10 cricketers who played their last Test at the Oval
The Oval cricket ground in London is a historical venue as far as Test matches are concerned. The first ever Test in England was played at this venue in 1880 between England and Australia.
Over the years, the Oval has hosted a number of Test matches and as a tradition, the last Test of each English summer is played at the Oval.
The Oval has witnessed many legends of the game bowing out and ending their careers at the end of the English summer. Here is a look at 10 such cricketers who called it a day after playing their last Test at the Oval.
Sir Donald Bradman
Undoubtedly, the greatest ever batsman to have played Test cricket called it a day in the year 1948 after playing his last Test at the Oval.
Sir Bradman needed just 4 runs in the second innings of his last Test to average 100 in Test cricket. However, that was not to be and he was dismissed for a duck. Thus he ended his illustrious Test career with an average of 99.94.
Till date, his Test average of 99.94 stands out and no cricketer has even come close to said average. Though Bradman could not reach the milestone, Australia went on to win the Test by an innings and 149 runs and with that triumphed in the Ashes by a margin of 4-0.
Sir Bradman scored 6696 runs in 80 innings from 52 Tests with 29 centuries and 13 half centuries. He also scored 12 double hundreds for Australia in Test cricket.
Sir Viv Richards
The words aggression and Viv Richards went hand in hand. He dominated bowlers around the globe with his aggressive batting and was a nightmare to bowl to.
Sir Viv was an integral part of the West Indies team which dominated cricket in 1970s and 1980s. He averaged 50.24 in 182 Test innings in 121 Test matches. His 8540 Test runs came at a strike rate of 86.07 which was unheard of in the 1980s.
Sir Viv Richards played his last Test at the Oval in the year 1991. He scored 2 in the first innings of said Test and 60 in the second innings. The Test was won by England and the series ended 2-2. However, Richards had created a legacy of his own and ended his career on a high.