5 gritty Test knocks that ended in tears
One of the most important aspects of Test cricket is that if a team feels that there is no way back for them in a particular contest, then all is not lost and in fact, they can actually save the game by batting for as long as possible. With the possibility of a win out of the window, the batsmen have to bat for time and that is one of the most difficult tasks in cricket.
It takes a lot of patience, concentration, discipline and the ability to ward off bowlers on a pitch that has deteriorated. More often than not, such vigils are unsuccessful and ones which help stave off defeat enter cricketing folklore. However, there are certain innings that often take the team to the brink of safety but eventually fail to save the game and this article looks at 5 of them.
#5 Young Alastair Cook's rearguard action fails to save the Ashes, Perth, 2006
Alastair Cook's first experience in Australia back in 2006 proved to be one he would never forget. England, who were defending the Ashes, had been beaten in the first two Tests and when the 3rd one at Perth came along the writing seemed to be on the wall. Australia made 244 in their first innings but England failed to capitalise and were dismissed for 215.
Then the hosts declared for a mammoth 527 for 5, to set England a target of 557 runs in just over two days. It was then that Cook played one of his finest innings and it looked for a bit that his batting could actually take England to the brink of an improbable draw.
He stayed at the crease for around six and a half hours and faced up to 290 deliveries, to make 116 but the batsmen around him could not quite occupy the crease. Once the left-hander dismissed, in the 94th over, England's innings folded within the next 30 overs.