This season has seen its fair share of exciting games, no doubt, but there might not be one that impacts the final College Football Playoff rankings more than The Game between Ohio State and Michigan on Saturday. Both teams sit in the top four of our Power Rankings, and both have playoff-worthy résumés.Power Rankings voters: Edward Aschoff, Heather Dinich, Brad Edwards, Chris Fallica, Rod Gilmore, Danny Kanell, Chris Low, Ivan Maisel, Ryan McGee, Adam Rittenberg, Mark Schlabach | How they votedPrevious rankings: Week 1?|?Week 2 |?Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8| Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 111. Alabama Crimson Tide (11-0)Trending:Week 11 ranking: 1 Week 12 result:?Defeated Chattanooga 31-3Somehow, it seems that Alabamas uninspiring performance came at exactly the right time, though coach Nick Saban offered a different analysis of the Crimson Tides 22nd consecutive victory. The coach was frustrated, and rightfully so, after Alabama trailed 3-0 after one quarter and led just 14-3 at halftime. The Tide, who finished with just 332 yards, now turn their focus to rival Auburn and then an SEC title game rematch with Florida.2.?Ohio State Buckeyes?(10-1)Trending:?Week 11 ranking:?2 Week 12 result:?Defeated Michigan State 17-16Ohio State escaped East Lansing with a win over 3-8 Michigan State, which nearly derailed the Buckeyes national-title bid for the third time in four seasons. The Buckeyes intercepted a two-point conversion attempt with 4:41 to play before Gareon Conley sealed the win with another pick of Tyler OConnor in the final two minutes. Its survive-and-advance time. Michigan awaits as Ohio State returns home.3. Clemson Tigers?(10-1)Trending:?Week 11 ranking: 4 Week 12 result:?Defeated Wake Forest 35-13Clemson clinched the ACC Atlantic behind Deshaun Watson, who threw for 202 yards and rushed for two touchdowns. Running back Wayne Gallman added 161 yards and two scores. It was a workmanlike performance for the Tigers in rebounding from a loss to Pitt to stay in good shape for the College Football Playoff. South Carolina and the undetermined Coastal champ remain as Clemsons final obstacles.4.?Michigan Wolverines?(10-1)Trending:?Week 11 ranking:?5 Week 12 result:?Defeated Indiana 20-10Michigan avoided its first home loss to Indiana in 49 years by overcoming a third-quarter deficit behind a career-best 158 rushing yards from DeVeon Smith. A week after their first loss of the year at Iowa, the Wolverines sputtered offensively behind John OKorn, who was filling in at quarterback for the injured Wilton Speight. Michigan controls its fate in the conference and CFP race as it heads to Ohio State with a shot to win the Big Ten East.5. Washington Huskies?(10-1)Trending:?Week 11 ranking:?6 Week 12 result:?Defeated Arizona State 44-18Washington shook off the effects of its loss to USC to roll past the Sun Devils on Senior Day and reach 10 wins for the first time since 2000. Arizona State gained just 84 yards in the first three quarters against the Huskies stout defense, and quarterback?Jake Browning threw for 338 yards and two touchdowns. That sets the stage for a hugely significant Apple Cup on Friday at Washington State, with the winner to play in the Pac-12 title game as champion of the North.6.?Wisconsin Badgers?(9-2)Trending:?Week 11 ranking:?7 Week 12 result:?Defeated Purdue 49-20This week was business as usual for the Badgers, who started slowly on the road but scored 35 points in the final nine minutes of the first half to squash Purdue. Wisconsin has won five straight games since consecutive October losses to Michigan and Ohio State and needs a home win over Minnesota to clinch the Big Ten West. There are bigger things on the horizon, perhaps, for the Badgers, who hope they can secure a playoff bid if they win the league title.7.?Oklahoma Sooners?(9-2)Trending:?Week 11 ranking:?9 Week 12 ?result:?Defeated West Virginia 56-28Depending on your perspective of Oklahomas win Saturday, it was not as close as the score indicated -- or it was much closer. The Sooners led 28-0 less than five minutes into the second quarter but were outgained and benefited from WVU mistakes that prevented the Mountaineers from cutting the lead considerably before their second-half surge. Regardless, Oklahoma needs to beat Oklahoma State in two weeks to finish a perfect Big 12 season and state its case to the playoff committee.8.?Penn State Nittany Lions?