One of the greatest Test match overs of all time
It was 1993 in Old Trafford when a young blonde leg spinner’s delivery which appeared to drift mid-way it flight, later turned a mile to click the top of off stump. A baffled Mike Gatting, the English man, stands in absolute awe of the artistry of the then relatively unknown Shane Keith Warne.
More than two decades now since that iconic delivery, it has aptly being labeled as “The Ball of the century”. But we, the lovers of Test Cricket know that dismissing a batsman is not just about that single delivery. In most cases, the build up to that delivery is of more importance.
The excitement to see a batsman huff and puff as he faces a feisty spell of fast bowling and to see the stumps flying in air is the most exhilarating aspect. Therefore by this implication, there has to be an “The Over of the Century” in Test Cricket.
Well don’t worry; here is the greatest over in the history of Test cricket. Let us turn back the clocks a bit.
On March 14, 1981, the great West Indian fast bowler, Michael Holding, sent chills down the spine of Geoff Boycott at Bridgetown. The Englishman faced the most gruesome six deliveries of his career. In his defense, any batsman would have struggled to make it through that superb over.
Trailing by 1-0, England went into their first innings in a fairly confident manner as they bowled out the famous West Indian batting order for a meager 265. Day 2 saw Graham Gooch and Geoffrey Boycott come out to face the dreaded pace quartet on a perfect green top pitch, which later Boycott would refer as “A lottery and a farce”.
Gooch managed to barely survive the first over by Andy “The Hitman” Roberts.
Lights, sound and Action
The Kensington Oval is Holding’s darling. As the word spread that the pacers were going in for the kill, spectators thronged in lines hoping to witness to carnage.
Every seat had been taken and fans who were late to get tickets were spotted sneaking the gaps. Whenever West Indies bowlers smelled blood, the Caribbean audiences would come to a standstill and cricket would be THE ONLY THING.
The Englishman got ready to face Holding. Holding’s rhythmical run-up is poetry in motion. Aptly named as WHISPERING DEATH, Holding was in no non-sense mood that day. Boycott was yet to realize the magnanimity of the horror that would befall him. He stood there absolutely stunned as he gave the impression that he had just seen the devil.
Captioning the nightmare
Holding let the ball do the talking and throughout the span of six deliveries, Boycott was at the helm of attention of all the West Indies players and spectators. Everyone knew that this contest was something special. Holding was at the peak of his career and wanted to make hay while the sun shines.
Nothing motivated a Windies Cricketer more than a clash with England in those times.
Here is how the action went
Ball 1: A gentle loosener by Holding’s standard, still good enough to rap Boycott on the gloves and land just short of second slip.
Ball 2: Holding yanked up the pace on this one. Boycott tried to feel the ball as it beat him outside off.
Ball 3: Bang! On the right thigh. Just the statement that Holding wanted to make
Ball 4 and 5: Boycott finally managed to touch the ball with his willow but war hardly convincing. At this point of time, you could hardly blame him. “He middled none, but any lesser mortal would have been out,” wrote Gladstone Holder in The Nation.
Ball 6: Then came Boycott’s nightmare. Holding saved the best for the last as he sent the stumps cart wheeling towards the wicketkeeper. The oval went mad with applause.
Boycott turned around to have a quick glance at the mess. He had probably earned the hardest fought duck in the history of the game. Ian Botham recalled that Boycott was "jumping about like a jack-in-the-box".
Here is the footage of that iconic over again.
Nearly quarter of the century has passed and this over still remains the best, the finest example of quality bowling. There may be many second best overs in the game, but none comes even closer to this one.
Even Boycott himself admitted how great Holding was on that day. By his own admission, Holding was the quickest in the era of great fast bowlers that he ever faced.