Best performances by an injured player

[marc71178]

No, he had a 98 next to his name. He scored, in two digs, 47 and 51.

No, he scored 98 with 1 chance given but not taken.

At the end of the day, whether you like it or not, that innings was worth 98.

 

[Bazza]

Nobody has mentioned the infamous time Brian Close took all those blows on the body - surely they kind of count as injuries - must have hurt!

I was going to mention Alex Tudor, but then I remembered he didn't do anything of note. Before or after being hit in the face by Brett Lee.

On a relevant note, Herschelle Gibbs had his nose broken the other week and still had it broken when he got a ton in the next test. That must count right?

 

[Richard]

just as an aside I fail to see why Border's & Jones' actions were any less irresponsible than those of any batsman in the likes of the Bodyline series when batting without head protection against short pitched bodyline deliveries from the fastest bowler in the game at the time..........

Because the head protection, quite simply, didn't exist.
If there had been anyone attempting to construct such devices in those days, I don't doubt batsmen around The World would have been amongst the first to offer their support in any way they could.
Especially Woodfull, Ponsford, Bradman, Fingleton, McCabe and co.

 

[Richard]

just as an aside I fail to see why Border's & Jones' actions were any less irresponsible than those of any batsman in the likes of the Bodyline series when batting without head protection against short pitched bodyline deliveries from the fastest bowler in the game at the time..........

Because the head protection, quite simply, didn't exist.
If there had been anyone attempting to construct such devices in those days, I don't doubt batsmen around The World would have been amongst the first to offer their support in any way they could.
Especially Woodfull, Ponsford, Bradman, Fingleton, McCabe and co.

 

[Richard]

No, he scored 98 with 1 chance given but not taken.

At the end of the day, whether you like it or not, that innings was worth 98.

It was recorded as 98 in the scorebook.
The two digs he needed to score the 98 were worth 47 and 51.
You simply can't get around that. The scorebook is not the be-all-and-end-all.

 

[luckyeddie]

Nobody has mentioned the infamous time Brian Close took all those blows on the body - surely they kind of count as injuries - must have hurt!

That was Close's strength - sheer, bloody-minded doggedness.
There were many players of the pre-helmet days who were prepared to 'wear one' for the team.

Boycott has had much to say on the subject, but it can be pretty-well summed up as 'modern players are soft'

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Dwayne Smith's century came with a dislocated finger.

 

[marc71178]

It was recorded as 98 in the scorebook.
The two digs he needed to score the 98 were worth 47 and 51.
You simply can't get around that. The scorebook is not the be-all-and-end-all.

Look at the final result, that innings was worth 98 - or how did India make the score they did?

 

[Langeveldt]

Dwayne Smith's century came with a dislocated finger.

Not bad!

Does my 6-28 and 38 not out with a broken thumb against Blagdon Hill count???

We still got stuffed

 

[Rik]

I really hate that term "half chance". Honestly, how stupid can they be?

Well, if it went over your head and you got the tiniest finger-tip to it, would you put it down as a dropped catch for not being a few inches taller?

 

[anzac]

What happened to Chatfield? Ive heard his name mentioned a lot..

he was R Hadlee's opening bowling partner for many years & a genuine No11 with the bat....

from memory he showed the No11's skill and turned his head into a short one in a Home series v England & got hit in the back of the head (no difference if he was wearing a helmet or not)....not only did he get knocked out but he also had to be revived on the pitch as he had stopped breathing - was hospitalised & made a full recovery & took his place for the next match.........

 

[anzac]

Because the head protection, quite simply, didn't exist.
If there had been anyone attempting to construct such devices in those days, I don't doubt batsmen around The World would have been amongst the first to offer their support in any way they could.
Especially Woodfull, Ponsford, Bradman, Fingleton, McCabe and co.

sorry - I didn't mean to inferr that they had a choice to wear protection or not - I was just reiterating the point that they had none.......

the point of the post was that they knew they had no head protection and players were being hit all over including in the head, and still went out to face 'leg side theory' bowling short of a length from the fastest bowler in the game .............

IMO their actions could be more questionable than Jones or Border - Jones could try to hydrate during his innings, but there ain't no coming back from a blow on the temple from a cricket ball at 90 mph!!!!

 

[Richard]

Well, I would personally have fully understood if anyone, especially a tail-ender (without the ability to defend himself), had refused to go out to the centre knowing what awaited him.
What the reaction of others would have been I don't know.
Personally I think it was a miracle Oldfield survived.

 

[Richard]

Well, if it went over your head and you got the tiniest finger-tip to it, would you put it down as a dropped catch for not being a few inches taller?

Nope, I'd put it down as not a chance, because you didn't have a chance of catching it. For a taller fielder it might have been a chance, but the fact is a taller fielder wasn't there.
My point isn't that the term chance is under-used, my point is that it is over-used. If you want to judge batsmen on whether they should have been out or not, not whether they went down as out in the scorebook, you have to be realistic about whether they should have been out or not.
People don't understand the importance of chances and nor do they fully understand what one is.

 

[Richard]

Look at the final result, that innings was worth 98 - or how did India make the score they did?

Yep - it counted towards the team score as 98, because the team score is not concerned with summing-up how well a batsman has played.
If you want to sum-up how well Tendulkar played, you'll find that, in two digs, he scored 47 and 51.

 

[Richard]

That was Close's strength - sheer, bloody-minded doggedness.
There were many players of the pre-helmet days who were prepared to 'wear one' for the team.

Boycott has had much to say on the subject, but it can be pretty-well summed up as 'modern players are soft'

Older players were asked to do what modern players need not be.
Modern players are only "soft" because they can be.
It doesn't detract from their skill, indeed ground-fielding is indisputably far better nowadays.
So are lifespans and able-bodiedness of ex-cricketers. Closey's still going strong, but there are plenty who weren't.

 

[Shane Warne]

waugh, ashes 2001, oval

 

[Richard]

70-odd runs with a gammy leg has been achieved before, you know.

 

[anzac]

Well, I would personally have fully understood if anyone, especially a tail-ender (without the ability to defend himself), had refused to go out to the centre knowing what awaited him.
What the reaction of others would have been I don't know.
Personally I think it was a miracle Oldfield survived.

yep - and the real kicker is that we are not talking about a one off incident - it's not called "The Bodyline Series" for nothing........that's why it's No1 for me......

 

[Richard]

No - Bradman said (60 years later) that he was seriously worried someone might get killed.
Oldfield was, fortunately, the worst (that might sound awful, but I don't mean it was fortunate that he was the worst affected, I mean it was fortunate that there were no injuries worse than his).
I have always fully agreed with the legendary Woodfull comment when Plum Warner went to see him. Douglas Jardine wasn't playing cricket - he was trying to win, regardless of what harm it might to to both the game and, more importantly, to human beings.