(9-2)Trending:?Week 11 ranking:?8 Week 12 result:?Defeated Rutgers 39-0Penn State pulled away in the second half, though Rutgers never really stood a chance. The Nittany Lions allowed five first downs and 87 total yards, while?Saquon Barkley led a 339-yard rushing effort. Penn State reached nine wins for the first time since 2011. To get to the Big Ten title game -- a difficult to fathom outcome one month ago -- the Nittany Lions need a win this week over Michigan State and an Ohio State victory over Michigan.9.?Colorado Buffaloes?(9-2)Trending:?Week 11 ranking:?10 Week 12 result:?Defeated Washington State 38-24?Colorado needs a home victory over Utah on Saturday to win the Pac-12 South. In the Buffaloes win over WSU,?Sefo Liufau?joined Steven Montez as the only Colorado quarterbacks to throw for 300 yards and rush for 100 in a game. Montez did so in September against Oregon. Yes, it has been that kind of season for the Buffaloes, who most recently won nine games in 2002.10.?USC Trojans?(8-3)Trending:?Week 11 ranking:?12 Week 12 result:?Defeated UCLA 36-14Make it seven wins in a row for USC, matched nationally by only Alabama, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Penn State and Western Michigan. The Trojans again got big games from QB Sam Darnold and receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster to roll past their slumping rival. Heres another team no one wants to play, perhaps including the Pac-12 North winner. USC faces Notre Dame next week and will win the South if Utah beats Colorado.11.?Oklahoma State Cowboys?(9-2)Trending:?Week 11 ranking:?14 Week 12 result:?Defeated TCU 31-6Who wants to play Oklahoma State after it turned a 2-2 start into a path to the Big 12 title with one more victory? As fortune dictates, the Cowboys will have a shot to earn that victory against rival Oklahoma on Dec. 3. OSU rushed for 334 yards against TCU as Justice Hill and Chris Carson combined for 300 yards in handing the Horned Frogs their worst home loss since 1997.12.?Louisville Cardinals?(9-2)Trending:?Week 11 ranking:?3 Week 12 result:?Lost to Houston 36-20Louisville fell flat on Thursday to start its two-week journey outside the ACC. The Cardinals lost everything: their shot at the ACC title (as Clemson beat Wake Forest on Saturday), their shot at the College Football Playoff, obviously, and quarterback Lamar Jacksons bid to run away with the Heisman Trophy. Jackson, who was sacked 11 times by Houston, could use a big finish Saturday against Kentucky to impress the voters.13.?Florida State Seminoles?(8-3)Trending:?Week 11 ranking:?18 Week 12 result:?Defeated Syracuse 45-14?Since an early blowout loss to Louisville, Florida State has dipped under the national radar. Although it has lost twice since then, check the numbers: FSU fell by just two points to North Carolina and by just three to Clemson. The Seminoles win Saturday over Syracuse, despite four FSU turnovers, featured 654 yards of offense, including 225 on the ground from Dalvin Cook, who?broke Warrick Dunns career rushing record at FSU.14.?Western Michigan Broncos?(11-0)Trending:?Week 11 ranking:?15 Week 12 result:?Defeated Buffalo 38-0Only Alabama can equal Western Michigans 11 victories, but the Broncos havent won the MAC West. Theyll need a victory over Toledo on Friday at home to finish the job, a necessity in their drive to qualify for a New Years Six bowl game. Western Michigan took care of business against Buffalo with a 626-yard offensive output.15.?Auburn Tigers?(8-3)Trending:?Week 11 ranking: 20 Week 12 result:?Defeated Alabama A&M 55-0Auburn improved to 22-0 all-time against FCS competition and held an eighth straight opponent without a rushing touchdown in limiting Alabama A&M to 130 yards in this tune-up for the Iron Bowl. The Tigers rushed for 451 yards and accumulated 598 overall in their seventh win in eight games after a 1-2 start.16.?Florida Gators?(8-2)Trending:?Week 11 ranking:?23 Week 12 ?result:?Defeated LSU 16-10Talk about a close call. The Gators forged a ferocious goal-line stand in the closing seconds to escape Baton Rouge with a win in a game rescheduled from Week 6 and relocated from Gainesville because of Hurricane Matthew. Florida managed just 270 yards, and quarterback Austin Appleby was inconsistent, but he hit Tyrie Cleveland for a 98-yard, go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter. Eddy Pineiro nailed all three of his field goal attempts. A visit to Florida State is on Saturday before the SEC title game against No. 1 Alabama.17.?Nebraska Cornhuskers?(9-2)Trending:?Week 11 ranking:?19 Week 12 result:?Defeated Maryland 28-7Without quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. on Senior Day, Nebraska turned to?Ryker Fyfe, a former walk-on who delivered big, with 220 passing yards in his second career start. The Cornhuskers held Maryland to 207 yards, including just 11 on the ground, and Nebraska reached the nine-win plateau for the eighth time in nine seasons. The Huskers visit Iowa on Friday in need of a win and a Wisconsin loss Saturday against Minnesota to win the Big Ten West.18.?West Virginia Mountaineers?