Five futile declarations

Pride before a fall

Andrew Miller

January 6, 2006

Declarations can prove notoriously tricky to judge, as South Africa's captain, Graeme Smith, found out to his cost at Sydney this morning. Here, Cricinfo takes a look at five innings closures that didn't quite pan out as the captain had planned.

Ricky Ponting: two centuries to seal an improbable victory © Getty Images

West Indies v England, Trinidad 1967-68

Perhaps the doziest declaration of them all. Garry Sobers had a reputation as an innovative captain, but on this occasion he was simply too clever for his own good. With the series deadlocked at 0-0 after three games, the fourth Test at Port-of-Spain was drifting to a draw as well, only for Sobers to pull the plug on West Indies' second innings at a meagre 92 for 2. The lead was just 215 runs, there were some 60 overs remaining, and England didn't need a second invitation. Geoff Boycott dropped anchor, Colin Cowdrey teed off, and a seven-wicket victory set England up for their final series win against West Indies for 32 years.

England v West Indies, Lord's 1984

It looked like an open-and-shut case. England had a lead of 300 and rising, and it was just a matter of waving them in and getting stuck in. David Gower, in the early stages of his first stab at the England captaincy, eventually figured that a target of 342 was more than enough - having taken an offer for bad light with runs flowing on the fourth evening. When Desmond Haynes was run out for 17, it seemed that a series-levelling win was on the cards. But that was before Gordon Greenidge had cut loose. Hobbling through his innings after pulling a hamstring, he carved a brilliant unbeaten 214, with Larry Gomes sauntering alongside him on 92, as West Indies coasted to an incredible nine-wicket win.

South Africa v England, Centurion 1999-2000

Rain had wiped out all but 45 overs in the first four days of play, to condemn a dead-rubber match to the soggiest, most spirit-sapping denouement imaginable - when up popped Hansie Cronje with an offer that would change the course of cricket's history forever. His suggestion to an incredulous Nasser Hussain was that each side forfeit an innings, to turn a condemned fixture into a one-innings showdown. At the time it looked like a pioneering and noble gesture, but hindsight - and revelations of leather-jacket bribes and bookmaker interference - soon lent Cronje's actions a more sinister ring. England, for the record, won by two wickets in a thrilling finale, but cricket was the loser.

England v Australia, Headingley 2001

Adam Gilchrist has a reputation as one of cricket's gentlemen, but he was a shade too gentle on England in the fourth Test of yet another one-sided Ashes series. The series was already won and lost, with the Aussies 3-0 up with two to play, but the clean-sweep was weighing heavily on everyone's minds. Two rain-truncated sessions on the fourth day forced Gilchrist into action, with a generous and unanticipated tea-time declaration. England were 4 for 0 overnight needing 315 to win, whereupon Mark Butcher sprung into action with the innings of his life. Batting like a man who knew when to throw caution to the wind, he carved a wonderful unbeaten 173, as England cantered home with almost 20 overs of the day remaining.

South Africa v Australia, Sydney 2005-06

Graeme Smith announced before the final day that South Africa would be going for broke to square the series, and broke is precisely how they ended up. After rain had curtailed their hopes of setting a standard fourth-innings target, Smith gambled on an ask of 287 from 76 overs, with Jacques Kallis unbeaten at the declaration on a suspiciously un-urgent 50 from 96 balls. That was soon put in context by Ricky Ponting, who capped a memorable 100th Test with his second century of the game. He blazed his way to 143 not out from 159 balls, with Matthew Hayden providing the ballast with 90 from 134. Victory, and a 2-0 scoreline, was achieved with an hour and eight wickets to spare.

Andrew Miller is UK editor of Cricinfo

© Cricinfo

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