The art of not scoring runs: 5 instances when batsmen became unlikely 'stonewallers'

Cyril Washbrook

Cyril Washbrook was a stalwart during the immediate post-war years

Opposition: West Indies

Venue: Lord's

Season: 1950

Cyril Washbrook is best remembered for his comeback to the England team after five years for the 1956 Ashes and for making a fairytale 98 in his first innings of that series. But Washbrook was a very solid top order batsman even before the war.

The war robbed him of his best years and when cricket resumed in 1946, Washbrook became a regular in the England team. He had his best years over the next five seasons, before going into a steady decline as a batsman.

This series marked the emergence of West Indies cricket. The famous spin-twin of Alf Valentine and Sonny Ramadhin tormented the English batsmen throughout this series. The second Test at Lord's was no exception. Ramadhin and Valentine took 18 wickets between them to take their team to a 326-run win.

West Indies declared their second innings early on day 4. They had set England a massive 601 to get in a little over 5 sessions. Everyone knew the result even before England started their second innings. But Washbrook was among the ones who never gave up.

At the end of day 4, he was still there batting on 114, with England on 218-4. We would never know what he thought that night but when he came out to bat the next morning, his approach towards batting had changed completely. He was in a mood to defend everything the West Indian spinners threw at him.

On that 5th morning, Ramadhin bowled 10 consecutive maidens to Washbrook, batting on 114! He faced 66 balls that morning before being eventually dismissed by Ramadhin. He didn't add to his overnight tally of 114. This has to go down as one of the strangest innings in the history of the Test cricket.