Case study 2: England versus the West Indies at Lord's in 1984

England captain David Gower instructed Lamb to go off for bad light. He felt that, rather than risk getting out that evening, it was better for the batsmen to come back refreshed the next morning and set a target so high that the West Indies didn't have a chance. As it happened, Lamb was out straight away in the morning, and Gower declared at 300 for 9, leaving the West Indies to get 341 in less than 80 overs - a very tough target. Tough, but as it turned out, gettable. In fact, thanks to a brilliant 214 not out from Greenidge, the West Indies romped home with over 11 overs to spare.


Verdict

Gower felt his decision to bat on into the next day was vindicated, since the West Indies batsmen showed themselves capable of huge run-chases. Critics felt that if Lamb had stayed in on the Monday evening, England could have piled on another 30 or 40 runs and set both a high target and had enough time to bowl the West Indies out. We will never know.

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