There is no larger middle finger in sport than a batting side piling on an unnecessary amount of runs and refusing to declare.
For a batting side it is almost the perfect sledge and to be on the receiving end of the batting barrage, it often makes you reconsider why you ever started playing the sport in the first place.
Over the years the Sheffield Shield has had some jaw dropping scorecards, did teams run up the score because they couldn’t stand the other sides?
Was it because there were only six domestic games per team back in the early days and triple centuries were the only way to get into the Australian side?
To celebrate the Sheffield Shield Final, I thought I’d comb through the scorecards and show you nuffies some of the highest Sheffield Shield scorecards of all time.
Some of these scores will never be topped.
Victoria 1107 vs New South Wales, December 1926
A match being played almost 100 years ago still holds the record for the highest team total in First Class Cricket.
New South Wales won the toss and elected to bat on Christmas Eve 1926 and heading into the two rest days immediately after Day 1, I’d imagine they were quietly confident of the position they were in.
At the close of Day 1, NSW were all out for 221 off 81 overs, not the greatest score ever but a competitive one nonetheless.
Christmas Day and Boxing Day were rest days back in the 20’s and Day 2 did not begin until December 27.
I’m not sure what the Victorian’s did for Christmas but it clearly worked, coming out flying and finishing the day at 1/573.
Captain Bill Woodfull the only wicket to fall on Day 2, he was caught behind for 133.
Woodfull and Bill Ponsford had an opening partnership of 375 runs that day and I’d imagine going into Day 3 with a lead of 352 is normally enough to give your side the best chance of winning.
Victoria disagreed and scored another 534 runs on Day 3 to be dismissed for a score of 1107.
That’s right, they didn’t declare.
The top four batsmen all scored big runs for Victoria, Woodfull 133, Ponsford 352, Stork Hendry 100 and Jack Ryder 295, a total of 880 runs from the top four alone.
Heading into Day 4 after chasing leather for two whole days, NSW were dismissed for 230 inside 52 overs. Giving Victoria a win by an innings and 656 runs.
I cannot imagine their record of 1107 runs will ever be beaten.
New South Wales 918 vs South Australia, January 1901
25 years before the Victorian’s did it to them, it was New South Wales playing the role of flat track bully against South Australia.
South Australia won the toss and batted on Day 1 and could not hold out against the NSW bowling attack. Jack Marsh took 5/34 off his 16 overs and the Redbacks (probably weren’t called that back then) were back in the sheds, all out for just 157.
Lead by opening batsmen Victor Trumper, NSW walked out to bat and finished Day 1 with a score of 1/224 and a first innings lead of 67.
While the Victorian score was practically all the top four batsmen, NSW shared the love around. Trumper 70, Frank Iredale 118, Monty Noble 153, captain Syd Gregory 168, Reggie Duff 119 and Les Poidevin 140* all chipped in and got the South Australian’s hating cricket.
Another team that refused to declare (which I love, cop that) NSW were all out for 918 in 208 overs.
South Australia walked out to bat on Day 3 either incredibly dejected by what they’d just had to go through or really fired up “if they can score 918, so can we” is something I imagine one of the bowlers said as the openers padded up.
South Australia unfortunately, didn’t offer much of a fight back in their second dig. Jack Marsh took another 5fa giving him 10 wickets for the match. South Australia were all out for 156 and that gave NSW a win by an innings and 605.
Queensland 6/900d vs Victoria, March 2006
Let’s jump forward 100 years to the Pura Cup final in March of 2006.
The Socceroos were getting ready for their first World Cup in a long time, Flaunt It by TV Rock Ft. Seany B was the Number 1 song in the country and “shin swinger” boardshorts were all the rage.
Victoria won the toss and batted, just quietly as well – they didn’t do too bad for themselves.
At stumps on Day 1, the Vics were 5/269 and quietly confident about the position they were in.
Brad Hodge had scored 108 while Nick Jewell and David Hussey also contributed with 89 and 72* respectively.
The Vics were all out for 344 on Day 2 and then it was all the Bulls.
Captain Jimmy Maher scored 223 off 387 balls, Martin Love 169 off 292, Shane Watson had 201 retired hurt off 340 and Clinton Perron 173 off 277.
Queensland batted until late Day 4 (being a Shield Final they played 5 days), facing a whopping 242 overs and only hitting six 6s in that entire time.
Who then came out and cleaned up Victoria? I hear you ask.
A young Mitchell Johnson, Mitchy scored himself figures of 6/51 off his 20 overs and dismantled the Bushrangers for 202.
Queensland won the Pura Cup by an Innings and 354 Runs.
I searched high and low and could not find any footage of this game, possibly scrubbed from the internet at the request of the Victorians.