What is a Pair in cricket?

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Pair

There is a kind of cricket known as pairs cricket, which is mostly played by youngsters. In contrast, the term “pair” refers to a totally different scenario in test cricket and first-class cricket. In the former, it refers to the circumstance in which the batsman is taken from the field after scoring no points in either of the two innings.

Pair In Cricket: What It Is And What They Are

There are a few other words that may be used in cricket in addition to the term “pair.” These include “pair of spectacles,” “pair of ducks,” and simply “spectabelles.” In each and every one of them, the meaning is identical: a frustrating 0-0 scenario in which the batter did not score a single wound in either of the two innings.

In accordance with the regulations of cricket, the objective of every team is to accumulate as many points, also known as runs, as they possibly can. In the match, there are two teams, each consisting of eleven players. When it comes to this scenario, one team takes on the position of the server, while the other side acts as the batter. The team that is serving is present on the field with the whole composition, with the exception of the batter, who is one of only two players who are referred to as batsmen. In close proximity to the gates that have been set up on both sides of the field, they stand.

During the course of the match, the bowler will toss the ball, and the batter who bats, known as the striker, will be responsible for hitting the ball. In the event that the ball is struck, the batsmen will move closer to one another in order to switch places. Points, sometimes known as wounds, are awarded to them after each run. In the event that the batsman is removed from the game, another member of the team will come to take his place. This process will continue until the opponent has eliminated all of the batsmen or until the number of overs that are permitted by the laws has been exhausted.

Following that, the teams are switched around. For this reason, it is in the greatest interest of every batter to maintain his position for as long as possible and gain as many wounds for his side as feasible.

There are more than a dozen options for how to take the batsman out of the game, most often the following:

  • If the bowler breaks the wicket that the batsman is guarding;
  • If the batsman himself destroys the gate he is guarding;
  • If the batsman touches the ball;
  • If the batsman interferes with the match by words or actions;
  • If the wicket is destroyed while the batsman is jogging;
  • If a player of the serving team (fielder) catches a bounced ball before it touches the ground;

The sight of a score of 0-0, which may seem like a pair of eyeglasses, is where the name “pair” originates from in the sport of cricket. 0: 0 is the number of runs the batsman earned in two innings. This is a frustrating circumstance that occurs very seldom, although it does occur on occasion. In cricket, there are quite a few different kinds of pairs:

  • King pair (Golden pair) is a situation where the batsman is knocked out in both innings by the first ball. The first player to be in such trouble was Englishman William Attewell in a match against Australia. During the test matches, 21 players earned a King pair. Among them are such great cricketers as Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Ajit Agarkar and David Richardson.
  • Queen Pair (Silver Pair) is a situation where the batsman is knocked out on the second throw in both innings. The first player to be knocked out in this way in test cricket was GF Grace, the youngest member of the famous Grace family and the brother of WG Grace, one of the most famous cricket players in history. It happened in 1880 in England against Australia. A total of 22 batsmen were knocked out this way.
  • Jack Pair (Bronze Pair) is a situation where the batsman is knocked out on the third throw in both innings. Only seven players earned this pair, the first being New Zealand’s BP Bracewell in 1978.

In addition, to keep track of the players who played pair in cricket, there is a rating of the batsmen who earned a pair in the first match they participated. Currently, there are 45 cricket players that are included in this list. In the year 1880, the first one was FB Grace, who was also members of the Queen pair.

Chris Martin, who is from New Zealand, now holds the record for the most partnerships made in the sport of test cricket. He was dismissed seven times during test matches, despite the fact that he had not collected a single point.

The last five players each earned a pair four times. There were five of them: four were bowlers who had little desire to play as batsmen (Muttiah Muralidharan from Sri Lanka, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar from India, Mervyn Dillon from the West Indies, and Courtney Walsh from the West Indies) and the fifth was Marvan Atapattu from Sri Lanka, who was one of the most powerful and technically proficient batsmen of his generation.

Nisha Bhavani
Author: Nisha Bhavani Position: Cricket Expert

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