Have you ever thought about night watchman in cricket? Australia played a Test match against Bangladesh on April 16, 2006. Bangladesh was all out for 197 in the first innings of the game. Then Australia started batting in the third session on the second day, lost the first wicket by 67 runs. There were not many overs towards the end of the day, and the light was not good.
Australia sent pace bowler Jason Gillespie as a night watchman. The bowler, who generally bat at lower order, came at Number 3 and scored a stunning 201*. The Australian team won the match by a significant margin. But why Australian team didn’t send their regular number three batsman? Why do they send a bowler instead of a batter? What is a night watchman in cricket? Let’s find out answers to all these questions.
Who Called As A Night Watchman?
Night Watchman in cricket is nothing but a bowler who can bat a little bit. Generally, in Test cricket, when a team starts their innings in the third session of a day, the conditions are tough to bat. However, the players were tied due to the all-day field. So when the batting side lost their opener wicket early, they sent a bowler instead of the following proper batsman. Most likely a tailender. That tailender named a night watchman in cricket.
Why Does A Tailender Send As Night Watchman?
However, a team sends a bowler at number 3 or 4 because there are not many overs left to play on that particular day. Also, the opposing team has full of energy, and their bowlers can swing the ball swiftly. So after falling one or two wickets, sending another prominent batsman is risky because the players are tired of fielding all day.
So sending the most crucial number 3 batsman in such situations is not a great idea. That is the reason why most of the teams use a bowler as a night watchman in cricket. The logic is simple, losing one batsman and one bowler wicket does minor damage to the team than losing two main batsman wickets in a row.
What Is The Role Of Night Watchman In Cricket?
The role of this night watchman is evident. He has to carefully negotiate the rest of the play on that evening and give his team batsman a fresh start the following day. The next day’s morning will help the next batsman to assess the situation. But all this when that night watchman in cricket was a success. Otherwise, the team will have to take a slight risk if he gets out early.
So many captains have used this method extensively. Only those who have the slightest faith in their bowler’s batting defensive skill will be sent as a night watchman. If a night watchman stays around within the morning session, he will frustrate the bowling side, looking to dismiss them early within the day.
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Top 5 Knocks Played By Night Watchman In Cricket
Pakistani Nasim-ul-Ghani is the first night-watchman to score plenty, getting 101 against England at Lord’s in 1962. He became the first night-watchman to score a century. Australia’s Tony Mann was the second one when he scored 108 against India at Perth in 1977. However, till now, six centuries have been scored by night watchmen that played test cricket. Meanwhile, we look at the five best knocks that a night watchman played in cricket.
5. Alex Tudor – 99* (England vs New Zealand, 1999)
The English pace bowler is known for his epic knock more than a bowler. In 1999 against New Zealand, he came as a night watchman when his team was in trouble. New Zealand set a tricky target of 208 runs. But surprisingly, when England lost their opener for three runs, Tudor came at number 3 and played a memorable knock to seal the victory for his team.
4. Nasim-ul-Ghani – 101 (Pakistan vs England, 1962)
The Pakistan pace bowler was the first Pakistani player to hit a century in England. He saved his team from a huge loss when they were all out for just 100 runs in the first innings of that test match. England got a lead of 270 runs in the first innings, and Pakistan has struggled to score runs. However, the young Nasim-ul-Ghani came as a night watchman in cricket and scored a stunning century. He is the first night-watchman to score a hundred in test cricket.
3. Eddie Hemmings – 95 (England vs Australia, 1982)
In the harrowing chase of 460 runs, England lost their opener very early at the end of the day four play. Then the English team sends an off-spin bowler Eddie Hemmings as a night watchman at number 3 positions. He played well and negotiated that evening; moreover, on day 5, he batted brilliantly. He faced all Aussie bowlers with beautiful batting and scored a match-saving 94 runs. England draws this match with the heroics of Eddie Hemmings.
2. Tony Mann – 105 (Australia vs India, 1977)
It was one of the epic hundreds scored by an Australia leg-spin bowling all-rounder. India set a target of 339 runs to Australia on day 4 of this test match. The mighty Australian team started chasing on the evening session of day 4, but they lost their opening batsman too early. With that, they send Tony Mann at number 3 as a night watchman to negotiate that reaming overs of that session. But he played a blinder of knock and gave a memorable win to the Australia team. It was one of the best knock played by a night watchman in cricket.
1. Jason Gillespie – 201* (Australia vs Bangladesh, 2006)
Jason Gillespie is the best night watchman of all time. He came as a night watchman many times; apart from that match, we discussed the beginning of this article and kept his captain’s confidence. Jason Gillespie is the only night watchman to score a double century in Test cricket history. Surprisingly he became the first Australian batsman to operate an overseas double ton.
Is there anyone who is the best night watchman on behalf of Team India? It is definitely Ishant Sharma. Ishant, who has played 12 innings as a night watchman so far, faced 345 balls and scored 105 runs. That means he negotiated an average of 30 balls per inning.