Why reward a captain?

By their nature, captains are identified for possessing key attributes - tactical awareness, sound temperament, leadership, management skills and, of course, a 'good cricket mind'. Captains are crucial for making key on and off field

decisions - tossing the coin, team selection, bowling changes, fielding positions, declarations, dictating the pace of a game... The list goes on.

For these reasons alone, a captain has a certain value above that of a 'normal' player.

Why should a batsman be rewarded for scoring quickly?

It's widely recognised that scoring quickly can have a huge impact on your side winning matches.

In four-day cricket, a side scoring their runs quickly benefits from having increased time to bowl the opposition out and therefore creates a greater opportunity to win a cricket match.

Clearly, in one-day cricket, a team that scores quickly has the opportunity to achieve a large total. Final placings in one-day cricket tables can often come down to run-rate calculations and this is also a crucial factor in rain-hit matches where Duckworth-Lewis is used.

Why reward a batsman for scoring 30% of his team's total?

Achieving 30% of your team's total reflects a performance over and above what would normally be achieved in a particular innings, is a significant contribution to the team and therefore deserves to be recognised.

Why reward a batsman for scoring a century?

Ever since the game evolved, a century has been a landmark achievement. That hasn't changed to this day and this is recognised by the rankings.

Why is a bowler with a good economy rate considered valuable?

Bowling economically and delivering maidens in any form of the game has a tangible value. It can create and build pressure on batsmen and ultimately lead to wickets being taken and the opposition being restricted to a smaller total.

Why reward a bowler for taking five wickets in an innings?

As with a batsman being rewarded for a century, taking five wickets is a benchmark for bowlers. Being responsible for half of the opposition's wickets is deserving of reward and therefore carries a value.

Does each wicket a bowler takes have the same value?

Some wickets do have more value and this can vary dependent on the stage of a game. Removing specialist batsmen at the top order generally has more value.

Run outs

In the modern game, multi dimensional cricketers (batting/bowler and fielding) are all important. Fielding is obviously a key element of the game and direct hits or assists (a run out resulting from a throw) have real value and are rewarded accordingly.

Catches

Catches win matches! It's as simple as that.

Stumpings

One of the hardest skills for a keeper is standing up to the wicket and taking a ball cleanly and then removing the bails under pressure with the batsman short of his ground. A harder skill and deserving of greater reward than a straightforward catch.

Winning

It's the name of the game! Professional sport is all about winning. Players that contribute to winning teams deserve to be rewarded and recognised.