Test match cricket throws up a lot of unique challenges. Apart from testing the patience, perseverance, character, and versatility, it also posed a unique challenge to the captains of timing the declaration of an innings to perfection.

The way a captain approaches a declaration often reflects the mindset of him as well as his team. It goes to show whether he is a proactive captain who is always on a lookout for a result of a defensive captain who tends to preach the safety-first approach.

We have seen too many cases in the past of both such instances where captains have gone out of their way to ensure we get a result by doing sporting declarations while at times we have been captains approach it defensively with their safety-first approach. There have also been occasions when a declaration has raised eyebrows of the pundits as well as the fans.

Here&#8217;s a list of 5 controversial declarations in cricket history:

5. Tim Paine declaring for &#8216;team&#8217;s cause&#8217; at the Adelaide Oval

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-376979" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/David-Warner-8.jpg" alt="David Warner" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-376979" class="wp-caption-text">David Warner. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

It was the second Test of the two-match series between Australia and Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval where David Warner once again displayed as to why he is mean run-machine when it comes to batting in home conditions.

Warner, who hadn&#8217;t even managed 100 runs across 10 Ashes innings in England, shellacked the Pakistani attack to the tune of a triple-century, breaking several records in the process, including the feat of going past the likes of Mark Taylor, Sir Donald Bradman, and Michael Clarke and becoming the highest individual run-scorer in a single innings for Australia.

But, just as it looked, Warner was warming to break <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/dwayne-bravo-picks-dhoni-over-brain-lara-as-best-captain-he-has-played-under/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brain Lara</a>&#8216;s Mount.400, Tim Paine- fearing that the impending rain (which did not arrive) will jeopardize Australia&#8217;s chances of notching up a victory- called his batsmen in, leaving Warner stranded on 335 not out.

Australia went on to win the Test match comprehensively and while David Warner did not moan about having not got a chance to break the record, battle lines were certainly drawn on social media, with some fans hailing Paine for keeping the interests of the team over personal milestones and vice versa.

4. &#8216;Proactive&#8217; Freddie made to rue his decision following England&#8217;s capitulation in Adelaide, 2006

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-408839" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Andrew-Flintoff-1.jpg" alt="Andrew Flintoff" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-408839" class="wp-caption-text">Andrew Flintoff. (Photo by WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption>

The Adelaide Test of the 2006-07 Ashes series has got to be one of those Test matches where an English fan would still wonder by looking at the scorecard: &#8216;How did we manage to lose this Test, despite having scored more than 500 runs in the first innings?&#8217;

After a humbling defeat in the first Test at the Gabba, England looked to have turned the corner at Adelaide with Kevin Pieterson making another 158 against Australia and<a href="https://www.crictracker.com/world-cup-2019-england-assistant-coach-paul-collingwood-takes-the-field-in-warm-up-game-vs-australia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Paul Collingwood </a>racking up his career-best double ton. Even Freddie Flintoff was looking pretty dangerous, until, in an attempt to be &#8216;proactive&#8217;, he decided to close the shop and put Australia in.

That decision looks right when Justin Langer nicks off before the close of play but when Ashley Giles drops Ponting at deep-square leg- the wicket that would have reduced Australia to 4-88- a familiar feeling takes over English fans, who, by now, we&#8217;re used to their team bottling winning positions.

Ponting is reprieved and he makes England pay for it with a whirlwind 142 and along with Michael Clarke [124] takes the Aussies to 513 in their first innings. England capitulated like a pack of cards in the second innings and no dismissal captured their bewildered mindset better than the sight of Kevin &#8216;Warne will never bowl me round my legs&#8217; Pieterson getting bamboozled by a leg break. England is eventually bowled out for 129 in their second innings and the opportunity to stage any sort of comeback is eventually doomed.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-408845" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/West-Indies-vs-India.jpg" alt="West Indies vs India" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-408845" class="wp-caption-text">West Indies vs India. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

After having got smashed by the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ashes-2019-ben-stokes-called-david-warner-a-fing-prick-australians-give-it-back/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Australians </a>[1-5] in the preceding summer, West Indies skipper Clive Lloyd was a hurt man. He has seen his batsmen surrender to the pace and hostility of the Australian quicks and to rub salt to Lloyd’s wounds, India proceeded to shellack his bowling attack to the tune of 404 (the then world record) in the fourth innings at Trinidad

Clearly, Lloyd had had enough. According to the documentary Fire in Babylon, the defeat at the hands of Australia made Lloyd declare &#8216;Never again&#8217;. That resolve became even more resolute post the shock defeat in Trinidad.