(8-2)Trending:?Week 11 ranking:?11 Week 12 result:?Lost to Oklahoma 56-28That does it for West Virginias playoff chances and Big 12 title hopes. The Mountaineers managed to lose big while gaining 579 yards. They got 331 rushing yards from?Justin Crawford but little consistency elsewhere and could not overcome a slow start. Primarily, West Virginia was doomed by four turnovers, including fumbles inside the Oklahoma 5-yard line by Crawford and quarterback?Skyler Howard.?Now its on to Iowa State, which suddenly looks dangerous.19.?Boise State Broncos?(10-1)Trending:?Week 11 ranking:?22 Week 12 result:?Defeated UNLV 42-25Boise State remains in contention for a New Years Six bowl, but the window is closing. To play for the Mountain West title, Boise State needs a win at Air Force on Friday and a Wyoming loss at New Mexico. The Cowboys nearly obliged Saturday by sneaking by San Diego State by one point after Boise State ran past UNLV on Friday behind 206 rushing yards and four touchdowns from Jeremy McNichols.20.?Houston Cougars?(9-2)Trending:?Week 11 ranking:?NR Week 12 result:?Defeated Louisville 36-10Welcome back to the rankings, Houston, which has been missing since a Week 8 loss to SMU. The Cougars have responded with three straight wins, capped by their resounding upset of Louisville on Thursday, in which they relentlessly hounded Heisman front-runner Lamar Jackson and forced three turnovers. Even so, Navys win Saturday over East Carolina eliminated Houston in the American West race. Houston finishes with Memphis as all eyes turn to coach Tom Herman and his expected Power 5 suitors.21.?Utah Utes?(8-3)Trending:?Week 11 ranking:?13 Week 12 result:?Lost to Oregon 30-28Utah lost on Justin Herberts 17-yard pass to Darren Carrington II with two seconds to play, a huge disappointment. Combined with Colorados win, the loss eliminated the Utes from Pac-12 title contention. The Ducks went 75 yards on the final drive to finish with 575 against Utah, the most gained this year against the Utes, who close against the Buffs this week.22.?Navy Midshipmen?(8-2)Trending:?Week 11 ranking:?NR Week 12 result:?Defeated East Carolina 66-31Navy won the American West, a monumental and unprecedented accomplishment for the Midshipmen, by smothering East Carolina on the Pirates Senior Day. Navys triple-option attack produced nine touchdowns and 483 yards on the ground. The work never stops for Navy, though. It visits SMU on Saturday, followed by the Dec. 3 American title game, the Army-Navy game a week later and, of course, bowl season.23.?Washington State Cougars?(8-3)Trending:?Week 11 ranking:?17 Week 12 result:?Lost to Colorado 38-24Washington States eight-game win streak came to an end as it struggled defensively against Colorado and allowed 603 yards. Luke Falk threw for 325 yards and three scores, but the Cougars defense forced just two punts. Still, they remain in control of their Pac-12 destiny, needing a win Friday over Washington to clinch the North.T-24.?Tennessee Volunteers?(8-3)Trending:?Week 11 ranking: NR Week 12 result:?Defeated Missouri 63-37Despite allowing a second straight opponent to top 400 rushing yards, Tennessee won behind the wizardry of Joshua Dobbs in his final home game. He threw for 223 yards and rushed for 190 on 10 carries, accounting for five touchdowns. The Vols, who finish the regular season Saturday at Vanderbilt, can still reach 10 wins for the first time since 2007 -- astonishing after a three-game October skid and endless craziness this fall.T-24.?Stanford Cardinal?(8-3)Trending:?Week 11 ranking:?25 Week 12 result:?Defeated Cal 45-31Remember Christian McCaffrey? The 2015 Heisman runner-up is healthy again. He rushed for 284 yards and broke his own school record as Stanford went on the road to win the Big Game for the seventh straight season. The Cardinal have won four straight since their midseason struggles and finish the regular season Saturday against Rice with a chance to reach a double-digit win total for the sixth time in seven seasons.Out of the rankings: LSU, Texas A&M, Virginia TechOthers receiving votes: Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, LSU, Minnesota, South Florida, PittNike Air Huarache Kaufen Amazon .com) - Richie Incognito has reportedly been admitted to a psychiatric care unit in Arizona. Nike Air Presto Off White Kaufen . