By Kersi Meher-Homji
December 8th 2009 @ 2:08am
Related coverage
Watson, Sehwag join an exclusive Super 90s club
Australia's Shane Watson plays a shot off the bowling of England's Graeme Swann on the first day of the third cricket test match between England and Australia at Edgbaston cricket ground in Birmingham, England, Thursday, July 30, 2009. AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth
Forget swine flu. Nervous nineties in Test cricket has become the latest pandemic. When Australian opener Shane Watson was bowled for 96 the other day in Adelaide, he became the sixth batsman to be dismissed in the 90s in five Tests played concurrently in Australia, New Zealand and India.
The last fortnight has seen six batsmen getting out in their 90s seven times: New Zealander Ross Taylor being the unfortunate one to be dismissed twice in the nineties.
Taylor scored 94 in the first Test against Pakistan at Dunedin and followed with 97 a week later in the second Test in Wellington.
In the Dunedin Test, he was joined in the Nervous 90s Club by his skipper Daniel Vettori who made 99.
Taylor started the current 90s epidemic on 24th November, followed by Vettori the next day, and Australian opener Simon Katich (92) on the 26th, the opening day of the Brisbane Test against the Windies.
The most unfortunate in the current Nervous 90s Club is Sri Lankan, Angelo Mathews, who was run out for 99 on Wednesday in the Mumbai Test against India.
On Saturday, Western Australia-born West Indies batsman Brendan Nash was the last man out in the first innings of the Adelaide Test for 92.
None of the Indian batsman fell in his 90s during this fortnight.
But the dismissal of India’s dynamic Virender “Viru” Sehwag for 293 in the Bombay Test on Friday was a cri-gedy (short for cricket tragedy) for the home spectators.
They were awaiting their six-o-maniac hero Viru to reach his triple Test ton to become the first to hit three triple centuries in Test annals.
Don Bradman, Brian Lara and Sehwag are the only ones to record two Test triple hundreds each.
Sehwag was unbeaten on 284 at stumps on Thursday, belting 40 fours and 7 sixes. Some were hoping that he would surpass Brian Lara’s 400.
But Sehwag fell for 293, much to the crowd’s agony.
Well, winning the Test by an innings, the series 2-0, India rating No 1 in Test cricket and their hero being adjudged Man of the Match and of the Series were ample compensations.
But still it rankled.
Apart from Sehwag, only four batsmen have been dismissed in their 290s in Test cricket. They are Bradman, Martin Crowe of New Zealand, Viv Richards and Ramnaresh Sarwan of the West Indies.
Bradman was 284 when joined by no.11 batsman Hugh Thurlow in the Adelaide Test against South Africa in 1931-32. He reached 298 comfortably, but when going for the second run, Thurlow was run out and Bradman ended up with 299 not out. Ouch!
Crowe was dismissed for 299 against Sri Lanka at Wellington in 1990-91. He was so devastated that he groaned: “It’s a bit like climbing Everest and pulling a hamstring in the last stride. It would have been great to get 300. I was angry about it but then I settled down.”
In any case, Crowe’s 299 saved NZ from a certain defeat. But with only three balls remaining in the Test and just a single for his triple ton, he was caught behind.
Even the toiling Sri Lankans were sad.
Richards and Sarwan scored 291 runs each against England, Richards at The Oval in 1976 and Sarwan in Bridgetown in 2009.
To quote a cricketing philosopher: “To some a century is only a stepping stone, a mere warm-up and scores of 190s and 290s are but missed milestones.”
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Brett McKay said | December 8th 2009 @ 8:44am | Report comment
Great stuff Kersi – perhaps it’s time for an update of your book, given the sudden spate of Nervous Nineties cases?!?
Just curious, Vettori wasn’t dismissed to an undetected no-ball was he?? (It was Vettori who bowled what later turned out to be a no-ball to Shane Warne, when he holed out on 99 at the WACA years ago…)
Greg Russell said | December 8th 2009 @ 3:19pm | Report comment
Brett, I was watching at the time of Vettori’s dismissal, and if it was a no-ball then certainly it was not shown at the time.
Mark Richardson, who caught Warne in the deep on 99, is a co-host on the morning shift of RadioSport NZ, which I listen to every day. Let’s just say that there are regular reminders of this dismissal of Warne, including that it was a no-ball.
It was sad for Warne, who was definitely good enough to score a test century. But nowadays I actually think it’s nice that he’s got the record for “most test runs without a century”, because, with the way tailenders bat these days, this is one record that he probably will keep forever. I mean, we’ve even had Vaas and Kumble get test centuries in recent years, meaning that the next on the list below Warne is, if memory serves me correctly, something like 1500 runs away.
(And don’t get me wrong, I have huge admiration for the determination of Vaas and Kumble. But as batsmen they have nothing like the natural talent of Warne.)