So, what did the legendary captain do? He unleashed the might of his pace quartet against the Indians at Sabina Park in Jamaica. The message was clear and to put it in the words of a fan: &#8216;Aim for the head, maan&#8217;

“Aim for his head, man”, “Kill him, maan”, “Take him down, Mike!”  was the constant chant from the crowd as Michael Holding and Daniel unleashed thunderbolts one after the other. India fought valiantly in the first innings despite a majority of its players including Anshuman Gaekwad (81), Brijesh Patel (14) getting retired hurt.

But, matters really came to a head in the second innings. With half of the Indian team in the hospital, the Indian innings stood completed with the overall lead reading 12 runs. It sparked off a controversy with Murray saying in &#8216;Fire in Babylone&#8217; : &#8220;The Indians thought we were overdoing the fast-bowling, surrendered the Test match to the West Indies almost as a show of protest.&#8221;

However, Bedi later clarified that he had not declared and the innings stood completed.

2. When Hansie Cronje sold Test cricket for R53,000 and a leather jacket

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-408824" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Hansie-Cronje.jpg" alt="Hansie Cronje" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-408824" class="wp-caption-text">Hansie Cronje. (Photo by David Munden/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)</figcaption>

At the time, it looked like an epitome of sporting decisions. Here were two captains consulting each other to strike a deal in order to breathe life into a Test match that was dying a soggy death after three days had been washed out due to rain.

It was the fourth Test match of the series, and with South Africa has already won the rubber, it looked like players would go through the motions on the final day. South Africa had been inserted in on what was a juicy Centurion pitch on the first morning. With conditions so much in favour of the bowlers, the home side stumbled to 6-155 before the rain made its first presence.

That presence would last for three and a half days, and with just a solitary day to go, Hansie Cronje came up with an offer to his English counterparts before the start of the final day. Cronje suggested that both South Africa and England should forfeit one inning each, and offered the visitors a target of 270 in 73 overs.

England was clearly taken aback at the offer and told Hansie that they would first look at the pitch before giving the final nod. The pitch, as England found out, had eased out considerably as <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/crictracker-exclusive-india-and-australia-will-be-tough-teams-to-beat-in-the-t20-world-cup-lance-klusener/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lance Klusener </a>and Shaun Pollock added vital runs in the first 40 minutes of play.

That was enough to convince Hussain and he sent the message to Cronje if he was still interested in the deal. Hussain aimed low at chasing 250. Finally, it was agreed that England would have to chase down 245 runs in 76 overs, something they achieved on the first ball of the final over.

Cronje&#8217;s decision was looked upon with incredible bewilderment. Michael Atherton termed it as the &#8216;cheapest win of his Test career&#8217;. But no one really had suspected Cronje&#8217;s original motives. Four months later, it all came ahead when Cronje accepted during a King&#8217;s commission inquiry, that his decision was influenced by a bookmaker, who had offered him $150,000 if he declared. Cronje revealed that the bookmaker met him after the Test and offered him R53,000 and a leather jacket- the price for the first fixed Test match in the history of cricket.

1. When Rahul Dravid left Sachin Tendulkar stranded for 194

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-408823" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sachin-Tendulkar-4.jpg" alt="Sachin Tendulkar" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-408823" class="wp-caption-text">Sachin Tendulkar. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)</figcaption>

The mother of all declarations! One that proceeded to rake up a furore. It was the first Test of the three-match series during India&#8217;s historic tour of Pakistan in 2004. Virender Sehwag had already dazzled his way into the record books courtesy his whirlwind 309 and Master Blaster was also looking primed for his maiden double-hundred on Pakistan soil.

Except for Indian captain, Rahul Dravid had other ideas. Dravid, who felt that India needed to make a statement that they were here for a win, decided to draw curtains on the innings, leaving the Master stranded at 194 not-out. India eventually went on to win the Test by an innings &amp; 52 runs after they bowled Pakistan out for 407 and 216 respectively, but the biggest point of the game remains Dravid&#8217;s declaration.

