The greatest ever Test innings under pressure of the modern era

[Collingwood50]

Collingwood's hundred at the Oval? The pressure being his test match career?

Totaly, 100% have to agree with you, my life would be shreaded to tatters without seeing dear Colly in an England Shirt.

Well prehaps exaguration but hey - fantasic innings

 

[Themer]

Last time I checked, the English and the British are the same.

English and British aren't the same.

Ponting's innings at Old Trafford is probably the one I think is the best, I was there that day and he was absolutely superb. The pressure he was under was immense and he did superbly well.

 

[Jit]

then u can add sourav ganguly 239 when the 3rd test started against pak india were like 40odd for 4 i think and then yuvi and sourav put up a masterclass show but i think vvs 281 will always be the best

 

[SciD]

Symonds in Sydney 2008 vs India.

 

[Insomniac]

Well I also have found something though I am not interested to beat any of the knock above from Biased people.

It was way before in December 1999,when England tour South Africa.
South Africa was leading the series with 1-0 after 4 test matches.Last Test to go.

England has scored 366 runs in 1st innings and in reply Caddick thrashed African batting line up.Africa 156 all out.And Ya it was Follow on.
2 and a half days to go and South Africa wanted to save the match to grab the series.

Mind you guys It was Durban and It was Caddick at his best.

Now A guy named Kirsten came to open the innings and saved the Match for Africa by staying 209 overs there where he played 642 balls.
Now Don't say me that it easy to defend and Hard to score runs.
It does not If you playing on fast African Pitches against English Pace bowlers.

He has batted 878 Minutes and that is something great.

Excellent - this is another knock that really goes up there with Akmal and Laxman. It is debatable whether it is in the modern era though

Last time I checked, the English and the British are the same.

For me, the best test innings is this:

Brian Lara
153* for West Indies v Australia at Bridgetown in 1998-99
Wisden Rating: 255.2
If Lara's double-century in the previous Test (No.22 in the Wisden ratings) changed the course of the series, this stamped his name on it for ever. An Australian team containing Slater, Ponting, McGrath, Warne and the Waugh twins lost a match which they began by amassing 490. The bare details of West Indies' second innings are exciting enough: set 308 to win, they got there with one wicket to spare. But it was the manner in which Lara shepherded his lower order to victory that lives in the memory. West Indies were 105 for 5, then still 70 short with eight wickets down--one mistake by their captain would have cost them the match and probably the series. Instead he made half their runs and rescued West Indies cricket from its lowest ebb. The complete redemption of a prodigal son.

Another great innings for a team. One thing I will say though, is I really can't put that with Kamran and Laxman because yes, there was pressure, but if we include Lara's innings, we would have to include Inzamam's one wicket win against Australia in 94, or his one wicket win against Bangladesh in 2003.

Innings like Laxman and Kamran's are rarer than the ones we've seen over the years from Lara and Inzamam.

Ponting's innings at Old Trafford is definitely one of the classiest I've ever seen and from a position where by the morning of day 5, absolutely everyone was saying that the only way Australia could avoid losing was if Ponting bats out the day. Even though he was batting at 3, you cannot deny the pressure he was under and the form of the bowling attack he was up against. It's a bit lame if you are thinking only terrible batsmen can play under pressure.

Angryangry, Ponting was under pressure, yes. But batsmen have done what Ponting did in that test quite often. (Not very very often, but we have seen these type of innings occasionally)

The Laxman and Kamran innings were once in a lifetime thing, you agree?

then u can add sourav ganguly 239 when the 3rd test started against pak india were like 40odd for 4 i think and then yuvi and sourav put up a masterclass show but i think vvs 281 will always be the best

Good knock, but to be fair, I'd rather be 40-4 than 39-6 or trailing by 300 odd runs

 

[Master Khan]

zMario I think you don't care about other Knocks

 

[nightprowler10]

Of all the knocks mentioned in this thread, here's how I would rate them.

Laxman 281 vs Australia
Akmal 113 (Karachi) vs India
Atherton vs Saffies (Donald at his peak) I forget his tally now.
Lara vs Australia
Ponting 156 vs England
Akmal 109* (Mohali) vs India
KP vs Oz in 05
Inzamam 93* vs Saffies

 

[Stephen Bailey]

Atherton vs Saffies (Donald at his peak) I forget his tally now.

185 not out from 492 balls and he was at the crease for 10 hours and 43 minutes. In the same innings, Jack Russell made 29 not out from 235 balls in just under 4 hours!

 

[nightprowler10]

That's the same match with the infamous over from Donald to Athers isn't it? What an inning.

 

[Stephen Bailey]

That's the same match with the infamous over from Donald to Athers isn't it? What an inning.

That was the fourth test of the 1998 series in England. Atherton making 98 not out from 277 balls as England won by 8 wickets chasing 247.

That day was what test cricket is all about.

 

[Insomniac]

zMario I think you don't care about other Knocks

I don't understand your comments - what do you mean by "I don't care about other knocks"

Almost all the innings, (well all the innings except Hoggard's) mentioned in this thread are excellent innings in test match cricket, some of the very best.

I am just implying that VVS Laxman's 281 and Kamran Akmal's 113 are one step higher than those knocks.

Also, I fully agree with Usman's list - that really should be the order (out of the knocks listed in this thread)

Funny Akmals in there twice, theres actually a third test 100 which also was another brilliant match-saving effort in 2007.

He could theoretically be in there three times, although the 100 in 2007 vs India was not as good as the one in 2006 or 2005.

 

[lightbulb]

That innings by Strauss at Napier, for his own test career or the KP Ashes one in 2005.

 

[Cricketman]

Dravid 233 vs the Aussies after they put on a 550+ score in the first innings.

What a knock.

 

[Gilly Fan]

Numerous Gilchrist innings have been awesome.

Australia v Pakistan.

Gilchrist walks in at 5/126 still needing 243 more to win. Gilchrist and Langer smash them around the ground to win the game.

Hayden and Gilchrist 2001.

Gilchrist walks in at 5/99. He and Hayden save the innings both scoring massive hundreds and Australia go on to win.

Gilchrist v Bangladesh 2006.

Sure it was against Bangladesh, but they had just made 423 and Australia were stranded at 6/93 and it looks like Australia will have to follow on... to Bangladesh. Gilchrist hits his slowest 100 at a strike rate of only 67.92. He makes 144 and Australia win comfortably.

 

[aussie_ben91]

Ben, I fail to understand your point.

How can one being in a position of 39/6 or trailing by 300 runs not be under pressure?

The team is depending on him. Yes, all those knocks are pressure knocks. But guess what?

VVS Laxman's 281 and Kamran Akmal's 113 are even better knocks. Why? They took their teams out of OBSCURITY and took them to a win.

And also Ben, you have not said this, but if you say that Pietersen's innings was better than Laxman and Kamran's (as you have hinted), please tell me which number is greater. 20 or 23?

It had been 23 years since Pakistan won a test series v India.

No one EXPECTS you to recover from 39/6 or trailing by 300 runs following on though. When you're in those sort of situations, you just bat and see what comes of it.

Under pressure situations are when you are battling to win or save a match, or fighting for your career.

Great innings' to get the team out of trouble, but not under pressure.

The difference between Ponting's & Hayden's innings' were that if they had've failed then Ponting would've come under great scrunity due to being the captain of a losing Ashes side and Hayden's career would've been over but if Laxman or Akmal had've failed then nothing would've been made of it.