Modern Cricket's Dilemma: A Case on Experimental Design*

Abstract:

This case study describes how to analyze a business situation in an experimental design setup when we have two categorical explanatory variables and a quantitative outcome. The case takes a fictitious situation of different categories of cricket players being tested for their competence based on the format of the game.

Issues: » To understand factorial design and its advantages » To solve the case using Two–Way ANOVA and interpret its results. Introduction This quote is something often used when a world class batsman is going through a lean patch. It is also believed that whatever be the format- a test match , a one day international (ODI) or a T20 match- a world class batsman will always perform better than a mediocre player. But do world class batsmen necessarily perform better than those who are average or rookies ? The decline in the number of world class batsmen since the mid 2000's has been a source of worry for the Global Cricket Council (GCC). A report on emerging players across the globe has indicated that since the mid 2000's very few young players have emerged who can step into the shoes of players like Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis or Ricky Ponting...

Questions for Discussion:

1. What are the dependent and independent variables in this case?
2. What do you notice about the distribution of data among the three levels of Competence for each level of Situation?
3. What do you notice about the values of the means for the two levels of Situation across the three levels of Competence?
4. Do these results confirm the predictions of the GCC's investigating committee from inspection of the output using the Means procedure?
5. Relate these results to the experimental hypothesis on the performance of World Class players in the two different scenarios.

Key words:
Experimental design, Factorial Design, Two-Way ANOVA, Cricket, T20, IPL

* This caselet is intended for use only in class discussions.
** More comprehensive case studies are priced at Rs.200 to Rs.700 (US $5 to US $16) per copy.