Freud of Football said | December 8th 2009 @ 7:20pm | Report comment
I have to agree, while it would have been nice to see Warne get a ton – which he undoubtedly deserved – I think he will probably hold that record for a long time and while it’s not exactly the sort of record you’ll put on your resume, it is rather unique and fitting of the man.
He was a joy to watch at bat I have to say. He often looked like he had no idea against the genuinely quick bowlers like Donald and Akhtar and really struggled against Walsh and Ambrose but he looked like no coach had ever even spoken to him, it was just natural what he did and while it wasn’t always pretty, it was effective, I honestly enjoyed watching him with a bat in his hands more than some of the top order (eg Steve “The Robot” Waugh), there was always something happening with him at the crease, he’d shout “oh” himself when he played and missed, he’d have a huge grin when a close LBW went his way, he never shut up and sledged as much while batting as fielding – simply great to watch.
Greg Russell said | December 9th 2009 @ 6:50am | Report comment
Freud and anyone else who is interested,
The cricinfo link for “Records / Test matches / Batting records / Most runs in a career without a hundred” is
http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/content/records/282905.html
Warne sits in splendid isolation at the top on 3154. Second is Chetan Chauhan on 2084.
Of active players, Harbhajan Singh is highest on 1525, followed by B Lee on 1451, then Murali on 1256.
Lee is 33 and does not have many more tests in him (if any). Murali will never get near Warne’s 3154. Harbhajan is 29 and is like Warne in so many ways: feisty, a fantastic eye, ultra-competitive, and more likely to score runs the more they are needed. He has a test century in him if he plays on long enough to get near Warne’s test aggregate.
So as I said, this is a record that is destined to be in Warne’s hands for a very long time, if not forever.
Kersi Meher-Homji said | December 8th 2009 @ 9:12am | Report comment
I don’t think so, Brett. But if Vettori was, it would be poetic justice. What goes around comes around is the English equivalent of Doosra.
Yesterday I wanted Gayle to be out in his 90s but he would not oblige a Roar columnist to spice up his story, would he?
What a tonic to Test cricket if the Adelaide Test ends in a TIE today! There have been interesting similarities between the Brisbane tied Test of 1960 and the current Adelaide Test so far.
Bribane 1960: WI 453, Aus 505, WI 284, Aus 232.
Adelaide 2009: WI 451, Aus 439, WI 8-284.
Who will wear the mantle of Richie Benaud and Alan Davidson today? A lesson from 1960: Don’t get run out! Three were run out in the 1960 thriller; two off the last two balls.
Malibu77 said | December 8th 2009 @ 12:30pm | Report comment
Did Tasmanian all rounder Brett Geeves make two 99’s last season in the Sheffield Shield?
Kersi Meher-Homji said | December 8th 2009 @ 12:45pm | Report comment
You are correct, Malibu77,
Geeves was twice left stranded on 99 not out last season. He won the Ricky Ponting Medal as PKF Tasmanian Tigers Player of 2008-09 after scoring 343 runs at 38.11 (HS 99 not out) and taking 37 wickets at 23.86 in Sheffield Shield.
Oh for a century!
Brett McKay said | December 8th 2009 @ 2:52pm | Report comment
and Kersi, both times it was Tim McDonald that got out on Geeves. His blog write-ups of both events (as is his blog on the TCA/CA site generally) were hilarious….
Fisher Price said | December 8th 2009 @ 1:15pm | Report comment
If the WI had referred that Benn LB shout Watson would have been out LBW – again!
Greg Russell said | December 8th 2009 @ 3:10pm | Report comment
Kersi, inspired by your article I just looked up Cricinfo’s commentary on the Angelo Mathews dismissal. Here it is:
“92.4 Sreesanth to Mathews, 1 run, OUT, Oh what has he done… got himself run out going for the second run. he had pulled a bouncer to deep square-leg and turned for the risky second. Tendulkar with the throw .. comes on top of the stumps and Dhoni breaks the stumps with Angelo just outside the crease ..It was referred upstairs.and the verdict is OUT. Well played sir but what a way to go when you are near your debut ton.. Close but no cigar.
AD Mathews run out 99 (200m 131b 15×4 0×6) SR: 75.57″
So at least it was his own fault rather than the other batsman’s.
The above rather recalls a famous 99 in NZ cricket. It actually happened before I moved here, but one still hears about it regularly. It was Dipak Patel against England in 1992 at Christchurch. He was on 97 and he played a shot to the boundary. Derek Pringle chased. He had not thrown a ball all summer, because of a bung shoulder. So Patel charged back to the non-striker’s end with his maiden test century in sight … only for Pringle to throw it right over the stumps. It was very close. These were the days before there were third umpires, and some have suggested that Patel might actually have made it. But up went the finger.
And that was as close to 100 as he ever got in test cricket.
vinay verma said | December 8th 2009 @ 8:35pm | Report comment
Kersi..Eden Gardens 1969,December Ian Chappell c.Wadekar bowled Bedi for 99. Australia won this game and the series 3-1.
