As much as I hate to pour cold water on all this statistics inanity,I will !!!
On Sunday last I read Ricky Ponting, lamenting that he'd allowed the English to bat first in the 2nd Test despite favourable weather conditions etc etc (and the lack of G. Mcgrath to get the Poms out) Why did he do it? While you and I are probably STILL wondering, Ricky was straightforward..
As Punter put it "I was misled by the stats: in the previous 13 Tests at Birmingham,12 had been won by the team batting second" Can't get more CERTAIN than that!!! And Karla, I don't know what the stats were saying when Ginepri upset Roddick (at $12!!!!) two weeks back in the RCA but I reckon it wasn't pretty for Robby; only for those who look at statistical certs and then BET AGAINST THEM!!!! Cheers and best to all.