Sunday 14 March 2010
Cricket: The Most Expensive Over Ever
Courtesy of Cricinfo, comes the story of the most expensive over in the history of first class cricket, which went for 77 in a domestic game in New Zealand twenty years ago last month. An extension of the logic behind declaration bowling, or buying a wicket, the plan was hatched by the captain of Wellington in order to persuade Canterbury to chase their total, and keep the Wellington title challenge alive. One of the more unusual footnotes in the history of the game, reminiscent of the time that Brian Rose of Somerset declared in a limited overs game with the score at 1 for 0 off one over, the the article is well worth a read.
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2 comments:
I don't understand this:
"In November 1979, Mike Brearley caused outrage when, with West Indies needing three to win off the last ball of a one-day international in Sydney, he put all his England fielders - including David Bairstow, the wicketkeeper - on the boundary. The crowd booed, Brearley was vilified by an Australian press that already regarded him with a dislike only rivalled at the time by Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini, but the result stood. "
Why would that be frowned upon?
It was seen as unsporting. In those days there were no fielding restrictions, and England just had to prevent a boundary to secure the win, so in a moment of ingenuity, Brearley set his field with everyone on the rope.
Not illegal, but not seen as in the spirit of the game. Probably just as important is the fact that Brearley was hugely unpopular in Aus, and they were looking for any excuse to boo him.
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