LAUDERHILL, Florida: The United States cricket team made more history by reaching the second round in its Twenty20 World Cup debut after its last group game against Ireland was washed out on Friday.
Rain meant the match at Broward County Stadium was abandoned without a ball bowled, advancing the Americans to the Super Eight stage and automatically qualifying them for the 2026 Twenty20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
The US qualified for this T20 World Cup only as a co-host with the West Indies, but it has used home advantage to make a stunning first impression in its first major cricket tournament.
While the Americans progressed alongside unbeaten India from Group A, former champion Pakistan and winless Ireland were eliminated from Super Eight contention.
Pakistan won the title in 2009 and reached two more finals, including at the last T20 World Cup in 2022. Pakistan has failed to get out of the group stage for the first time. Ireland was expected to be a threat, too. The Irish also reached the second round on debut in 2009 and repeated in 2022.
The competition point from the washout was enough for the US to advance after beating Canada in Texas and stunning Pakistan in Texas during the first week.
Tying Pakistan in regular overs then beating it in a super over was one of the greatest upsets in the tournament’s history.
The Americans were thumped by India, one of the title favorites, as expected on Wednesday but the hosts’ progression without being able to play on Friday was still well deserved.
The umpires made four inspections of the wet outfield before heavy rain arrived at around 1:30 p.m. local time and the match was called off three hours after its scheduled start.
The 17th-ranked US joined the West Indies, India, Australia, South Africa and Afghanistan in the Super Eight, with two more teams yet to qualify. The Super Eight starting on Wednesday splits into two groups, with each team guaranteed three games to try and reach the semifinals.
Nepal wins toss
At Kingstown, St. Vincent, Nepal won the toss and chose to bowl in its later match against Group D leaders South Africa, the first international match between the teams.
South Africa already has qualified for the Super Eight stage after winning its first three matches against the Netherlands, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. South Africa’s first match in the Super Eight playoffs is next Wednesday against the US in Antigua.
Nepal lost to the Netherlands in its opening match and its second match against Sri Lanka was rained out, meaning this will be its first game in 10 days. It is also the first match at the tournament to be played in St. Vincent.
Nepal captain Rauhit Praudel said he elected to bowl first to take advantage of easier batting conditions in the second innings. Proteas captain Aiden Markram said he would have chosen to bat first.
For the first time at the tournament, Nepal has been able to select its leading player Sandeep Lamichhane. Lamichhane was convicted of rape in January and sentenced to eight years in jail. But his conviction was overturned in May by the Nepal High Court.
His application for a visa to travel with the Nepal squad to the United States was rejected. But he has been able to join the team in St. Vincent, bringing the Nepal squad up to its full complement of 15 players in the Caribbean.
New Zealand bowls first
At Tarouba, Trinidad, New Zealand won the toss and chose to bowl in a Group C match against Uganda. The West Indies and Bangladesh already have taken the two Super Eight qualifying spots available from the group.
New Zealand lost its first two matches at the tournament to Bangladesh and the West Indies and can no longer qualify. It sits at the bottom of the group behind Uganda which has two points from a win over Papua New Guinea.
New Zealand’s failure at this tournament ends a run of success at white ball World Cups. It has reached at least the semifinals of the last six white-ball world tournaments over the last decade.
US cricket team advances to second round in Twenty20 World Cup debut at Pakistan’s expense
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US cricket team advances to second round in Twenty20 World Cup debut at Pakistan’s expense
Cricket battles to address its sustainability issues
COP29, the 29th UN annual conference on climate change, opened in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Nov. 11, providing another opportunity for international collaboration.
Last year’s event confirmed that international action to address climate change was way off track against target, and a focus of COP29 is how finance can be made available to developing countries to enable climate action. Achieving agreement is fraught with difficulty.
Given that there is such a gap between promises and action at national level, it should be little surprise that initiatives at a micro level have been piecemeal. In December 2018, the sports sector and the UN launched the Sports for Climate Action Framework. Its objective is to draw together sports organizations, teams, athletes and fans to raise awareness and develop actions to meet the UN goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050.
