XI of a kind - Dead rubber classics
India eked out an impressive win on a treacherous surface at the Wanderers © AFP
One of the fascinating aspects of Test cricket is how the plot of a match slowly changes from the relaxed and unhurried settings to unexpected spurts of excitement and suspense. The pace of a match can fluctuate from being a slow-burner to a tension-filled contest. Over five days, numerous subplots seem to be stitched into producing that one memorable Test match.
In fact, a classic Test match is akin to a thrilling tale where the 22 players are the various characters of the tale. As you flip through the pages of the book, the ebbs and flows of the tale keep the reader engrossed, and the suspense continues to unfold before the climax. In this edition of XIs, we look at 11 classic dead-rubber Test matches, where one side had already won the series going into the final or the last few Tests, but the other team was able to raise its game to ensure an unforgettable match that would be reverberated for years to come.
India won by 63 runs; South Africa won the series 2-1
Treacherous surface. Prodigious swing bowling. Appreciable seam movement. Variable bounce, with pieces coming off the surface. Courageous batting. Immense self-belief. And sprinkled with controversy.
India won toss and took the brave decision of electing to bat on a green Mamba. Fighting half-centuries from skipper Virat Kohli (54) and Cheteshwar Pujara (50), and lower-order resistance in the form of Bhuvneshwar Kumar (30) helped India to compile a respectable 187. The visitors landed the ball relatively fuller compared to the hosts, as South Africa themselves were snuffed out for 194. Bhuvneshwar was the pick of India's pacers, snaring three scalps while his partner in crime, Jasprit Bumrah, rammed it on a length to extract variable bounce out of a crumbling surface to bag his maiden five-fer in Tests. Meanwhile, for the hosts, Hashim Amla composed a gritty fifty.
It was when India batted in the second essay, the track started to play more tricks. By the end of the first session on Day 4, umpires had a conversation or two with the curator - Bethuel Buthelezi. The curator also tried to tweak a few aspects of the pitch by working on it. When play resumed after lunch, the saga of batsmen being hit continued as a few deliveries kept low and on occasions, it spat disconcertingly via a good length. The umpires again had concerned looks on their faces. It was later revealed that India were offered to stop the game during their innings but Kohli had told his men to continue. The visitors were finally bowled out for 247, with Kohli (48), Ajinkya Rahane (41), Bhuvneshwar (33) and Vijay (25) all playing courageous hands.
South Africa started the daunting chase and the first warning signal for the home side came in the third over when Bhuvneshwar extracted awkward bounce from a good length and Dean Elgar was smashed on the glove. In the ninth over of the innings, the left-hander suffered a sickening blow on the helmet grille and was left dazed. There were more concerns about the nature of the pitch and umpire's decided to call off the day's play.
There was controversy, tension and furore behind the scenes. The Indian team believed that it was a tad unfair on them (if the match had to be called off) as they batted through an entire innings in tough conditions. Ajinkya Rahane, the India batsman, said to the media: "What about them bowling short balls to our bowlers. When Ishant [Sharma], Bhuvi, [Mohammed] Shami and [Jasprit] Bumrah were batting, everyone was bowling bouncers. I don't think it is a dangerous wicket, yes, it is a challenging wicket."
After a lot of deliberations, the umpires decided to resume play on the fourth day. Curiously, the pitch didn't offer much for Indian pacers in the first session's play. Elgar, who carried his bat for 86, and Amla put together 119 for the second wicket but once the stand was broken the hosts collapsed to 177 all out from 124 for one with Shami running through the tail taking five for 28.
India won by 13 runs; Australia won the series 2-1
Back in 2004, when Australia embarked on a trip to India, they were on a mission to break the hoodoo of not having won a series in India for 35 years. The Adam Gilchrist-led side won two of the first three Tests to breach the final frontier and seal a historic series win in India. The home side, smarting from defeats, would have looked to salvage some pride. On a dustbowl at the Wankhede, where it turned from ball one, it was India who clinched a nail-biting 13-run win.
Both sides had a few changes going into the match. Ricky Ponting, the regular captain, returned to the fold after recovering from a finger injury that he suffered during the Champions Trophy. For India, Sourav Ganguly was troubled by a groin strain which meant Rahul Dravid captained the Indian side for the second successive Test.
Unfortunately, it turned out to be a damp start on Day 1 as due to intermittent drizzle, only 11 overs were bowled which were enough for the famed duo of Jason Gillespie and Glenn McGrath to make inroads into the Indian camp. On the next day, as many as 18 wickets fell. The hosts could eke out a score of just 104. Australia then took a substantial lead of 99. On a track offering considerable turn, Damien Martyn handled the spin trio of Harbhajan Singh, Kumble and Murali Karthik expertly to compile a wonderful 55.
