He’s never even played a match for England – but unsung Sam Northeast has joined cricket’s immortals while compiling the highest-ever first-class score at Lord’s, the game’s revered home.
Glamorgan captain Northeast powered his way to 335no against Middlesex in the county championship on Saturday, beating Graham Gooch’s record of 333, scored for England against India in a 1990 Test, as the biggest individual innings in 210 years at London’s cricketing cathedral.
Northeast declared with his side on 3-620, selflessly depriving himself of the chance of easing past his best score of 410no, scored in another county game at Leicester two years ago.
But by adding his record-breaking treble ton to that quadruple, the 34-year-old has joined an elite group of just five other batters who’ve scored an innings of over 300 and another of over 400.
Glamorgan’s Sam Northeast hits out. (Photo by John Walton/PA Images via Getty Images)
They include Australian legend Bill Ponsford, who scored two quadruples, and the greatest of them all, Don Bradman, who made five triples to go with his famous, one-time world record of 452no for NSW against Queensland in 1930.
West Indian legend Brian Lara remains out on his own as the only man to have scored a quadruple – the world Test record of 400no made against England in 2004 – and a quintuple, the 501no for Warwickshire against Durham in 1994.
And the other two monster scorers were England’s Graeme Hick (one quadruple and three triples) and Pakistan’s Hanif Mohammad (one quadruple, one triple).
But of that list, Northeast, for long a prolific scorer on the English circuit, is the only one not to have played Test cricket, even though his Glamorgan teammate Marnus Labuschagne isn’t alone in thinking he must be one of the best not to have played for his country.
“I’m totally lost for words to be honest,” said Northeast. “I got pretty nervous there at the end when I was nearing it. It’s a privilege to play here, and to break a record like that is just beyond my wildest dreams.”
“A member actually told me about the record as I was walking out to bat and I forgot about it, and then when I got nearer, I started thinking about it again!
“A personal milestone like that, I had to just make sure I got it for sure.”
Northeast struck 36 fours and six sixes in his majestic knock that occupied 412 balls and eight-and-three-quarter hours as he became only the sixth player ever to score a triple at cricket’s home.
He did get dropped once, on 239, and should have been stumped by Jack Davies when he skipped out of his crease on 291, but on a belting track he was commanding while sharing an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 299 with Colin Ingram, who finished 132no.
Starting the day on 186, Northeast reached his double ton within four overs and after he got to his triple with a swept boundary he accelerated and took a leg-side single off Henry Brookes to go past Gooch’s revered score before declaring at the end of that over.
In response, Middlesex moved easily to 1-138, with Australian-born Sam Robson making 43 and Mark Stoneman moving to 64no.
Insight Edge
Roar Rookie
Absolute rubbish to be negative about Northeast's scores. What were the attacks like when Ponsford got his big scores or others before the WWII for that matter. It was very different game then. SA were pretty rubbish is all departments but no one denigrates Lohman and Barnes for getting cheap wickets against them. Australian test bowling in the mid to late 1960s was pretty rubbish apart from McKenzie yet no one raises that when Pollock was plundering no hopers for 200+ Northeast has deserved to play test cricket for 10 years on numbers alone but much like James Hildreth (Somerset) its a mystery why he didn't. He got the background for it too Harrow, Cambridge, Kent & Hampshire before his move to Glamorgan.
The Knightwatchmen who say Nii
Roar Rookie
TB, even the colossal double and triple tons in Ashes cricket between 1928-38, like the Great Renato Carini, I struggle to exalt them. Carini uses the analogy with elementary level multiple choice maths exams where the questions don't get any more difficult the whole way through - not much to differentiate between 50/50 or 250/250. But an innings like Kim Hughes's immortal 100 no at MCG against you know who: 33/40 at elite advanced level - he made a few mistakes in a top level examination, but survived and excelled when nobody else who sat this exam even scored 50%.
Law Talking Guy
Roar Rookie
I agree too. No one deserves really to be in the same conversation as Bradman. But Ponsford? It’s not unfair to compare people to his mega knocks. Ponsford’s knocks are glorified for their size and no one with the passage of time really bothers to look at how he scored them. He scored 429 of over 1000 runs against a Tasmania at the time that were absolutely uncompetitive and not yet in the shield. They won by an innings and 666 runs. Tasmania were on something similar to a tour and played an invitational first class match. It probably shouldn’t have been graded first class but it was state v state, so automatically got the classification. No first class match should have a result like that. It was a mismatch that shouldn’t be considered first class. He scored 437 against a Queensland team that didn’t win a game in the shield that season. These are big innings, and no one else scored 400, so of course Ponsford did amazing stuff. But they weren’t innings worthy of idolisation either. They were knocks against sub par opposition on helpful pitches.
The Bush
Roar Guru
I agree that no matter what the circumstances, the powers of concentration and fitness to score a 300 is incredible, so from an athletic/sporting perspective I agree. But from a 'cricket' perspective - as in whether this means he deserves to be spoken of in the same breadth as names like Ponsford or Bradman, I don't think so personally. Honestly, I've always found these sorts of scores to be ridiculous. The goal of most games, except in certain circumstances, should be to win and that means these types of scores make that impossible; either the batting is too easy (like in this case) or the end result is not enough time to get a result.
Law Talking Guy
Roar Rookie
Still, you have to get the runs. Plenty of roads out there where batsman aren't getting 335.
The Bush
Roar Guru
When both teams make 600, you know it's a complete joke.
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
He had some of the heavyweights of County cricket bowling at him. Household names like Ethan Bamber, Ryan Higgins, Tom Helm and Toby Roland Jones. The pitch was a complete road because Middlesex is 5 for 460 in reply. Lancashire are playing both Lyon and Tom Hartley against Surry. Gary was out for a first ball duck!
Gamechanger
Roar Rookie
What was the quality of the bowling BG?
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
By any measure, this is an outstanding batting performance. That said, he's no chance to be chosen for England a) because of his age (35 in October) and b) because he doesn't play in the current style favoured by McCullum and Stokes