One of the most popular fallacies among professional cricketers is that personal milestones and landmark achievements don’t matter to them. It is an endearing theme to which most cling, in public, but know privately without a shadow of a doubt that their careers depend on them.
All records are there to be broken but teams chasing records is frowned upon far less than individuals doing so. There are dozens of reasons records are important in sport but especially in cricket, which is the most “individual” of all team sports. Even golf is more of a team sport than cricket when it comes to Presidents and Ryder Cup-style events.
At Lord’s in 2003, when SA had dismissed England for just 173 in the first innings, Graeme Smith scored 259 to humiliate the hosts single-handedly, yet batted on and on, and on for 177 overs reaching 682/6 before finally declaring. The physical and mental deterioration of the opposition was one thing, but the record score was also a serious consideration.
Even a dozen years after their return from two decades of isolation, SA’s international cricketers felt like newcomers to the big stage, the century of Test history which preceded them was mostly, and perhaps understandably, disregarded by their employers. Smith understood that his team needed to plant their own flags of achievement in the landscape of Test history.
He was well advised, of course, but he understood the importance of raising the bar as high as possible to give future generations a belief in what is possible and that nothing is impossible. Hashim Amla’s glorious 311* against the same opponents at The Oval eight years later was the most important individual flag planted in the landscape. The first triple-century by a South African. Those who disregard individual records have no regard or understanding of the effects they have in forming the dreams of the future.
It applies to every country, not just SA. The younger the nation, the more likely records will be broken with greater speed; but the older the record, the more inspirational it appears. The setting and breaking of records, of course, is regarded very differently by the two teams involved. The aforementioned “disdain” for statistical glory is a highly subjective and flexible emotion, dependent on whether you are the provider or the recipient.
At Old Trafford last week, England captain Ben Stokes joined a number of highly exclusive clubs with 5/72 and 141 in the fourth Test against India. The first England captain and just the fourth England player to claim a five-for with a century in the same match. He joined Sir Garfield Sobers and Jacques Kallis in the 7,000+ runs and 200+ wickets club. No need to order extra seats for their annual gathering.
India were staring defeat squarely in the face at lunch on the fourth day after losing two wickets in the first five balls of their second innings with a deficit of 311. Captain Shubman Gill, at
No 4, faced his first delivery before opener KL Rahul had received a ball. They added 188 together with Rahul facing 230 balls for his 90. Gill reached 103, his fourth century in his first four Tests as captain.
At 222/4 with almost 60 overs remaining in the final three hours, England still believed in a series-winning victory. But the resilience, skill and determination of Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja denied them. Try as they did, England could not separate them. When the earliest time came for the captains to shake hands and agree on a draw with no positive result likely, Stokes removed his cap and extended his hand to Jadeja.
The 36-year-old senior pro looked to the changeroom before accepting the offer and saw only a stone-faced captain, Gill. His view was similar to Smith’s 22 years earlier. As long as they don’t adversely affect the team’s results, individual milestones do matter. Sundar was on 80 and Jadeja on 92. They had faced 200 and 180 balls respectively. Gill’s view was plain: you’ve worked your backsides off, take the reward.
Stokes looked irritated: “They played very, very well to save the Test and I can’t praise them highly enough,” he said. “But they’d done the job when I offered to shake hands.”
Stokes would have readily walked off with roles reversed. But for the majority of the rest of us, records do matter. Gill, Sundar and Jadeja became just the second Nos 4, 5 and 6 to score centuries in a Test innings for India. Flag in the ground.
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