Did you know that in the 140-year history of Test cricket, not one batsman has been dismissed for 99 in a Sydney Test?
On the other hand, ten batsmen have been out for 99 in a Melbourne Test, a record.
MCG is followed by Lord’s, with six nervous 99ers, then Cape Town, Lahore and Perth (five each) and Adelaide (four).
Nottinghamshire, Auckland, Brisbane, Port-of-Spain, Karachi, Christchurch, Harare, and Nagpur have witnessed three batsmen dismissed for 99, while Bridgetown, Bangalore and Leeds have twice each.
Twenty-eight venues have witnessed batsmen being dismissed for 99 on one occasion.
In all, 39 Test venues have witnessed 93 instances of batsmen being dismissed for 99 since the first time, in Melbourne on January 1, 1902. This was in an Ashes Test, when Australia’s Clem Hill was caught Arthur Jones bowled Sydney Barnes.
Karachi is the only venue which has witnessed three batsmen being dismissed for 99 in a single Test. Pakistan played England in 1973, with the home side losing Majid Khan and Mushtaq Mohammad for 99, then England’s Dennis Amiss also fell one shy of triple digits – a unique record in Test history.
Will the Sydney Test break that 136-year-old record over the next five days?
I often wonder as to what is more tragic: to be out for a duck or to see an umpire’s lifted finger when on 99? To misquote poet John Greenleaf Whittier:
For all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these;
It might have been a century!
Let me end with the quote of Test great Michael Slater and now Channel Nine commentator from my book The Nervous Nineties (1994):
“I will never forget the awesome feeling, not only of disappointment but of total disbelief, at being dismissed for 99 against New Zealand in Perth last season [November 1993].
“Before that fateful delivery from Dipak Patel, getting out was the last thing on my mind. I felt invincible at that stage and knew that all my concentration and hard work will be rewarded with just one run.
“However, disaster struck. Patel managed to turn one down leg side sharply and in my excitement I tried to turn it fine for a single, but somehow managed to glove it straight to the ‘keeper [Tony Blain].
“The sight of the umpire’s raised finger haunts me as much today as it did that evening.”
Test great Steve Smith is to play for Washington Freedom in the second season of Major League Cricket as the Australian influence in the…
Nathan Lyon has revealed his disappointment that Australia's cricket chiefs have prevented him from playing his first full season of county cricket in England…
Some of you may have watched the recent Fox Sports Series 'A Brief History of Australian Cricket: the Eighties'. If not, I’d definitely recommend…
Nathan Lyon's spell with English county Lancashire has been halved as Cricket Australia looks to protect the fitness of the star spinner. The Australian,…
Cricket Australia insists Optus Stadium can replace the Gabba as the men's Test team's new fortress after handing Perth the first match against India.…
It's no longer about how many runs score individually - it is about the team's ability to win Test in pressure moments.