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. http://www.airforce1gunstig.de/air-force-1-herren-deutschland.html . Didier Drogba gave away the penalty that put Senegal one goal away from a major upset, but the veteran striker will get another chance -- probably his last -- at the World Cup after Salomon Kalous injury-time strike sealed the Ivorians place in Brazil next year. Air Force 1 Schwarz Deutschland . Vaives lawyer Trevor Whiffen claims the former 50-goal man wasnt provided with a copy of the claim beforehand and that he would not have agreed to the allegations made against the NHL had he been asked to review its contents. Air Force 1 Kaufen Deutschland . Jane Virtanen scored two, and Alex Roach and Elliott Peterson rounded out the offence for the Hitmen (40-15-6). Brady Brassart chipped in with three assists. Colton McCarthy scored twice, Brayden Point had a goal and two assists, and Jack Rodewald also scored for the Warriors (15-35-9), who were 2 for 5 on the power play.Let me quickly reflect on my last two articles. The earlier article related to the bowler performances across the years. It was a very important analysis based on historic data. There were over 120 comments. The more important article was the recent one: on the boundary-scoring pattern changes. A momentous bat size change law is recommended by MCC, partly based on this data I have provided.There were only 21 comments and I wondered why. I realised that the latter article was primarily on pattern changes across the years. It was almost completely raw data. The law change, if it comes about, would change the game significantly but the players would adapt, as would the followers. There was nothing personal or interesting. On the other hand, readers identified with many of the bowlers and in good humour engaged in jousts with others. They were ready to fight on for their players cause. And the comments were incisive and sought a lot more data.Based on the comments received, I have made this article a complete exposition of bowlers away performances. The article will move top down in a hierarchical manner: the career, regions, countries, series and finally Tests.First, the away career figures of leading bowlers. In order to add weight to the analysis, most of my analysis will relate to players who have captured 100 away wickets or more. I understand that this is a tough qualification bar. As many as 63 bowlers qualify. However, it is essential to add weight to the analysis. A few people like Fred Titmus (99), Craig McDermott (98), Heath Streak (96), Sarfraz Nawaz (96) and Mohammad Asif (96) miss out. But this will happen whatever be the limit. Just for information, UAE is treated as Away for both teams.The first table is a straightforward one. This table is ordered on the away wickets captured by the bowlers. The table is on expected lines. The more wickets a bowler takes the more away wickets he is likely to take. The top five wicket-takers occupy the top five positions in this table, albeit not in the same order. As expected, Shane Warne was marginally more successful away than at home. It is also a measure of the away Tests played by Australia during their halcyon years. Despite his capturing nearly 100 wickets fewer than Muttiah Muralitharan, he has captured nearly 100 away wickets more. Warne has captured more away wickets than Ian Botham, Malcolm Marshall and Waqar Younis captured in their entire careers.Murali is second with 307 wickets, at a good average. Courtney Walsh pips both Glenn McGrath and Anil Kumble. Wasim Akram comes in next with a huge number of away wickets. The presence of Kapil Dev, Daniel Vettori and Zaheer Khan in the top 12 is understandable since their home pitches were not great for them. Curtly Ambrose rounds off the list of 12 bowlers who have captured 200 or more away wickets.A moment to reflect. Placed at 17th is Saeed Ajmal. He has taken 178 Test wickets, all away and not a single wicket at home. My heart goes out to the current generation of Pakistan cricketers. How I wish that the Nos. 1 and 2 in the ICC rankings play a three-Test series in Australia or England. While on the subject, while I would have been very happy to see India at the top of the ICC Test rankings, I am equally happy to see Pakistan at No. 1. The reasons: two players, whose combined age is around 80. Both are tremendous cricketers and great human beings. And rather than thanking West Indies cricketers and the Trinidadian rain gods, Pakistan would do well to thank Sri Lanka, in general, and Rangana Herath and Kusal Mendis, in particular. Now we come to the first performance-based measure: the bowling average. This table lists the top bowlers ordered on bowling average. Sydney Barnes leads the list, having taken 126 wickets at 17.96. The readers