Fans love to see a brilliant partnership to set up the game for their favourite teams. On most occasions, these partnerships involve many of the top-order batsmen, but once in a while, there will be one particular partnership which either wins the game or saves the face for the respective teams.
On the anniversary of Joe Root and James Anderson’s infamous 10th wicket stand which helped their team draw, we look at five highest 10th wicket partnerships in Test cricket history:
Dinesh Ramdin and Tino Best – 143 vs England, Birmingham (June 2012)
During the West Indies tour of England in 2012, middle-order batsman Dinesh Ramdin and pacer Tino Bet set up at 10th wicket stand of 143 runs among themselves. Best came out at number 10 and played to score a brilliant 95 runs off 112 balls, leading Windies to a score of 426. His partner, Ramdin, hit an unbeaten 107 off 183 balls at a strike rate of 58.46. The match was eventually drawn due to bad lighting.
Azhar Mahmood and Mushtaq Ahmed – 151 vs South Africa, Rawalpindi (October 1997)
Two tailenders, Azhar Mahmood and Mushtaq Ahmed were responsible for a quick flurry of runs during their tenth wicket stand during South Africa’s tour of Pakistan. After Ali Naqvi hit a century during the early stages of the first innings, the middle order collapsed around him. Mahmood rallied on to hit an unbeaten 128 runs off 267 balls, setting up a 151 run partnership with Mushtaq Ahmed, who scored 59 runs himself. The match was eventually drawn after the game went on till the end of the fifth day.
Read | Top five partnerships for India in ICC World Cups
Brian Hastings and Richard Collinge – 151 vs Pakistan, Auckland (February 1978)
During Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand back in 1978, the visitors were better than their Kiwi opponents, scoring 402 runs in the first innings. In response, The New Zealand batsmen were on the were of a middle-order collapse after a strong start by Glenn Turner and Rodney Redmond, with the latter scoring a century. However, Hastings and Collinge set up a 151 run partnership, with Brian Hastings hitting 110 and his partner Collinge managing 68 runs to just reach the Pakistan score. The match eventually ended in a draw.
Phillip Hughes and Ashton Agar – 163 vs England, Nottingham (July 2013)
Late Phillip Hughes and Ashton Agar set up a brilliant 163 run partnership for the 10th wicket during the first Test of the Australia tour of England and Scotland. Making his Test return to the side after a period out, Hughes hit 81 runs off 131 balls as the other Aussie batsmen collapsed around him. He then set up a 163 run stand with Agar, with Agar himself scoring 98 runs off 101 balls at a strike rate of 97 runs. The partnership was futile as England eventually won the match by 14 runs.
Joe Root and James Anderson – 198 runs vs India, Nottingham (July 2014)
During India’s tour of England in 2014, India set up an imposing score of 457 runs courtesy of some stellar innings by Murali Vijay and MS Dhoni. However, the English batsmen were relentless during their innings, with Sam Robson and Gary Ballance scoring important half-centuries along the way. However, the 198 runs stand between Joe Root and James Anderson set up a thriller of a match for the Indian batsmen. Root hit 154 runs off 295 balls, while Anderson pitched in with 81 runs as the Englishmen scored 496. The match ended in a draw.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Andrew Yates