Years later, Sachin Tendulkar reminisced about exactly what has transpired that day in his autobiography: Playing it my way. Tendulkar revealed that it was decided in the dressing room that they would play a further 15 overs in the post-Tea session before putting <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/waqar-younis-ready-to-resign-as-pakistans-bowling-coach-if-unable-to-deliver-the-targets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pakistan </a>in.

Tendulkar did score at a fair clip-29 run in 35 balls- but he was left aghast when 12th man Ramesh Powar came up with the second and final message in the 14th over, asking the Master to get to his double hundred quickly as Dravid is about to declare. Tendulkar did not get to play a single ball of that over as Yuvraj Singh played out the first four deliveries before getting out on the fifth, post which Dravid signaled his players to come back.

A bitterly disappointed Sachin headed back to the dressing room and while he assured Rahul that the incident will not have any bearing on the field but off the field, he made it perfectly clear that he&#8217;d prefer to be left alone.

“I assured Rahul that the incident would have no bearing on my involvement on the field, but off the field, I would prefer to be left alone for a while to come to terms with what had happened,” Tendulkar wrote in the book.

Test match cricket throws up a lot of unique challenges. Apart from testing the patience, perseverance, character, and versatility, it also posed a unique challenge to the captains of timing the declaration of an innings to perfection.
The way a captain approaches a declaration often reflects the mindset of him as well as his team. It goes to show whether he is a proactive captain who is always on a lookout for a result of a defensive captain who tends to preach the safety-first approach.
We have seen too many cases in the past of both such instances where captains have gone out of their way to ensure we get a result by doing sporting declarations while at times we have been captains approach it defensively with their safety-first approach. There have also been occasions when a declaration has raised eyebrows of the pundits as well as the fans.
Here’s a list of 5 controversial declarations in cricket history:
<h3>5. Tim Paine declaring for ‘team’s cause’ at the Adelaide Oval</h3>
<figure id="attachment_376979" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-376979" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-376979" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/David-Warner-8.jpg" alt="David Warner" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-376979" class="wp-caption-text">David Warner. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
It was the second Test of the two-match series between Australia and Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval where David Warner once again displayed as to why he is mean run-machine when it comes to batting in home conditions.
Warner, who hadn’t even managed 100 runs across 10 Ashes innings in England, shellacked the Pakistani attack to the tune of a triple-century, breaking several records in the process, including the feat of going past the likes of Mark Taylor, Sir Donald Bradman, and Michael Clarke and becoming the highest individual run-scorer in a single innings for Australia.
But, just as it looked, Warner was warming to break <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/dwayne-bravo-picks-dhoni-over-brain-lara-as-best-captain-he-has-played-under/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brain Lara</a>‘s Mount.400, Tim Paine- fearing that the impending rain (which did not arrive) will jeopardize Australia’s chances of notching up a victory- called his batsmen in, leaving Warner stranded on 335 not out.
Australia went on to win the Test match comprehensively and while David Warner did not moan about having not got a chance to break the record, battle lines were certainly drawn on social media, with some fans hailing Paine for keeping the interests of the team over personal milestones and vice versa.

<h3>4. ‘Proactive’ Freddie made to rue his decision following England’s capitulation in Adelaide, 2006</h3>
<figure id="attachment_408839" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-408839" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-408839" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Andrew-Flintoff-1.jpg" alt="Andrew Flintoff" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-408839" class="wp-caption-text">Andrew Flintoff. (Photo by WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
The Adelaide Test of the 2006-07 Ashes series has got to be one of those Test matches where an English fan would still wonder by looking at the scorecard: ‘How did we manage to lose this Test, despite having scored more than 500 runs in the first innings?’
After a humbling defeat in the first Test at the Gabba, England looked to have turned the corner at Adelaide with Kevin Pieterson making another 158 against Australia and<a href="https://www.crictracker.com/world-cup-2019-england-assistant-coach-paul-collingwood-takes-the-field-in-warm-up-game-vs-australia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Paul Collingwood </a>racking up his career-best double ton. Even Freddie Flintoff was looking pretty dangerous, until, in an attempt to be ‘proactive’, he decided to close the shop and put Australia in.
That decision looks right when Justin Langer nicks off before the close of play but when Ashley Giles drops Ponting at deep-square leg- the wicket that would have reduced Australia to 4-88- a familiar feeling takes over English fans, who, by now, we’re used to their team bottling winning positions.
Ponting is reprieved and he makes England pay for it with a whirlwind 142 and along with Michael Clarke [124] takes the Aussies to 513 in their first innings. England capitulated like a pack of cards in the second innings and no dismissal captured their bewildered mindset better than the sight of Kevin ‘Warne will never bowl me round my legs’ Pieterson getting bamboozled by a leg break. England is eventually bowled out for 129 in their second innings and the opportunity to stage any sort of comeback is eventually doomed.