At that juncture of the match, India needed their batting stalwarts to make an impact. It was the duo of VVS Laxman (69) and Sachin Tendulkar (55) who lifted the hosts with a match-turning stand of 91 for the third wicket. Tendulkar tried to change the momentum of the game by pulling and lofting Hauritz for fours and sixes. Once the pair was dismissed, only Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Kaif made useful contributions as Australia were set 107 to wrap up the series 3-0. Meanwhile, Michael Clarke's golden arm made an entry into the series as he returned astonishing figures of 6 for 9.
As expected spin was introduced early in the innings. Ponting fell, caught at leg slip off Karthik, while Martyn, Australia's best batsman of the series, lasted just five balls, trapped in front off the same bowler. Australia were bundred out for 93 as India successfully defended the target of 107 - the third lowest by side in the fourth innings of a Test. Australians weren't exactly pleased with the exaggerated turn on display. Ponting, the Australian captain, slammed the conditions by saying, "Not even close, not even close. I mean, 40 wicketsin two days. I think that says it all."
Pakistan won by one wicket; Pakistan won the series 3-0
Bangladesh went into the final Test of the three-match series against Pakistan, having lost 22 of their first 23 Tests. On a wicket with enough covering of grass, Bangladesh opted to bat. Surprisingly, they left out their most potent pacer - Mashrafe Mortaza. Later, Khaled Mahmud, the captain, revealed that the think-tank consisting Dav Whatmore (coach) wanted to protect the young and injury prone pacer.
Habibul Basher led the way for Bangladesh with 72 as the visitors ended up with a creditable 281. Pakistan responded with just 175, as they found themselves with a deficit of 106. Mahmud, who had started the series with a bowling average of 406, got it to cut off the seam and snared a four-fer. Mohammad Rafique bowled with precision and control to take five for 36. Pakistan, though, came roaring back into the contest as the pace duo of Umar Gul and Shabbir Ahmed shared eight spoils between them as Bangladesh were shot out for 154 in their second essay, with the hosts needing 262 for a win.
While chasing down a sizeable target, Pakistan slipped to 148 for 6 at close on Day 4. Bangladesh were on the verge of a monumental win. Unfortunately for Bangladesh, they ran into an inspired Inzamam-ul-Haq. After a rather nervy start, he essayed late cuts, pulls and skipped down the track to whittle away at the target. Bangladesh, didn't help their cause by fluffing chances. Hannan Sarkar grassed a chance off Shabbir, who added a crucial stand of 41 with Inzamam. Gul survived a run out, courtesy Rafique's foot at the bowler's end hitting the stumps (with the bails coming off) before he completed the action of running out the batsman. In the same over, Rafique could have mankadad Gul but he showed good sportsman spirit and decided not to. Those two incidents turned out to be a huge twist in the tale.
Inzamam farmed the strike superbly with Gul as the hosts came within five runs of a win. Bangladesh, though, had another opening when Gul was run out. Yasir, the last man, would have chewed a few fingernails while walking out to the field. However, he eked out a single before Inzamam cracked a pull off Mahmud to provide the finishing touches to an enthralling contest. Inzamam's match-turning, unbeaten 138 not out also brought back memories of another epic Test match against Australia in Karachi in 1994, when he had guided Pakistan to a one-wicket win in the company of last man Mushtaq Ahmed. The visitors could only ponder what might have been.
West Indies won by three wickets; Australia won the series 3-1
The rare prospect of a whitewash at home loomed as hosts West Indies played Australia in the fourth and final Test at the Antigua Recreation Ground. In the absence of Ricky Ponting, who scored hundreds in each of the first three Tests, Australia were bowled out for 240 in their first essay courtesy Jermaine Lawson's seven for 78. By the end of the second day, hundreds from the openers ensured Australia were ahead by 171 runs with all ten wickets intact after having bowled out the home side for the exact same score of 240. West Indies struck back by restricting the visitors to 417 (from 242/0) and started off the spirited chase 47 without loss at the end of third day.
The openers were back in the hut early in the first session but when Brian Lara took the attack to Stuart MacGill on the fourth day afternoon, the memories of Bridgetown 1999 resurfaced in the minds of the buoyant Antigua crowd. However, MacGill had the final laugh as Lara played one shot too many and got his stumps pegged back trying to hit his fourth maximum off the leggie. The Guyanese duo of Ramnaresh Sarwan (105) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (104) kept the scoreboard ticking as they added 123 runs from the next 26 overs. Brett Lee took two wickets off as many deliveries but young Omari Banks played with a cool head and provided excellent support to Chanderpaul as the pair saw the day off at 371 for six. Despite losing Chanderpaul early in the exchange on the final day, Banks and Vasbert Drakes saw the team home to register the highest fourth innings chase in Test cricket history.