The original signatories to the 2018 initiative numbered 17. Today, there are around 200. The list contains only six cricketing bodies — the England and Wales Cricket Board, Marylebone Cricket Club, Melbourne Cricket Club, Gloucestershire Cricket, Surrey Cricket and the Desert Vipers. The latter is one of six franchises in the UAE’s ILT 20 League and has sustainability at the core of its operations.
What also stands out from the current list is the presence of the national, international and world governing bodies of most other sports. Neither cricket’s governing body, the International Cricket Council, nor 11 of its 12 full-member boards are signatories.
The sports sector generates emissions in various ways, including travel, energy and water use, catering, equipment production, pitch preparation, venue construction and in-stadium activity. Cricket is no exception. Hence the lack of commitment by most of its leading bodies to the Sports for Climate Action Framework is disappointing. It appears to reflect a lack of concern about cricket’s contribution to climate issues. There are few obvious external signs amongst the game’s custodians that a coordinated effort is being orchestrated and encouraged.
In fact, there are strong counterviews. Evidence of these erupted in early 2023 following the announcement that Alinta Energy’s sponsorship of Australian cricket, worth $40m over four years, would end in June 2023. Australia’s men’s captain, Pat Cummins, was accused of influencing the decision because of his climate activism.
Cummins is the public face of Cricket for Climate, an organization working to help local clubs install solar panels. He has insisted his personal stance played no part in either Alinta’s or Cricket Australia’s decision. This did not stop vitriolic personal attacks against him, and he was called a “climate catastrophist clown” and accused of “incoherent far-left activism” on Sky News. The channel went further by suggesting: “Sporting bodies need to understand that it’s one thing to alienate sponsors, but they are also alienating fans.”
This is heady stuff. Cummins has dealt with the criticism with dignity, doubling down on his activism. He and his peers have reminded people of the extreme climate conditions which players endured during the ODI World Cup in India in November 2023. These included exceedingly high temperatures, off-the-scale air quality readings and heightened fatigue levels, each of which had adverse impacts.
In some quarters, the riposte is that the players are handsomely rewarded and should keep quiet about societal issues. This puts me in mind of Milton Friedman, the free-market economist, whose stance was that the business of business is business, allowing no room for social responsibility. Cricket is a creator of emissions and waste for which, arguably, it should take responsibility. It is also one of the most vulnerable sports to extreme climate variations. Setting aside apocalyptic visions of stadiums on fire, floods devasting stadiums beyond recovery and unbearable air quality causing death, there is evidence of adverse effects on the game.
One example is the flooding of grounds by rivers bursting their banks in successive years. Worcester is one example, with relocation under consideration. This is ironic, given estimates that an international cricket arena requires around 60,000 liters of water per day.
Cricket seems to react to disasters rather than having plans to prepare for them. It does not appear to be taking steps to anticipate or accept changing trends in weather patterns or putting strategies in place to cope with them. The ECB, to its credit, launched an Environmental Sustainability Plan in November 2023. This has three priority areas — tackling climate change, managing resources and waste, and protecting the natural environment. Some county cricket clubs have sustainability strategies in place.
Within the ECB’s overall plan is an aim to build a more circular economy to replace buy-use-dispose-buy. This applies to equipment and it is in this context that the Desert Vipers’ initiative is so relevant. Their playing kit for the 2025 ILT20 league is produced by a local UAE company, Palmfit, obviating the need for long distance transport and creating local employment opportunities.
The kit uses recycled materials, reducing the need for new ones and lowering carbon footprint by approximately 50 percent. Water-based inks are used, eliminating some harsh chemicals. The kits are printed-on-demand, so made only when needed.
Whether the Indian franchises will follow suit is unknown, but there have been some initiatives in the Indian Premier League. In 2023, Royal Challengers Bangalore wore jerseys made from recycled stadium waste in a match against Rajasthan Royals. However, even with schemes by other franchises, there is little evidence of a coordinated effort across the league.
