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Surprise Surprise
Surprise Surprise
Surprise Surprise
Rob Steen
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Test cricket does not produce many shock results - but when it does, it's worth the wait
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Rugby may be the most violent of popular ball games, but cricket is the most unforgiving. Test cricket, that is. No other game
exposes so clearly differences in skill and temperament, not least because of its format. Even if you have a duff first innings there is
always a chance to rectify matters. Bar a costly dropped catch or an injury, luck seldom intrudes.
That is why Tests that genuinely shock are few and far between, and why Australia's victory in Pune deserves to be remembered,
fondly, as one of the all-timers. Sure, there is every chance that Virat Kohli may one day reveal in his autobiography that he and his
men were tired as well as cocky, convinced that Steven Smith's side posed even less threat than Alastair Cook's, but let's leave the
gloss on for now: sit back and savour.
How rare are such shocks? About as scarce as a Glenn McGrath full toss. When they do arrive, they tend to occupy one of three
categories: the maiden away win over a senior opponent (think Sri Lanka at The Oval in 1998 and India on the same ground in 1971),
the dead-rubber bounce (think West Indies in the UAE last year but also New Zealand's maiden Test win in 1956, against West
Indies) and the form-reversal, of which Australia's triumph in Pune was a prize exhibit.
It qualifies as tenth on this column's top ten odds-defiers. Here are the next nine:
India beat Australia by 172 runs, Kolkata 2001 (Shockometer 8 out of 10)
The rampant Aussies had won a record-breaking 16 on the trot, including the first of this series. Then they enforced the follow-on
here, triggering a change of strategy that still persists. Enter Rahul and VVS. Cue minor miracle. "On that fourth morning,"
remembered Matthew Hayden somewhat ruefully, "we'd been so confident of preserving our winning streak that Michael Slater
had produced a box of cigars, provocatively sniffing one as if to say, 'This result is so close I can smell it.' We all saw the humour, as
you do when you've won 16 in a row and fully expect to extend the margin. At that point [Adam Gilchrist] had played 15 Tests in his
career - and won the lot. But it just shows what can happen when you take success for granted."
West Indies beat South Africa by 128 runs, Port Elizabeth 2007 (Shockometer 8.5)
West Indies may have burgled an astounding victory in the sides' first meeting in 1992 but the traffic had been one way ever since: a
dozen Tests lost (including a 5-0 whipping in 1998-99) to a solitary dead-rubber triumph. Not for two and a half years, indeed, had
Chris Gayle's side beaten anyone. Not since they beat England at Edgbaston in June 2000, moreover, had West Indies gained a single
success of note overseas - apart from in Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. This time the resolve was palpable. Shivnarine Chanderpaul
(104) and Marlon Samuels (94) took them past 400 first time round, and although Gayle resisted the temptation to enforce the
follow-on after Dwayne Bravo and Jermaine Taylor had bundled the hosts out for 195, South Africa fell well short of the eventual
target of 389. They would recover to take the series, but for four days by the sea, the sun shone again for West Indies, however
fleetingly.
South Africa beat England by 157 runs, Lord's 1935 (Shockometer 8.5)
If every dog truly can have his day, South Africa's first win in England owed its most profound debt to just such happy defiance of
the fates. Bruce Mitchell's unbeaten 164 (then the highest score for South Africa at HQ) and Jock Cameron's furious hitting (90 in
105 minutes) were vital but the matchwinner was the gloriously named Xenophon Constantine Balaskas, a legspinning allrounder of
Greek origin nicknamed "Saxophone", whose nine scalps constituted more than 40% of his final Test tally. He may have top-scored
in England's second innings (38 out of 151) but Herbert Sutcliffe could have wished for a sweeter way to finish his lustrous Test
career.
South Africa beat Australia by six wickets, Melbourne 1953 (Shockometer 9.5)
In the same series, Australia regained the lead with a thumping innings win in Sydney then dominated the next Test, in Adelaide, but
failed to seal the deal. Even so, nobody fancied South Africa's chances of an equaliser when the teams returned to the MCG in
February. After the first innings had been completed Australia led by 85 (520 to 435) only to bow out for 209 second time round,
humbled by Eddie Fuller's pace as much as they were by Tayfield's guile. When four fell for 191 and Roy McLean offered a clear
chance first ball, the butterflies were flapping wildly, but McLean (76 not out) survived to dominate an unbroken stand of 106 with
Headley Keith and the spoils in the series, incredibly, were shared.
Instead, with opener Tim Robinson making a stoical eight-hour 160 and spinners Phil Edmonds and Pat Pocock divvying up 13
wickets, England romped home in Delhi, knocking off the 125 required at a celebratory five an over. David Gower made just 5 with
the bat but, as captain, this was his finest hour. That said, the nine-wicket win in Madras two matches later was only marginally
behind, setting up a series victory. "Whereas [in] 1992-93 you felt that the players hated every minute, this was totally different,"
recalled Jonathan Agnew. "And I guess David set the standard for that." Call it s