Declaration and the after effects

Law 14 of the MCC rule book states the following about Declaration

The captain of the side batting may declare an innings closed, when the ball is dead, at any time during the innings.

Yesterday the Cricketing world was abuzz with Smith's declaration of the innings as AB de Villiers was stuck on 278 *. He crossed the record for the highest individual score for a South African and Smith called them in


It can be argued in Smith's favour that this declaration happened soon after Tea and AB de Villiers would be well aware of the time of the declaration. I am pretty sure that he would have been asked if he wanted to chase the magical figure of 300


Well since that puts a lid on a lot of controversies, I would like to look back upon a few controversial declarations over the years


1) Mark Taylor (334*) V Pakistan, at Peshawar

This would always be remembered as the ultimate of salutes to the world's greatest batsman, Don Bradman as Taylor declared the innings when he had the attack at his feet and could have gone on break the then world record but refused to do so as he did not want to pass Bradman's score








2)  Peter May (285*) V West Indies, at Edgbaston

Peter May being the captain declared the innings when he was in sight of a well coveted triple hundred. He did not opt to go for it as he wanted to win the game. One argument also has it that May could have declared when Cowdrey was dismissed but refused to do so as he wanted to deny West Indies any chance of winning












3) Javed Miandad (280*) V India, at Hyderabad

This innings is considered to be the one that could have broken the record of Garfield Sobers if you were based in Karachi. Miandad sulked at the declaration as he had put the Indian attack under the sword and the record was his for the taking. Imran's biography by Christian Sandford says that Imran did convey Miandad about the declaration and it was declared at the time aforementioned to him. Miandad on the other hand says that he was told that he would be allowed to go for the record and was not conveyed about the timing of the declaration. What must have hurt Miandad in the end is the fact that Pakistan won with more than two sessions to spare




4) Frank Worrel (197*) V England, at Kensington Oval

Alexander was the captain for this match and it was played out on a dead pitch, which can be found by the fact that only 18 wickets falling in the entire five days. What livened up the final day was Alexander's declaration with Worrel just three away from 200. It was controversial in a sense because, Worrel scored only 20 runs out of the 77 runs scored in first session of the final day. In his defense, it can be said that the fields set were painfully defensive and the line was also pretty stifling 











5) Sachin Tendulkar (194*) V Pakistan, at Multan

In a sulk comparable to that of Miandad's, Tendulkar came out and said that he was disappointed not to have got a double century. John Wright, the Indian coach at the time said

Midway through the final session, Dravid declared, as you do when you're 675 for 5. What Indian captains don't tend to do, however, is declare when Sachin Tendulkar is on 194 not out. The matter became a full-fledged sensation when Tendulkar told a press conference he was disappointed not to get his double century

Although Dravid did not become public enemy no 1, there were theories floating around at the time that he did not want Sachin to equal the 4 double hundreds he had notched up. He was perhaps forgiven because India recorded their first win in Pakistan with this Test. Wright said that there was blame all around

I should have convinced Dravid to declare earlier and he should have grasped that it's one thing to declare when a batsman's 170 or 180, quite another when he's 194. And Tendulkar should have pushed to get there quicker

Wright had more to say and he said

I talked to Dravid, who agreed that he had to have a chat with Tendulkar before things got out of hand. That combination of steeliness and serenity, so evident in Dravid's batting, is the mark of the man: nothing fazes him. He's a mature and intelligent individual; all the hype and fuss goes over his head because he can stand back and put the issue in perspective

He'd(Sachin) been playing for India since he was 16; he'd stood up for his country in bad times and tough conditions, and often been the only man to do so. Having given so much for the team, over such a long period, he probably thought this was one time the team could give something back to him. Even the greatest have their goals and dreams and milestones, and a double century against Pakistan in Pakistan would have been a memory to treasure. After a sleepless night, I spoke to Tendulkar who confirmed that he'd wanted the team to cut him some slack. Then he and Dravid talked it through and resolved the matter 

Even though Sehwag scored the first triple century by an Indian in this match, it is the timing of the declaration that till date, remains the talking point from the match