should realise that 1905-1914 was a different period to 1890-1899. A lot of these wickets were taken against South Africa. However this South African team was a much better team with the infusion of better players.The unheralded Joel Garner follows next. He was excellent away from home and the 136 wickets at a sub-20 average reflects this. He is followed by the left-armer Alan Davidson, who was successful in varied regions, like India and South Africa. He just managed to vault the bar and finished with 100 wickets at an average around 20.Now it is the turn of six of the greatest pace bowlers the world has ever seen. Ambrose was the king in Australia and England. He is one of the top bowlers who performed almost at the same level whether at home or away. Over 200 wickets at an average just over 20 is a testament to this fact. McGrath was the master everywhere, as was Marshall. They both took over 200 away wickets at averages either side of 21.0. Richard Hadlee, Allan Donald and Michael Holding follow next. The top ten is completed by Clarrie Grimmett.Look at the next four bowlers. At the other end of the table we have Herath conceding well over 41 runs a wicket and Harbhajan Singh nearly 39 runs. It is not a surprise that the overrated Ishant Sharma is in the last three. He has taken a lot of wickets away from home, but at an extraordinarily high cost of nearly 38 runs a wicket. What is WQAI? That is a revised name for DI (Difference Index), which I had introduced in my previous article. It became an instant hit. However, I felt that the term DI did not convey anything. Difference between what? I myself use the difference between batting average and bowling average to determine the quality of allrounders. So I changed the name to Wicket Quality Average Index (WQAI). To refresh, this is the difference between the average quality of batsmen dismissed and the bowling average. The higher it is, the more it signifies that the bowler has been very good - either he dismissed better quality batsmen or conceded fewer runs per wicket, or both. Henceforth I will only use WQAI.A very good WQAI in away Tests conveys a lot. That means that in alien surroundings, in locations that the batsmen are very familiar with and have very good figures at, the bowler has contributed very significantly to the team. This is not the bowler who succeeded only in his own backyard, on tailor-made pitches, against batsmen who perform less effectively and in front of home crowds. Au contraire, the bowler who revelled in alien conditions, on pitches suited to the other team, against batsmen who perform very well, and in front of away, and often hostile, crowds. So this measure is a very important one to measure the bowlers away performances.The best bowler from WQAI point of view is the incomparable Ambrose. On an average, for each of the 203 wickets he took, Ambrose conceded just over 20 runs and dismissed a batsman with an average of just over 32, thus saving over 11 runs for his team. And these are all away wickets. The mind boggles.McGrath was only slightly behind. His WQAI was 9.4, a figure almost matched by Marshall, a hundredth of decimal behind. Donald chips in with a WQAI of just above 8, and then comes Barnes, with a WQAI figure of just below 8. Arguably, Barnes figure is better because of the lower averages in vogue around those times.The top ten is completed by Grimmett, Hadlee, Davidson, Garner and Lillee. I suggest that the readers take a moment to study the top 15. These could form the bowling attacks of the all-time teams. Ambrose/Marshall/Garner/Holding v McGrath/Grimmett/Davidson/Lillee v Donald/Steyn/Pollock v Barnes/Caddick/Flintoff/Underwood.The more I study WQAI the more I am getting convinced that this measure, in time to come, could become as important a measure as the bowling average. The simple approach is also the key. The reader just has to compile the location-wise career averages of the batsmen dismissed by the bowler. It is not a surprise that there are quite a few bowlers who have performed better playing away than at home. There is no pattern to this phenomenon. The list is represented by both spinners and pace bowlers alike. First, let us see the list of bowlers who have performed better away than at home. These bowlers had a better away bowling average than the bowling average they had at home.Out of the 63 bowlers who have captured 100 or more away wickets, 22 have better away bowling averages. It is not easy to predict who will top the table. Richie Benauds away bowling average was better by 26.2%. Maybe this is understandable considering the Australian pitches during those years and the success