|
The Laws of Cricket had to be changed after Brian Rose declared the
Somerset innings closed during a domestic one-day match in 1979.
Declarations were outlawed in limited over matches from then on. Rose,
recognised as one of the best county captains - he lead Somerset from
1978 to 1983, when the team themselves pioneered innovative marketing
strategies - found a loophole in the regulations of the Benson and
Hedges Cup.
While his team could afford to lose to opponents
Worcestershire they could not afford to lose wickets. Rose solved the
dilemma by declaring at 1 for no wicket after the first over, and the
match was over in 20 minutes. The resultantant furore saw Somerset
disqualified, but it established their captain as an innovative thinker.
His Test career did not cause such a stir. He toured Pakistan and New
Zealand with Mike Brearley in 1977-78 after England had lost Amiss and
Woolmer to World Series Cricket, but his best score in three Tests was
27 in Hyderabad. In New Zealand he was injured and left 5 not out when
England were bowled out for 64 and lost to the Kiwis for the first time.
When English batsmen struggled against the West Indies in 1980 he was
brought back, vowing to attack the fast bowlers, and top scored with 70
out of 150 in the third Test at Old Trafford. He made 50 and 41 at the
Oval and 7 and 43 not out at Headingley, but lost his place for the
Centenerary Test against Australia at Lord's. He returned for the 1981
West Indies tour, but was dropped after one Test, discomfited by the
extra bounce of Caribbean pitches. In Pakistan he made 54 in the One Day
International at Sahiwal, and 45 in another at Sialkot. (Bob Harragan)
|