England won by two wickets; South Africa won series 2-1
Before Day 5 of the rain-marred Centurion Test between England and South Africa in 2000, Hansie Cronje, the South African captain, had met Alec Stewart, the England veteran, to ask if Nasser Hussain, his England counterpart, would think of a proposal. As not a single ball was bowled on the next three days due to incessant rain, Cronje was thinking about forfeiting innings, with England being given a chance to chase in their final essay. At that time, Cronje was reportedly mulling over setting a target of around 270.
The England camp was perhaps taken aback. Hussain later said as the pitch was bowler friendly on Day 1, he wasn't sure about the idea. And neither were other senior players in the camp nor the head coach, Duncan Fletcher, sure about the proposal. However, about 40-50 minutes after the start of the final day, Hussain reportedly tried to communicate with Cronje and asked whether a target of around 250 was feasible. And to his surprise, Cronje agreed.
There were some formalities to be done with regard to Laws of the game. It has to be noted that the Laws were in relation to only forfeiting a second innings. And in this case, England hadn't yet began their first essay. Eventually, Barry Jarman, the match referee, agreed with the offer, based on 'spirit of the game'. By then the track had also eased out as the hosts finished with 248 for 8 declared. Daryll Cullinan top-scored with 46 for the home side. England forfeited their first innings, while South Africa did the same with their second innings. In England's second innings (chasing 249) Shaun Pollock, Lance Klusener and Nantie Hayward bowled with aggression and incisiveness as the visitors were reduced to 102 for 4. At that stage, the tourists seemed set to play for a draw.
Inexplicably, Cronje introduced Pieter Strydom, the part-timer, into the attack and he bowled as many as six overs. Stewart (73) and Michael Vaughan (69) took advantage of it and propelled England within 21 runs of victory. Despite a late wobble, England registered a consolation two-wicket win to reduce the series margin to 2-1. After the match, a few even appreciated Cronje's adventurousness. At that time no one knew but a couple of months later, it would take a different turn with Cronje's involvement in match-fixing coming to the fore in India. Cronje's involvement in match fixing also led to question marks being raised over the Centurion Test.
England won by 208 runs; West Indies won the series 3-1
England, who had already lost the series, were also facing the daunting task of taking on West Indies in Barbados - a place where the hosts hadn't lost a Test since 1935. To make matters worse, they lost by eight wickets to a Board President's XI in Grenada. After England lost that practice game, Roland Holder, the Board XI captain, even predicted a 'Blackwash'. Atherton, though, largely kept faith in the misfiring side.
Richie Richardson, won the toss, and surprisingly asked England to bat on a good pitch for batting. The West Indies captain was perhaps hoping for a dispirited to crumble after suffering heavy losses. Instead, Atherton and Stewart stitched a stand of 171 for the first wicket. Stewart, meanwhile, amassed a hundred on his birthday. Lower down the order, Jack Russell hung around for a crucial 38 as England managed a competitive 355.
West Indies, in their reply, suffered a collapse as they dipped 134 for 7. Desmond Haynes, the veteran opener, also sustained a blow on his finger off Chris Lewis and had to temporarily retire hurt. It required a promising, 19-year-old, Shivnarine Chanderpaul's 77 and some lusty hitting by Kenny Benjamin and Ambrose to propel the home side to 304. Angus Fraser, the metronome, finished with impressive figures of 8 for 75. In England's second innings, it was again Stewart who led the way with a noteworthy 143 - scoring hundreds in both innings. Graham Thorpe composed a fine 84 as England declared on 394 for 7, setting a massive target of 446.
In West Indies' second innings, with Haynes and Richardson under injury cloud, the hopes seemed to rest on Brian Lara's brilliance. The southpaw, who was given a reprieve, remained unbeaten at stumps on Day 4. England grassed another chance on the final day as Mark Ramprakash dropped a sitter. Finally, Phil Tuffnell, not known for his fielding, pouched a catch off Andy Caddick's bowling to dislodge Lara as England had a sigh of relief. Caddick, Lewis and Tufnell ran through the lower order to ensure England's well-earned win.