Cricket is not only a potential victim of a mercurial climate; it is a contributor to environmental degradation. Despite being resource-heavy, it lags behind other sports in calculating its environmental impact, whilst development of sustainability plans is slow compared with other sports.
The reasons for this are not entirely clear but international leadership seems lacking. A balance needs to be achieved between the requirements of development, growth and environmental preservation.
Cricket’s leaders should not expect direction from COP29. They should generate it.
What makes for an excellent all-rounder in cricket?
- A common but numerically imperfect criterion is that the player must be good enough to be selected as either a standalone batter or bowler
Over the last two weeks, consideration of triple centurions and hat-trick takers in Test cricket has raised the issue of who has been equally good at both batting and bowling.
Such players are termed all-rounders. Whilst there are clear criteria for recording a triple hundred and a hat trick, there is an element of subjectivity in determining the most successful all-rounders.
A common but numerically imperfect criterion is that the player must be good enough to be selected as either a standalone batter or bowler. Another definition proposes that players are considered all-rounders if their batting average exceeds their bowling average.
This needs to be qualified by stipulating a minimum number of wickets taken and/or a minimum number of Test matches played. There is no universal agreement on what these numbers should be. The International Cricket Council’s index ranks only those currently playing.
In the absence of official qualification criteria, analysts have applied both a minimum number of wickets taken and a minimum number of runs scored. One such combination is scoring 3,000 runs and taking 400 wickets.
This reveals six players — Richard Hadlee, Kapil Dev, Stuart Broad, Shaun Pollock, Shane Warne and Ravichandran Ashwin. If the criteria are relaxed to 3,000 runs and 300 wickets a further four players are revealed — Ian Botham, Daniel Vettori, Imran Khan and Ravindra Jadeja.
Those who are steeped in Test cricket will recognize that these arbitrary criteria have generated a group of players whose main strength is in bowling.
All but one, Vettori, average less than 30 runs per wicket with the ball. Hadlee has the best average at 22.21, followed by Khan with 22.81. However, Khan has a superior batting average of 37.69 compared with Hadlee’s 27.16. Jadeja has the next best batting average of 35.16.
Is a batting average in the mid-to-late thirties sufficient on its own to earn a place in a Test team for a reasonable length of time? There have been many examples to suggest so.
Two will suffice. Derek Randall played 47 matches for England with a batting average of 33.37, whilst Mike Brearley played 39 matches at 22.88. In each case there was a reason for their selection. Brearley was an intelligent, empathetic, clear-thinking captain whilst Randall was a potential match-winner and brilliant fielder.
There will be similar examples from other countries. Selection at particular times will reflect the needs of the team, the style played, ground conditions and the depth of talent available.
Given the examples provided above, it does not seem unreasonable to assume that a player with a batting average of 35 could be regarded as worthy of a place in that team for batting alone. On this basis both Khan and Jadeja can be categorized as all-rounders.
A batting average between 30 and 35 becomes more contentious. Botham averaged 33.54, Pollock 32.31 and Dev 31.05. It would be a brave person who suggests that Botham was not an all-rounder. Apart from taking 120 catches, Botham’s galvanizing dynamism on and off the field would surely have seen him selected solely for his batting. Similar cases can be made for Dev and Pollock.
If a batting average of 30 is accepted, then what is the equivalent for bowling? Since the first Test match in 1877, there have been 101 bowlers who have a career average below 30 runs conceded for every wicket taken. The top six all played between the end of the 19th and the early 20th centuries. Their averages were in a range of 10.7 and 18.6. Over the last 60 years, the top 10 bowling averages have been in the early 20s.
A broader assessment of what constitutes a “good” bowling average can be based on those achieved by the 39 bowlers who have taken over 300 Test match wickets. All bar six of them have averages below 30, whilst the group has an overall average of 30.28. Hence, it may be assumed that a bowling average below 30 is a mark of success.
