It might have been considered no great contest if it had ended differently. On a pitch Greg Matthews described as “an absolute road”, 1488 runs were scored. But the tied Test in Madras, 1986 made and destroyed reputations. It was unique. For a start, one team declared twice, while the other was dismissed twice – yet didn’t lose. In fact, it was on the very verge of victory when the sudden end came, deep into the final over.
It was a shambolic adventure, full of erratic sequences, epic episodes, interesting types, crazy happenings, noble deeds, with a plot to nowhere, in which characters ebbed and flowed in the action, and the ending was heading toward possible inconsequentiality – until it came, effected by an over-eager deus ex machina in a…
