Follow-on

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Follow-on is a term used in the sport of cricket. It describes the situation where a team has two consecutive innings. Cricket matches are played over either one or two innings. The "follow-on" is only used in games played over two innings. In these games the teams take turns in batting. Team A has its first innings followed by Team B. Then Team A has its second innings, and finally Team B has its second innings (unless Team A's final score is less than Team B's first innings total).

However, if Team B scores substantially fewer runs than Team A in its first innings, Team A's captain may force Team B to bat again (to "follow on") straight away, so that the order of the innings is: A, B, B, and, if necessary, A again. In its second innings, Team B is then said to be "following on". This rule is governed by Law 13 of the Laws of cricket.

Contents 1 Minimum lead 2 Enforcing the follow-on 3 Victories by sides following-on 3.1 The 1894-95 Ashes 3.2 The biggest turnaround 3.3 Botham's test — England v Australia, Headingley, 1981 3.4 Laxman's innings — India v Australia, Eden Gardens 2001 4 The History of the follow-on[5] 5 Notes

Minimum lead

The number of runs by which Team A must be ahead of Team B to give its captain the option of forcing Team B to follow on depends on how long the game is. In a match of five days or more, a side which bats first and leads by at least 200 runs has the option of requiring the other side to follow-on.

In shorter matches the minimum required leads are as follows:

(i) 150 runs in a match of three or four days;

(ii) 100 runs in a two-day match;

(iii) 75 runs in a one-day match (if two innings are being played).

Where a match is shortened, the leads required to have the option of enforcing the follow-on are determined by how many days' (or part days') play remain when the match starts. For example, suppose a match is scheduled for five days, but the first day is washed out because of rain. If the match then begins on the second scheduled day of the match, the team batting first needs a first innings lead of 150 runs or more to have the option of enforcing the follow-on. This only applies to time lost before the first ball has been bowled: if a five-day match starts on the scheduled first day but, say, the second day is completely lost, it still counts as a five-day match for the purposes of calculating the follow-on target.

Enforcing the follow-on

Captains do not automatically choose to enforce the follow-on when they are entitled to. In two innings games, for a team to win, it usually needs to dismiss the opposition twice. If it fails to do so, the game may end in a draw. So, when there is limited time available so that a team does not think it had enough time to bat again and then dismiss the opposing side, the follow-on will almost invariably be enforced.

When time is not an issue, the follow-on is often not enforced. This is partly because it is tiring for bowlers to bowl for two consecutive innings. It is also usually considered a disadvantage to bat last, when the cricket pitch had deteriorated by wear and there are more natural variations to its bounce and ability to take spin.

Victories by sides following-on

Although it is not impossible for a side following-on to win a game, it happens rarely. When it happens in first class games, it is a notable occurrence, with that match being remembered for many years afterwards.

The 1894-95 Ashes

In the first innings of the First Test at Sydney, Australia had scored a massive 586 (Syd Gregory 201, George Giffen 161) and then dismissed England for 325. England responded with 437, leaving them ahead by 176. However, at stumps on the fourth day, Australia were 113 for 2 and looked to be the winners. But heavy rain fell overnight (this was in the era when pitches were not covered overnight), and next morning England's slow left-arm bowlers, Bobby Peel and Johnny Briggs, were all but unplayable. England dismissed Australia for 166, winning by 10 runs,^[1] and went on to win the series 3-2.

The biggest turnaround

In 1922 at Edgbaston, Hampshire were bowled out for 15 in just nine overs in reply to Warwickshire's 223 in a 3-day match. Hampshire's total is the seventh lowest score for a completed first class innings. Hampshire were put back into bat, and then famously scored a mammoth 521 before dismissing Warwickshire for 158 to win by a comfortable 155 runs. ^[2] Hampshire's first innings total of 15 remains the lowest score for a completed innings by a winning team.

Botham's test — England v Australia, Headingley, 1981

In 1981, England's Ian Botham was performing poorly as captain against the touring Australians. After a loss and a draw in the first two Test matches of the summer's six-test Ashes series, Botham resigned the captaincy. The Australian team was rated as second only to the great West Indies team of the time, and contained a formidable pace attack in the form of Dennis Lillee, Terry Alderman and Geoff Lawson.

Mike Brearley, the captain Botham had replaced, took the reins for the third Test, at Headingley. This started out very badly: Australia scored 401 (John Dyson 102; Kim Hughes 89), and asked England to follow on after bowling them out for 174 (Lillee took 4 for 49; Lawson 3 for 32). The one bright point in the innings came from Botham, who top scored with 50 (his first since he had been made captain 13 matches earlier). In the second innings, Botham came to the crease with England on 105 for 5, still 126 behind. Matters did not improve: Geoff Boycott and Bob Taylor soon followed, and with England 135 for 7 and still 92 runs behind an innings defeat looked likely.

By all accounts, everyone on both sides thought the game was lost. Ladbrokes famously offered 500-1 against England winning the Headingley Test. (Equally famously, and controversially, two Australian players, Rod Marsh and Dennis Lillee, placed a bet on England to win, claiming that 500-1 were silly odds on any two-horse race.) When Graham Dilley joined him at the crease, Botham reportedly said, "Right then, let's have a bit of fun." Botham, with able support from the lower order, went on to make 149 not out, and gave England a slender lead of 129. The next day a fired-up Bob Willis took 8 for 43, and Australia slumped to 111 all out.^[3] It was the first time since the 1894-95 Ashes that a side following on had gone on to win a Test match.

Laxman's innings — India v Australia, Eden Gardens 2001

Australia were 1-0 up in a 3 Test series away to India. Despite an impressive 7 for 123, including a hat trick (Ponting LBW, Gilchrist LBW, Warne caught), by Harbhajan Singh in the first innings of the second Test at Eden Gardens, Australia had scored 445 (Steve Waugh 110; Matt Hayden 97). Australia, rated at the time the best team in the world, restricted India to a feeble 171, with Glenn McGrath taking 4 for 18, and enforced the follow-on. India fared better, reaching 52 before losing their first wicket and V. V. S. Laxman coming to the crease. But they were still 222 runs behind, with plenty of time and the Australian second innings to come.

Laxman then changed the course of the match and the series. He batted for 10 and a half hours to put on 281 runs, most of them in a massive 376 fifth wicket partnership with Rahul Dravid, who himself scored 180. Laxman and Dravid batted through the entire fourth day. When they had scored 657 for 7, India became the first Test team to declare their innings after they had followed-on. India then proceeded to get Australia all out for 212, thanks mostly to Harbhajan who followed his first innings haul with 6 for 73, giving him match figures of 13 for 196. But, Laxman was man of the match as Australia were defeated by 171 runs.^[4] India then went on to win the third match and took the series 2-1. This was only the third Test (and last to date) to have been won by a side following on.

The History of the follow-on^[5]

• 1787 First known instance.
• 1835 Compulsory after a deficit of 100 runs.
• 1854 After a deficit of 80 runs.
• 1894 After a deficit of 120 runs.
• 1900 Made optional, after a deficit of 150 runs.
• 1961 In abeyance in County Championship. Restored in 1963.

Notes

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ [2]
3. ^ [3]
4. ^ [4]
5. ^ 1966 edition of Wisden Cricketer's Almanack, p153.

pl:Follow-on

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