Summary of playing-short stats 2022-23

The 2022-23 playing short data was gathered by a comprehensive check of all league-game result cards.

Total league games played by teams of all sizes: 1634 ( ie 3268 “team outings”)

Final tally of missing results :  4

Use of the “playing short” rule in 2022-23

Full-strength teams-of-12 were fielded in approx 83% of team outings

§    In approx 12% of team outings, just one player had a second go

§    In approx 5% of team outings, two players had a second go

A total of 112 teams (ie 78% of the league’s population) played short at least once

Minimum usage: Seventeen teams played short just once each

Maximum usage: One team played short 22 times

Performance stats

Much like last year, the under-strength teams (men’s & women’s combined) won 44% of their league games against full-strength teams, though the underlying stats for men and women were quite different from each other:

·         MEN teams playing-short won 49% of their games against full-strength teams

·         WOMEN teams playing-short won 37% of their games against full-strength teams

Overall, approximately 80% of individuals who played twice got better scores at their second attempt. However, the average anchor leg score of those individuals was lower than the average of anchor players in full-strength teams** :

·         The average anchor-leg score of MEN who played twice was 36.5 (compared with 40 in the anchor legs of full-strength teams)

·         The average anchor-leg score of WOMEN who played twice was 33 (compared with 34 in in the anchor legs of full-strength teams)

** The anchor-leg average score of individuals in full-strength teams is based on a random sample of several weeks’ scores