The four who followed-on!

     

     Last week, in one of most thrilling finishes in recent memory, New Zealand became only the 2nd team to win a test match by 1 run. Though the thrilling finish and the twists and turns of the last day of play were enthralling, it must not be forgotten that New Zealand were made to follow on by Ben Stokes before an excellent batting display by the likes of Kane Williamson and co. led New Zealand to a position from where they became only the 4th team to will a game after being made to follow on. Here's a short look at the 4 instances.

1. Sydney - 1894-95

      This match happened in an era when there were only 3 nations playing test cricket. In the 1st match of a five test Ashes series (one of the first few test series to contain 5 test matches), England did the unthinkable. 

      Australia plundered 586 in the first innings (S. Gregory 201, G. Giffen 161, F.A. Iredale 81, J.M. Blackham 74, Tom Richardson 5/181). England could muster only 325 in response (A.Ward 75, J. Briggs 57, G.Giffen 4/75). Trailing by a mammoth 261 runs in the first innings, England were made to follow-on.

     England scored 437 in the second innings with Ward again top scoring (a continuing theme) with a wonderful 117 while Giffen again claimed 4 wickets. Chasing 171, Australia were routed for 166 with Robert Peel, a slow left arm bowler claiming 6 for 67, to give England, a shocking 10 run comeback victory. 

     It was the first Test Match to go into the sixth day. It was also the narrowest margin of victory for a team that followed on until this week. 

2. Headingley - 1981

     K.J. Hughes won the toss and declared at 401/9 (J.Dyson 102, K.Hughes 89, G.N. Yallop 85 I. Botham 6/95). In response, Lillee, T. Alderman and G.F. Lawson routed England for 174 with only Botham, who had recently been sacked as captain, resisting with 50 (the theme continues)

     England followed-on, 227 runs behind. When Graham Gooch was dismissed on the same third day, Australia looked well set to win by an innings and a day to spare. But Ian Botham had other ideas. He cracked a magnificent T20-esque 149 not out in 210 minutes, hitting one six and 26 fours. His hundred came off only 87 balls.

     Still needing only 130 runs to win on the final day, Australia were comfortably placed at 56 for 1 before Bob Willis in one of the best performances of his career took 8 wickets for 43 runs including his first three wickets in 11 balls. Australia never recovered and lost by 19 runs. 

    England had, for the second time in Test cricket history, achieved the extraordinary feat of winning after following-on. Ian Botham won the Man of the Match award for probably the greatest all round display in the history of the game

3. Kolkatta - 2001

     The great Australian team that had won its last 16 games on the trot (still a record which has been equalled only once since) batted first, stuttered to 256/8 before recovering to 445 (S. Waugh 110) Harbhajan Singh took 7 for 123 including the first ever hat-trick for India. Australia looked well set for their 17th consecutive victory and their first series win in India since 1969, when they dismissed India for relatively low total of 171. Laxman top scored with 59 (That theme, yes). Glenn McGrath claimed 4 for 18. 

     Following-on, India were 3 for 115 before the turning point of the game and maybe for Indian cricket as a whole happened in the form of an extraordinary fifth wicket partnership between the serene Laxman (281) and indefatigable Dravid (180) which yielded 376 runs, a record. Laxman's was the then Indian record for the highest individual score. India declared at 657 for 7. 

     Chasing 384, Australia went into tea on the final day at a decent score of 161/3, with match seemingly heading towards a draw. Harbhajan Singh (6/73) and unlikely bowling hero Sachin Tendulkar took the last 7 wicket for 46 runs as Australia collapsed to an 171 run defeat.

     This remains the biggest margin of victory for a team winning after following on and the 2nd biggest lead conceded before eventually winning the match. 

4. Wellington - 2023

     England, galvanised under the Stokes-BMac regime, having won 11 of their previous 12 tests were riding the high of the Bazball wave. After being inserted by Tim Southee, England were 21/3 before the present and future collided with Joe Root and Harry Brook scoring contrasting centuries to take England to 435/8 when Ben Stokes declared. Matt Henry in his 1st game as a father took 4 wickets. When James Anderson and Jack Leach ran through New Zealand, the score was 103/7 and it looked like becoming the second one sided game of the series. Tim Southee took it upon himself to show the first signs of resistance to take the team total to 209 with a valiant 73 off 49.

      Ben Stokes, ever the attacking captain enforced the follow-on. Conway and Latham took Southee's cue with a 149 run opening partnership before Kane Williamson (breaking the theme of top scoring in both innings by Ward, Botham and Laxman) showed why he's considered NZ's best ever batter with a century of the highest class and took New Zealand to 483 with the help of Tom Blundell. 

  

       The target of 258 runs might have daunted English teams of the past, but this was the Bazball era. England would've fancied their chances having already chased down 277, 299, 296 and 378 in the 4th innings in the previous 12 months. From 80/5, Stokes and his predecessor Root took England to 201 before Wagner, whose short pitched offerings had been carted around by England's mavericks in the previous 3 innings, bounced out both set batters to set a thrilling finish. 

      Ben Foakes shrugged off losing Broad by expertly farming the strike with Jack Leach, who knows a thing or two about assisting unlikely 4th innings chases, before falling with only 7 runs needed. Jimmy Anderson flapped a four to make it as close as 2 runs before Wagner had the final day in a thrilling finish for the ages.