Question: How many times has a team won a Test despite none of their batsmen making more than 25 in either innings? Answer: Once. Australia managed it in the first Ashes Test in 1888, a three-day match which ended in less than two, with Percy McDonnell and Jack Blackham top-scoring with merely 22. It's what we have looked at in this week's column: games - Tests, ODIs and Twenty20 internationals - which teams have won despite having the lowest high score.
Australia were skittled for 116 in the first innings of that match at Lord's, which was severely affected by rain, with McDonnell and Blackham making 22 each and Jack Edwards contributing 21. England, though, fared worse and collapsed for 53. JJ Ferris' 20 was the highest score in Australia's second innings as they too folded for 60, setting England a target of 124. WG Grace top-scored with 24 during the chase but only one other batsman - Allan Steel - reached double figures. England were shot out for 62 with Charlie Turner and JJ Ferris taking five each.
The most recent match in the table below is the Hamilton Test between New Zealand and India in 2002, a game memorable because it was the first time two teams were dismissed for less than 100 in the first innings, and because Ashish Nehra and Tinu Yohannan became only the second and third players to bat and bowl in both innings of a Test on the same day.
India were decimated for 99 and New Zealand for 94 in hostile conditions during the first innings. The visitors improved marginally, scoring 154 in the second and setting New Zealand a target of 160. Captain Stephen Fleming led the chase and his 32 was the highest score, the second-lowest in a winning cause, for New Zealand as they won by four wickets.
What's the lowest first-innings score a team has recovered from to win a Test? If you don't count the declarations during the infamous Centurion Test between South Africa and England in 2000, it's 45 made by England during the SCG Test in 1887. Australia secured a lead of 74 but England cobbled together 184 in the second innings, with Johnny Briggs' 33 being the highest score in the match. Australia were shot out for 97 in their chase, falling short by 13 runs.
Moving from Test to limited-overs formats, Ireland are the only country to win a Twenty20 international despite having an individual high score of less than 10 in the match. They were playing Bermuda at Stormont and Ireland's batsmen made 4, 5, 6, 1, 7 (Gary Wilson), 5, 5, 1 not out, and 1 as they were restricted to 43 for 7 in a nine-over contest. Bermuda's batsmen managed only 0, 0, 8, 7, 6, 1, 4, 7, 2 not out, and 2 not out and they fell short by four runs after the target was adjusted to 46 by the D-L method.
The second entry in the table below is another rain-hit match, the one between England and West Indies during the World Twenty20 at The Oval. England scored 161 off their 20 overs but West Indies' target was eventually reduced to 80 off nine. They were struggling at 45 for 5 at one stage before Ramnaresh Sarwan's unbeaten 19, the top score of the innings, steered them home with four balls to spare.
Most of the one-day internationals with the lowest high scores in wins are games in which the team batting first has set a low target which the chasing team achieved without a standout performer. The first game - Australia v West Indies in Sydney in 1992 - in the table below, however, is an exception.
Neither Mark Taylor, standing in as Australia's captain for the first time in place of the injured Allan Border, nor Richie Richardson thought the SCG pitch was fit for play after three days of rain. The umpires, however, thought differently and reduced the game to 30 overs a side. Batting was a near impossible and Dean Jones' 21 was the highest contribution to Australia's total of 101. West Indies were scuttled for 87 in reply, Gus Logie's 20 being the highest score in their innings.
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