The day Bert Vance created history by conceding 77 runs in one over

Vance now work as a tailor in Wellington

From time to time the sport of cricket has the ability to garner some mind-boggling statistics. Be it batsman defying the odds to increase their numeric advantage or bowlers knocking down wickets in succession. One such record was set during a first class match between Wellington and Canterbury in 1990.

Bert Vance conceded 77 runs off one single over to etch his name into cricketing folklore. The umpire even lost count of the number of balls, signalling the over’s end after only five balls.

Heading into the final Shell Trophy game, Wellington were 61, but needed no less than a victory to lift the title. On the other hand, Canterbury were on 48 points, leaving them mid-table. Wellington were top of the table, but Auckland were breathing down their shoulders. A Wellington loss/Auckland win scenario would see the latter win the league.

Wellington began the game tentatively, losing Bruce Edgar early on. But a 81-run partnership between Vance and John Aiken saw them reach 86 for 1. However, both Chris Harris and Stu Roberts took wickets at regular intervals to restrict them to a score of 202.

David Boyle initiated the Canterbury innings with a bang, he would eventually score a 63. Cameos from Captain Rod Latha (43) and Chris Harris (28) saw them take the lead. A late flurry from P Germon increased their lead to 221, before he departed. Latham immediately declared, with a negligible 19-run lead.

Wellington’s second innings was far more stable, thanks to a defiant 156 by opener Aiken. Edgar partnered him well with a persistent 32. A quick-fire 48 from Geoff Burnett and a 30 from Captain Eric McSweeney made sure Wellington reach a respectable target of 309.

So, this meant Canterbury would require 291 to win in 59 overs. Little did they know, this particular innings will re-write a chapter of cricket’s rich history book.

The ‘over’

Wellington pacer John Millmillow struck on the very first ball dismissing Boyle. However, Peter Kennedy and Paul McEwan steadied the ship, taking the score to 86/3. However, some quick wickets saw Canterbury fall to 108/8. Now their only way to register any points was to survive the onslaught.

Germon stuck in there, with some solid support from Ford. With two overs to go, the match seemed destined for the draw. With nothing to lose, Captain McSweeney decided to lure them into winning the game.

Hence, he brought on their most inexperienced bowler, Vance. The batsman had only bowled 39 over in his entire domestic career, a perfect fit for the captain’s plan. That being said, why did he not bring on a more experienced bowler to do the job is still a mystery.

In that over, only one of the first 17 balls were deemed legitimate, out of which nine were hit for sixes. Surprisingly, the second and third balls were perfect deliveries, with the batsmen failing to score off them.

The third delivery was a no-ball, with Germon dispatching the subsequent delivery for a four. The last two deliveries were legal, with only two runs coming from it. However, due to the sheer number of no-ball, the umpire was left in a tizzy. Dazed and confused, he called an end to the over with one delivery to go. No one appealed as they were clueless themselves.

Germon scored 70 of the 77 runs, coming to just 18 runs off the target. In the final over, he hit out at everything, registering 17 runs in 5 balls. Ford needed to score a single run off the last delivery, but due to the utter confusion, no one knew what the exact score was.

Ford would go onto block the shot, narrowly losing the game by one run. None of Auckland’s capitalised on the situation, as they would eventually go onto life the trophy. Certainly, a comic chapter for cricket lovers.

Over scorecard:

Ball	Runs scored	Balls left
0	1	12
1	0	11
	4
	4	11
	4	11
	6	11
	6	11
	4	11
	6	11
	1	11
	4	11
	1	11
	0	11
	6	11
	6	11
	6	11
	6	11
	6	11
2	0	10
3	0	9
	4	9
4	0	8
5	1	7
6	NA	NA

Brief scores: Wellington 202 (Bert Vance 51; Stu Roberts 3 for 34, Chris Harris 3 for 42) & 309 for 6 decl. (John Aiken 156*, Graham Burnett 48; Richard Petrie 3 for 80) drew with Canterbury 221 for 7 decl. (David Boyle 63, Rod Latham 43; Andy Pick 4 for 61) & 290 for 8 (Lee Germon 160*; Jonathan Millmow 3 for 59).