by The Professor » Tue Aug 15, 2017 11:03 am
On this day in 1972 two declarations and a killer final two overs make the Sussex-Surrey game one to remember.
Resuming on 104-3, Roger Prideaux continued on throughout the morning session. He batted alongside Jim Parks before he was dismissed for 29 by Intikhab Alam. Intikhab returned next ball and dismissed John Spencer. Prideaux then hooked up with Jeremy Morley and the pair were putting on good runs. After Prideaux got his century the captain called Sussex in on 226-5, still 74 runs behind, in order to force a result.
Surrey were singing from the same hymn sheet as Sussex. They went out and played some quick cricket. Opener Michael Edwards failed in this endeavour with 8 but some decent scores in the high twenties and early thirties by the top order propelled Surrey to 130-5 when a particularly sporting declaration left Sussex needing 205 in twenty overs; a familiar equation for modern cricket fans.
Peter Graves was gone for just 14, caught off the bowling of Robin Jackman, but Geoffrey Greenidge and Prideaux were trotting along comfortably enough on 68 and 91 respectively and their team on 187-1. The equation was down to 18 runs from three overs.
Pocock came on in the eighteenth over. His first ball sent Greenidge back to the pavilion. His third ball did the same for his replacement, Michael Buss. His replacement, Jim Parks, got Sussex's first runs of the over off Pocock's fourth delivery however Pocock had his revenge with his dismissal off the last ball. Sussex were 189-4 and needed 16 runs from two overs.
Jackman bowled the penultimate over. The pair of Prideaux and Mike Griffith got 5 and 4 respectively and were 200-4, five runs from victory, when Pocock took the ball for the final over. Off the first ball Prideaux was caught by Roy Lewis on 97. Griffith faced up to Pocock's hat trick ball....and was walking back with the catch yet again going to Lewis. The score was 200-6, five runs off four balls.
The next ball Jeremy Morley tried to grasp the bull by the horns...and got gouged. Pocock had four wickets in four balls and six in nine. Spencer took a single off the fourth ball but the fifth saw the end of Tony Buss. With one ball remaining the score was 201-8.
The last ball was bowled to Uday Joshi, which meant that the last seven balls that Pocock threw down were all to different batsmen. Joshi tried to sneak two runs (understandably) and was run out. The score was 202-9 - a draw.
Pocock's last two overs read 2-0-4-7.
"It has been said of the unseen army of the dead, on their everlasting march, that when they are passing a rural cricket ground the Englishman falls out of the ranks for a moment to look over the gate and smile."