Heap Factor (HF)

A metric of the extent of collapse, across heaps

The extent of collapse in a heap is indicated by two aspects that are independent of
each other:
1. how many wickets fell in that heap (collapse height)- Ch

2. how fast those wickets fell (collapse speed)- Cs

HF = Ch x Cs

Collapse speed, Cs, can be computed as the ratio of C H and either the number of
balls (bh), the number of runs (rh), or some suitable function of both.

The upper limit of Cs depends upon the choice of this denominator. If the
denominator is only the number of balls, then C s cannot be more than 1, but if it is
the number of runs only, then Cs can be infinite.

Heap length as a denominator

We can combine the number of balls (b h) and the number of runs (rh) in a heap, to
form heap length (lh) as follows:

lh = (bh2 + rh2)

Using heap length as the denominator, collapse speed, Cs = Ch / lh.

And, heap factor, HF = Ch x Cs = Ch2 / lh.

Range of HF

o The range of Ch is 2 to 10 and hence Ch2 ranges from 4 to 100.

o The range of bh is 2 to 108 and rh can vary from 0 to a large number (we
have defined the max distance between two consecutive wickets in a heap as
either 12 runs or 12 balls).
o Hence the range of lh is 2 to a large number.
o From the above, HF can vary from a small number > 0 (but not 0) to 50.

1
Question to think over
Can we define HF in a manner that its range is free from the thresholds of the
number of balls and runs for consecutive wickets?