Amid the large scores mentioned already, it can easily be forgotten that oaks from little acorns grow. Some decisive contributions made by nightwatchmen have been largely through obduracy rather than fluency. Bishen Bedi of India helped to square the 1969-70 series against the visiting Australians – a tour riven with riots and police action which resulted in six deaths and many injuries. Martin Snedden of New Zealand quelled English hopes raised by a flurry of wickets late in the day and Robert Croft nudged England to a tense victory against Sri Lanka which sparked a turn-round in the series. The scores themselves were unremarkable, but the sterling efforts of these three men helped decide matches: their efforts are described in this pdf here.
NWM_Little_acorns (click here to read)
Two of them are slow bowlers. Eleven spinners have had six or more successful stints as a nightwatchman.
The work of Ian Salisbury and Derek Underwood is described in these pdf files – Salisbury had a sterling effort spurned by his side.
Ian Salisbury Derek Underwood (click on a name)
Other decisive contributions from spinners are summarised below – the efforts of Peter Taylor and Amit Mishra (as mentioned already) were spurned by their teams.
1. Raphick Jumadeen (WI), 56, India v West Indies, Kanpur 1979
“Jumadeen defies Indian attack in 129-run stand with Bacchus” (Times of India). “West Indies were 137 for two at the end of the third day and in some danger … but they did not suffer another blow until after lunch on the next day when Jumadeen, the night watchman, fell for 56.” (Cricketer International)
Slated to bat last, Raphick Jumadeen had attained the heady heights of double figures (scoring 11) only once in his 13 previous Test innings; a record marking him as a proper No. 11. A class of batsman described by Jack Fingleton:
“as they used to say; the horse instinctively backed between the shafts of the roller as soon as he emerged from the pavilion.”
Jack Fingleton, “Fingleton on Cricket” Collins, 1972.
Yet Raphick had a wonderful tour of India with the willow – raising his best first-class score from 23 to 52 in an early tour match. The two fifties in India remained his highest scores.
2. Peter Taylor (Aus), 87, New Zealand v Australia, Wellington 1990
“The pair [Taylor & Border] had taken Australia to the point of controlling the match“ (Sydney Morning Herald). [Taylor] was applauded from the field by the New Zealanders who appreciated the temperament and technique so important in the conditions.” (Adelaide Advertiser).
3. Pat Symcox (SA), 55, Pakistan v South Africa, Faisalabad 1997
“Had it not been for another stubborn half-century by Pat Symcox the match would have been over for them” (The Cricketer International). ”Symcox walked back after an heroic effort” (Karachi Dawn).
4. Kumar Dharmasena (SL), 40, India v Sri Lanka, Mumbai 1997
“The stout resistance of Dharmasena was something India could not break … in one of the most crucial periods of the series” (The Cricketer International)
5. Nicky Boje (SA), 85, India v South Africa, Bangalore 2000
“Boje [and Kirsten] batted India out of the match … he always looked secure and, with well-chosen shots square of the wicket and the occasional sumptuous drive, he outscored Kirsten.” (Wisden)
6. Nathan Hauritz (Aus), 75, Australia v Pakistan, Melbourne 2009
“Hauritz rides his luck to put Pakistan on the rack” (Guardian). “An unlikely hero” (Sydney Morning Herald).
7. Amit Mishra (Ind), 84, England v India, Oval 2010
“These two batsmen [Mishra & Tendulkar] looked like taking their team to a draw” (Times). “A more than a passable impersonation of being a top-order batsman” (Daily Telegraph).
An Occasional Cricket Statistician 