<h3>3. Jamaica bloodbath, 1976</h3>
<figure id="attachment_408845" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-408845" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-408845" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/West-Indies-vs-India.jpg" alt="West Indies vs India" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-408845" class="wp-caption-text">West Indies vs India. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
After having got smashed by the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ashes-2019-ben-stokes-called-david-warner-a-fing-prick-australians-give-it-back/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Australians </a>[1-5] in the preceding summer, West Indies skipper Clive Lloyd was a hurt man. He has seen his batsmen surrender to the pace and hostility of the Australian quicks and to rub salt to Lloyd’s wounds, India proceeded to shellack his bowling attack to the tune of 404 (the then world record) in the fourth innings at Trinidad
Clearly, Lloyd had had enough. According to the documentary Fire in Babylon, the defeat at the hands of Australia made Lloyd declare ‘Never again’. That resolve became even more resolute post the shock defeat in Trinidad.
So, what did the legendary captain do? He unleashed the might of his pace quartet against the Indians at Sabina Park in Jamaica. The message was clear and to put it in the words of a fan: ‘Aim for the head, maan’
“Aim for his head, man”, “Kill him, maan”, “Take him down, Mike!”&nbsp; was the constant chant from the crowd as Michael Holding and Daniel unleashed thunderbolts one after the other. India fought valiantly in the first innings despite a majority of its players including Anshuman Gaekwad (81), Brijesh Patel (14) getting retired hurt.
But, matters really came to a head in the second innings. With half of the Indian team in the hospital, the Indian innings stood completed with the overall lead reading 12 runs. It sparked off a controversy with Murray saying in ‘Fire in Babylone’ : “The Indians thought we were overdoing the fast-bowling, surrendered the Test match to the West Indies almost as a show of protest.”
However, Bedi later clarified that he had not declared and the innings stood completed.

<h3>2. When Hansie Cronje sold Test cricket for R53,000 and a leather jacket</h3>
<figure id="attachment_408824" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-408824" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-408824" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Hansie-Cronje.jpg" alt="Hansie Cronje" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-408824" class="wp-caption-text">Hansie Cronje. (Photo by David Munden/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
At the time, it looked like an epitome of sporting decisions. Here were two captains consulting each other to strike a deal in order to breathe life into a Test match that was dying a soggy death after three days had been washed out due to rain.
It was the fourth Test match of the series, and with South Africa has already won the rubber, it looked like players would go through the motions on the final day. South Africa had been inserted in on what was a juicy Centurion pitch on the first morning. With conditions so much in favour of the bowlers, the home side stumbled to 6-155 before the rain made its first presence.
That presence would last for three and a half days, and with just a solitary day to go, Hansie Cronje came up with an offer to his English counterparts before the start of the final day. Cronje suggested that both South Africa and England should forfeit one inning each, and offered the visitors a target of 270 in 73 overs.
England was clearly taken aback at the offer and told Hansie that they would first look at the pitch before giving the final nod. The pitch, as England found out, had eased out considerably as <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/crictracker-exclusive-india-and-australia-will-be-tough-teams-to-beat-in-the-t20-world-cup-lance-klusener/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lance Klusener </a>and Shaun Pollock added vital runs in the first 40 minutes of play.
That was enough to convince Hussain and he sent the message to Cronje if he was still interested in the deal. Hussain aimed low at chasing 250. Finally, it was agreed that England would have to chase down 245 runs in 76 overs, something they achieved on the first ball of the final over.
Cronje’s decision was looked upon with incredible bewilderment. Michael Atherton termed it as the ‘cheapest win of his Test career’. But no one really had suspected Cronje’s original motives. Four months later, it all came ahead when Cronje accepted during a King’s commission inquiry, that his decision was influenced by a bookmaker, who had offered him $150,000 if he declared. Cronje revealed that the bookmaker met him after the Test and offered him R53,000 and a leather jacket- the price for the first fixed Test match in the history of cricket.

