Players with the Lowest Strike Rate in Test Cricket (Min 150+ balls)
Test cricket is that format of the game in which solely outscoring the opponent is not enough to win the game. Certain situations demand the batsman to consume an ample number of deliveries and to not lose their wicket to earn their team a draw. This aspect of Test cricket is what makes the game so enthralling as the game is not over until every wicket falls and there is always a chance for the batting team to put in a resilient display resulting in the match ending up as a draw.
Below, we’ve put together a list of such innings that feature some of the lowest strike rates in Test cricket batting in which the batsman has consumed several deliveries from the opposition and has shown great application and concentration during his stay at the batting crease.
Contents
1. Hashim Amla (South Africa, 2015) Strike Rate: 10.24
p>In a Test match against India during which South Africa was faced with a target of 481 runs in the fourth innings of the match, Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers put on one of the most resilient partnerships in history of Test cricket. The South African duo was part of a 27-run partnership during which they faced 253 balls before they were ultimately dismissed.Hashim Amla scored just 25 runs off the 244 balls that he faced at a strike rate of just 10.24, which became the innings with the lowest strike rate in the history of Test cricket (over 100 balls faced). Despite the grit shown by the South African batsman, India ended up winning the match by a massive total of 337 runs.
The start of the second innings for Sri Lanka was just as bad as their first innings as the team lost early wickets. However, Aravinda de Silva batted out skillful innings in which he scored 27 runs after facing a total of 191 balls at a strike rate of just 14.13. With the help of de Silva’s patient innings, Sri Lanka was able to save the Test match and consequent the Test series.
5. AB de Villiers (South Africa, 2015) Strike Rate: 14.47
As mentioned earlier, South African duo Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers were involved in a 27-run partnership during which they faced 253 balls, before they were ultimately dismissed. While Hashim Amla scored just 25 runs off the 244 balls that he faced at a strike rate of just 10.24, AB de Villiers also batted out a very patient knock. De Villiers scored a total of 43 runs during his stay at a crease after facing a total of 297 balls at a strike rate of just 14.47.
The efforts of the South African duo went in vain as India went to win the match by a total of 337 runs but the partnership that Hashim Amla and AB de Villers put on to try and draw the Test match is widely regarded as one of the most resilient partnerships in the history of the game.
Additionally, given that the wicket in Delhi was a turning track and overseas players are alien to such batting conditions, the efforts and concentration required to play out such a skillful knock by the South African batsmen is truly a herculean feat that will be hard to emulate in the times to come.