This assumption is challenged by returning to an earlier criterion used for defining an all-rounder, where the batting average exceeds the bowling average. A search for the highest differential — 20 — reveals two names, Jacques Kallis of South Africa and Gary Sobers of the West Indies.
In 166 matches between 1995 and 2013, Kallis scored 13,289 runs at an average of 55.37, took 292 wickets and claimed 200 catches. Sobers scored 8,032 runs at 57.78, took 235 wickets and 109 catches between 1954 and 1974. These statistics speak of glittering all-round careers.
Sobers added extra spice by being able to bowl both seam and spin, had outstanding charisma and was captain for seven years. Kallis was a much more reserved player but his quick bowling was often delivered as first change, which placed huge physical demands upon him.
Yet, neither fit other criteria. They did not reach 300 wickets or achieve a bowling average below 30, Kallis recording 32.65 and Sobers 34.03. Should that disqualify them from being genuine all-rounders? Their cases do illustrate the dangers of adopting only statistical criteria. There are many other examples.
In July 2024, Ben Stokes joined Sobers and Kallis as only the third player to reach 6,000 runs, at 35.27, and take 200 wickets, at 32.21. In 79 Tests, Andrew Flintoff averaged 32 with the bat and 33 with the ball. His modest returns did not do justice to the effect that his uplifting presence and charisma had on crowds and team-mates.
Keith Miller of Australia had a similar iconic status post-1945. In 55 Tests, he scored almost 3,000 runs at 37 and took 170 wickets at 23, an all-round performance to rank with the best. Shakib Al-Hasan scored 4,609 runs at 37.77 and took 246 wickets at 31.72 in an outstanding career for Bangladesh.
Attempts to instill statistical criteria eliminate the galvanizing effects which all-round performance can have on crowds and on the outcome of a match. Whilst a batting average of 35 or more and a bowling average of below 30 seem to be sound criteria, notable exceptions exist.
On this basis, my partly subjective choice for top all-rounders embraces Sobers, Kallis, Miller, Botham, Stokes and Khan. In their respective ways, each has a celebrated place in sport beyond mere statistics.
Test cricket hat-tricks highlight an outstanding group of bowlers
- The feat has been achieved 46 times in men’s test cricket and three times in women’s Tests
It seems only fair and balanced that, after last week’s coverage of triple centurions, attention should focus on players who have taken hat-tricks in test cricket.
This feat constitutes the bowler taking wickets with three consecutive deliveries, not necessarily in the same over, although this is usually the case. The feat has been achieved 46 times in men’s test cricket and three times in women’s tests. A hat-trick may be considered an equivalent feat to scoring a triple hundred, although the latter may involve greater levels of endurance. This could be reflected in the smaller number of triple centuries — 32 — compared with hat-tricks.
Cricket folklore has it that the term originated in 1858. H. H. Stephenson achieved the feat when playing for the All England Eleven against Hallam and Staveley in Sheffield. By this time, a practice had emerged of taking a crowd collection for professional players who achieved an outstanding feat. On that day, the collection was used to purchase a white hat, which was presented to Stephenson. Records suggest that it was not his first hat-trick that season. Stephenson had already taken two others, both for England, but no award was recorded. His victims were either “veterans” or in the lower order, called rabbits, so perhaps the feats were not deemed outstanding.
The first hat-trick in a test match was claimed by Fred “The Demon” Spofforth for Australia against England in January 1879, in only the third ever test match. This was 50 years before the first triple hundred was scored. It was not long before the next hat-trick was achieved.
Billy Bates of England claimed one at Melbourne in January 1893. By the turn of the 19th century, three more had been taken, all by Englishmen. Johnny Briggs of England at Sydney in February 1892, George Lohmann at Port Elizabeth in February 1896 and Jack Hearne at Leeds against Australia in June 1899, all bowled themselves into cricketing history.
