Performance of the Day

It is banal to claim that cricket is a game of numbers - just look at the brilliant howstat.com and wallow in the glory of those endless, sortable lists. But in amongst the highest aggregates and most five-fers, there's a stat that is seldom brought forward - percentage of runs scored by one batsman. We all know about 375, 400 and 501 (even 153), but Lara's greatness was perhaps better exemplified by the huge percentage of his team's runs that were scored off his bat. I, and his team, really miss him.

It is rare for a batsman to score more than half his team's runs, but that's what Joe Denly (right, Getty Images) did for Kent with 115 of 199 all out against Hampshire's Warne, Clark and co on a day of 16 wickets at Canterbury. That he carried his bat when the next highest score was 22, further shows what an outstanding knock it was. At just 21, Denly already averages well over 50 and is another bright young thing thinking about 2009.

[The Tooting Trumpet]