The most bizarre scorecards in the history of cricket

Cricket is a game which continues to surprise people all around the world. There have been glorious comebacks by teams who ended up winning games from impossible situations and there have been occasions where teams have lost games from winning positions. Thrice in international cricket have teams won after following on in a Test match the last one being India, who did that in the famous Eden Gardens Test in March 2001.

We bring you to some very bizarre scorecards which might not have come to your notice since they did not happen in international cricket.

1) Mpumalanga U-19 Women v Easterns U-19 Women, 2016

This game happened only a few months back where Shania-Lee Swart took matters into her own hands. None of her teammates could get a single run in the entire length of the 20 overs but she, all by her own, could raze through a brutal 160* in a T20 game. The team’s total was 169 for 8 after 20 overs as Easterns U-19 had conceded 9 extras. Not many scorecards will read 160 at the top and 0’s all around it.

2) Bermuda Women v South Africa Women, 2008

South Africa were pitted against a lowly Bermuda in one of the World Cup Qualifying Series games. The results shocked everyone as Bermuda were all out for 13 in a 50-over game. the extras top scored with 10 as everyone apart from 3 batswomen were dismissed without scoring. South Africa needed just 4 balls to knock the target off as the game lasted just 18.4 overs.

3) Warwickshire v Hampshire, 1922

Another game where a team emerged victorious after following on. Hampshire, a county where the great Shane Warne played for in his playing days, were routed for 15 in their reply to Warwickshire’s 223. It took just one ball short of 9 overs for Hampshire to be bowled out and were asked to follow-on. What followed next shocked everyone. On the back of George Brown’s 172, Hampshire ended up with 521 in the second innings and then went on to bowl their opposition for 158 thereby winning the game by 155 runs. Quite a game, no?

4) Australia v England, 1950

In the famous 1950 Ashes Test at Brisbane, both captains tried outwitting the other. Still, 160 runs adrift of Australia’s 228, Freddie Brown declared the England innings at 68/7 as he thought that the pitch was impossible to play on post a thunderstorm.

His decision was courageous and proved to be right as Australia were on the mat at 32 for 7 before their skipper Lindsay Hassett declared as he thought a target of 193 will be enough on that surface. His bowlers then bowled out England for 122 thereby winning the game by 70 runs.

5) Glamorgan v Worcestershire, 1977

Kiwi Glenn Turner used to play as a professional for Worcestershire in the seventies. In a game against Glamorgan, he carried his bat for a magnificent 141* out of his team’s total of 169. The next highest score was of skipper Norman Gifford, who scored 7 runs. The game was eventually drawn on the last day.

6) England v The B’s, 1810

This game dates back to more than 200 years. In a low scoring game, The B’s got a valuable lead of 37 in the first innings. They were ridiculed by England in the second innings as they bowled The B’s out for 6. Yes, you heard it right, SIX! Only three batsmen managed to open their accounts. England later sailed to victory chasing just 44 in the 4th innings.

7) Hindus v Rest, 1943

Vijay Hazare showed his class when his team was asked to follow on in the Bombay Pentangular Tournament in 1943. He found an ally in his brother, Vivek Hazare, with whom he shared a 300-run stand out of which Vivek contributed just 21. Hazare was finally dismissed for a magical 309 out of 387 his team managed to score, losing the game by an innings and 61 runs.

8) Pakistan Railways v Dera Ismail Khan, 1964

First timers Dera Ismail Khan had the worst first class debut as a team. Pakistan Railways smashed their bowlers around for 2 days to score a mammoth 910 for 6. Dera Ismail batted for just 28 overs collectively in both their innings to be bowled out for 32 and 27 respectively, losing the game by an innings and 851 runs.

9) Windward Islands v Leeward Islands, 2015

Instead of trying to rebuild the innings, Leeward decided to declare their innings at 24 for 7 in 18.3 overs. Skipper Steve Liburd wanted to give his bowlers a shot in the first session itself. It was one of the most bizarre declaration as Leeward lost the game under two days time.

10) Rajshahi Division v Chittagong Division, 2014

When Mushfiqur Rahim was going back to the pavilion after being out, nobody would have imagined what is in store for Rajshahi Division. From 77 for 6, they went to 424 for 7 and then 648 for 8 thanks to No. 7, 8 and 9 scoring 259, 172 and 168 respectively. They eventually won the game by a huge margin of 403 runs thanks to the contributions of their lower order batsmen.