<h3>1. When Rahul Dravid left Sachin Tendulkar stranded for 194</h3>
<figure id="attachment_408823" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-408823" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-408823" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sachin-Tendulkar-4.jpg" alt="Sachin Tendulkar" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-408823" class="wp-caption-text">Sachin Tendulkar. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
The mother of all declarations! One that proceeded to rake up a furore. It was the first Test of the three-match series during India’s historic tour of Pakistan in 2004. Virender Sehwag had already dazzled his way into the record books courtesy his whirlwind 309 and Master Blaster was also looking primed for his maiden double-hundred on Pakistan soil.
Except for Indian captain, Rahul Dravid had other ideas. Dravid, who felt that India needed to make a statement that they were here for a win, decided to draw curtains on the innings, leaving the Master stranded at 194 not-out. India eventually went on to win the Test by an innings &amp; 52 runs after they bowled Pakistan out for 407 and 216 respectively, but the biggest point of the game remains Dravid’s declaration.
Years later, Sachin Tendulkar reminisced about exactly what has transpired that day in his autobiography: Playing it my way. Tendulkar revealed that it was decided in the dressing room that they would play a further 15 overs in the post-Tea session before putting <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/waqar-younis-ready-to-resign-as-pakistans-bowling-coach-if-unable-to-deliver-the-targets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pakistan </a>in.
Tendulkar did score at a fair clip-29 run in 35 balls- but he was left aghast when 12th man Ramesh Powar came up with the second and final message in the 14th over, asking the Master to get to his double hundred quickly as Dravid is about to declare. Tendulkar did not get to play a single ball of that over as Yuvraj Singh played out the first four deliveries before getting out on the fifth, post which Dravid signaled his players to come back.
&nbsp;A bitterly disappointed Sachin headed back to the dressing room and while he assured Rahul that the incident will not have any bearing on the field but off the field, he made it perfectly clear that he’d prefer to be left alone.
“I assured Rahul that the incident would have no bearing on my involvement on the field, but off the field, I would prefer to be left alone for a while to come to terms with what had happened,” Tendulkar wrote in the book.

Test match cricket throws up a lot of unique challenges. Apart from testing the patience, perseverance, character, and versatility, it also posed a unique challenge to the captains of timing the declaration of an innings to perfection.
The way a captain approaches a declaration often reflects the mindset of him as well as his team. It goes to show whether he is a proactive captain who is always on a lookout for a result of a defensive captain who tends to preach the safety-first approach.
We have seen too many cases in the past of both such instances where captains have gone out of their way to ensure we get a result by doing sporting declarations while at times we have been captains approach it defensively with their safety-first approach. There have also been occasions when a declaration has raised eyebrows of the pundits as well as the fans.
Here&#8217;s a list of 5 controversial declarations in cricket history:
<h3>5. Tim Paine declaring for &#8216;team&#8217;s cause&#8217; at the Adelaide Oval</h3>
<figure id="attachment_376979" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-376979" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-376979" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/David-Warner-8.jpg" alt="David Warner" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-376979" class="wp-caption-text">David Warner. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
It was the second Test of the two-match series between Australia and Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval where David Warner once again displayed as to why he is mean run-machine when it comes to batting in home conditions.
Warner, who hadn&#8217;t even managed 100 runs across 10 Ashes innings in England, shellacked the Pakistani attack to the tune of a triple-century, breaking several records in the process, including the feat of going past the likes of Mark Taylor, Sir Donald Bradman, and Michael Clarke and becoming the highest individual run-scorer in a single innings for Australia.
But, just as it looked, Warner was warming to break <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/dwayne-bravo-picks-dhoni-over-brain-lara-as-best-captain-he-has-played-under/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brain Lara</a>&#8216;s Mount.400, Tim Paine- fearing that the impending rain (which did not arrive) will jeopardize Australia&#8217;s chances of notching up a victory- called his batsmen in, leaving Warner stranded on 335 not out.
Australia went on to win the Test match comprehensively and while David Warner did not moan about having not got a chance to break the record, battle lines were certainly drawn on social media, with some fans hailing Paine for keeping the interests of the team over personal milestones and vice versa.

