Four Players With Lowest Strike-Rate In A First-Class Innings Since 2008 (Min. 200 Balls)

Strike rates aren’t going to be a big deal in first-class cricket until the player wants to survive long at the crease but sometimes it gets strange if the player doesn’t make a move on. Usually, batsmen tend to start off slowly in first-class cricket and when they get started, they start punishing the bad balls.

But there have been times, when the batsmen have left alone those lose deliveries in fear of being dismissed and it is important here to know that it is vital to the plans of his team too. In difficult conditions, defence is the best way to keep the game balanced and here are four players with the lowest strike rate in a first-class innings since 2008.

Four Players With Lowest Strike Rate In A First Class Innings:

AB De Villiers vs Ausralia, 2012:

AB de Villiers is most often associated with the clinical striking of the cricket ball and is one of the most dangerous batsmen in the limited-overs format. However, he had an excellent test career as well and he has shown a lot of pure batsmanship skills by resisting tough conditions.

De Villiers scored a fighting 33 run knock in 220 balls against Australia in the second innings of the Adelaide test and his knock was so important in the context of the game to save the Proteas from a defeat. South Africa needed to chase down 430, with almost two days left and they played 148 overs to draw the game. De Villiers strike rate was 15 which is the fourth-lowest strike rate for any player since 2008 with a minimum of 200 balls.

AB de Villiers vs India, 2015:

De Villiers played another important knock, this time in turning conditions in India where the ball spun vigorously. India set a target of 481 to chase down and South Africa wanted to bat out the whole day to save themselves from the defeat.

De Villiers scored 43 off 297 balls at a strike rate of 14.47 with six fours in the innings and it was a monumental effort from him in the Indian heat. However, he couldn’t stop India from winning the game despite showing a lot of grit by playing out 143 overs and ended up losing the game by 337 runs.

Hashim Amla vs Hampshire, 2021:

Hashim Amla recently made the headlines through one of the slowest knocks for his county side Surrey at Southampton. Amla who has retired from international cricket has been still playing county matches and there has never been doubting over his quality.

Amla, in an attempt to draw the game, scored 37 off 278 balls with just five fours and his strike rate of 13.30 is the second-lowest in a first-class match since 2008 with a minimum of 200 balls. Amla’s innings saved Surrey from the defeat at the hands of the Hampshire side.

Hashim Amla vs India, 2015:

Amla and de Villiers put on a big fight against the Indian spin attack in tough batting conditions at Delhi and they wanted to play out the overs and the time to settle for a draw. The big chase of 481 was already done and dusted but it looked like South African batsmen wanted to show their character to apply themselves.

Amla scored 25 off 244 balls at a strike rate of 10.24 which is astonishing. This is the slowest innings in first-class cricket by a player since 2008 with a minimum of 200 balls and Amla certainly has taken the credit for grinding it out there.