Right now, all of us test enthusiasts are celebrating 2 Huuuuge events - WI beating England yesterday (2nd Test) and Bangladesh beating Australia today (1st test). Not that we love England or Australia less (wait...I do not like Australia, despite the fact that they are a much more gentlemanly team now), it's just that we love the underdog more!
But I do not want to write about the underdog - No Sir. For me, while the Bangladesh victory was entirely a Bangladesh contribution (and full marks to them ), the WI victory had a lot to do with Joe Root's 'sporting declaration' on the 4th day of the Test. He sat WI 322 to chase and win on day 5. That seemed reasonable (given usually how bad WI bat , and how well England bowl). But, surprise-surprise, WI actually won! And made Joe Root look foolish. So, I thought of digging up some such declarations that made Test matches interesting!
1. SA versus England tour 1999/2000, 5th Test : The series was won; SA were up 2-0. The 5th test had seen a lot of rain and a result was not looking possible (SA had batted). So, the spectators were in for some disappointment. But hey, Hansie Cronje forfeited one innings, convinced England to do the same and the result was that England were directly in the 4th innings chasing 249 to win. They won! All of us fans thought it was a great gesture - it turned out to be a fixed match. You can read about this here
2. India versus Australia, Chennai 1986 (1st Test) : Also famous as the Chennai Tied test! Not sure if Allan Border had been sporting or downright condescending. Australia batted first and declared in both innings - second innings declared on 170/5 . At that stage, maybe India chasing 348 in the final innings looked impossible! But wonder-of-wonders, India came so close to winning that the test got tied!
3. WI versus England, 1968 (4th Test) : Maybe Joe Root was compensating for this test. Sir Garfield Sobers decided that he would make the match interesting. So, he declared on 92/2 and set England 215 on the last day; thinking that it would be enough! Enough to allow England to win and create a result out of a match that was not expected to have a result!
To read more interesting stuff on declarations in cricket - do check this blog .
But I do not want to write about the underdog - No Sir. For me, while the Bangladesh victory was entirely a Bangladesh contribution (and full marks to them ), the WI victory had a lot to do with Joe Root's 'sporting declaration' on the 4th day of the Test. He sat WI 322 to chase and win on day 5. That seemed reasonable (given usually how bad WI bat , and how well England bowl). But, surprise-surprise, WI actually won! And made Joe Root look foolish. So, I thought of digging up some such declarations that made Test matches interesting!
1. SA versus England tour 1999/2000, 5th Test : The series was won; SA were up 2-0. The 5th test had seen a lot of rain and a result was not looking possible (SA had batted). So, the spectators were in for some disappointment. But hey, Hansie Cronje forfeited one innings, convinced England to do the same and the result was that England were directly in the 4th innings chasing 249 to win. They won! All of us fans thought it was a great gesture - it turned out to be a fixed match. You can read about this here
2. India versus Australia, Chennai 1986 (1st Test) : Also famous as the Chennai Tied test! Not sure if Allan Border had been sporting or downright condescending. Australia batted first and declared in both innings - second innings declared on 170/5 . At that stage, maybe India chasing 348 in the final innings looked impossible! But wonder-of-wonders, India came so close to winning that the test got tied!
3. WI versus England, 1968 (4th Test) : Maybe Joe Root was compensating for this test. Sir Garfield Sobers decided that he would make the match interesting. So, he declared on 92/2 and set England 215 on the last day; thinking that it would be enough! Enough to allow England to win and create a result out of a match that was not expected to have a result!
To read more interesting stuff on declarations in cricket - do check this blog .
Cricket fans can Watch Live Cricket Today for free including latest updates, live streaming, live score and much more about the mega cricket events on their smart device.
ReplyDelete