Drawing level with little damage

England's monstrous second-innings performance at the Gabba shattered several records, but during the course of their 517 for 1, Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook missed out on emulating a feat that has been performed only once in Test cricket. Faced with a deficit of 221, England's openers put on 188 before Strauss was dismissed. Had they erased it all, they would have been only the second pair of openers to overcome a 200-plus deficit in the third innings of a Test. We'll reveal the identity of the first pair a little later in today's column, which is about teams that have wiped out large deficits with minimum damage.

Guyana, 1972. West Indies had batted into the third day of the fourth Test against New Zealand and declared on 365 for 7, leaving little time for a result. New Zealand's response, however, stamped out all hope of victory and defeat. Glenn Turner and Terry Jarvis batted forever, adding 387 for the first wicket. Turner's 259 spanned 704 minutes - the longest innings by a New Zealand batsman - and 759 balls, the second most by any batsman in an innings. Jarvis batted nine hours for his 182. It remains the only time one team has overhauled an opponent's first-innings total in excess of 300 without losing a wicket. It's also the only drawn Test in the table below. "It would be hard to imagine a duller game of cricket than this," Wisden said, shortsightedly, not foreseeing the run-fests of more recent times.

Largest deficit overcome without losing a wicket in the 2nd match innings

Team	Deficit	1st Wkt	Total	Result	Margin	Opposition	Ground	Start Date	Scorecard
New Zealand	-365	387	543/3d	drawn		v West Indies	Georgetown	Apr 6, 1972	Test 696
West Indies	-260	298	446	won	inns & 32 runs	v England	St John's	Apr 12, 1990	Test 1144
Australia	-241	244	516	won	inns & 9 runs	v England	Adelaide	Jan 28, 1966	Test 600
Pakistan	-216	298	417	won	10 wickets	v West Indies	Karachi	Dec 6, 1997	Test 1391
Sri Lanka	-199	281	541	won	inns & 240 runs	v Zimbabwe	Harare	May 6, 2004	Test 1698
England	-191	323	589	won	inns & 225 runs	v Australia	Melbourne	Feb 9, 1912	Test 119
Australia	-173	191	529	won	inns & 4 runs	v India	Melbourne	Dec 30, 1967	Test 625
West Indies	-155	214	559/6d	won	inns & 176 runs	v Zimbabwe	Bulawayo	Jul 19, 2001	Test 1551
Australia	-149	231	406	won	9 wickets	v West Indies	Hobart	Nov 17, 2005	Test 1771
Pakistan	-134	168	546/3d	won	inns & 264 runs	v Bangladesh	Multan	Aug 29, 2001	Test 1560

The bat-a-thon between Sri Lanka and India at the Premadasa Stadium in 1997 was arguably duller than that game. India declared their first innings on 537 for 8 and then watched Sanath Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahamana bat for more than two days, only the second time that had happened in Tests, and the first time when no play was lost to rain. Their second-wicket partnership was worth 576 and Sri Lanka overhauled India's substantial total for the loss of only one wicket.

At Lord's in 1930, Australia amassed 729 for 6 in reply to England's first-innings score of 425, with Don Bradman giving his team the lead for the loss of only Bill Ponsford and Bill Woodful. England were dismissed for 375 in the third innings, leaving Australia with 72 to chase, which they did with seven wickets in hand. A total of 110,000 people watched 1601 runs and 29 wickets packed into four days.

Least wickets lost to overcome a deficit of 400+ in the 2nd match innings

Team	Deficit	Wkts	Total	Result	Margin	Opposition	Ground	Start Date	Scorecard
Sri Lanka	-537	1	952/6d	drawn		v India	Colombo (RPS)	Aug 2, 1997	Test 1374
Australia	-425	2	729/6d	won	7 wickets	v England	Lord's	Jun 27, 1930	Test 195
Pakistan	-479	2	555/3	drawn		v Sri Lanka	Faisalabad	Oct 16, 1985	Test 1026
Australia	-405	3	695	won	inns & 39 runs	v England	The Oval	Aug 16, 1930	Test 198
Sri Lanka	-445	3	591	won	10 wickets	v England	The Oval	Aug 27, 1998	Test 1423
West Indies	-482	3	563/8d	drawn		v England	Bridgetown	Jan 6, 1960	Test 485
India	-422	3	458/4d	won	7 wickets	v Zimbabwe	Delhi	Nov 18, 2000	Test 1515
Australia	-435	4	674/6d	drawn		v England	Cardiff	Jul 8, 2009	Test 1922
West Indies	-415	4	644/8d	drawn		v India	Delhi	Feb 6, 1959	Test 467
Pakistan	-509	4	699/5	drawn		v India	Lahore	Dec 1, 1989	Test 1130

The feat Strauss and Cook came close to emulating was that of Geoff Pullar and Colin Cowdrey against South Africa at The Oval in 1960. After having been shot out for 155 in their first-innings, England were facing a deficit of 264 at the start of their second. Pullar and Cowdrey, however, swept past that mark during a first-wicket partnership of 290 in under four and a half hours, eliminating chances of a South African victory. England declared with a lead of 215 and the game was drawn.

