5 biggest controversies in English cricket

#4 Somerset declare their innings after an over in a domestic ODI

Brian Rose of Somerset

Bending the rules of the game to snap points is something that has happened plenty of times in a range of sports and cricket is no stranger to that. Back in 1979, Somerset were faced with a bit of a problem as regards their qualification to the quarter-finals of the Benson & Hedges Cup one-day international tournament.

Their game against Worcestershire was going to determine their fate. If they lost, then Glamorgan and Worcestershire would be level on points along with Somerset and the qualification would be based on the bowling strike rate. So, Somerset’s captain Brian Rose figured that they should declare their innings after playing a single over and allow Worcestershire to win quickly so that their bowlers’ strike rate could be preserved.

That is exactly what happened as Rose declared the innings after the batsmen had scored 1 run in an over and then the target of 2 was knocked off in 10 deliveries by Worcestershire. The bowling strike rate was preserved and Somerset qualified. However, it created an almighty uproar and particularly for Brian Rose, who was thought to be the ringleader. Wisden Cricketer’s Almanack stated that the Somerset captain had ‘sacrificed all known cricketing principles by deliberately losing the game’.

On the other hand, there was the consideration about the spectators who had come to the ground expecting a full game but the game was over in 18 minutes and many of them had not even taken their seats by then. After a vote taken by the Test and County Cricket Board (precursor to the ECB), the members threw out Somerset from the championship through an overwhelming majority of 17 to 1.