Best ever sub 100 innings

[GuyFromLancs]

I drank a lot that day but never saw a single ball live. Was at the footy, remember getting constant updates on the way down and then cheering each wicket on TMS on the way back, lifting the gloom from the whites' miserable performance. Then I snapped a fork in half eating my dinner as I settled down to the highlights in an absolute drunken mess. Just remember the astonishment at Freddie's batting, one armed at first. Incredible. WAFG.

My favourite ever game. McGrath getting injured messing about beforehand served as like handicapping a golfer for us. That f*cker was too clincal and only without him did Trescothick get us off to a really good start.

I remember Boycott saying beforehand that 500 was a par score on such a pitch - but even he was pleased - not necessarily with the 407 or whatever it was we posted - but the way we knocked out that score in 76 overs. Symbolising the way we went after them with intent. That day was like a seven hour highlights reel. In fact, that match was ludicrous!

 

[sumantra]

Rahul Dravid scored 76 in Wellington in the 1st test and 39 in Hamilton in the 2nd test in that famous New Zealand tour of 2002-03, (the Hamilton test finished well within 2 days, and probably it was the first ever occurrence in test cricket where both the teams got all out below 100 in their respective first innings, India 99 and New Zealand 92)...Dravid's 39 in the Hamilton test was the highest score in that test match from both sides (may be that is a record too)...how many test matches can you think of where nobody scored 40 or more? anyways, that 39 and 76 in the previous test (Wellington) were best batting against real swing bowling I have ever seen.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Flintoff at Edgbaston is definitely a good call, as are Laxman's two specials in 2010... Can't believe I forgot those. I still can't separate those two innings... The Durham one was undoubtedly made on more difficult conditions for batting, but the 73 at Mohali was a masterclass of calm, cool, counterrattacking batting. Didn't look like he was in a big hurry but still scored at a run a ball. And him screaming at Ojha like a girl getting it up the arse was the icing on the cake

Rahul Dravid scored 76 in Wellington in the 1st test and 39 in Hamilton in the 2nd test in that famous New Zealand tour of 2002-03, (the Hamilton test finished well within 2 days, and probably it was the first ever occurrence in test cricket where both the teams got all out below 100 in their respective first innings, India 99 and New Zealand 92)...Dravid's 39 in the Hamilton test was the highest score in that test match from both sides (may be that is a record too)...how many test matches can you think of where nobody scored 40 or more? anyways, that 39 and 76 in the previous test (Wellington) were best batting against real swing bowling I have ever seen.

Ah yes... That 76 was a genius innings. Even Darryl Tuffey looked like Steyn at his best in that series... Crazy conditions and Dravid was just phenomenal... It was worth a double hundred really. Remember Sachin getting an excellent 50 in the same match I think, even though he was bowled off a Bond no ball once, he counterrattacked superbly

 

[SeamUp]

Jonty Rhodes 76* off 162 balls at the SCG in 1994.

Pitch was as turgid as anything if you look at the match run rates. Remember him hooking McDermott for a huge 6 under real pressure which in the end allowed us one of test matches most famous victories.

2nd Test: Australia v South Africa at Sydney, Jan 2-6, 1994 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo

 

[robelinda]

Border 98* in 1984, Trinidad. Beats everything.

 

[hendrix]

Rahul Dravid scored 76 in Wellington in the 1st test and 39 in Hamilton in the 2nd test in that famous New Zealand tour of 2002-03, (the Hamilton test finished well within 2 days, and probably it was the first ever occurrence in test cricket where both the teams got all out below 100 in their respective first innings, India 99 and New Zealand 92)...Dravid's 39 in the Hamilton test was the highest score in that test match from both sides (may be that is a record too)...how many test matches can you think of where nobody scored 40 or more? anyways, that 39 and 76 in the previous test (Wellington) were best batting against real swing bowling I have ever seen.

yeah those Dravid innings were superb.

 

[LongHopCassidy]

Hick's 98* in Adelaide, just to prove how big a **** Atherton is.

Fixed.

 

[JBMAC]

Some of you guys are too narrow in your thinking.The BEST sub 100 innings was Adelaide Test 1960/61 series Australia vs West Indies between Ken Mackay and Lindsay Kline. If you do not know of then look it up

 

[watson]

Some of you guys are too narrow in your thinking.The BEST sub 100 innings was Adelaide Test 1960/61 series Australia vs West Indies between Ken Mackay and Lindsay Kline. If you do not know of then look it up

Yeah, not a bad 15 not out, considering his average was just 8. From memory, both Kline and Mackay batted a complete hour to save the Test.

