Latest news with #battingcollapse
Arab News
2 days ago
- Sport
- Arab News
The drama and trauma of a batting collapse
England's dramatic loss to India at the Oval by six runs, when well set for victory on Aug. 4, prompted thoughts about where that failure sits in the pantheon of batting collapses. There is a general understanding that a collapse occurs when, from a healthy position, wickets fall suddenly in quick succession. They can occur in any format of cricket and in any innings and are usually dramatic. Some are recovered from, others are terminal. How many wickets need to fall in what space of time and for how many runs to constitute a collapse is a matter of conjecture. Yet, everyone involved will know that they have experienced one. At the Oval, England reached 301 for the loss of three wickets in pursuit of a target of 374 runs. Thereafter, seven wickets fell for the addition of 66 runs. The collapse became even more pronounced after the fifth wicket fell at 332, the remaining five wickets falling for only 35 runs. What was unusual about this collapse was that it occurred over three sessions of play. It began before the tea interval and into the next day as rain and bad light caused play to be stopped toward the end of the evening session. As highlighted in last week's column, the drama was heightened by England's last batter arriving at the wicket with a strapped-up dislocated shoulder. There was already enough drama. It was the fifth and last test of the series, the last innings of the series that would decide if England would win the series 3-1 or India would level it at 2-2. A case could be made that the truest of batting collapses occur in the final innings of a Test match. One example of this took place at Old Trafford, Manchester, in 1961. Australia had set England 256 runs to win in 234 minutes. The series stood at one win apiece. At 150 for the loss of one wicket, England looked set for victory. Australia's captain, the shrewd Richie Benaud, who went on to become a commentator of the highest repute, decided to bowl his leg breaks into the rough areas outside of a right hander's leg stump, caused by bowlers' footmarks. Initially this was an attempt to restrict scoring opportunities. It turned out to be a master ploy. He reasoned that if he could break the second wicket stand, the rest of the team would have a predicament, looking to press for victory but having to take chances on a worn pitch and without time to settle in. Quickly, he dismissed Ted Dexter who had galvanized England's gallop to what looked like victory. Then, shortly afterward, he bowled England's graceful captain, Peter May, around his legs to stunned silence around the ground. The ball had pitched outside May's leg stump, he tried to sweep it, missed, the ball turning sharply into his stumps. Somehow, the crowd knew that an English collapse was about to happen. Seven wickets fell for 43 runs, England falling short by 55 runs, with 20 minutes of play remaining, Benaud claiming six wickets, including a spell of five for 12 from 25 balls. Australia went 2-1 up in the series and a draw at the Oval in the fifth test confirmed their series victory. Benaud's bowling qualities and his leadership were decisive through his ability to make his players believe that they could win when the cause looked hopeless. At Headingley, Leeds, in 1981, a Test match, which is probably the most talked about ever, took place. Despite Ian Botham's audacious innings, Australia only needed 130 runs for victory. In pursuit, Australia reached 56 for the loss of one wicket and then lost the next nine for 55 runs, Bob Willis claiming eight for 43. If this was not enough, a fortnight later at Edgbaston, Birmingham, on an unusually parched pitch, Australia had reached 105 for four in pursuit of 151, looking well set for a 2-1 lead in the series. Then, suddenly, Australia's obdurate captain, Allan Border, was dismissed. An opportunity appeared, the ball was thrown to Botham, who proceeded to take five wickets for one run in 28 balls, Australia losing six wickets for 16 runs. Later, Botham observed: 'I had bowled well — fast and straight — but on that wicket it should not have been enough to make the Aussies crumble that way. The only explanation I could find was that they had bottled it.' There are various explanations for batting collapses. Pressure is one. An exceptional individual performance is another, as was the case with Benaud. And Willis, who would not have had the opportunity if it were not for Botham's brilliance. India's recent victory at the Oval was ultimately supercharged by Mohammed Siraj's five-wicket haul, but the collapse was induced by England's recklessness in shot selection. Deteriorating or changed pitch conditions can also be a cause, partly the case for Benaud in 1961. Five years earlier, in 1956, also at Old Trafford, Australia suffered another final innings collapse. In the previous, third Test, England's spinners, Tony Lock and Jim Laker, took all but two of Australia's 20 wickets, prompting suggestions that the pitch had been prepared in favor of the home team. These fears intensified in the fourth Test when two days of heavy rain were followed by sunshine and a rapidly drying wicket. The Australians reached 114 for two wickets on the final day before succumbing to Laker, losing eight wickets for 91 runs. Laker took all 10 wickets. When added to the nine he claimed in the first innings, his 19 wickets in the match for 90 runs remain the best bowling figures in Test history. In the first innings, Australia's collapse had been even more precipitous, falling from 48 for no wicket to 84 all out. The atmosphere in a dressing room and between team members when a collapse is occurring at Test match level can only be imagined by those not present. Many of us will be familiar with how it feels in a club environment. Panic, uncertainty and blame all surface. It becomes difficult to stay relaxed and calm. The mood becomes tense and nervous. Casual conversations or light-hearted remarks can be perceived as a lack of care at the seriousness of the situation. An air of incredulity and embarrassment can develop, even a feeling of inevitability and a desire for it to be over and forgotten about. It is put down to being just one of those days, undone by a brilliant performance or a poor pitch. This may explain why batting collapses can be so difficult to stop. Batters become tentative and indecisive in shot selection, disappearing into a shell of inaction, failing to have a clear plan of action. England's players, by their own admission, were guilty of this against Benaud in 1961. His form had taken a downturn and he freely admitted that had his gamble not worked it may have been a sad way to end his international career. Batting collapses produce drama and bowling heroics. They also require victims, the batters, who are caught in a web of doubt, uncertainty and indecision or who, sometimes, are the architects of their own downfall.