<h3>4. &#8216;Proactive&#8217; Freddie made to rue his decision following England&#8217;s capitulation in Adelaide, 2006</h3>
<figure id="attachment_408839" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-408839" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-408839" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Andrew-Flintoff-1.jpg" alt="Andrew Flintoff" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-408839" class="wp-caption-text">Andrew Flintoff. (Photo by WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
The Adelaide Test of the 2006-07 Ashes series has got to be one of those Test matches where an English fan would still wonder by looking at the scorecard: &#8216;How did we manage to lose this Test, despite having scored more than 500 runs in the first innings?&#8217;
After a humbling defeat in the first Test at the Gabba, England looked to have turned the corner at Adelaide with Kevin Pieterson making another 158 against Australia and<a href="https://www.crictracker.com/world-cup-2019-england-assistant-coach-paul-collingwood-takes-the-field-in-warm-up-game-vs-australia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Paul Collingwood </a>racking up his career-best double ton. Even Freddie Flintoff was looking pretty dangerous, until, in an attempt to be &#8216;proactive&#8217;, he decided to close the shop and put Australia in.
That decision looks right when Justin Langer nicks off before the close of play but when Ashley Giles drops Ponting at deep-square leg- the wicket that would have reduced Australia to 4-88- a familiar feeling takes over English fans, who, by now, we&#8217;re used to their team bottling winning positions.
Ponting is reprieved and he makes England pay for it with a whirlwind 142 and along with Michael Clarke [124] takes the Aussies to 513 in their first innings. England capitulated like a pack of cards in the second innings and no dismissal captured their bewildered mindset better than the sight of Kevin &#8216;Warne will never bowl me round my legs&#8217; Pieterson getting bamboozled by a leg break. England is eventually bowled out for 129 in their second innings and the opportunity to stage any sort of comeback is eventually doomed.

<h3>3. Jamaica bloodbath, 1976</h3>
<figure id="attachment_408845" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-408845" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-408845" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/West-Indies-vs-India.jpg" alt="West Indies vs India" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-408845" class="wp-caption-text">West Indies vs India. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
After having got smashed by the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ashes-2019-ben-stokes-called-david-warner-a-fing-prick-australians-give-it-back/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Australians </a>[1-5] in the preceding summer, West Indies skipper Clive Lloyd was a hurt man. He has seen his batsmen surrender to the pace and hostility of the Australian quicks and to rub salt to Lloyd’s wounds, India proceeded to shellack his bowling attack to the tune of 404 (the then world record) in the fourth innings at Trinidad
Clearly, Lloyd had had enough. According to the documentary Fire in Babylon, the defeat at the hands of Australia made Lloyd declare &#8216;Never again&#8217;. That resolve became even more resolute post the shock defeat in Trinidad.
So, what did the legendary captain do? He unleashed the might of his pace quartet against the Indians at Sabina Park in Jamaica. The message was clear and to put it in the words of a fan: &#8216;Aim for the head, maan&#8217;
“Aim for his head, man”, “Kill him, maan”, “Take him down, Mike!”  was the constant chant from the crowd as Michael Holding and Daniel unleashed thunderbolts one after the other. India fought valiantly in the first innings despite a majority of its players including Anshuman Gaekwad (81), Brijesh Patel (14) getting retired hurt.
But, matters really came to a head in the second innings. With half of the Indian team in the hospital, the Indian innings stood completed with the overall lead reading 12 runs. It sparked off a controversy with Murray saying in &#8216;Fire in Babylone&#8217; : &#8220;The Indians thought we were overdoing the fast-bowling, surrendered the Test match to the West Indies almost as a show of protest.&#8221;
However, Bedi later clarified that he had not declared and the innings stood completed.

