In Part 1, I compared Virat Kohli’s lean batting trough in the current series against Australia with Greg Chappell in Tests and ODIs against Pakistan and the West Indies in 1981-82.
Chappell’s successor as Australian captain, Kim Hughes, had a similar nightmarish summer in 1984-85.
Against the mighty Windies, Hughes led Australia to two shattering defeats, his contributions being 4 and 37, 34 and 4. This led to his resignation after an emotional press conference.
He then played two Tests under Allan Border, but his form further deteriorated, scoring a first-ball duck and 2 in the Adelaide Test, and a pair in the Melbourne Test – dismissed first ball in the second innings.
Hughes was selected in two World Championship matches at the MCG, making a duck against England and 1 against Pakistan.
He led the rebel Australians to South Africa in 1985-86 and ’86-87 without recapturing his form. In the third, unofficial Test at Johannesburg in 1985-86, Hughes was dismissed first ball in both innings. This was more than a king pair – perhaps an emperor pair!
Mohinder Amarnath
India’s reliable middle order batsman Mohinder Amarnath experienced an amazing twist of fortunes in the Test arena from December 1982 to December 1984.
In the first six months – against Imran Khan in Pakistan and against Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding and Andy Roberts in West Indies – he plundered 1182 runs at 69.53 runs in 11 Tests, with five centuries and seven fifties on foreign soil.
Then came a huge fall. After 4 and 7 in two Tests against Pakistan in India, he had a horror series against the West Indies: 0 and 0 at Kanpur, 1 and 0 at Delhi, followed by 0 and 0 at Kolkata.
Thus he scored only one run at an average of 0.17 at home.
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Mark Waugh
In the first innings of the final Test against the Windies in Antigua in 1992, Australia’s elegant batsman Mark Waugh blasted an unbeaten 139, studded with 11 fours and 3 sixes.
But against the visiting Indians he struggled badly, making only 83 runs at 13.83 in four Tests.
Worse was to come, when Australia toured Sri Lanka in 1992-93. He registered pairs in the second Test at Colombo and in the third Test at Moratuwa.
Those four ducks in a row were scored for the first time by a recognised batsman, giving him the nickname ‘Audi’ – the pair of pairs (0,0,0,0) resembling the car logo.
But, like a true champion, he regained his century habit.
Mark Taylor
Mark Taylor went through a bad patch in 1996-97, when his reputation as one of Australia’s greatest captains saved his place during an 18-month slump, which ended with a memorable century at Edgbaston in 1997.
But he struggled against England in Australia, making 7 and 19 in the Melbourne Test, and 2 and 2 in the final Test in Sydney. A few months later he scored 3 against Pakistan at Rawalpindi.
Things changed in the next Test, at Peshawar, where he amassed an unbeaten 334 to match Don Bradman’s highest score.
He could have played one more over the next morning to get past The Don’s Australian record, or batted an hour more to break Brian Lara’s then Test record of 375 runs. But to Taylor, his country came before individual glory, and he declared at stumps on Day 2.
To quote Wisden 2000, “The postscript of the game came weeks later when Taylor visited Bradman at his home in Adelaide, and the Don thanked him – as he had in a letter – for not exceeding his record.”
Roarers, can you add to my list of Test greats going through lean patches but coming back minting runs?
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