Milestones are very important in a cricketer’s career. Yes, the sport is a team game but when there is an easy opportunity to claim a coveted feat, no player would want to miss out on it. Especially in Tests, sometimes, captains might be in a situation to have a say. A few captains have had to take a tough call when their batters were on the cusp of a century or a double century. On that note, here, we take a look at three captains who declared the innings with the batter just short of a double hundred.
1) Gerry Alexander (West Indies)
Batter: Frank Worrell || Score: 197* || Opposition: England || Venue: Barbados || Year: 1960
Gerry Alexander is one of the captains who declared the innings with the batter just short of a double hundred. This happened in the first Test between West Indies and England in Barbados.
Batting first, England made 482 runs and West Indies responded back strongly. Garry Sobers had hit a double century and even Frank Worrell was close to getting one. However, Gerry Alexander deemed 563 runs to be enough and hence, declared the innings with the batter just three runs short of the score.
2) Rahul Dravid (India)
Batter: Sachin Tendulkar || Score: 194* || Opposition: Pakistan || Venue: Multan || Year: 2004
This incident is often remembered on social media. In the Multan Test in 2004, Virender Sehwag scored a triple century. Sachin Tendulkar was also a few runs away from a memorable game.
However, skipper Rahul Dravid felt that the team would miss out on an opportunity to win if they batted longer. Hence, he declared the innings, much to the disappointment of the fans.
3) Pat Cummins (Australia)
Batter: Usman Khawaja || Score: 195* || Opposition: South Africa || Venue: Sydney || Year: 2023
Pat Cummins is the latest to join the list of captains who declared the innings with the batter just short of a double hundred. Having won the series, Cummins had the chance to allow Khawaja to score his maiden double-century.
However, the pacer declared the innings, mainly because the game had already seen a few sessions wiped out due to rain. This decision met with a lot of reactions on the internet.
Declaring the innings when a batter is a few runs short of a 200
197* – Frank Worrell in 1960 (Captain: Gerry Alexander)
195* – Usman Khawaja in 2023 (Captain: Pat Cummins)
194* – Sachin Tendulkar in 2004 (Captain: Rahul Dravid)#AusvSA #AUSvsRSA #SAvAus— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) January 7, 2023
