Such opportunities don’t come often, but Mulder was selfless.
What comes as one of the most shocking moves in cricketing history, Wiaan Mulder surprisingly decided to declare the innings when he was batting unbeaten on 367 against Zimbabwe. When lunch was called, Mulder went not-out, but he didn’t come out to bat in the second session and decided to bowl.
That means he remained on 376* when he had a golden chance to go past the legendary Brian Lara, who holds the record for the most runs (400) in a Test innings. Such opportunities don’t come often, but Mulder was selfless and didn’t care about going into the record books by adding a few more runs to his tally.
SLK
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SKA
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TKR
–
BR
–
SWDM
–
GGDM
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ADKRDM
–
DCDM
–
NDS
–
NDT
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
CLZ
126/1
NEZ
–
NTZ
139/3
EZ
–
LKLS
–
CLJ
–
ACB
–
TSA
–
ACB
–
CLJ
–
LKLS
–
CLJ
–
ACB
–
TSA
–
TSA
–
CLJ
–
BAC
–
CLJ
–
LKLS
–
TSA
–
TSA
–
CLJ
–
BAC
–
LKLS
–
HUN
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SRB
–
HUN
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CRO
–
SOM
–
GLO
–
HAM
–
MID
–
DEN
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KWT
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PNG
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JER
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NAM
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SCOT
–
BAN
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IND
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Match Called off
KZK
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KUMS
–
KBTS
–
ATR
–
ARKS
–
ALRS
–
TTS
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ARKS
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CAGS
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ALRS
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HBT
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MGD
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ROS
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YSG
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MAT
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IAI
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MUT
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RNC
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YSG
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MAT
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ZIM
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SL
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SGR
24/4
RLS
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UOQ
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WYN
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SSC
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SBB
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VLLY
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WSS
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NSBB
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UOQ
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GCT
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SSC
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SOB
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WEF
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SBW-W
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WFW-W
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AFG
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PAK
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KASS
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LUF
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NOSK
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KARS
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GOLS
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MEMA
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KASS
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NOSK
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The only possible reason to declare the innings is to get enough time to bowl out Zimbabwe twice in this Test and get the result as soon as possible. Early declaration means South Africa have more than three days to all out the opponent twice.
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While there’s no rain threat for the match days, South Africa probably don’t want to take any risk in case Zimbabwe exceeds their batting performance. The pitch doesn’t have anything for the bowlers, which means South Africa, who have a relatively inexperienced bowling attack, might require more overs to dismiss all the batters twice and get 20 wickets.
However, the Proteas skipper shed light on why he declared the innings while he was unbeaten on 367. He expressed that they had enough on the board and needed to bowl. He also went on to add that Brian Lara is a legend, and it would be great if he could keep that record intact in his name. Mulder went on to express that he would make the same decision again if an opportunity presented itself.
“I thought we had enough, and we need to bowl. Secondly, Brian Lara is a legend, let’s be real. He got 401, or whatever it was, against England. For someone of that stature to keep that record is pretty special. I think if I get the chance again, I would probably do the same thing. You never know what’s my fate, or what is destined for me, but I think Brian Lara keeping that record is exactly the way it should be”, said Mulder.
While the thought process behind declaring the innings is unclear, Wiaan Mulder shouldn’t have done it and continued batting until getting 400. There’s no valid reason not to complete the 400-run mark when it’s served on a platter.
South Africa had enough time left in the game, and Zimbabwe’s batting unit is not too great either. Ideally, Mulder should have continued his assault for a few more overs before declaring the innings, for it wouldn’t have affected much.
He was, anyway, batting quickly and had a high strike rate against a tiring Zimbabwe attack, so he wouldn’t have taken too many balls to reach the milestone. Such chances don’t come easily, and this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Mulder, who didn’t look uncomfortable at any stage.
Nevertheless, it was a marvelous knock from the South African skipper, who registered the fifth-highest score in a Test innings. Brian Lara’s record remains for now, and it would be hard for anyone to get near it in modern-day cricket, given the extreme nature of pitches in the longest format almost everywhere.
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