<h3>2. When Hansie Cronje sold Test cricket for R53,000 and a leather jacket</h3>
<figure id="attachment_408824" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-408824" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-408824" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Hansie-Cronje.jpg" alt="Hansie Cronje" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-408824" class="wp-caption-text">Hansie Cronje. (Photo by David Munden/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
At the time, it looked like an epitome of sporting decisions. Here were two captains consulting each other to strike a deal in order to breathe life into a Test match that was dying a soggy death after three days had been washed out due to rain.
It was the fourth Test match of the series, and with South Africa has already won the rubber, it looked like players would go through the motions on the final day. South Africa had been inserted in on what was a juicy Centurion pitch on the first morning. With conditions so much in favour of the bowlers, the home side stumbled to 6-155 before the rain made its first presence.
That presence would last for three and a half days, and with just a solitary day to go, Hansie Cronje came up with an offer to his English counterparts before the start of the final day. Cronje suggested that both South Africa and England should forfeit one inning each, and offered the visitors a target of 270 in 73 overs.
England was clearly taken aback at the offer and told Hansie that they would first look at the pitch before giving the final nod. The pitch, as England found out, had eased out considerably as <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/crictracker-exclusive-india-and-australia-will-be-tough-teams-to-beat-in-the-t20-world-cup-lance-klusener/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lance Klusener </a>and Shaun Pollock added vital runs in the first 40 minutes of play.
That was enough to convince Hussain and he sent the message to Cronje if he was still interested in the deal. Hussain aimed low at chasing 250. Finally, it was agreed that England would have to chase down 245 runs in 76 overs, something they achieved on the first ball of the final over.
Cronje&#8217;s decision was looked upon with incredible bewilderment. Michael Atherton termed it as the &#8216;cheapest win of his Test career&#8217;. But no one really had suspected Cronje&#8217;s original motives. Four months later, it all came ahead when Cronje accepted during a King&#8217;s commission inquiry, that his decision was influenced by a bookmaker, who had offered him $150,000 if he declared. Cronje revealed that the bookmaker met him after the Test and offered him R53,000 and a leather jacket- the price for the first fixed Test match in the history of cricket.

<h3>1. When Rahul Dravid left Sachin Tendulkar stranded for 194</h3>
<figure id="attachment_408823" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-408823" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-408823" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sachin-Tendulkar-4.jpg" alt="Sachin Tendulkar" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-408823" class="wp-caption-text">Sachin Tendulkar. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
The mother of all declarations! One that proceeded to rake up a furore. It was the first Test of the three-match series during India&#8217;s historic tour of Pakistan in 2004. Virender Sehwag had already dazzled his way into the record books courtesy his whirlwind 309 and Master Blaster was also looking primed for his maiden double-hundred on Pakistan soil.
Except for Indian captain, Rahul Dravid had other ideas. Dravid, who felt that India needed to make a statement that they were here for a win, decided to draw curtains on the innings, leaving the Master stranded at 194 not-out. India eventually went on to win the Test by an innings &amp; 52 runs after they bowled Pakistan out for 407 and 216 respectively, but the biggest point of the game remains Dravid&#8217;s declaration.
Years later, Sachin Tendulkar reminisced about exactly what has transpired that day in his autobiography: Playing it my way. Tendulkar revealed that it was decided in the dressing room that they would play a further 15 overs in the post-Tea session before putting <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/waqar-younis-ready-to-resign-as-pakistans-bowling-coach-if-unable-to-deliver-the-targets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pakistan </a>in.
Tendulkar did score at a fair clip-29 run in 35 balls- but he was left aghast when 12th man Ramesh Powar came up with the second and final message in the 14th over, asking the Master to get to his double hundred quickly as Dravid is about to declare. Tendulkar did not get to play a single ball of that over as Yuvraj Singh played out the first four deliveries before getting out on the fifth, post which Dravid signaled his players to come back.
 A bitterly disappointed Sachin headed back to the dressing room and while he assured Rahul that the incident will not have any bearing on the field but off the field, he made it perfectly clear that he&#8217;d prefer to be left alone.
“I assured Rahul that the incident would have no bearing on my involvement on the field, but off the field, I would prefer to be left alone for a while to come to terms with what had happened,” Tendulkar wrote in the book.

We have seen too many cases in the past of both such instances where captains have gone out of their way to ensure we get a result by doing sporting declarations.

5 Controversial declarations in cricket history

We have seen too many cases in the past of both such instances where captains have gone out of their way to ensure we get a result by doing sporting declarations.

4. ‘Proactive’ Freddie made to rue his decision following England’s capitulation in Adelaide, 2006