Match drawn; West Indies won the series 3-1
Australia were led by the 42-year old Bob Simpson as they lost majority of their first choice players to Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket. After getting humiliated by the pace battery of the hosts in the first two Tests, the Packer-bound West Indians pulled out due to their differences with WICB. The new look West Indies under Alvin Kallicharan wrapped up the series 3-1 with a 198-run win in the fourth Test in Port of Spain.
In a Test marred by rain and bad light, Australia had a day and three quarters to force a result after they led by 63 in the first essay. Peter Toohey scored 97 in addition to the 122 he made in the first innings and along with opener Graeme Wood's 90, Australia declared at 305 for three from 86 overs leaving the hosts a day to get the runs or to survive. West Indies lost half of their side for 88 but Kallicharan scored a defiant ton to keep his side afloat. When he was trapped behind wicket by leg spinner Jim Higgs, another 9.5 overs were left with the last two wickets standing. But when Vanburn Holder was dismissed caught behind by wicketkeeper Steve Rixon off the bowling of Higgs by umpire Westley Malcolm, he lingered at the middle before taking off the glove and hitting it against his hip out of disgust at himself for getting out.
That turned put be the seminal moment as the Jamaica crowd, thinking Holder received a bad decision, hurled bottles, stones, chairs or whatever they could lay their hands at, to the middle. Police intervention was needed to take the visitors back to the hotel room as 6.2 overs remained unbowled. Despite both the teams and umpire Malcolm agreed to extend the match to a sixth day to force a result, the match had to be abandoned as Malcolm's partner Ralph Gosein and stand in umpire John Gayle refused, depriving the visitors a much deserved win.
Jessop cracked a stunning innings at The Oval © Cricbuzz
New Zealand won by 190 runs; West Indies won the series 3-1
45 Tests and 26 years. It took a long time for New Zealand to taste the sweet smell of victory. That memorable win came in the final Test of the four-match series against West Indies in March 1956. The home side had lost the first three Tests and were on the verge of a whitewash.
However, on a positive note, John Reid, who took over the mantle of leading the side from Harry Cave after the first Test, seemed to be instilling a new sense of self-belief in the set-up. And that self-belief could be seen in the final Test when the hosts clinched the game by 190 runs against a side consisting Garry Sobers, Everton Weekes, Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine.
New Zealand, who elected to bat, compiled 255 in their first essay. Reid led from the front with a resolute 84 and received some support from John Beck (38), the left-handed batsman. Tom Dewdnesy, the promising Jamaica pacer, bagged a maiden five-fer (5/21). He bowled with good stamina and maintained pace for long periods. In West Indies' first essay, only Hammond Furlonge, the Trinidad opener, showed the required batting aptitude to amass a useful 64. Denis Atkinson (28) and Alphonso Roberts (28) also made handy contributions. For New Zealand, Tony MacGibbon (6"5') used his height to extract lift and swung the ball to bag a four-wicket haul.
In New Zealand's second essay, Atkinson, the captain, bowled quickish off-cutters to run through New Zealand and bag his career best 7/53. On the other hand, Sam Gullien, who had previously played for the Windies before settling down in Christchurch, top-scored with a crucial hand of 41 as New Zealand declared at 157 for 9. While hunting down a sizeable target of 268, West Indies collapsed to be snuffed out for just 77 - their lowest Test score at that time. Weekes top-scored with 33, with only two other batsmen reaching double figures. Harry Cave again shone brightly with a four-fer (4/21) to add to his 4/22 in the first innings. As per reports, there were largely empty stands until Day 4. But, as New Zealand inched closer to posting a win, around 10,000 spectators were a part of New Zealand's memorable triumph. When the last wicket fell, around 7000 long suffering fans ran into the ground to celebrate the historical moment.
Match drawn; England won the series 3-0
The 1947 Oval Test is fondly remembered as Bruce Mitchell's Test. Mitchell, who played in each of South Africa's 42 Tests from 1929 to 1949, was on the field for all but 15 minutes of the match as South Africa managed to not just draw the Test but give the home side a scare. He cracked a tenacious 120 in the first essay to ensure the visitors reached 302 in pursuit of England's first innings score of 427.
The hosts aggregated 325 for 6 declared in their second dig, with Dennis Compton compiling a run-a-minute century. South Africa were left with a daunting target of 451. As dreariness would have crept in, Mitchell scored only 36 runs off the two and a half hours before lunch on the final day and took as much time to reach his second ton of the Test. Dick Howarth, the left-arm spinner, known for his exemplary control, snared a three-wicket haul as South Africa slid to 266 for 6. However, Mitchell was still batting in the middle.
