Hall | 8 | 13 | 0 | 93 | 117 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 78.2 | 39.1 |
| 33 | WI | Chris Gayle | 64 | 93 | 1 | 87 | 122 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 117.2 | 39.1 |
| 34 | Aus | Adam Gilchrist (wk) | 49 | 51 | 2| 1 | 0 | 2 | 77.2 | 38.6 | |||
| 35 | Aus | Shaun Tait | 0 | 0 | 0 | 104 | 105 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 76 | 38.0 |
| 36 | WI | Denesh Ramdin (wk) | 67 | 65 | 6| 0 | 0 | 3 | 112 | 37.3 | |||
| 37 | WI | Dwayne Bravo | 27 | 40 | 0 | 116 | 132 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 107.6 | 35.9 |
| 38 | SA | Makhaya Ntini | 7 | 9 | 1 | 94 | 102 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 71.4 | 35.7 |
| 39 | NZ | Daniel Vettori | 0 | 0 | 0 | 92 | 114 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 71.2 | 35.6 |
| 40 | SL | Russel Arnold | 55 | 78 | 0 | 17 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 69.8 | 34.9 |
| 41 | WI | Shivnarine Chanderpaul | 111 | 153 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 99.6 | 33.2 | |||
| 42 | SL | Chamara Silva | 61 | 75 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 62 | 31.0 | |||
| 43 | SL | Mahela Jayawardene | 58 | 101 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 59.2 | 29.6 | |||
| 44 | Eng | Andrew Flintoff | 0 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 48 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 25.6 | 25.6 |
| 45 | Eng | Monty Panesar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 60 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 25 |
| 46 | WI | Marlon Samuels | 40 | 57 | 1 | 81 | 84 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 73.6 | 24.5 |
| 47 | Ire | Jeremy Bray | 41 | 72 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 24.4 | 24.4 | |||
| 48 | Ban | Mohammad Rafique | 7 | 17 | 0 | 48 | 60 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 24.4 | 24.4 |
| 49 | NZ | Craig McMillan | 60 | 91 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 47.2 | 23.6 | |||
| 50 | SL | Upul Tharanga | 38 | 50 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 46 | 23 | |||
| 51 | Aus | Andrew Symonds | 31 | 31 | 1 | 51 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 44 | 22.0 |
| 52 | NZ | Stephen Fleming | 52 | 77 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 42.4 | 21.2 | |||
| 53 | Ban | Aftab Ahmed | 12 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 21.2 | 21.2 | |||
| 54 | NZ | Brendon McCullum (wk) | 0 | 0 | 8| 0 | 0 | 2 | 40 | 20.0 | |||
| 55 | NZ | James Franklin | 0 | 0 | 1 | 72 | 72 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 38.6 | 19.3 |
| 56 | SA | Mark Boucher (wk) | 22 | 27 | 2| 0 | 0 | 2 | 32.4 | 16.2 | |||
| 57 | WI | Ramnaresh Sarwan | 84 | 156 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 48 | 16.0 |
| 58 | SL | Farveez Maharoof | 5 | 9 | 1 | 67 | 84 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 16.0 |
| 59 | Ban | Saqibul Hasan | 4 | 20 | 0 | 49 | 60 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 15.0 |
| 60 | NZ | Michael Mason | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14.8 | 14.8 |
| 61 | Eng | Paul Collingwood | 31 | 54 | 0 | 20 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13.2 | 13.2 |
| 62 | Ban | Syed Rasel | 0 | 1 | 0 | 58 | 60 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 13.2 | 13.2 |
| 63 | WI | Lendl Simmons | 14 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12.2 | 12.2 | |||
| 64 | NZ | Hamish Marshall | 15 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11.6 | 11.6 | |||
| 65 | Ban | Tamim Iqbal | 6 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11.4 | 11.4 | |||
| 66 | Eng | Michael Vaughan | 26 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10.4 | 10.4 | |||
| 67 | Ire | Andrew White | 18 | 29 | 1 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10.4 | 10.4 |
| 68 | Ire | Eoin Morgan | 18 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8.8 | 8.8 | |||