Benaud enjoyed in Asia. Sonny Ramadhin is in second place. Again, understandable.However, the third place is real surprise. Andrew Flintoff performed better by as much as 21% away. And the home average was an indifferent 36. It is indeed amazing. The next place is an even more of a surprise. Andy Roberts away bowling average was 20% lower than his home bowling average. However, it must be said that West Indies great bowlers - Roberts, Garner, Lance Gibbs, Ambrose, Holding and Sobers all did better playing away. The top five positions are rounded off by Vettori - quite obvious.Let me add that Warne, Hadlee, Graham McKenzie, Davidson and Grimmett performed better bowling away.At the other end of the spectrum, Herath had the worst away bowling record. Look at the sharp contrast between the home bowling average and the away bowling average (23.15 vs 41.46). Not so surprisingly, Makhaya Ntini and, surprisingly, Kumble fill up the last three positions.If we just take 100 career wickets as the base, Irfan Pathans home bowling average is a huge 50+ and his away average is around half of that. This table is ordered on the simpler measure of away wickets. Ishant has captured nearly 70% of his wickets away. This is understandable. Umar Gul is also around this mark, although it must be said that over 30 of these wickets have been captured in UAE. Barnes is not a surprise, with only three countries playing Test cricket. Zaheers presence is quite on expected lines. A real surprise is the presence of Holding and Roberts in the top ten list.On the other hand, we have Herath capturing only 30% of his wickets in away Tests. This is on expected lines. However, what is not expected is the presence of Dennis Lillee, Stuart Broad and James Anderson in the last four positions. Among the many requests made by the readers, possibly the most important one was that I should cover the bowlers performances in away countries. So now I will look into the countries and how visiting bowlers performed there.This table covers only the top eight countries. Enough Tests were not played in Zimbabwe and Bangladesh to cover these two countries. First, let me look at Australia. Ambroses performance against Australia in Australia lays claim to the single greatest bowling performance ever. More on this later. Ambroses 78 wickets at a sub-20 average is mind boggling. The WQAI of 17.3 is in a zone of its own. That means for every wicket Ambrose captured in Australia he contributed a saving of 17.3 runs to his team: a total of nearly 1350 runs. Hadlee was nearly there: 77 wickets at an average lower than Ambrose but a lower WQAI because Australia was relatively weak during the 1980s. That is a tally of nearly 1000 runs. Barnes, around the turn of the 19th century, was quite good; although his average is quite high considering the era he bowled in.ddddddddddddThere were so many great performances in England that it became a selection problem. The leader of the pack is Warne, who captured 129 wickets at a WQAI of 9.45. This would give Ambroses Australian numbers a tough competition. Lillee was probably better with a much higher WQAI of 12.5. Marshalls average was quite low. Ambrose could not match his Australian figures but was still very good. McGrath had a high WQAI of 11.7. Terry Alderman achieved his 83 wickets in just two tours. Murali finds a place for the simple reason that he captured 48 wickets in just six Tests and had a very high WQAI. Think of the bowlers who had to be left out: Hadlee, Hugh Trumble, Holding, Ray Lindwall and Garner, all of whom had captured 50 wickets and more.Warne was the lone modern bowler who crossed 50 wickets in South Africa. It was a pretty good performance. Barnes achieved the tally of 49 wickets in a single four-Test series, just before World War I broke out. Grimmett had the best figures against South Africa. Angus Fraser was the best bowler to have visited the West Indies. His tally of 54 wickets at an average of 20.3 and WQAI of 13.9 is a clear testimony to this. McGrath was just behind with a tally of 50 wickets at a comparable average but lower WQAI. The West Indians had already started going on their downward spiral. Imran Khan just missed out with a haul of 48 wickets.Wasim Akram was absolutely devastating against New Zealand. His figures there read thus: 50 wickets at an average of 17.2 and WQAI of nearly 10. Warnes figures were similar, but at a higher average. Benaud was extremely successful against India in India. His collection of 52 wickets was at the remarkably low average of 18.4 and a near-10 value of WQAI. Walsh was even better. His 42 wickets cost him only 18.5 runs but the quality of batsmen