5 best slow match-saving knocks

No format of the game tests the skills of a cricketer more than Test cricket. Apart from skills, the longest format of cricket also pushes cricketers to show some amount of resolve and have bundles of patience too.The final Test of the recently concluded India-South Africa series saw just that from the South African batsmen for most part of the last two days. But the resolve and patience shown by them, particularly Amla and de Villiers, was not sufficient to get a desired result, that of a draw, as the Proteas lost by 337 runs.However, Test cricket has been witness some highly patient yet heroic knocks from batsmen which helped their team secure a hard-fought stalemate. We take a look at 5 of the greatest slow match-saving knocks:

#1 Faf du Plessis (SA) - 110 not out vs Australia at Adelaide, 2012

Faf du Plessis walks off the field after saving a Test against Australia

Runs / Balls Faced – 110 not out / 376

Strike Rate – 29.25

Faf du Plessis gave batsmen all over the world a crash course on saving a Test match, that too in his debut game. It was the 2^nd Test of the 2012/13 series between South Africa and Australia and the latter had posted an improbable target of 430 for the visitors to chase in the 4^th innings.

By the end of Day 4, the Proteas were already 4 wickets down for 77 still needing 353 for a victory on the last day. The first session of the day saw Faf du Plessis continue with the repair work from the previous day alongside AB de Villiers as they carried on till lunch without losing a wicket.

The fall of de Villiers’ wicket soon after lunch did not deter du Plessis as he joined hands with another stalwart Jacques Kallis in his effort to save the game. Together they took South Africa to tea with 5 wickets still intact.

Soon after the beginning of the post-tea session, the young South African batsman reached a memorable century but had his work cut out as Kallis was dismissed. However, Faf du Plessis showed extreme determination and batted on with the tail to secure a draw for South Africa.

#2 Mark Greatbatch (NZ) - 146 not out vs Australia at Perth, 1989

The burly Kiwi batsman came up with a gutsy match-saving knock against Australia

Runs / Balls Faced – 146 not out / 485

Strike Rate – 30.10

A one-off Test between Australia and New Zealand played at Perth in 1989 saw one of the best slow match-saving knocks ever by a batsman. New Zealand’s Mark Greatbatch scored an unbeaten 146 after facing as many as 485 deliveries and saved his team from a heavy loss.

The Australians had declared at 521 for 9 in their first innings and had bowled out the Kiwis for 231, the top scorer for them being Greatbatch with 76. Being asked to follow on, New Zealand were tottering at 107 for 4 at one stage; however, Mark Greatbatch stitched together a partnership of 82 with Jeff Crowe to take the innings forward.

With Jeff Crowe and Ian Smith falling in quick succession, the pressure was back on New Zealand and Greatbatch. Unperturbed by the circumstances, the burly Kiwi remained steady at the crease as he built a couple of match-saving partnerships, first with Chris Cairns and later with Martin Snedden and ensured that the match ended in a draw.

#3 Jacques Kallis (SA) - 109 not out vs West Indies at Guyana, 2005

Kallis played many match-saving knocks in his career

Runs / Balls Faced – 109 not out / 346

Strike Rate – 31.50

It should hardly be a surprise to see someone like Jacques Kallis feature in this list as he is one of the few players to have made a career out of saving Tests. One of his great match-saving knocks came against West Indies in 2005 when he scored 109 not out from 346 balls and avoided an embarrassing loss for the Proteas.

Double hundreds from Wavell Hinds and Shivnarine Chanderpaul had propelled the West Indies score to 543 for 5 declared. This was followed by an inspired bowling performance from the pacers which helped skittle out the South Africans for 188 in their first innings and ensured that a follow on was enforced.

The Proteas 2^nd innings was all about a dogged resistance from Jacques Kallis who batted for close to 7 hours to make sure that his team left the match unscathed with 3 more Tests to play in the series.

#4 Michael Vaughan (ENG) - 105 vs Sri Lanka at Kandy, 2003

Vaughan fought tough conditions to foster a draw for England

Runs / Balls Faced – 105 / 333

Strike Rate – 31.53

Throughout his career, Michael Vaughan was known to be a gritty character who just never gave up. His most memorable knocks include a match-saving one against Sri Lanka at Kandy where he faced 333 balls to score a defiant 105 and help his team force a draw.

Sri Lanka had set up a target of 368 for England to chase in the 4^th innings of the 2^nd Test in the 2003 series between the two sides. Opener Marcus Trescothick and No. 3 batsman Mark Butcher fell cheaply while Nasser Hussain too did not score much as England were reduced to 90 for 3.

It is here that skipper Michael Vaughan took over the job of saving the Test on his own shoulders and battled on long enough to take his team to a safer position. He fell soon after reaching his century in the post-tea session; however, it did not have too much impact as Chris Read and Gareth Batty played out the rest of the overs to secure a draw.

Vaughan’s innings is one of the best slow match-saving knocks ever played by a batsman.

#5 Mike Atherton (ENG) - 185 not out vs South Africa at Johannesburg, 1995

Atherton played one of the best match-saving knocks ever

Runs / Balls Faced – 185 not out / 492

Strike Rate – 37.60

Mike Atherton produced the one of the most memorable match-saving knocks in the history of the game when he scored a marathon 185 not out off 492 balls to eke out a draw against South Africa. Atherton’s incredible innings came against a bowling attack boasting of the likes of Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock and Brian McMillan.

England had already conceded a lead of 132 in the 1^st innings and the misery was piled on them further with South Africa scoring 346 in their 2^nd innings. With his team chasing a mammoth target of 479, skipper Mike Atherton took up the mantle of saving the match.

In the next 10 hours and 43 minutes, Atherton put on an unbelievable display of Test match batting and destroyed any hopes of South Africa winning the match. His unbeaten stand of 119 with wicket-keeper Jack Russell, who also played for more than 4 hours, ended up being a match-saving one.