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Batting at number four traditionally required cricketers with both a solid technique and the ability to move the game along.
This is why Test cricket has seen some of the best batters in the game gravitate towards that spot. Below, we have listed the top scores by number four batters in the history of the game.
1. Mahela Jayawardene
- Sri Lanka
- 374 against South Africa
Ashwell Prince, South Africa’s captain when they played against Sri Lanka in Colombo in July 2006, must have thought the visitors had Sri Lanka against the ropes when Dale Steyn bowled an incredible first two overs.
The pacer dismissed Sanath Jayasuriya with his third ball of the match, and sent Upul Tharanga packing in the fourth over.
However, the only thing Steyn did was bring Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara to the crease early.
The pair dominated South Africa’s bowlers as they mounted a 624-run third-wicket partnership. Jayawardene scored a masterful 374 off 572 balls across three days as he powered Sri Lanka to 756/5d.
The Sri Lankan captain gave the visitors a single chance to dismiss him, and they took it. However, by then, Jayawardene was tired and had inflicted severe damage. Sri Lanka won by an innings and 153 runs.
2. Inzamam-ul-Haq
- Pakistan
- 329 against New Zealand
Inzamam hobbled off the field at the close of the second day. He was suffering from cramps. However, the real victims in that match were New Zealand. Inzamam’s body was cramping because he had spent 579 minutes punishing New Zealand’s bowlers in their Test in Lahore in 2002.
Inzamam gathered pace as the innings progressed. He reached 100 runs in 191 balls, needed another 132 deliveries to get to 200, and then cantered at a run-a-ball from 201 to 300.
Inzamam’s 329 was Pakistan‘s second triple-century in Tests after Hanif Mohammad’s 337 against the West Indies at Bridgetown in 1957-58.
Inzamam’s masterful knock lifted Pakistan to 643 and set them up for a victory by an innings and 324 runs.
Also read: Revealed: The 9 batters with the most 4th-innings runs in Tests
3. Bob Cowper
- Australia
- 307 against England
Ken Barrington scored a breezy 115 from 153 in England’s first innings. Bill Lawry made 108 from 156 balls when Australia ventured to reply.
However, the most outstanding batter in that encounter was Bob Cowper, who came in at number four and shared a 212-run third-wicket partnership with Lawry on his way to a patient 307 from 589 deliveries.
Cowper was the personification of patience during the 12 hours he occupied the crease as he led Australia to 543/8d in reply to England’s first innings total of 485/9d. Cowper’s innings secured a draw for Australia.
4. Martin Crowe
- New Zealand
- 299 against Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka won the toss, elected to bowl first, and humbled New Zealand in front of their home fans at the Basin Reserve in 1991.
Rumesh Ratnayake and Graeme Labrooy took four wickets apiece as they dismissed New Zealand for 174 runs. Sri Lanka backed up their bowlers by scoring 497.
Martin Crowe, who had top-scored in the first innings with a 71-ball 30, emerged as a different batter in the third innings. When he arrived at the crease, the hosts had laid a solid foundation of 148/2.
Crowe combined with Andrew Jones for a 467-run third-wicket partnership, which was the highest first-class stand by a New Zealand side.
Crowe scored 299 from 523 balls, and it helped New Zealand reach 671/4.
5. Ross Taylor
- New Zealand
- 290 against Australia
The surface that was laid out at the WACA, when Australia hosted New Zealand in November 2015, was meant for batters to thrive. David Warner showed everyone how to do it with a blazing 253 from 286 balls, after Australia had elected to bat first.
However, high temperatures and a bowling attack spearheaded by Mitchell Johnson meant that New Zealand’s task was a little harder.
Ross Taylor had a third problem to deal with; he was suffering from pterygium in his left eye – an overgrowth of the thin, clear membrane on the surface of the eye – which he was managing with eye drops.
When he walked out to bat, New Zealand was struggling on 87/2 in reply to 559/9d. Taylor mounted a 265-run third-wicket partnership with Kane Williamson as he motored to 290 from 374 balls. His innings helped New Zealand reach 624 and avoid defeat.
6. Peter May
- England
- 285 not out against West Indies
England needed to bat well in their second innings. Their first-innings total of 186 left them in danger of a humiliating defeat in Birmingham in 1957. The hosts came out to bat in their second innings trailing by 288; the West Indies had replied with 474.
Peter May, the England captain, knew that he had to lead from the front, and he did so with an unbeaten 285 in 600 minutes. He shared a 411-run fourth-wicket partnership with Colin Cowdrey that led England out of the woods and guided them to 583/4d.
May’s 285 not out was his highest in first-class cricket and the highest individual score in all post-war Test cricket, beating Compton’s 278 against Pakistan at Nottingham in 1954.
7. Javed Miandad
- Pakistan
- 280 not out against India
Miandad is one of the greatest batters from Pakistan, and he laid that bare when his side played against India in Hyderabad (Sind) in January 1983. Pakistan were on 60/2 when Miandad arrived at the crease.
He rolled his sleeves and dug in as he constructed a 451-third-wicket partnership with Mudassar Nazar on his way to an unbeaten 280.
Miandad spent 696 minutes at the crease and faced 460 deliveries on his way to the total. He steered Pakistan to a total of 531/3d, which set the stage for an overwhelming victory by an innings and 119 runs.
Highest Test scores at No. 4 – summary list
1. Mahela Jayawardene: 374
2. Inzamam-ul-Haq: 329
3. Bob Cowper: 307
4. Martin Crowe: 299
5. Ross Taylor: 290
6. Peter May: 285
7. Javed Miandad: 280
The post 7 of the most ridiculous innings scores by No.4s in Test cricket appeared first on Cricket365.
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