dismissed was much better. Marshall just about got in.Murali was the lone bowler to reach 50 wickets in Pakistan. But his wickets cost him nearly 25 runs and the WQAI was a middling 7. Warne was remarkably successful against Sri Lanka and he often outshone Murali. His tally of 37 wickets was at a low average of around 21 and the strong Sri Lankan batting line-up ensured that his WQAI ended at a high 13.9. While it is true that Warne leads the Asia stakes with 126 wickets, it is not necessarily that great a performance. It has to be agreed that most of the Asian pitches support spinners and Warne was an extraordinary spinner. His wickets also cost him an average of nearly 27 runs, thus leading to a low WQAI. Vettoris case is similar. A low WQAI of 2.0 means that his bowling was not that great. It is possible that the best visiting spinner to Asia was Graeme Swann. He averaged over 5 wickets per Test at an average under 26 and an excellent WQAI of nearly 10. Benaud has been nearly as good.However the bowlers to be admired are the pacemen: Steyn, Walsh, McGrath and Marshall, in particular. They all have very good WQAI figures. Walsh and Steyn have got well over 4 wickets per Test while McGrath and Marshall, less productive. However there is no doubt that they have been very effective. We have to give Marshall and McGrath the first places amongst these equals, for their outstanding WQAI values of nearly 12.0.Treating the Pakistan bowlers as visiting bowlers to UAE, I have given the two best bowlers in this collection of grounds. Yasir Shah, with an excellent WQAI of 8.3 probably edges out Ajmal, who however leads by a mile, in terms of wickets. Shah can, of course, hope to move forward, starting with the rather easy visit of West Indies in the next few months.Bowlers in the zone in away series In the series with upwards of three Tests, the WQAI comes into its own. Hence I will present two tables: one based on the number of wickets captured and the other based on the WQAI achieved during the series.The WQAI values for a single Test do not make any sense since the bowling average does not make any sense within a Test. For the average to be meaningful we need more Tests (and wickets). Hence I will look at WQAI only for a series and career. Surprisingly this table features quite a few modern performances. The leader is Barnes, who captured 49 wickets in his last series and the last series played before World War I. South Africa was no match for the magnificent Barnes, who captured 49 wickets in a four-match series, averaging over 12 wickets per Test. This represented over 62% of the South African wickets. This is incidentally the best ever bowling performance in any Test series, home and away.Twenty-two years later, it was the turn of Grimmett to bamboozle the South Africans, although it must be said that this was no weak side, with Herby Wade, Eric Rowan, Bruce Mitchell and Dudley Nourse in their ranks. Grimmetts performance pales by comparison to Barnes a mere 44 wickets in five Tests.Now enters Alderman, the lbw specialist. In two Ashes series in the 1980s, he captured over 40 wickets. Alderman was more at home in England than Australia. Warne follows next. In the most famous Ashes series of all time, the 2005 classic, Warne had a magnificent haul of 40 wickets.Lillee, Maurice Tate and McGrath captured over 35 wickets in Ashes series. George Lohmann dismissed 35 South Africa batsmen at the turn of the century at a ridiculous average of 5.80. Finally the master, Marshall, had a 35-wicket collection in the 1988 series, at the very low average of 12.66.McGrath captured 30 wickets in an away series three times (1997-England, 1999-West Indies, 2001-England). Warne also achieved this three times (1998, 2001 and 2005 vs England). Lillee, Marshall and Alderman crossed the 30-wicket mark twice. As I have explained before, WQAI makes a lot of sense across a series with a number of Tests. Hence I have presented here the table of high WQAI values in away series.What can one say of Ambroses performance against a strong Australian side during 1992-93. He captured 33 wickets at a low average around 16 but the average quality of batsmen dismissed was an astounding 37. This means that, on an average, he dismissed a top-order batsman every single time. The WQAI is an outstanding 20.6.No less imposing was Walshs performance in England during 2000. He averaged even less than Ambrose but that England side was less strong and this led to an almost equal WQAI of 20.3.In a way, Hadlees 1985 performance against Australia was more impressive. In three Tests, Hadlee captured 33 wickets at a WQAI value of 18.7. Then follows two Marshall