| 69 | WI | Dwayne Smith | 17 | 13 | 0 | 24 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 23.6 | 7.9 |
| 70 | Ire | Niall O'Brien (wk) | 11 | 19 | 0| 0 | 0 | 1 | 6.8 | 6.8 | |||
| 71 | WI | Jerome Taylor | 10 | 18 | 0 | 104 | 108 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 6.0 |
| 72 | Aus | Michael Hussey | 14 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11.2 | 5.6 | |||
| 73 | Ire | Andre Botha | 28 | 56 | 0 | 35 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5.0 |
| 74 | SA | Shaun Pollock | 20 | 31 | 0 | 129 | 108 | 0 | 1.5 | 2 | 8.6 | 4.3 |
| 75 | Ire | Kevin O'Brien | 17 | 46 | 1 | 13 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3.6 | 3.6 |
| 76 | SA | Robin Petersen | 4 | 8 | 0 | 22 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3.6 | 3.6 |
| 77 | Ban | Habibul Bashar | 18 | 47 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3.4 | 3.4 | |||
| 78 | Eng | Ed Joyce | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3.4 | 3.4 | |||
| 79 | SA | Justin Kemp | 6 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4.4 | 2.2 | |||
| 80 | SA | Ashwell Prince | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -0.4 | -0.4 | |||
| 81 | NZ | Ross Taylor | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -0.8 | -0.8 | |||
| 82 | Ire | William Porterfield | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1.6 | -1.6 | |||
| 83 | NZ | Peter Fulton | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1.6 | -1.6 | |||
| 84 | Ban | Shahriar Nafees | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2.4 | -2.4 | |||
| 85 | NZ | Jeetan Patel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 48 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -3.6 | -3.6 |
| 86 | Ire | John Mooney | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -3.6 | -3.6 |
| 87 | NZ | Lou Vincent | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -4.8 | -4.8 | |||
| 88 | Eng | Ian Bell | 5 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -5.2 | -5.2 | |||
| 89 | WI | Corey Collymore | 1 | 7 | 0 | 99 | 114 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -11.4 | -5.7 |
| 90 | Eng | Jamie Dalrymple | 3 | 12 | 1 | 29 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -8.4 | -8.4 |
| 91 | Ire | Boyd Rankin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -14 | -14.0 |
| 92 | Ban | Mushfiqur Rahim (wk) | 6 | 33 | 0| 0 | 0 | 1 | -14.4 | -14.4 | |||
| 93 | Ban | Mashrafe Mortaza | 7 | 14 | 0 | 66 | 60 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -15.2 | -15.2 |
| 94 | Ban | Abdur Razzak | 0 | 2 | 0 | 86 | 60 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -15.6 | -15.6 |
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.
The top 15 places have been captured by players from only four teams: Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and South Africa. Surely there's some message there.
Here's the Chernoff gallery of the top nine Super Eight players after Day 17:
Recall that pure batsmen have rounded, smiling faces with wide noses; batting allrounders have rounded faces with a taller nose and bigger ears, while bowlers have tapered faces with tall, thin noses and big ears.
The more the batsmen smile, the more runs they have scored (just see "Hayden"'s wide smile).
The bigger the bowler's ears, the more wickets he has taken (see "Malinga").
Here are the faces of the nine highest scoring batsmen in the Super Eight (Lara's eyes are bigger because he ran out Fleming with a direct throw yesterday).
Here are the faces of the nine highest wicket-taking bowlers in the Super Eight.
Finally, take a look at the graph below:
The chart averages the points obtained by players of the same country. It suggests that, at this point, Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and South Africa are favourites to enter the semi-finals.
This list and the Chernoff faces have been prepared by my colleagues Debasish Ghosh and K Anil Kumar of Cranes Software International Limited using the SYSTAT software.
More from rediff