Largest deficit overcome without losing a wicket in the 3rd match innings

Team	Deficit	1st Wkt	Total	Result	Margin	Opposition	Ground	Start Date	Scorecard
England	-264	290	479/9d	drawn		v South Africa	The Oval	Aug 18, 1960	Test 496
England	-193	273	570/7d	drawn		v South Africa	Durban	Dec 26, 2004	Test 1730
Pakistan	-145	219	419/9d	drawn		v West Indies	Bridgetown	May 18, 2000	Test 1496
England	-136	162	266/4d	drawn		v Australia	Lord's	Jun 19, 1997	Test 1370
India	-132	137	505/3d	drawn		v New Zealand	Mohali	Oct 10, 1999	Test 1462
Sri Lanka	-123	126	126/0	drawn		v West Indies	Gros Islet	Jun 20, 2003	Test 1648
New Zealand	-122	125	448/8d	drawn		v India	Hyderabad (Deccan)	Nov 12, 2010	Test 1975
England	-117	140	428	won	87 runs	v South Africa	Cape Town	Dec 31, 1927	Test 169
Australia	-116	126	397	lost	1 wickets	v England	Melbourne	Jan 1, 1908	Test 97
West Indies	-107	118	334/3	drawn		v Australia	Kingston	Mar 1, 1991	Test 1166
Australia	-103	117	117/0	drawn		v West Indies	Sydney	Jan 2, 1993	Test 1208

When a team draws level with its opponent with most of its wickets intact, it doesn't usually lose. England did, though, in Trinidad in 1974. Geoff Boycott and Dennis Amiss put on 209 for the first wicket in England's second innings and West Indies' lead of 261 was erased with nine wickets standing. England collapsed, though, from 328 for 1 to 392 all out, leaving West Indies with a chase of 132. Roy Fredericks led the charge and the hosts won with seven wickets in hand.

Least wickets lost to overcome a deficit of 200+ in the 3rd match innings

Team	Deficit	Wkts	Total	Result	Margin	Opposition	Ground	Start Date	Scorecard
England	-264	0	479/9d	drawn		v South Africa	The Oval	Aug 18, 1960	Test 496
India	-264	1	444	drawn		v West Indies	Kingston	Mar 28, 1953	Test 371
England	-261	1	392	lost	7 wickets	v West Indies	Port of Spain	Feb 2, 1974	Test 731
Pakistan	-254	1	540	drawn		v West Indies	Georgetown	Mar 18, 1977	Test 801
Australia	-247	1	427/6d	drawn		v England	Nottingham	Jun 10, 1938	Test 263
England	-234	1	264/1	drawn		v South Africa	The Oval	Aug 17, 1929	Test 185
West Indies	-232	1	447/5d	drawn		v New Zealand	Christchurch	Feb 22, 1980	Test 875
England	-223	1	497/5	drawn		v India	Kanpur	Dec 1, 1961	Test 514
England	-221	1	517/1d	drawn		v Australia	Brisbane	Nov 25, 2010	Test 1981
Australia	-211	1	328/2	drawn		v England	Sydney	Jan 29, 1988	Test 1090
England	-200	1	254/3	drawn		v Australia	Leeds	Jul 10, 1926	Test 165

The three largest chases completed without losing a wicket have all been pulled off by Australia. The second of those was in an extremely low-scoring Ashes Test at the Gabba in 1990. England made the highest score of the match after they were sent in - 194. Australia in response made only 152. Terry Alderman, however, took six second-innings wickets to skittle England for 114, leaving Australia with 157 to chase. Mark Taylor and Geoff Marsh chose this challenge to make the highest scores of the match. Their stand of 157 sealed a 10-wicket win inside three days.

Largest target achieved without losing a wicket in the 4th match innings

Team	Target	Total		Opposition	Ground	Start Date	Scorecard
Australia	170	172/0		v West Indies	Adelaide	Dec 12, 1930	Test 199
Australia	157	157/0		v England	Brisbane	Nov 23, 1990	Test 1155
Australia	135	135/0		v West Indies	Georgetown	Apr 6, 1973	Test 720
Sri Lanka	120	120/0		v Bangladesh	Bogra	Mar 8, 2006	Test 1786
Australia	106	106/0		v New Zealand	Wellington	Mar 19, 2010	Test 1955
England	105	105/0		v Australia	Birmingham	May 27, 1909	Test 101
West Indies	102	103/0		v England	Nottingham	Jul 20, 1950	Test 325
Pakistan	98	98/0		v Sri Lanka	Karachi	Nov 7, 1985	Test 1028
England	96	98/0		v India	Mumbai	Feb 15, 1980	Test 874
Sri Lanka	95	96/0		v India	Galle	Jul 18, 2010	Test 1964

The last table contains a list of run-chases in which a target of more than 200 has been achieved for the loss of the fewest wickets. At Lord's in 1984, West Indies were set a target of 342 with five and a half hours remaining in the Test. Gordon Greenidge went after it, lost Desmond Haynes with the score on 57 and, in the company of Larry Gomes, pulled off one of the greatest Test victories with nine wickets in hand.

Least wickets lost to achieve a target of 200+ in the 4th match innings

Team	Target	Total		Opposition	Ground	Start Date	Scorecard
West Indies	342	344/1		v England	Lord's	Jun 28, 1984	Test 990
England	209	209/1		v Bangladesh	Dhaka	Mar 20, 2010	Test 1956
West Indies	317	317/2		v Pakistan	Georgetown	Mar 13, 1958	Test 452
Australia	287	288/2		v South Africa	Sydney	Jan 2, 2006	Test 1780
West Indies	253	255/2		v England	The Oval	Aug 22, 1963	Test 547
England	247	247/2		v South Africa	Nottingham	Jul 23, 1998	Test 1421
West Indies	225	226/2		v England	The Oval	Aug 4, 1988	Test 1102
England	219	219/2		v Australia	Melbourne	Dec 30, 1911	Test 117
Australia	219	219/2		v West Indies	Brisbane	Nov 28, 1975	Test 764
Australia	211	211/2		v England	Melbourne	Feb 11, 1921	Test 138