WACA — venue of some unusual cricketing records

While awaiting the upcoming third Test match at Perth, Arunabha Sengupta unearths some curious records that have been witnessed at the WACA ground.

 
While awaiting the upcoming third Test match at Perth, Arunabha Sengupta unearths some curious records that have been witnessed at the WACA ground.

 

The Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA) ground at Perth has the reputation of boasting one of the fastest wickets of the cricket playing world, and for the Indian fans it is indeed a thrill to watch the ball zipping across after waking up at a more humane hour.

 

What is somewhat lesser known is that Perth is also the home of some of the more unusual records in the history of the game. Given the nature of the wicket, there are some formidable bowling exploits, but there have been an equal number of significant as well as dubious achievements with the bat as well.

 

Below are some of the curious feats that have been performed at the WACA:

 

1. Slowest start to a Test match:

December 15, 1978 must stand out as one of the most tedious in the history of the game. In a crawl that undoubtedly set the record for the number of yawns around the stands, England made 30 runs in the first two hours of the Test, just 27 off them off the bat, facing a generous 33 overs.

 

After Rodney Hogg had dismissed Graham Gooch and Derek Randall early in the morning, the two stalwarts of sluggishness, Geoff Boycott and Mike Brearely, steadied the ship by bringing it to a standstill, limping to 30 for two at lunch. Brearley finally departed for a 104-ball 17, and Boycott batted well into the second day for 77 runs off 337 balls with one boundary. England, however, reached a reasonable 190 for three at the end of Day One, thanks to a century by young David Gower scored at the comparatively electric strike rate of 46. The Australians, probably on the brink of death by boredom, eventually lost the Test.

 

From the point of view of strike rate, this stands as the slowest recorded starting session of a Test match.

 

2. Fastest recorded team 200 in terms of balls faced: 

It was touted to be the fight for the crown of the world Test champions, and the second Test in Perth, 1975, did produce enough excitement to confirm the claim. After the Aussies had been dismissed for 329, Roy Fredericks slammed 27 fours and a six in his 145-ball 169. In the process West Indies reached 200 off just 192 balls, the fastest-ever recorded in terms of deliveries. Australia never recovered, at least in this Test match, and succumbed by an innings and 87 runs.

 

Unfortunately, the West Indies suffered humiliating losses in the next three Tests against the terror spewing Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson, losing the series 1-4.

 

Interestingly, 27 years later, a Ricky Ponting’s master class against England propelled the Aussies to the fourth fastest recorded team hundred – off a mere 87 balls.

  

3. Extremes of fast and slow:

 

The previous two examples are not the only ones demonstrating diametrically diverse approaches taken by teams batting at Perth.

 

In 1985, Bruce Edgar of New Zealand blocked his way to 74 in 291 balls, with one boundary. What made his innings special – if it can be called so – was a phenomenal 269 balls before striking the first four, a feat 7^th on the all-time list, the highest since Jackie McGlew spent 329 boundary-less balls in Johannesburg 1957-58.

 

In striking contrast, on Day Two of the 2003 Test against Zimbabwe, Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist bludgeoned 209 runs in 29 overs during the second session, both the batsmen scoring more than hundred during the two hours between lunch and tea, the only such recorded instance. Gilchrist remained not out with a 94-ball 113 and the innings was closed more out of mercy than necessity when Hayden fell for 380.

 

4. No ball calls: 

Understandably the fast wicket does thrill the quicks. And when the pace bowling line up includes Malcolm Marshall, Patrick Patterson, Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose, a little over-excitement can be bargained for. In 1988, the four fearsome bowlers ended up bowling 50 no balls between them (of which 35 were registered, the remaining 15 being scored off). This remains the second highest number of no ball calls in a single innings after 53 conceded by Patterson, Walsh, Ambrose and Winston Benjamin earlier that year against Pakistan. However, the West Indian team of those days was too strong to be offset by a sprinkling of sundries, and triumphed by 169 runs.

 

5. Super Sequences: 

The hard, bouncy surface does produce that excited gleam in the eyes of the pace bowlers, and once one can rein in the urge to overstep, some breathtaking bowling performances can ensue.

 

i) In 1992-93, Curtly Ambrose took seven for 25 in the first innings, including a period ofseven for one off 32 balls, while Australia folded from 85 for 2 to 119 all out. In the second innings too, he continued to torment the batsmen – but most of the subsequent damage was done by Ian Bishop (six for 40). But, the two wickets Ambrose picked up in the second essay resulted in a two-innings encompassing sequence of eight for nine off 55 balls and nine for 26 off 97 balls.

 

ii) In 2004-5 against Pakistan, Glenn McGrath decimated Pakistan for 72 in the second innings, picking up 8 for 24. This included a period of eight for 19 off 78 balls and five for seven off 31 balls, each helped by an overthrow which went for four.

 

iii) In 2008-9, Mitchell Johnson picked up eight for 61 to restrict South Africa to 281 and gain a 94-run first innings lead. This included a period of 21 balls during which the left-armer scalped five wickets for two runs. However, the last laugh was reserved for the Proteans who knocked off the target of 414 losing just four wickets.

 

(Arunabha Sengupta is trained from Indian Statistical Institute as a Statistician. He works as a Process Consultant, but cleanses the soul through writing and cricket, often mixing the two. His author site is at http://www.senantix.com and his cricket blogs at http:/senantixtwentytwoyards.blogspot.com)

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