The opener strung together an unbeaten stand of 109 runs from 90 minutes with Lindsay Tuckett for the eighth wicket to take South Africa within 28 runs of what would have been chronicled as a believe-it-or-not, come-from-behind victory. Such was his concentration that approximately 30 minutes after Tufty Mann had been dismissed, he had asked his batting partner, Tuckett, "When did Tufty get out, Lindsay?" England won the series 3-0 but South Africa salvaged some pride at The Oval.
West Indies won by 30 runs; Australia won the series 4-1
After losing the first four Tests against Australia in the 1930-31 series, West Indies eked out a nerve-wracking 30-run win in the final Test at the SCG - their first Test victory against Australia.
If we turn the pages and look back at the Test, West Indies opted to bat and compiled 350 for 6 declared. Freddie Martin compiled his maiden Test century while George Headley scored his second hundred following an unbeaten 102 earlier in the series in Brisbane. The home side responded with just 224, as George Francis spearheaded the Windies attack with a four-fer. Clifford Roach, captain Jackie Grant, Martin and Headley made useful contributions as the Windies declared their second innings at 124 for 5 following no play possible on Day 4 after prolonged sunshine on the wet pitch. Herman Griffith, who was 37 by then, took over by picking up a four-wicket haul as Australia were bowled out for 220 to pilot his side to a historic win. The fast bowler also had the rare distinction of dismissing Don Bradman for a nought for the first time in the latter's celebrated Test career.
Constantine wrote in 'Cricket and I' that Bradman was dismissed as a result of "skilful, teasing series of deliveries from (Herman) Griffith, and demoralised the Australians."
England won by one wicket; Australia won the series 2-1
"If ever an innings ought to have been filmed, that was the one" - the famous words were uttered by CB Fry after Gilbert Jessop crunched a whirlwind 104 at The Oval against Australia in 1902. This was a knock that helped the hosts steal a jailbreak and win by one wicket. The knock is still reverberated across the cricketing landscape with an enduring ink.
If we now jog our memory down the lane to a few days before the Oval Test, there was a chance that Jessop might have been dropped. He had already been left out of the Old Trafford Test and Lord Hawke, the selection committee's chairman, wanted him to bowl in the the Oval Test. Jessop, however, observed that he was past his best as a pacer. In the end, the selectors made the wise decision of selecting both Jessop and George Hirst - which also added strength to England's fielding.
Hirst, the left-armer, immediately made an impact by generating swing to pick up a five-fer as Australia were bowled out for 324. Hugh Trumble bowled unchanged and bagged a eight-for. England, on the other hand, were nipped out for 183. With a substantial lead of 141, Australia were in front but Bill Lockwood bagged a five-wicket haul as Australia were bowled out for 121, setting England a target of 263. Jessop himself made an impact by running out Australia's mainstay, Victor Trumper, with a rocket throw from covers as Dick Lilley, the 'keeper, whipped the bails off.
Unfortunately for the home side, it rained during the night. As the players dined at the Great Central Hotel, the home side's players were in a sombre mood as batting on a 'sticky' wicket was always going to be an uphill task. Just to ensure the spirits were up, Jessop offered 20-1 against anyone scoring a century.
On the big day, on a wet wicket, England soon slid to 48 for 5. Jessop then proceeded to play with adventurousness that bordered on sheer arrogance. He gave a warning signal to the opposition ranks when he tonked Trumble into the pavilion. It continued to rain thunderous blows from the stout willow of Jessop.
After lunch, the sun came out and Jessop changed gears. He began with a late cut and then he tailored one through slip off Trumble. It was Saunders who came in for severe punishment as he pulled and slogged him through the leg-side and collected 17 via a single over. He also straight drove Trumble a couple of times. Jessop soon reached his hundred off just 76 balls, which remains the fastest in the fourth innings of a Test.
Despite Jessop's brilliance, England needed a further 87 with just three wickets left. At that crucial stage of the match, it was Hirst who carried England's hopes with a brave undefeated 58 to go with the crucial 43 he scored in the first essay. Just like Jessop, he also survived a scare - loud appeal for an LBW early on in his innings. The equation came down to 15 with one wicket left. Hirst apparently (perhaps apocryphal) told his Yorkshire team mate and last man Wilfred Rhodes. 'We'll get 'em in singles, Wilfred'. They pinched one single after another and Rhodes finally dribbled a single via mid-on and celebrated with unrehearsed reactions as he ran his way to the pavilion in jubilation. Hirst, at the other end, was carried by emotional fans on their shoulders. Those 22,000 fans at the ground celebrated like there was no tomorrow.
Trumble had the final say on the game: "Only one man living who could beat us, beat us." That man was Gilbert Jessop.
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