Top 10 Selfish Knocks In Cricket History

Cricket is a team game. Often we have seen cricketers putting their personal ambitions on the backburner for the sake of their teams’ interest. But the reverse is also true as well.

We have seen on a multitude of occasions where cricketers have batted selfishly which ultimately led to their side losing the game.

Here’s a look at top-10 selfish knocks in cricket history:

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Jacques Kallis- 48 off 63 balls vs Australia, ICC World Cup 2007

Australia was on a rampage throughout the 2007 World Cup and much of the same was the case during the league-stage encounter against South Africa.

After Matthew Hayden’s record-breaking century propelled the Aussies to 377, the Proteas got off to a whirlwind start with Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers racking up 160 runs in the first 20 overs.

Post de Villiers dismissal, Jacques Kallis lack of intent proceeded to a stall the momentum of the South African innings. With net run-rate hovering over seven rpo, Kallis scored a painstaking 63-ball 48, and by the time he was dismissed, the game was well and truly out from South Africa’s reach with the required run-rate zooming in double figures.

Michael Vandort- 48 off 117 balls vs Australia, 2006 VB Series

Michael Vandort played just one ODI for Sri Lanka and its not difficult to understand why. The left-hander played one of the most selfish knock-in white-ball cricket history during a 2006 VB series encounter against Australia.

Chasing 5-318 set by the Aussies, Sri Lanka needed someone to play a whirlwind knock to ensure they stay in the game, but instead, Vandort proceeded to play one of the most strange knocks you’d ever see.

The Sri Lankan huffed and puffed his way to a painstaking 117-ball 48, and when he was finally run out in the 35th over, the game was well and truly out of island nations’ reach.

David Warner- 100 off 140 balls vs Sri Lanka, 2012 CB Series

David Warner was in swashbuckling form during the 2011-12 season. And, so it was even more puzzling to see him huff and puff his way to a 140-ball 100 during the 2nd final of the 2012 CB series against Sri Lanka, especially when he had scored a whirlwind 163 in the same competition.

One could give a benefit of doubt to the southpaw that the pitch may not have been ideal for swift run-making but Michael Clarke’s 91-ball 117 and the subsequent Sri Lankan run-chase [2-274 in 44.2 overs] suggested otherwise.

Ravi Shastri, 57 off 112 balls vs England, 1992 World Cup

India lost a couple of close games in the Benson & Hedges 1992 World Cup, and one of the major reasons for it was the painstaking knocks of Ravi Shastri at the top of the order.

The first of such defeats came against England where opener Shastri scored a painstaking 112-ball 57 during India’s run-chase of 237. Shastri played out of more than 60 balls without scoring a run. Needless to say, India lost the game by nine runs.

Ravi Shastri- 25 off 67 balls vs Australia, ICC World Cup 1992

Shastri was at it again against the Australians in the same World Cup. Having been set a target of 236 in 47 overs, Shastri scored yet another painstaking knock of 25 runs off 67 balls.

Such was the impact of his knock that even swashbuckling knocks from skipper Mohammad Azharuddin [93 off 102 balls] and Sanjay Manjrekar [47 off 42 balls] couldn’t save the Men in Blue from a heartbreaking 1-run defeat.

Manoj Prabhakar, 102* off 154 balls vs West Indies, 1994 Wills World Series

One of the rare instances where a batsman was booted out of the team after having scored a hundred. It was a league-stage encounter between India and West Indies at Green Park in Kanpur.

Needing 258 to win, Prabhakar played a painstaking knock of 102 off 154 balls as India went on to lose the game by 46 balls. I the last 10 overs when more than six runs per over were required, Prabhakar and Mongia shut the shutters down, scoring 16 runs in the last 54 balls.

What was more baffling that none of the batsmen should any intent and looked seemingly content with leaving the ball outside the off-stump in the death overs. Needless to say, both Prabhakar and Mongia were suspended from the rest of the series.

MS Dhoni, 54 off 114 balls vs West Indies, 2017

An innings that once again gave an indication that MS Dhoni’s finishing skills are on the wane.

In the 4th ODI of the 2017 series against the West Indies, MS Dhoni huffed and puffed his way to a painstaking 54 off 114 balls, an innings which included just a solitary boundary.

Needless to say, India failed to chase down 190, falling to an 11-run defeat.

Misbah Ul Haq, 56 off 76 balls vs India, 2011 World Cup semi-final

Misbah Ul Haq is one of the most successful captains that Pakistan has seen in the past two decades, but the right-hander was often criticized for stalling the momentum of the innings in white-ball cricket.

A starc example of the same is the 2011 World Cup semi-final against India where Misbah did not show any real intent during the middle-overs. It almost seemed like someone forgot to tell Misbah was playing a World Cup ODI and not the fourth innings of a Test match.

As a result, the pressure of keeping a pace with the run-rate got to the other batsmen, ultimately leading to their downfall. By the time Misbah decided to up the ante, it was too little too late, as he neither had enough balls nor enough partners for the company. Pakistan went on to lose the game by 31 runs.

Geoffery Boycott, 246 vs India, Leeds 1967

Geoffery Boycott holds the distinction of getting dropped after scoring a double-hundred in a Test match. The incident happened during a 1967 Test against India where the Yorkshireman crawled his way to his career-best 246 at Headingley.

Boycott, who had come into the game on the back of the horrendous form, scored a total of 106 runs on the first day as the spectators manfully battled against dropping eyelids. Boycott scored 17 runs in the first session and a ridiculous 8 in the second.

Amidst scathing criticism from the crowd and media, Boycott did bat with some urgency on the second day, scoring 140 runs in three and a half hours, which once again highlighted the selfishness of his knock, considering he could score quickly if he wanted to.

England went on to win the game but Boycott was dropped from the next Test for his slow batting- publically described by selectors as selfish.

Sunil Gavaskar, 36* off 174 balls vs England, ICC World Cup 1975

A rare blemish in an otherwise distinguished career of Sunil Gavaskar when he stonewalled his way to a painstaking 36* off 174 balls in the opening encounter of the 1975 World Cup.

Indian manager GS Ramchand didn’t hold back in his assessment:

“It was the most disgraceful and selfish performance I have ever seen… his excuse [to me] was, the wicket was too slow to play shots but that was a stupid thing to say after England had scored 334.”

A year later SMG opened up about the infamous knock in his autobiography ‘Sunny Days’-

“It was agony. Sometimes, I felt like moving away from the stumps, so that I would be bowled,”

Many years later, SMG claimed he was, in-fact, caught-behind on the second ball of his innings and since no one appeared, he didn’t walk, a decision he claimed he regrets to the day.

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