Stats: Most deliveries faced by a No.11 batsman in fourth innings of a Test match
The second Test match between England and Sri Lanka ended in a dramatic fashion after a brave James Anderson hung on with Moeen Ali for more than an hour, only to fail on the penultimate ball of the match to send Sri Lankan players in jubiliation, having completed their first series win in England consisting of two or more matches. The Headingly crowd was entertained richly by the two teams yet again after an equally sensational match that ended in a draw at Lord’s.
The England No.11 Anderson, walked out when his team was at 228-9 in the 97th over of their innings and gave solid support to Ali that saw him make his way into the top-10 of an interesting list. His 55-ball innings that stretched over 81 minutes puts him on the seventh place for the maximum number of balls faced by a No. 11 batsman in the fourth innings of a Test match.
Ewen Chatfield of New Zealand tops the list as he faced 84 deliveries and remained not out for his 21 runs against Sri Lanka in 2006 at Dunedin. Ashish Nehra of India finds his name in the list for his innings against England at Lord’s 2002 and is one of the only two Asians in the list that is filled with 5 Australians who seem to be the ‘Masters of survival’.
When considering the amount of time a No.11 survived in the 4th innings, Anderson’s effort is ranked No.6, while Jeff Thomson who batted for 129 minutes against England at Melbourne, 1982, holds the record at the top.
| # | Player | Balls Faced | Runs Scored | Minutes | Opposition | Venue | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ewen Chatfield (NZ) | 84 | 21* | 104 | Sri Lanka | Dunedin | 1985 |
| 2 | Jeff Thomson (Aus) | 62 | 21 | 129 | England | Melbourne | 1982 |
| 3 | Mervyn Dillon (WI) | 60 | 36 | 65 | South Africa | Cape Town | 1999 |
| 4 | Alan Connolly (Aus) | 58 | 25 | 48 | South Africa | Cape Town | 1970 |
| 5 | Craig McDermott (Aus) | 57 | 18 | 88 | Adelaide | West Indies | 1993 |
| 6 | James Pattinson (Aus) | 57 | 25* | 70 | England | Nottingham | 2013 |
| 7 | James Anderson (Eng) | 55 | 0 | 81 | Sri Lanka | Leeds | 2014 |
| 8 | Ashish Nehra (Ind) | 54 | 19 | 68 | England | Lord’s | 2002 |
| 9 | Tim May (Aus) | 48 | 11 | 66 | South Africa | Johannesburg | 1994 |
| 10 | Aamer Nazir (Pak) | 46 | 11 | 79 | Sri Lanka | Sialkot | 1995 |
*Stats updated on June 25, 2014