News APP

NewsApp (Free)

Read news as it happens
Download NewsApp
Home  » Sports » Ganguly's decision: Masterstroke or folly?

Ganguly's decision: Masterstroke or folly?

By Rajneesh Gupta
January 05, 2004 22:45 IST
Get Rediff News in your Inbox:

Sourav Ganguly's decision to not enforce the follow-on in the Sydney Test despite being in a position to do so has started a debate in cricketing circles. Some experts have already questioned Ganguly's wisdom and the debate will surely fire up if India fail to win the Test on the final day.

But Ganguly is not the first captain to not enforce a follow-on. He, in fact, provided the thirtieth such instance in Test cricket and statistics reveal that though this decision may seem strange to some, it has brought laurels for the captains concerned on most occasions.

Out of the 29 such instances in the past, the teams not enforcing the follow-on have won on as many as 22 occasions, drawn the match on six occasions, and lost just once.

The only team to have lost a Test after not enforcing the follow-on is South Africa. Captain Dudley Nourse's decision backfired in the Test against Australia at Durban in 1949-50.

Ganguly is only the second Indian captain to not impose a follow-on upon his opponent. Sachin Tendulkar was the first to do so when he decided to give his bowlers a rest rather than the opportunity to have another go at the New Zealanders in the Ahmedabad Test of 1999-00. Tendulkar was later ridiculed by all and sundry for his decision.

Let's wait and watch how Ganguly's decision will be seen: as a masterstroke or an act of stupidity.

Details of instances where Test captains did not enforce the follow-on:

Lead For Inns1 Inns2 Opponent Inns1 Inns2 Result (Winner) Venue Season Captain
399 England 521 342-8d Australia 122 66 England Brisbane 1928-29 A P F Chapman
326 West Indies 471 290 England 145 327 West Indies Georgetown 1929-30 M P Fernandes
563 England 849 279-9d West Indies 286 408-5 Drawn Kingston 1929-30 F S G Calthorpe
380 Australia 701 327 England 321 145 Australia The Oval 1934 W M Woodfull
214 South Africa 530 481 England 316 654-5 Drawn Durban 1938-39 A Melville
236 South Africa 311 99 Australia 75 336-5 Australia Durban 1949-50 A D Nourse
247 West Indies 417 209-6d England 170 316 West Indies Kingston 1953-54 J B Stollmeyer
202 West Indies 383 181 England 181 313 West Indies Bridgetown 1953-54 J B Stollmeyer
278 West Indies 500 168-5d India 222 151 West Indies Madras 1958-59 F C M Alexander
282 England 490 265-8d India 208 376 England Manchester 1959 P B H May
270 England 382 230-9d West Indies 112 44 England Port-of-Spain 1959-60 F M M Worrell
223 West Indies 397 229 England 174 231 West Indies Leeds 1963 F M M Worrell
206 England 298 203 India 92 277 England Birmingham 1967 D B Close
340 Australia 619 394-8d West Indies 279 352 Australia Sydney 1968-69 W M Lawry
218 South Africa 382 232 Australia 164 280 South Africa Cape Town 1969-70 A Bacher
235 England 470 233-4d Australia 235 328-3 Drawn Adelaide 1970-71 R Illingworth
206 West Indies 368-9d 194 New Zealand 162 253-7 Drawn Port-of-Spain 1971-72 G S Sobers
252 West Indies 687-8d 182-0 England 435 203 West Indies The Oval 1976 C H Lloyd
236 Australia 505 256 India 269 445 Australia Adelaide 1977-78 R B Simpson
213 England 420 297 New Zealand 207 345 England Nottingham 1983 R G D Willis
259 Australia 426 248-8d England 167 323 Australia Brisbane 1994-95 M A Taylor
230 South Africa 460 259-7d Pakistan 230 165 South Africa Jo'burg 1994-95 W J Cronje
202 Australia 479 217-6d West Indies 277 296 Australia Brisbane 1996-97 M A Taylor
275 India 583-7d 148-5d New Zealand 308 252-2 Drawn Ahmedabad 1999-00 S R Tendulkar
204 South Africa 420 140-7d Sri Lanka 216 149-6 Drawn Durban 2000-01 S M Pollock
208 Pakistan 472 225-5d West Indies 264 189 Pakistan Sharjah 2001-02 Waqar Younis
230 New Zealand 337 243 West Indies 107 269 New Zealand Bridgetown 2002 S P Fleming
266 England 487 301-6d India 221 397 England Lord's 2002 N Hussain
209 Sri Lanka 373 263-2d Bangladesh 164 184 Sri Lanka Colombo SSC 2002-03 S T Jayasuriya
231 India 705-7d 211-2d Australia 474 ??? ??? Sydney 2003-04 S C Ganguly

Summary of instances of captains not enforcing the follow-on:

Country Instances Won Lost Drawn
England 8 6 - 2
West Indies 7 6 - 1
Australia 5 5 - -
South Africa 5 2 1 2
India 2* - - 1
New Zealand 1 1 - -
Pakistan 1 1 - -
Vvv Sri Lanka 1 1 - -
Total 30* 22 1 6

Get Rediff News in your Inbox:
Rajneesh Gupta

India In Australia 2024-2025