During the series Ian C batted 8 times and was out to Bedi thrice and prasanna thrice. Ian C also scored 138 in a lost cause in Delhi in this series. This was the last series I watched before coming to Australia. Australia had Ian C,Walters and Redpath who were some of the greatest players of Spin bowling i have ever seen. All three danced to the pitch of the ball and refused to be dominated. Walters also scored a ton in the series.
Kersi Meher-Homji said | December 8th 2009 @ 10:03pm | Report comment
Greg,
Dipak Patel’s 99 reminds me of another 99 in a New Zealand Test.
In the 1968 Auckland Test , India’s left-handed all-rounder Rusi Surti stroked a fluent 99 before he got nervous. He was dropped by Mark Burgess in the slips of Garry Bartlett. In the next over Graham Dowling dropped him off Bruce Taylor. Still not chastened, he nicked again and was snapped up in the slips by Burgess off Bartlett. For 99. He never scored a Test century in his career.
Let Surti narrate the story, “I was more anxious than nervous to get my maiden Test century. As I returned to the pavilion, very disappointed after my 99, a spectator walked towards me, put his hand over my shoulder, congratulated me and said: ‘I’ve watched cricket for 26 years and you’re the first batsman I’ve seen dismissed for 99.’ “
Jez said | December 8th 2009 @ 10:26pm | Report comment
I’m sure someone will correct me as I’m not certain of the details but I’m pretty sure Mark Waugh has been involved in some pretty interesting 99s in his career.
The first one was against the Poms at Lords in 1993 when he was out for 99 (again attempting a second run for the hundred)… This in itself was not as notable as the fact that his hundred would have meant that the top 4 Aussie batsmen had all made a hundred (Slater, Taylor and Boon all already having saluted). Spare a thought for the bloke who had 10 quid on the top 4 each getting hundreds at 10,000-1!!!
The other one was in Perth when after coming on as the runner for the injured number 11 (I think it was Craig McDermott), he got himself run out, thus stranding brother Steve on 99… This particularly burned as Steve was on the verge of becoming the first batsmen (or maybe the first since Bradman) to score a hundred on every Australian cricket ground.
Again, if someone could either confirm or correct either of these stories then that’d be great. Cheers
Kersi Meher-Homji said | December 9th 2009 @ 7:58am | Report comment
Jez,
Mark Waugh was bowled by Phil Tufnell for 99 in the 1993 Lord’s Test. Earlier, Mark Taylor was dismissed for 111 and Michael Slater for 152. David Boon was then unbeaten on 80 but went on to score 164 not out as Australia declared at 4 for 632 and won by an innings. Two days later in the same Test , England’s Mike Atherton was run out for 99.
As you say, Jez, in the Perth Test against England in February 1995, Steve Waugh was stranded on 99 not out when brother Mark, running for McDermott, was run out. I don’t know whether Steve would have become the first to score centuries on every ground but for that run-out.
Greg Russell said | December 9th 2009 @ 1:48pm | Report comment
Kersi, at the time of the 1993 Lord’s test, it would have become the first occasion in test history when bastmen 1-4 in a side all scored centuries in the same innings. Has any quartet of batsmen achieved that since Australia failed so narrowly?
Kersi Meher-Homji said | December 9th 2009 @ 2:28pm | Report comment
Greg and Jez,
There have been 9 instances of the first three batsmen hitting centuries in a Test. The first time was by Jack Hobbs, Herbert Sutcliffe and Frank Woolley hitting centuries for England v. South Africa at Lord’s in 1924.
Mark Taylor, Michael Slater and David Boon hitting tons in the 1993 Lord’s Test was the fifth instance. The 9th instance was last month between India and Sri Lanka at Kanpur when Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid scored hundreds.
Had Mark Waugh (99) scored one more run in the 1993 Lord’s Test it would have been the first instance of the first four batsmen registering centuries (to join Taylor, Slater and Boon).
But this happened in 2007 in the Mirpur Test in 2007 when India’s K. Dinesh Karthik, Wasim Jaffer, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar recorded centuries as India declared at 3 for 610. This is the only such instance in Test annals.
My acknowledgement to India’s noted cricket statistician Rajesh Kumar for this information.
Rajesh Kumar said | December 9th 2009 @ 3:01pm | Report comment
Your article is a top-class well-researched piece, quite interesting and informative. Well done!
Kind regards.
Rajesh
Kersi Meher-Homji said | December 9th 2009 @ 3:38pm | Report comment
Roarers,
One correction in my article posted yesterday.
I had written:
“Apart from Sehwag, only four batsmen have been dismissed in their 290s in Test cricket. They are Bradman, Martin Crowe of New Zealand, Viv Richards and Ramnaresh Sarwan of the West Indies.”
The reason for the modification is that Bradman had remained unbeaten and was not dismissed.