performances. In the tough sub-continent conditions, Marshall captured 33 wickets at the truly phenomenal average of 18.8 and has a WQAI of 16.9. He had an excellent tour of England during 1988. with 35 wickets at a WQAI of 16.In order to complete the countries coverage, the last three entries are added. Bruce Taylors performance against West Indies in the 1972 series, Warnes series-winning effort against Sri Lanka during 2004, and Muralis stupendous effort against Pakistan during 2000 are the best away series performances, in this regard, against these three countries.Bowlers excelling in away Tests Since there have been a number of tables, I have decided to do this section in the form of a narrative and lists. First the top-seven away bowling performances of all time, based on wickets captures.Sydney Barnes 17 for 159 (8/56 & 9/103) vs South Africa in 1913 in Johannesburg.Bob Massies 16 for 137 (8/84 & 8/53) vs England during 1972 at Lords.Muttiah Muralitharans 16 for 220 (7/155 & 9/65) vs England during 1998 at The Oval.Johnny Briggs 15 for 28 (7/17 & 8/11) vs South Africa during 1889 in Cape Town.George Lohmanns 15 for 45 (7/38 & 8/7) vs South Africa during 1896 in Port Elizabeth.Richard Hadlees 15 for 123 (9/52 & 6/71) vs Australia during 1985 at the Gabba.Rhodes 15 for 124 (7/56 & 8/68) vs Australia during 1904 at MCG.Three of the pre-World War performances were against hapless South African teams and have relevance only in numerical terms. Although I must admit that Barnes, Lohmann and Johnny Briggs were truly devastating bowlers. Rhodes efforts were against a much better Australian side.Bob Massies debut performance is well known. This was against a strong English side. In the second innings Massie bowled a non-stop spell of 27 overs. That leaves us with two modern classics. Almost inarguably, these two are the greatest away bowling performances of all time. Muralitharan helped Sri Lanka defeat an average England side and Hadlee single-handedly took care of a somewhat similar not-too-strong Australian side. However, both were truly exceptional performances and would never be forgotten by anyone.Now let us look at the quality of wickets captured in an away Test. For this sub-analysis I have considered only players who captured 12 or more wickets in an away Test.Ray Bright, during his 10 for 111 against Pakistan during 1980, had a wicket quality index of 47.5. He dismissed Taslim Arif and Haroon Rashid twice and Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad and Majid Khan once. It is well to remember that Pakistan batsmen had great home averages.Saeed Ajmal, during his 10 for 147 against South Africa during 2013, had a wicket quality index of 46.1. He dismissed Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis and Jacques Kallis twice and Robin Peterson once.Monty Panesar, during his 11 for 210 against India during 2012, had a wicket quality index of 43.5. Panesar dismissed Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni twice and Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh, once.Anil Kumble, during his 12 for 279 against Australia during 2004, had a wicket quality index of 43.1. He dismissed Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn and Steve Waugh twice and Ricky Ponting, Justin Langer, Simon Katich and Adam Gilchrist once.Muralitharan, during his 10 for 115 against England during 2006, had a wicket quality index of 41.1. Muralitharan took wickets of Marcus Trescothick, Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood twice and Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss, once.Finally, for what it is worth, my top three away bowling selections, selected across the tables presented here.1. Curtly Ambroses performances in Australia. His 78 wickets at over 5.5 wickets per Test, an average of 19.79 and a WQAI of 17.30 lead to, arguably, the greatest performance ever. And most of these Tests were against top quality Australian sides. 2. Shane Warnes haul of 129 wickets at nearly 6 wickets per Test in England at an average of nearly 22 and a WQAI of 9.45 should rank very close to Ambroses efforts. And I would not complain if these series of efforts are interchanged by readers. 3. In my opinion, Richard Hadlees three-Test master class of 33 wickets at an average of 12.15 and WQAI of 18.73 ranks as the best series bowling performance of all time, home and away. This should be considered at par with the Lara magnum opus of 688 runs in Sri Lanka during 2001.The other performances that ran these close are Garners 136 away wickets at 19.79, Ambroses 202 away wickets at a WQAI of 11.52 and McGraths 87 wickets at a sub-19 average in England. ' ' '