4th Test: Australia v West Indies at Adelaide, Jan 27-Feb 1, 1961 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo

 

[NUFAN]

From memory they batted 109 minutes together..

 

[morgieb]

Waugh's 63* in the West Indies.

All 3 completed innings had scores around 100, which shows you how bad the pitch was.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Waugh's 63* in the West Indies.

All 3 completed innings had scores around 100, which shows you how bad the pitch was.

Probably the best greentop innings ever...was this the same innings where he told Ambrose to go **** himself?
So much better than the 200 imo

 

[fredfertang]

Harold Larwood's 98 in the final Test of the Bodyline series - after all the hostility and the death threats it must have been a very strange moment for him when he walked off to a standing ovation

 

[harsh.ag]

Probably the best greentop innings ever...was this the same innings where he told Ambrose to go **** himself?
So much better than the 200 imo

He did that during the 200! Paul Reiffel on that innings:

He was in a trance-like state. Two incidents illustrate this. The first was the famous confrontation with Ambrose in the third Test, where Steve told him to just bowl and Ambrose had to be dragged away by Richie Richardson. The second was when, in the wee hours of the second morning, a security guard was found rifling through Steve's kit bag. That incident, too, didn't affect his concentration. It all it all just went to show how strong a character he was.

?? Really?

 

[adub]

Jim Higgs' 6* in the 1980 Boxing Day test was a cracker even if Bailhache took pity on the poor bugger.

 

[OverratedSanity]

He did that during the 200!

Just checked Cricinfo ... The 63 was in the 3rd test where he had the confrontation with Ambrose, he scored the 200 in the next test which won the series. Wisden's description of the pitch in the third test gives a fair idea how difficult it must have been to bat :
The Australians had a suspicion of trouble when they went looking for the pitch and could barely pick it out from the rest of the gumleaf-green square. It was covered by grass nearly an inch long, suspiciously damp and given only a token shave.

I don't know if it was exaggeration, but inch long grass is crazy

 

[wpdavid]

A few from a purely English pov. Not necessarily better than those already mentioned, but I liked them.

Graham Thorpe's 32* to win the deciding test in SL in 2001. We were only chasing 74, but lost 6 wickets getting there on a pitch which was doing more than a bit. If Thorpe had gone cheaply, we'd have lost the game and the series. He made an unbeaten ton in the first innings too.

Nasser Hussain's 94 in the 3rd innings of the final test against SA in 1998, on a typically challenging Leeds track against a really strong attack. No-one else made many and even though we only set them 219, it was just about enough. It was our first win in a five test series in 12 years and our only home series win against them since their readmission.

Dominic Cork's 33* against WI at Lord's in 2000. It was the test where we'd bowled them out for 54 but still had to chase 190 on a really tricky pitch. Atherton and Vaughan had got us half way there, but we lost a spate of wickets and looked like losing the match until Cork came in, saw off Ambrose and Walsh and then smeared Rose all over the park to see us home.

Graham Dilley's 56 against Aus at Leeds in 1981. We were still 90 runs short of making them bat again when he came in at number 9, so he decided to 'give it some humpety'. Apparently his batting lit the fuse on Botham's pyrotechnics at the other end.

 

[wpdavid]

This is a famous knock, but still worth a mention.

4th Test: Australia v England at Brisbane, Feb 10-16, 1933 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo

Eddie Paynter, in hospital with tonsillitis, dashes to the ground to rescue an England innings looking set to concede a significant first innings deficit. Instead, his 83 set up a small lead and subsequently a comfortable win.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Always worth giving Danny Morrison a shout on a thread like this. His last match too.

 

[bagapath]

Ravi Shastri's 48 not out in the fourth innings of that tied test in Madras in 1986 vs Australia is one of those sub 100 gems. It was a rapidfire knock (off 36 balls) with 3 fours and 2 sixes scored from late in the order on a fifth day wicket when India chased 348 aiming for an historic win that actually ended up being an even more special tie. He built useful partnerships with tail enders inching his team towards the target in a high pressure situation. He rotated the strike brilliantly running hard to steal clever singles and whenever possible, hit the ball like a tracer bullet. He even ensured India wouldn't lose by taking that crucial single to equal the scores; but maninder could not put bat to ball and India was all out with the scores level. Cricket was the real winner in the end.