ABC News
14-07-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
West Indies collapse, Konstas contributes and Carey's clangers — quick hits from West Indies vs Australia in Jamaica
The West Indies have collapsed in a "horrid" and "really weak" batting display, letting Australia off the hook for a couple of errors in the field. Here are the quick hits from the third and final Test in Jamaica. Known for his accuracy and dependability, Scott Boland doesn't usually bowl too many no balls. But whether it was down to rustiness or maybe excitement, the 38-year-old overstepped more than once early on the second day of his return to the Australian team. And it wasn't long before he was made to pay for it. In the 20th over, he had Roston Chase caught behind to one that nipped in off a length. Not believing he hit it, the West Indies captain immediately challenged the decision — but it proved academic, as the third umpire ruled Boland had overstepped before reviewing the footage. However, Boland wasn't to be denied for long, picking up his first wicket in the West Indies when John Campbell inexplicably shouldered arms to one that thundered into his front pad and would've gone on to send his off stump flying. Boland's influence only grew as Australia continued its march towards a first innings lead, eventually finishing with innings best figures of 3-34. Mikyle Louis was recalled as an opener in place of 100-Test player Kraigg Brathwaite, but couldn't take his place at the top of the order on Sunday night due to a knee injury. Debutant Kevlon Anderson was the unfortunate victim, elevated from number three and bowled by one of the best new-ball bowlers in Test history, so Louis had some debts to repay when he came out at number five. He knuckled under briefly, but shortly after batting partner Campbell was out LBW, Louis took a very different approach and tried to clatter his 30th ball out of the ground. The good length delivery from Josh Hazlewood instead smashed into his off stump, and former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop teed off in commentary for ESPN. "That is an ugly shot. That is a very disappointing shot. A hoick out of nowhere by Mikyle Louis," he said. "It was a shot you'd expect a number 11 to play, not Mikyle Louis." Former Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin joined in, labelling it "an absolute brain explosion". Alex Carey has been just about perfect behind the stumps of late, but he had a rare blemish on day two when he dropped Justin Greaves. The West Indies all-rounder slashed wildly at a Mitchell Starc delivery and the edge spewed quickly away, with Carey moving well to try rein it in with both hands. The tough chance, which was going straight to Usman Khawaja at first slip, hit the grass, and Greaves took two runs. The next ball was drilled down the ground for four, another went for three, and the over ended with a single. Instead of a wicket, Starc's over cost 10 runs. Carey also dropped an easier chance off Shai Hope's inside edge later in the day, but Boland skittled him with the next delivery to spare his blushes. Sam Konstas had a lean series with the bat — his final-innings duck left him with 50 runs at 8 across six innings — but the opener made a telling contribution in the field on day two. After Greaves had played an attractive back-foot drive into the off-side outfield, Konstas collected the ball as the batters turned to attempt a third run. The triple would have been easily completed had it not been for a perfect, pinpoint throw from the boundary. Boland whipped off the bails as Greaves was caught short of his ground for an expansive 18. It was another utterly avoidable dismissal that only hastened a West Indies collapse that took the hosts from 4-95 to all out for 143. The West Indies lost nine wickets in two sessions on day two, including seven in the second with the Sun shining and the ball not swinging. Former Australia Test opener Greg Blewett said there were no excuses for the 7-61 collapse — which included Campbell's LBW without offering a shot, two players being bowled swinging for the fences and a run-out. "That was, I think, the best batting conditions we've seen all series. In my mind, that was a really weak performance by the West Indies," Blewett said in commentary for ESPN. "To lose 7-70, I didn't think there was any excuse for that." Former West Indies all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite labelled it an "inexplicable" performance by the home team. "These guys play here year in and year out, and I expected to see a little bit better. You have to give more," he said. "A horrid batting performance."
News.com.au
12-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
5/29! Australia's horrific WTC collapse
Cricket: Australia lost 5/29 as they suffered another batting collapse on day two of the World Test Championship Final against South Africa.
RNZ News
27-05-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
Cricket: One run, eight ducks, total carnage as Richmond implode
Eight of Richmond's 10 batters trudged back to the pavilion without troubling the scorers, each dismissed for a duck. Photo: 123RF In what may rank among cricket's most spectacular batting calamities, Richmond's fourth XI were dismissed for a grand total of two runs at the weekend only one of which they actually scored themselves. Chasing a mountainous target of 427, Richmond's hapless batters lasted just 5.4 overs before their innings concluded in what statisticians might generously describe as a collapse. North London Cricket Club had earlier pummelled Richmond's bowling attack to all corners of the ground in the Middlesex County League fixture, amassing a mammoth 426-6 from their allotted 45 overs after Richmond won the toss. What followed was cricketing carnage of the highest order. Eight of Richmond's 10 batters trudged back to the pavilion without troubling the scorers, each dismissed for a duck. The scorecard showed just one solitary run from the bat, with the other coming courtesy of a wide delivery. The performance brings to mind the old cricket adage that batting is meant to be an occupation, not a visitation. "A lot of context but still not a result that we are proud of! Our 2's, 3's and 5's all won though," Richmond posted on social media platform X, attempting to salvage some pride from a weekend otherwise remembered for arithmetic rarely seen on cricket scoresheets. -Reuters