The five hat-tricks at the back end of the 19th century were followed by four in the early part of the 20th. They were remarkable in that only two bowlers were involved. In January 1902 and March 1904, Hugh Trumble of Australia became the first bowler to claim two hat-tricks, both against England. Even more remarkably, he was followed in achieving this feat by Australia’s Jimmy Matthews who claimed two hat-tricks on the same day, May 28, 1912. This was against South Africa at Manchester in a triangular series with England.
Only two other players have taken two test match hat-tricks. In March 1999, Wasim Akram of Pakistan took a hat-trick in successive tests against Sri Lanka, played as part of the Asian Test Championship. Akram’s first occurred in a group stage match in Lahore, the second in the final, played in Dhaka, a neutral venue. Stuart Broad staged hat-tricks for England against India at Nottingham in July 2011 and against Sri Lanka at Leeds in June 2014.
His achievement in 2011 may not have stood had the Decision Review System been in place. India had not accepted its use at that point. Broad’s first wicket was MS Dhoni caught behind. The second trapped Harbhajan Singh in front with a perfect full-length delivery but replays suggested that Singh had got an inside edge on his bat before the ball hit his pads. The third bowled Praveen Kumar. Broad’s second hat-trick was spread over two overs, the last ball of one and the first two of his next over. The umpire had to remind Broad of his achievement.
Other hat-tricks have generated their own quirks. The first one since 1912 was taken by Maurice Allom in 1930 on his test debut. Two players have achieved the same feat, New Zealand off-spinner Peter Petherick in 1976 and Australian pace bowler, Damien Fleming in 1994, both against Pakistan. One player has taken a hat-trick off the first balls of a test match. This incredible feat was achieved by Sri Lankan seamer Nuwan Zoysa in November 1999 against Zimbabwe. Indian pace bowler, Irfan Pathan claimed a hat-trick in the first over of a test match against Pakistan in 2006.
Although a hat-trick is usually considered as three consecutive balls in the same over, there have been exceptions. Australia’s Merv Hughes claimed one when the wickets fell over three overs. At Perth in 1988, he took a wicket with the final ball of an over. In his next over he took a wicket with the first ball to end the West Indian innings. When the second innings began Hughes claimed a wicket with the first ball. There have been two other occasions when a hat-trick has been taken over two innings, both against Australia by West Indians in 1998 and 2003.
Prior to 1939, eleven hat-tricks out of the 46 had been taken. It is no surprise that as the volume of test cricket increased the potential for hat-tricks increased. It did take until 1957 for the 12th one to be taken — Peter Loader for England against the West Indies. Thereafter, there is no pattern to the frequency. Since 2000, 20 of the 46 have occurred, the latest by Keshav Maharaj for South Africa against the West Indies in June 2021. The most recent one in women’s test cricket was by Rene Farrell for Australia against England in 2011. This was seven years after Shaiza Khan for Pakistan and 53 years since the first one by Betty Wilson for Australia against England in 1958.
It should be no surprise that some of the game’s finest bowlers have claimed a hat-trick. Shane Warne did so in 1994 and Glenn McGrath in 2000. It is also a surprise that others did not, most notably James Anderson and Muttiah Muralitharan, two of the leading wicket takers in test history. It seems that a specific set of circumstances need to align for the feat to be achieved. There will have been many occasions when two wickets have been claimed in two balls, but the bowler has failed to take a wicket with the next delivery. It is a common feature of both hat-tricks and triple centuries that they are rare and unexpected. Predicting when the next ones will occur is a fool’s game.
England reeling at 24-3 after gritty Shakeel century puts Pakistan in control of third Test
- Shakeel batted with composure and reached his fourth Test hundred with a single off Rehan in a resistance-packed innings
- The series is tied at 1-1 after England won the first Test by an innings and 47 runs while Pakistan took the second by 152 runs, both in Multan
RAWALPINDI: Spinners Sajid Khan and Noman Ali left England reeling at 24-3 after Saud Shakeel’s fighting hundred put Pakistan in control of the series-deciding third Test in Rawalpindi on Friday.
