AUS Vs SA 3rd Test Match: Declaring innings in Test cricket is quite common. When the captain of the team feels that they have put on sufficient runs on the board and the bowlers too have time to pick up the ten wickets in the second innings, then the captains often declare the innings.
But today we shall name three such captains of the red ball format who have declared the innings when a batter was stranded on 190 or more runs.
Those declarations have sparked controversies because the batters were nearing their double hundreds in Test match cricket. Scoring a double ton isn’t easy and the players are fumed when any captain tells the team to stop batting further.
Three such skippers have declared the innings when batters were near of scoring 200 runs, which is also considered a milestone in the red ball format.
In this, we have Gerry Alexander as the first captain to declare the innings when a batter was nearing his double ton.
The West Indian skipper, Alexander had declared the innings when Frank Worrell was batting on 197 runs.
West Indies played the series against England and in this encounter, Gary Sobers had already slammed 226 runs.
The Windies were in a good position as they had already posted more than five hundred runs in this match. Frank Worrell needed just three runs to reach his double hundred in the red ball format.
But the West Indian skipper Alexander decided to declare innings when Frank Worrell was on 197 runs. This match was drawn. But still, it might have created a controversy during those days in 1959/60.
The current head coach Rahul Sharad Dravid had also captained India in Test matches and the ODI format has been mentioned in this list.
Dravid was a great batter in the red ball and fifty-overs format. He did well as a skipper as well. But one big controversy which was made in Dravid’s captaincy stint was declaring the innings when Sachin Tendulkar was batting on 194 runs.
The accident happened in Multan when India toured Pakistan in 2004. Virender Sehwag had already slammed a triple century and he was the first Indian to achieve his feat in red ball cricket.
India was in dominating position of that entire Test match. But when the Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar was just six runs away from scoring a double ton, Rahul Dravid decided to declare the innings.
India won that Test match by innings and 52 runs. Still, this declaration is being remembered by the fans and Dravid has been asked about this decision many times till now.
The current Australian skipper, Pat Cummins has been the latest entrant to this list and he is the last player to be mentioned as well.
Australia has been in a rich vein of form in the red ball format and they are also the clear winners of the ongoing 3rd Test match against South Africa.
Usman Khawaja has been a brilliant performer in the 3rd Test match at SCG. He also notched up his third back-to-back tons at that venue.
Khawaja was batting on 195 runs when the play ended on the second day. But due to the rains, the entire third day was washed out.
Pat Cummins had to declare the innings on 475 runs for the loss of four wickets and at that time, Usman Khawaja was left stranded on 195 runs, five runs short of his double century.
The declaration will go in the favour of Australia because the bowlers have done well as The Proteas are reduced to 149/6 at the end of day four.
Still, Cummins could have given Khawaja an over or so to score those remaining five runs.
