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| Saturday, 01 January 2005 |
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Best batting and bowling performances of 2004 By Martin Gough and Scott Heinrich Batting BRIAN LARA 400 not out v England The series against England was lost, with his side 3-0 down. Only captain Lara could save West Indies from their first ever Test series whitewash at home. His Test record of 375 had been overhauled by Australia's Matthew Hayden just six months previously. But after Lara reached 313 by stumps on day two in Antigua, everyone knew to expect a new record mark on the following morning. Lara equalled Hayden's score by lofting spinner Gareth Batty over long-on for six and then topped the mark with a swept four past fine leg. After facing 582 deliveries, hitting 43 fours and four sixes in almost 13 hours at the crease, he declared, and for one match at least, his side's fall from grace was forgotten. VIRENDER SEHWAG 309 v Pakistan Despite the hype that surrounded India's first Test series in Pakistan for 14 years, and his tendency to get over-excited with the pressure on, Virender Sehwag rose to the occasion in magnificent style . India had not won in Pakistan in the previous 20 attempts, with bore draws dominating. Despite a batsman-friendly surface in Multan, though, there could only be one winner as Sehwag set a blazing pace. His first 100 included four sixes and he was already 228 not out by the end of day one - the highest score by an Indian in Pakistan. And it was only on day two that he began to flag, his triple-century still coming off just 364 deliveries, setting the tourists on course for an innings victory. SACHIN TENDULKAR 241 v Australia The finest players are at their best against their leading opponents, and Tendulkar's display at the Sydney Cricket Ground was a perfect example. Tendulkar went into the match having managed just 153 runs in five Tests in 2003 but he topped that in a single innings to start the new year. In his farewell Test, Steve Waugh was forced to use seven bowlers to combat the onslaught.Tendulkar's partnership of 353 with VVS Laxman, who made 241, was the highest ever for the fourth wicket against Australia. And by the time the tourists had declared on 705-7, the series was safe, although they were four wickets away from forcing a victory. MICHAEL VAUGHAN 86 v Australia While England's Test side enjoyed their best summer ever, with seven successive victories, the one-day team remained in the doldrums for much of the year. They tried to play down the importance of an ICC Champions Trophy semi-final with Australia but everyone knew it was a precursor to the 2005 Ashes series. Vaughan, who some suggested should drop himself from the one-day side at one point, played as if it were a Sunday afternoon game at the local rec. Brett Lee was straight-driven and Glenn McGrath combated in a comprehensive display that saw the hosts overhaul Australia's 259 with three overs to spare. BROWNE and BRADSHAW 104 partnership v England West Indies' miserable summer was apparently nearing an inevitable conclusion as they struggled to 147-8 in reply to England's 217 in the ICC Champions Trophy final at a gloomy Oval. Reserve wicket-keeper Courtney Browne and all-rounder Ian Bradshaw were bit-part players, supposedly at the crease to receive the last rites. But the two Barbadians had other ideas, and England's bowlers appeared powerless to stop them.Browne reached the boundary just twice, his 35 picked around the increasingly scattered fielders. Bradshaw enjoyed some luck but crucially could not be budged and he square cut the winning boundary as Caribbean cricket was given a new lease of life. GLENN MCGRATH 61 v New Zealand "A five-wicket haul would be great, so would a 10-wicket match," said Glenn McGrath as he prepared for his 100th Test. "Then maybe a 50 with the bat." Less than a month later, in his 115th Test innings, the world's most famous number 11 got his wish with a maiden Test half-century.The first Test against New Zealand was still in the balance when the Pigeon took the crease with Australia 471-9, 118 runs ahead. Sixty-one runs, five fours and a six off Daniel Vettori later, the home side were in position for a massive victory. Bowling STEVE HARMISON, 7-12 v West Indies in Jamaica In a way, Harmison's rise to the top was sudden, and even during the first Test in Jamaica there was little indication he was to announce himself as one of the world's best. The tall right-armer returned only a fair 2-61 in the first innings, and when he took the new ball second time around England held a lead of just 28 runs. But when Harmison had finished his demolition job, the tone of the series was set, records had fallen by the wayside and a new star was born. His figures of 7-12 were the best return at Sabina Park, helping skittle the Windies for a lowest-ever 47. Harmison went on to take 23 wickets at 14.87 in the series and has not looked back since. ANIL KUMBLE, 7-48 & 6-133 v Australia in Madras Another glowing chapter in the glorious, yet understated, career of Kumble was written in 2004. Barring huge match hauls from either Shane Warne or Steve Harmison in their Boxing Day Tests, Kumble will finish the year as the leading wicket-taker. Although his best return for the year was 8-141 against Australia in Sydney, his finest hour was the second Test in Madras, also against the Australians. Kumble routed the visitors with figures of 7-48 in the first innings, taking all the spoils as Australia lost seven wickets for 39 runs. The leg-spinner supplemented that return with 6-133 in the second innings, setting up what should have been an Indian victory but for a last-day washout. SHANE WARNE, 5-116 & 5-43 v Sri Lanka at Galle Warne has enjoyed better returns in his career, but his performance at Galle sent out a message as loud as he has ever sounded. In his first Test back following a 12-month drugs ban, the leg-spinner's 10-wicket match haul screamed to the world that he was still at the top of his game.He played a big part in helping Australia transform a 161-run first-innings deficit into a 197-run victory. For good measure, he followed up with another 10-wicket haul in the second Test. GLENN MCGRATH, 8-24 v Pakistan in Perth A lengthy queue had formed in the first half of the year to write off McGrath, one of the very best pacemen to play the game. An ankle injury had kept the Aussie out of Test cricket for a year, and at 34 the old bones were not getting any younger. But return to his best he did, taking 42 wickets at 18.6 in nine Tests and crowning his triumphant comeback with career-best figures of 8-24 in the first Test against Pakistan. The man nicknamed Pigeon ran through a demoralised Pakistani line-up, almost single-handedly knocking them over for 72 with his inimitably nagging style of seam bowling. In a year during which he scored his first Test fifty and became the first Australian paceman to play 100 Tests, his effort against Pakistan was the icing on the cake. ASHLEY GILES, 5-81 v West Indies at Lord's Under Nasser Hussain's captaincy, Giles had become a dull and defensive spin option required to do little more than tie up an end. But the most shining example of his rebirth under Michael Vaughan came against the Windies at headquarters. The genteel left-armer followed figures of 4-129 in the first innings with 5-81 in the second - his first five-wicket haul on home soil. In both digs he plucked out Brian Lara, bowling the visiting skipper in the fourth innings to take his 100th Test wicket. It was too much excitement for Giles to take, and he duly wheeled around in celebration as if he had just scored for his beloved Queen's Park Rangers. DANIEL VETTORI, 5-30 v West Indies at Lord's Vettori delivered a lesson in the art of left-arm spin to sink West Indies in the NatWest final and heal scars of New Zealand's Test series thumping at the hands of England. The Black Caps comfortably defended a total of 266 with Vettori as their chief custodian. Two direct-hit run-outs - including one from third man - complemented a withering spell which yielded figures of 5-30 and saw the Windies lose their last eight wickets for 61. His maiden one-day five-wicket haul was highlighted by a peach which trapped Lara leg before, but with trademark modesty Vettori admitted "it was a wicket that suited me". [BBC] |
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