England came in looking to erase a deficit of 77 but had no answers for the Pakistan spinners on a turning pitch.
Sajid dismissed Ben Duckett for 12 and Noman Ali removed Zak Crawley (two) and Ollie Pope (one) in the space of five runs.
When bad light ended the second day’s play with five overs remaining, Joe Root and Harry Brook were at the crease on five and three respectively.
England still need 53 runs to avoid an innings defeat with seven wickets in hand and three days left to play.
The series is tied at 1-1 after England won the first Test by an innings and 47 runs while Pakistan took the second by 152 runs, both in Multan.
On another day dominated by spin, Shakeel’s brilliant 134 was the highlight, pulling Pakistan within touching distance of a first home Test series win since they defeated South Africa in February 2021.
Shakeel anchored Pakistan’s innings, lifting them from a precarious 177-7 to 344 all out.
“We had an idea that this pitch will help spinners so with that in mind I prepared myself,” said Shakeel, admitting it was one of his best knocks.
The left-hander held Pakistan’s innings together with a gritty knock spread over 322 minutes and 223 balls, hitting just five boundaries.
“A hundred is a hundred and it’s the best feeling and now we are in the best stage of the match.”
But leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, who was the pick of the England bowlers, said his team had plenty of fight left.
“I think we are still quite positive with so much batting to come so we are still very positive in the changing room come tomorrow,” he said.
Ahmed took 4-66 while off-spinner Shoaib Bashir finished with 3-129.
The 29-year-old Shakeel defied England with an eighth wicket stand of 88 alongside Noman who made 45 before falling in the final over ahead of the tea break to spinner Bashir.
Shakeel added another 72 for the ninth wicket with Sajid who scored an unbeaten career-best 48.
Shakeel was finally caught off a miscued pull off pacer Gus Atkinson while Ahmed dismissed the last man Zahid Mahmood for nought.
The visitors looked to be in control when young spinner Ahmed bagged three quick wickets to leave Pakistan teetering at the end of the first session.
England were eyeing a lead after Ahmed’s burst left Pakistan on 187-7 at lunch but the Shakeel-Noman stand turned those expectations into frustration.
Shakeel batted with composure and reached his fourth Test hundred with a single off Rehan in a resistance-packed innings.
Noman — surviving a leg-before decision on review and a dropped catch off Root— assisted Shakeel admirably, hitting a six and two fours as the duo helped Pakistan add 80 in the second session.
Rehan sent Mohammad Rizwan (25), Salman Agha (one) and Aamer Jamal (14) back to the pavilion and threatened to derail Pakistan.
England’s frontline spinners Jack Leach and Bashir could not extract the same sharp turn from the pitch as rival Sajid Khan, who took 6-128 on Thursday.
Pakistan resumed the day at 73-3 in search of a sizeable lead to press for a series win.
But Shakeel was the only top-order batter able to build a meaningful innings after reaching double figures.
An elite club of triple centurions
- The most recent of 32 players to achieve that landmark was England’s Harry Brook against Pakistan in Multan on Oct. 10
For an individual to score 300 runs or more in a single innings must be regarded as the pinnacle of batting achievement. This feat of supreme technical skill, concentration and physical endurance has been achieved 32 times in Test cricket by 28 men. The most recent was Harry Brook for England against Pakistan in Multan on Oct. 10 this year.
Brook shared a partnership of 454 runs with Joe Root, one of the finest batters of his generation, now the fifth highest scoring player in Test match history. Root reached 262, the closest he has come to the magical figure.
Once a player reaches the pinnacle, is that an end in itself or are expectations heightened for future performances?
Scoring 300 is not a reliable predictor of future success — ask Brook and Root. In the second Test in Multan they scored 23 and 52, respectively. Although it was the same pitch, its condition was deteriorating, allowing Pakistan’s spinners to exert control. The result levelled the series and brought England back to ground.
The circumstances under which triple hundreds have been scored vary, as do the consequences for those who managed to do so. The distribution of the 32 scores over time is very uneven. Until 1990, it was a reasonable quiz question to ask — name the 10 players who have scored a triple hundred in Tests. All but three were either English or Australian.
The exceptions were Hanif Mohammad of Pakistan, and West Indians Garfield Sobers and Laurence Rowe. Not only was Rowe the only player to have scored a triple hundred in the 1970s, but he was also the only one to do so between 1966 and 1990. Sadly, his career was cut short by an eye condition and injury.
Prior to Sobers and Mohammad in 1958, all previous triple hundreds were scored in the 1930s. The first was in April 1930 by Andrew Sandham of England, aged 39, against the West Indies. This was Sandham’s final Test match and was also a “timeless” Test. On the eighth day, bad weather prevented any play and a draw was agreed. Three months later, Donald Bradman scored 334 against England at Leeds, only to be outscored by England’s Wally Hammond with 336 in 1934. All were eclipsed by Len Hutton’s undefeated 364 against Australia in 1938.
These players were the cream of their generation and it is no surprise that their abilities were expressed in terms of triple hundreds. Some fortune is often needed along the way. Hutton survived a fumbled stumping opportunity and was facing a below-strength fast bowling attack. Hammond gave three chances against a New Zealand bowling attack that was new to Test cricket.
There is no mention of dropped chances in Hanif’s innings of 970 minutes, the longest in Test cricket, an astonishing feat of endurance. He succeeded in saving the first Test match for Pakistan against the West Indies in 1958. In the third Test of the same series, Sobers, aged 21, was facing criticism for failing to realize his potential. Three key Pakistani bowlers suffered injuries and Sobers took full advantage on a benign pitch. It is typical of the man that his first hundred in Test cricket should be a triple.
Two other players have achieved that feat. One was Australia’s Bobby Simpson against England in 1964. Remarkably, Simpson, who had been playing Test cricket for seven years, often as an opener, had failed to score a century in that time. His triple century was also the first scored by the captain of a Test team. India’s Karun Nair was the other player to turn a first hundred into a triple. Blessed with outstanding talent, he made his debut for India against England in November 2016. In the next Test, he scored 303 from 381 deliveries faced. He played only four more Tests, his last innings against Australia in March 2017, when he scored five, after which he was sidelined. His triple hundred was no predictor of future success.
Brian Lara is the only player to have scored 400 in a Test match. This was in 2004 against England in Antigua. England led 3-0 in the four-match series and Lara’s captaincy was under threat. England’s bowling attack was weakened by injury and illness during the match and he took advantage, batting 13 hours and facing 582 deliveries. The feat was not universally applauded. Some called it a selfish act, not in the interests of his team. As it was, England were able to save the match, batting long into its second innings.
This innings by Lara was in very different circumstances to the one 10 years earlier when he scored 375 against England, also in Antigua. Although he batted for a similar length of time, he faced fewer deliveries (358). There had been an expectation for some time that Lara was the player who could surpass Sobers’ record. In the series, West Indies led 2-1 and a benign pitch provided Lara with the opportunity. When he overtook Sobers’ score of 365 the crowd erupted, flooding the field, along with assorted camera crews.
Lara’s record stood for almost 10 years, broken in October 2003 by Australia’s Matthew Hayden, who bullied a weak Zimbabwean attack and scored an unbeaten 380. Perhaps this rankled, making Lara determined to reclaim the record when the chance came six months later. In the same year, Lara also made the highest ever first-class score, an unbeaten 501 for Warwickshire against Durham.
If there are any common themes amongst the triple centurions, it is that there was sufficient time in the game for the feat to be achieved — all but two were scored in a first innings. They took advantage of the opportunity by dint of a mix of skill, good fortune, benign pitches, weakened bowling attacks and extreme physical effort. A number of players have fallen short, the saddest being Martin Crowe of New Zealand. In 1991, he edged to the wicketkeeper on 299. How that must have haunted him.
